Blogging in 2013

It’s January. janeiro. enero. Whatever language you speak, it’s the first month of a new year. While 2012 wasn’t a huge blogging year for me, it marked the start of something very important–ACTUALLY creating a blog. For years, and especially after moving abroad to Spain, I’d contemplated starting a blog, but for various reasons, I … Continue reading →

A stranger in my own country?

Well, it’s that time of year again, time for the holidays, and for me, that means taking a break from tropical Brasil, and heading up north to the good ol’ USA. I’ve been here for a few days, so now I am almost sufficiently readjusted, but the first few days are always interesting, and I … Continue reading →

How Cross-Country Prepared me for Sao Paulo

Piggybacking off of my last post, this new one will delve into how one of my former pastimes has helped me survive in one of the largest cities in the world. I love running. It used to be the major focus in my life, but after an injury in college I “retired” and began to … Continue reading →

Fútbol en La Bombonera…Argentina vs. Brasil!

When most people think of Brazil, Spain or Argentina, soccer is undoubtedly one of the common links these countries share. Consequently, it comes as no surprise that many of my memorable travel experiences have been related with soccer. Football, fúbol, futebol–regardless of what you call it, the most popular sport in the world has provided … Continue reading →

I fell in love…with Buenos Aires

One of the best parts of working at an American school in Brazil is having many vacation days, because we receive time off for both American and Brazilian holidays. This past week proved to be the perfect combination of the two, since a Brazilian holiday fell at the beginning of Thanksgiving week, and consequently, we … Continue reading →

Art in Sao Paulo-The Pinacoteca!

While living in Madrid, I was extremely spoiled when it came to the arts. I lived a two-minute walk from La Casa Encendida, five minutes walking from my all time favorite museum, El Museo Reina Sofia, and a 15 minute metro ride from El Prado. Not to mention all of the theatre in nearby Opera and … Continue reading →

Padarias–The best bakeries in the world!

I figured after all of the doom and gloom posts about the violence in Brazil, it was time to change gears and share about one of my favorite things here—padarias!! In Portuguese, padaria means bakery, similar to the panadería in Spanish, but they are a bit different. For one thing, padarias don’t just sell bread … Continue reading →

Illegal Drugs–Contributing to the Violence?

After reading yesterday’s post about the growing violence in Sao Paulo, it’s natural to question why it occurs. Again, as I said, I’m far from being an expert on Brazilian sociology, but based on the information I’ve read, much of it boils down to power struggles to control the drug trade. Of course, there are … Continue reading →