Yes, I referred to “us americans” as gringos. Welcome to the “real world São Paulo” as us exchange students call it. For the next 5 months, there is 16 of us gringos studying in Sâo Paulo which is the largest city in all of Brazil. Each and every one of us come from different states and different universities in the U.S. Most of us do not speak Portuguese but there are a few people who have studied the language and are a big help to those of us who don’t speak. Here we are, dropped into a city much larger than New York City ( yes, I said larger than New York City). We have no way to speak, no knowledge of the metro system, no sun tans, and no asses… it’s a big give away that we’re not from around here. Most of us scream foreigners from the way we look but all in all we’re ready to learn the Brazilian ways and take on this new journey. Today makes day 3 of my stay in Brazil. The city is huge, there are buildings for miles and miles but so far it has been a great experience. The food is good, the people are extremely nice, I have made some new friends, I am staying in a great host family, and I even had a dance lesson (a samba dance lesson). What more could I ask for?
-Sincerely, Tish
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