Monday, May 21

Oh man, what a long day. Started out this morning at 7 A.M. with a run. Outside, it was like 50 degrees and clear as could be. Ethan, David, and I trotted along Avenida Paulo VI, a big 6 lane highway with a bike path square in the middle. We ran a little over 3 miles out and back, and by the time we got home our legs were tired and our lungs were starting to feel all the exhaust fumes.

Yeah this is not a place you wanna run if you're clumsy.

After showering, we cleaned up and got dressed to go downtown. We took a bus to the Sao Paulo office of Energy and Mining. Here, the Vice Secretary responsible for renewable energy presented about energy resources in Brazil and the State of Sao Paulo. It was interesting to hear about their plans for energy independence. He talked about the energy balance in the country and the state, and potential development of wind, hydroelectric, solar, and biomass resources. Sao Paulo has high availability of solar and biomass. The Secretary told us about the plan to transition to ethanol to replace gasoline. By further digesting waste biomass, they can generate 28% more power. Altogether, this was a great experience to hear directly from the Secretary about the plans the state has to gain fossil fuel independence.

That mustache has enough biomass to power at least 3 homes.

After, the meeting, we took the opportunity to stroll around the historic city center. We passed by historic parks, the country's stock exchange, and the city's tallest two buildings. This area was clearly older than the other areas we had seen, and looked a little European.

This building was modeled after the Empire State Building.

A reconstruction of a school built by Jesuits early in Sao Paulo's history.

Overlooking a street full of merchants.

We walked around for a while, then made our way to the Mercado municipal market. This structure was built in 1933, and its floor has 136,000 square feet of space. According to Wikipedia, 450 tons of food move through the market each DAY. That's insane. It was definitely the biggest market I have ever been in. At the recommendation of Renato, our tour guide, I tried pasteis de bacalhao, and a mortadela sandwich. The pasteis is a fried savory pastry filled with salted cod, and the mortadela was stacked high with meat. 

Like a hot pocket that doesn't suck.

Like half a pig on a roll (the sandwich, not Bryan)

After eating, we walked around the market for a bit. There are vendors selling fruit, spices, fresh meat, cured meats, liquor, and much more. It was amazing. There are stained glass windows showing scenes from Brazilian agriculture covering one side of the market. At the end of our time there, we went to a fruit vendor and tried all sorts of exotic fruit from Brazil. I had dragonfruit, lychee, and a couple others that I had never heard of before. Afterwards, we got to buy what we liked. I spent way too much on dragonfruit, persimmon, lychee, and mango. 

Stained glass of Brazilian coffee production

A small section of the market as seen from above.

A brigadeiro (chocolate truffle) the size of my palm.

An impossibly high tower of fruit.

After the market, we came back to the hostel for a lecture in the afternoon. We learned about sustainable buildings, then my project group headed to Mackenzie University's campus to meet up with our Brazilian student, where we worked for a few hours. We headed home, and stopped to grab a quick meal of street corn when we got off at our subway stop. The vendor shaved off 3 ears of corn into a bowl, then topped it with butter and salt. I started to sprinkle on paprika, then the vendor said it was cinnamon- an interesting flavor experience. We ate on the street and then I walked the two girls back to their hostel.

A welcome sight for some hungry students

For less than $2, not a bad meal.

After dropping the girls off, I walked back to my hostel. Renato had told us earlier that every week some circus people met at the basketball court right down the street from us. I was surprised to find them there, still going strong at 10 P.M. when I walked past. He had said they were very friendly so I stopped in to watch. After a couple minutes of watching about a dozen people juggle, I asked the two people next to me if they spoke English. They did, and I found out that they were visiting the city from France. The pair had a circus show together, and the lady was from Denmark while the guy was originally from Brazil. They were very nice and talked about how the circus community, even in a giant city like Sao Paulo, is very small and like a family. When David and some other students walking past decided to come in and watch with me, we went over to chat with a guy playing with Rubik's cubes. David geeked out about all of his different cubes, while we talked to the guy about Brazil and his love of biking. He told us that he wants to do two long bike trips- from Sao Paulo to the Atacama desert (3500 km) and from Los Angeles to NYC. The second one he plans to do for his honey moon (he informed us he was not engaged, and didn't have any prospects, but that one day he would do it after he gets married). It was really cool to chat with them, and although I can't say I share much with circus culture, they were super friendly and welcoming of us. Marcus, the cube guy, told us to remember the name of the group Circo de Beco (Circus Alley). Every Monday they meet there, to practice and hang out with friends.

Keep Sao Paulo weird?