seekingmygreaterperhaps

Oi! Tudo bem?

Last week I attended my first *international* school counselor’s conference hosted by Chapel School in São Paulo. The theme of the conference was “Mental Health in Focus” and I attended with 3 other counselors from my school (the middle, and two lower school counselors). Counselor conferences tend to be a little bit of a downer because the topics we learn and get refreshed on are things like… child protection, suicide risk, restorative justices, SEL, and more. It was great to meet other professionals from all around Brazil, and I love conferences because I return feeling like I am in the right field.

The four of us arrived the day before the conference, and Debora really wanted to visit Rua José Paulino. This is a very big shopping area that is supposed to be very cheap. It turns out, it’s not as cheap as my Brazilian colleagues were hoping, but it was an experience I’m glad I went to with them. Unfortunately, “one size” tends not to fit me, but it is what it is.

Thursday and Friday I spent the majority of my time and energy learning from the conference. On Friday night I made it to my hostel, but it was pouring rain and I was drained, so I rested up and prepared for a big tourist day on Saturday.

My first stop was Beco de Batman. If you’ve been a fan of this blog (aka a family member), then you know I am a huge fan of street art. I think street artists are in a league of their own. Beco de Batman is an alley that is very well known for the street art.

This was my first stop, and right around the corner from my hostel, so I got there nice and early before it got too crowded.

The other cool part of many places in Brazil is that the street art is plentiful and not usually confined to only one area of the city. I loved Beco de Batman, but I knew I would continue to see more in São Paulo, so I kept the self-guided tour moving.

After a quick and easy trip on the metro, I arrived at the Republica, where there was a little market going on and I began my architectural walking tour. I pinned the places that Lonely Planet suggested on my map the day before so I knew where to go. In case you want to follow the walking tour, go ahead and follow the link- it’ll take you to the Google list of saved places.

The walk through the historic downtown of SP was interesting because of the contrast. There are super old buildings right next to modern skyscrapers. It’s a unique city layout.

In all the blogs and travel advice they say that SP is a dangerous city. I consider myself a smart traveler, and while I didn’t feel unsafe… I did feel uncomfortable in the highly tourist area of the historic downtown. There were countless homeless people. I truly mean countless. I have never witnessed such poverty, and it truly broke my heart. If you look at the white Kombi van in front of the cathedral, you will see a line of people around the block. The van was giving out boxes of food and water bottles. On the opposite side of the camera, an entire city square was filled with people milling about. It was painful for my heart. I know this is my own privilege that bought on the discomfort, but also a language barrier, and sense of helplessness.

It wasn’t like that everywhere, but in the main tourist area of historic buildings poverty is prevalent. So be prepared, and don’t wear jewelry. Literally. One of the market stalls told me I should take my necklace off so it doesn’t get ripped off. I listened. I also didn’t have any problems, and no one really came up to me or noticed me at all.

My final adventure of the night was at the magical restaurant of Beco Hexogonal. It is a Harry Potter themed burger place. The food was… good. The atmosphere was amazing. It is a very cute spot for families and fans alike. They give you a wand and you get to be magical at various spots in the restaurant. They have potions and butterbeer too! The butterbeer was more of a milkshake, which made me miss Universal Studios. Overall it was a pretty fun spot.

I know I will be heading back to Sao Paulo at some point in the future, because it is quite a popular spot among my Brazilian friends. I only saw a sliver of the HUGE city. People say that NYC is a city that never sleeps… but after visiting SP, I disagree. Sao Paulo definitely never sleeps. I can’t wait to go back and experience an entirely different part.

Beijos. Ate otra vez. Tchau.