Museu da Lingua Portuguesa March 30th

During our last few days in São Paulo Anders and I visited the famous Portuguese Language museum located in the Estação da Luz..  To be honest, at first it sounded like a very boring place to go.  However, I was interested to know that this museum is the only interactive language museum in all Latin America.  Although we didn't spend too much time there, I was fascinated by the interesting details I learned about the Portuguese language and its origins.  At the museum were interactive monitors that displayed the pronunciation and origin of each word.  It was interesting to see how many Portuguese words came from the native Indians languages and African languages.  

Memorial da America Latina March 30th

Our last and final assignment in Brazil was to visit the Memorial da America Latina.  At first I was kind of surprised with how barren the place was.  But after understanding the reason behind the memorial things began to make more sense.   In the middle of the entire park there is a big open hand in the vertical position with the map of Latin America painted in red.  The hand and blood is a symbol of Latin America's history of past oppression and its battles for freedom.  The lack of vegetation is in my opinion is another reflection of the desolation brought upon by the conquests of the past.

Easter Dia Santo Friday March 29th

 Although the Friday before Easter isn't very big in the U.S, in Brazil because of the heavy Catholic influence almost everyone doesn't eat meant but instead consumes fish.  And so by good fortune Anders and I were invited to a Friday feast by the aunt of Stêffani.  I was pretty curious to see how Brazilians celebrate this holiday.  Well it turned out to be kind of how I expected they would celebrate it, like any other holiday.  A lot of food, music, nap, party.  In our case however, we ate a wonderful dish prepared by Stêffani's aunt that was 100% fish based/no meat.

Museu da Ipiranga March 28th

One of my most favorite museums in São Paulo is the Museu da Ipiranga.  The museum pays homage to where Emperor Don Pedro 1 proclaimed Brazilian independence from Portugal.  The contracted architect chose to do everything eclectic-styled, a style similar to the French Palace of Versailles.  The museum is a really breathtaking place.  At the bottom of a slowly inclined hill is an enormous monument to Emperor Don Pedro the first.  In front of the monument sits a large vase with a fire that I presume is lit 24/7.  In front of the flame in the distance is large Brazilian flags that rippled with the wind.  I was impressed as I stared up at this monument with the inscription "Independencia ou Morte" (Liberty or death).  It made me reflect on the sacrifice of great men that had come before me.  Climbing the big hill in the distance was the Museu da Ipiranga.  The way leading up to it though was a major attraction for what seemed like every skater in the city of São Paulo.   I have to say that there were at least 50 or more people skating down the hill at one time.    I was also very impressed by the well kept gardens in front of the mansion/museum.  We were lucky to come just as the sun was setting leading us to take some great pictures.  In my opinion, the way the place kept and the beautiful architecture is a inspiring monument to the rise that Brazil is experiencing.  It's heart warming to see that despite the explosive growth that Brazil has experienced, the country is continually protecting and remembering the roots of its success.

Interview with CEO of babys.com.br March 3rd

We had the interesting experience of interviewing David Smith the CEO and founder of the babys.com.br company.  I first heard about David Smith when I randomly walked in on a lecture he was giving at the David Kennedy Center at BYU Provo.   At the time he was speaking about his entrepreneurial experience and what led him to where he was today.  I thought it was absolutely fascinating the steps he took and how he was inspired to be an entrepreneur.  What really caught my attention at the time was the fact that he had done the very same internship that I was bound to do with the employment service.  And so once I discovered that he was living in São Paulo where we would be interning, I reached out to him through my contacts in the Kennedy Center and fortunately he agreed to meet with us for breakfast on Wednesday.  Rather than an interview it was more of an regular conversation about what led him to where he is today.  A piece of advice he gave us was to invest our time in internships like we were already doing.  While school is a great way to learn often times we only find out exactly what we want to do and what we don't like through hands on experience that only internships can provide.  David also confirmed to us what my earlier interviews was showing about problems with entrepreneurship in Brazil.  He indicated that government bureaucracy was a nightmare for small and big businesses in Brazil.  However, he continued stating that such difficulties actually left often opportunities for people to pursue because many individuals were scared off by such barriers.  Those willing to take the risk (like him) were benefited in many ways.  After a good talk we parted ways, fresh with ideas of entrepreneurship stuck in my head!

Last Career Workshop Tuesday and Wednesday March 26th and 27th

Finally it came down to our last career workshop in Brazil.  We were scheduled to teach on Tuesday and Wednesday.  We were expecting at least 15 however, when no one came around 6 we almost left.  Last minute however, 5 trickled in and we began the last curso de CASP.  Since there were only 5 and they were relatively young we were able to teach the workshop in a more modified more personalized way.  Instead of taking three days to teach the course we were able to finish it two by Wednesday.  The group proved to be pretty receptive and eager to learn.  Since the majority of everyone there had no real job experience we focused a lot on their presentation skills and focused on helping them prepare for a job interview.  It was a satisfying experience to see them grow in confidence and preparation.  Although it seemed like a very short time we were in the country I really enjoyed the experience we were able to have, teaching the career workshop.  The principle I taught helped me as well act more professionally and helped me understand the intricacies of the Brazilian labor market.

Embu das Artes March 23rd

Taking advantage of one of our last Saturdays in Brazil, Anders and I met up with our friend Peter (from Jujitsu) to go visit a famous attraction in São Paulo called Embu das Artes.  Pretty much what it is is an artisan craft festival that happens every Saturday in the city of Embu.  Looking for some souvenirs to take home, we thought it would be a cool idea to stop by.  I would definitely recommend the place especially for families looking to avoid overpriced souvenir items.  I always almost tempted to buy another hammock however I resisted knowing that the hammocks would be a lot cheaper in the state of Bahia.  We ended up getting some gifts and then getting lunch at a really nice place.  We decided to order the famous moceca or fish meal that they commonly have here in Brazil.  It was very delicious but a little bit expensive to say the least!

