When we arrived here on Thursday I felt like a tiny fish in a big pond. Two days later I corrected myself and said "I feel like a tadpole in a very big pond." From the airplane, Sao Paulo looks like a vast area of concrete buildings, as far as the eye can see. I thought it would look like New York in this sense. Being on the ground is different. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many trees. When I left Portugal, I said goodbye to my favourite eucalyptus trees. When I saw them here, I was in such joy! They are so much taller here it's almost unreal.
The trees have a presence about them in this country. They are towering, gorgeous and if you look carefully, you'll notice how they touch one another. They have a story to tell. The variety also astounds me. I can only imagine what the interior of this country looks like where the forests are. In some of the places we've visited, the wood used for the flooring is so beautiful! The grain and colours are breathtaking, like artwork. The fruits are in a league of their own. The flavors are out of this world. Fruits that I've tasted in other countries have a mild flavor compared to what I am experiencing in Brazil. Yesterday we visited a small grocery store and I was delighted to see both fruits and vegetables that I've never seen before. Everything is big and colorful here. It's much bigger than that "big Texan" feeling. The food is delicious but the coffee is superb! I stopped drinking coffee in April. Tasting it here is an experience. It's so scrumptious that adding sugar or milk would ruin the flavor.
My uncle once said that he enjoyed visiting Trinidad and Tobago where I am from because of the mixture of people. It's the same here. The people are all beautiful, happy, hospitable and encouraging. You will wear a smile whether you want to or not. The tall buildings have beautiful designs. They're not all tall buildings without character. Everything here has a presence that I have not experienced in other places.
After being in Portugal for over a year, I forgot what driving on a 4 lane road felt like. It excited me to experience straight streets again and made me wonder what I would think of the roads in Canada when I return. In Portugal, the streets are winding and not organized like a grid. We were celebrating that the streets here have signs! Hallelujah! The little things we take for granted are someone's delight.
Six days in, I still feel like a tadpole and I am loving it. I can't wait to see what the rest of the country looks like.
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