Holes to Heaven: Random International Update (3.7.14)

My first two days in São Paulo have been really great. I arrived around 5:00 AM to the airport and arrived at Alex's apartment around 5:45 AM. He lives on the 14th floor of a big building - there are a lot of apartment complexes such as his in this city. This city is enormous, slightly unorganized, and full of character. It is difficult to orient oneself because, well, it's just too big for that. There are five areas - the four cardinal directions plus the center. So far I have seen three of these areas. After arriving at the apartment, saying hello, and meeting Alex's dad, however,the only area of São Paulo I saw was the guest bed. This tour lasted three hours and was amazing. I slept extremely well because... Alex and his dad surprised me with tickets to the Argentina - Switzerland game! So Alex, Lucas (younger brother), and I headed out to the stadium around 10:30 AM for the 1:00 PM kickoff. The subway was packed, and the weather was pleasantly warm and sunny (cannot get over that this is the winter weather). The game was a nail-biter and was highlighted by the singing Argentines - this of course was met by all the adopted Switzerland fans, i.e. all of Brasil. Messi dribbled down and assisted the winning overtime goal, that sure was cool. I was secretly cheering for them, always have a soft spot for Argentina despite the criminal experiences. Afterwards we headed back to the apartment and went to see the USA game in a bar around the corner - heartbreaking game. But the food was delicious. First there were these meat empanadas with vegetable sauces. Then they brought out a mini grill to the table along with a long, raw, pre-sliced cut of rump steak. You cook your meat at the table! Cool idea - and it's easier than that sounds. After the game Alex and I met Andre in town after he finished work. I met Andre last fall and spent a lot of time with him all of that semester. He is currently working slave hours at Merrill Lynch - we spent an hour or so catching up and (in his case) eating (late lunch/early dinner for the 5:00 PM USA game left me quite full. Andre invited us both to his house for dinner on Wednesday with his family. After dinner Alex and I went back to the apartment and played some FIFA.

Today (Wednesday) was a day full of soccer. We woke up slowly, had lunch in the apartment, then biked over to the big central park of São Paulo with a soccer ball. We bought some fresh coconut water, then kicked around for a while until a group of other kids asked if we wanted to play a game, which of course we did. Basically, there is this enormous, grassy field full of happy people playing soccer. It was also a beautiful day. I could not have asked for much more, honestly. After the small game ended, we biked to the supermarket to help Alex's younger brother (he's 18 or so) and his friends pick up some meat and charcoal for a barbecue that night. Upon returning home, we decided to play more soccer with Lucas and his friends who he had invited for the barbecue. After playing soccer for an hour or so, Alex and I showered and headed out to Andre's house, which was about twenty minutes away by car. His family is amazing, and we had one of the best meals ever! A huge pan of risotto with, yes, more steak. All in all, a great day!