Architecture on the Avenida Paulista

Every day when we go to work we pass all the varying buildings on Avenida Paulista.  The avenue is most certainly one of the most important business points in São Paulo and is regarded as having the most expensive real estate in all of Latin America.  What I find really fascinating as I walk the streets or ride the bus down the avenue is the varying structures and buildings that I see along the way.  In the past the Avenida Paulista was lined with more classical looking houses and mansions owned by the coffee barons of the 19th century.  Today only few of these houses still stand like the Casa das Rosas.  The rest of the Avenida Paulista is great display of modern architecture.  This building on the right was linked up to a i-pad where individuals could play classic games on it like Tetris at night.  Some other interesting buildings include the MASP or the museum of art of São Paulo which is the red building located down below.  As I walked the streets I noticed that most of prestigious firms and banks tried to sell their image through the sleekness of their architecture   It seemed as if the architecture was there not just to make the building look pretty but to make a definite statement.

Instituto Butantan March 21st

We were given three choices in one of our school assignment to visit either a Brazilian Safari, Zoo, or the Instituto Butantan.  Well become of proximity reasons, and because I'd rather not get eaten alive in a safari expedition we opted to go see the snakes at the Instituto Butantan.  The institute is a Brazilian biomedical research facility located near the university of São Paulo.  The faciilty was founded in 1901 in response to outbreak of the bubonic plague in the city of Santos. Since then the facility has become renown for its research and for its development of vaccines against several infectious diseases.  Apparently an fire in 2010 destroyed one of the largest collections venomous animals in the world.  Although I wasn't able to see the facility in its glory days I was more worried that there were escaped spiders or snakes still running around loose in the park!
When Anders and I arrived we checked many of the facilities there including the microbiology lab, and also the place where all the snakes are stored.  Right outside one of the facilities they had some snakes that we were allowed to handle.  It was a pretty neat experience.  The snake that I was holding almost tried sneaking up my shirt.  The picture below shows an old microscope that was used many years ago.  Technology has come a long ways!

Patio do Colegio March 20th

One of our assignments was to visit the Patio do Colégio also known centro velho.  Like many of the other famous attractions including Catedral da Sé and Teatro Municipal, this monument is located in the center of the city.  When I arrived I didn't know  exactly what to expect.  What I found was a large monument and a museum that was closed when we arrived.  The Patio do Colegio is a historical Jesuit church marking the site where the city was founded in 1554.  Although the museum was closed we were able to visit the church, where inside were several interesting artifacts such as ancient Jesuit robes, documents and even the leg bone of a famous Jesuit.

USP - University of São Paulo March 19th

The University of São Paulo is the most prestigious colleges in Brazil and one of the biggest institutions of higher education in Latin America.  On Wednesday, Anders and I were invited to go visit the campus by a friend of ours called Aninha.  Until I got there I didn't realize how enormous the campus was going to be.  On a bus it takes at least 5- 10 minutes just to get around the entire university.  We were actually invited to go attend an lecture by the ex-President of Chile Ricardo Lagos about international relations.  Since it was an open forum and because it was in my area of study I thought it would be interesting to check out.  What the three of us didn't realize until we got there was that it was going to be in Spanish!  When he started talking i literally sat for a couple of minutes wondering when the translator was going to jump in.  Even though it was hard to understand the graphs and different statistics he showed were very revealing about the economic plight of many modern countries.  

A Trip to Guatemala March 2nd

Sunday night it is custamary to have a FHE for single adults.  Instead of an actual FHE it usually turns out to be more of an devotional with an guest speaker.  In this case for this Sunday night, José the actor was invited to speak about his trip to Guatemala.  José gave a very fascinating presentation of the Aztec ruins that he visited.  I was really amazed at all the ruins that exist in Guatemala, and more so how many are still uncovered.  What was also very fascinating was the geometric perfection that exists among the ruins.  I think that sometimes we think that because a people is more ancient than us that they are barbarian or inferior intellectually.  But the reality is that many times ancient races can be even more advanced intellectually than we are now.  And that evidence is hinted in the ruins of these civilizations.

Teatro Muncipal and Praça Ramos de Azevedo March 16th

While I was walking through downtown São Paulo I ran across the Teatro Municipal of São Paulo (Theater).  The theater is an absolutely beautiful building with a classical look to it.  Built in 1911, today the theater stands as one of the most important landmarks of São Paulo.  The architect, Carlos Lemos, patterned the theater to closely resemble the Paris theater in style and appearance.   After becoming a gathering place of renown artists and musicians, today it hosts theatrical plays and operas by the greatest national and international composers and playwrights.  Right by the theater is located the Praça Ramos de Azevedo.  Although I didn't realize at first, nearly three years ago I had gone proseltyzing as a missionary at the very same park.  It was in the days that I was at the Missionary Training Center in São Paulo and when our instructor led us to a park to get some practice talking to people about the church. Since then I always wondered about that park, and it was through complete fluke by sheer chance that I found the park again!  The park has some beautiful sculptures, especially one of galloping horses right above a massive fountain head.  Unfortunately much of the park has been scarred by the increasing levels of graffiti and is filled with shady looking figures.  It's a place that if you visit São Paulo you should visit, but always with a close eye on belongings.  

Teatro Municipal de São Paulo

Praça Ramos de Azevedo