It has been 5 days since I stayed in Campinas, Brazil. Though I am very busy with the workshop and almost had no time to write blogs about my stay here, I found a chance to wake up this early morning to compose one. (Actually, I think I am still on a jet lag that’s why I find difficulties getting a good sleep here. hehe!)
Campinas is very much different than Sao Paolo. Being more than 75km away from the city, this place is very much different than the Sao Paolo. It’s so quiet in here. You seldom see people walking around the place. People do not talk so loud. People tend to be more conservative than the people in the city. I have not seen people with tatoos and ear piercings. People dress more conservatively than in the city—less skin exposed. I have not seen prostitutes. But still, I observed that there are also beggars around.There are also a few policemen around but much less visible than in Sao Paolo. Probably because people here are less war freak.
Ironically, I found it more expensive to shop here than in Sao Paolo. Food and other items are more expensive. The Havaianas and Ipanema slippers are much more expensive than the ones we found in the city. A Brazilian colleague told me last night during our course dinner that it ’should be’ cheaper in Campinas and Valinhos than in Sao Paolo. Probably we just need to look for the cheaper shopping area here. Probably the shop where I went to offers higher prices than the others. Or, probably this area where I am staying is the business center, thus cost of living is more expensive. Hopefully, we can find the cheaper shopping area here.
On food, I just discovered that Brazilian (or probably Latin Americans) are experts in preparing meat dishes…steak, picania, etc)! I did not discover it in Sao Paolo. I did not like the food there but the food here during workshop lunches and dinners tastes much, much better! Or probably, we really just did not have enough time to explore the food in Sao Paolo.
One thing we were amazed about, the security in the workshop, who is a lieutenant police and doing sideline as the workshop security, told us that two of the most dangerous place in Brazil is Rio de Janeiro and the very exact place where we’ve been in Sao Paolo. These places were very open to drugs. Probably that’s the main reason why there are many visible policemen in the city. Quite scary, right?! We stayed in a very dangerous place without us knowing about it. But at least knowing it later helped and made us feel calm and confident that ‘at least, nothing bad happened to us.’
In less than 2 days, I will be coming back home but I am happy that I got a chance to experience differences in cultures in different areas of the same country. I need to discover more so that I can better fill up my experience bank. Two days can still be considered long to discover new things here in Brazil!
-maron-
07aug2008
5:39hrs
Campinas, Brazil
Campinas is very much different than Sao Paolo. Being more than 75km away from the city, this place is very much different than the Sao Paolo. It’s so quiet in here. You seldom see people walking around the place. People do not talk so loud. People tend to be more conservative than the people in the city. I have not seen people with tatoos and ear piercings. People dress more conservatively than in the city—less skin exposed. I have not seen prostitutes. But still, I observed that there are also beggars around.There are also a few policemen around but much less visible than in Sao Paolo. Probably because people here are less war freak.
Ironically, I found it more expensive to shop here than in Sao Paolo. Food and other items are more expensive. The Havaianas and Ipanema slippers are much more expensive than the ones we found in the city. A Brazilian colleague told me last night during our course dinner that it ’should be’ cheaper in Campinas and Valinhos than in Sao Paolo. Probably we just need to look for the cheaper shopping area here. Probably the shop where I went to offers higher prices than the others. Or, probably this area where I am staying is the business center, thus cost of living is more expensive. Hopefully, we can find the cheaper shopping area here.
On food, I just discovered that Brazilian (or probably Latin Americans) are experts in preparing meat dishes…steak, picania, etc)! I did not discover it in Sao Paolo. I did not like the food there but the food here during workshop lunches and dinners tastes much, much better! Or probably, we really just did not have enough time to explore the food in Sao Paolo.
One thing we were amazed about, the security in the workshop, who is a lieutenant police and doing sideline as the workshop security, told us that two of the most dangerous place in Brazil is Rio de Janeiro and the very exact place where we’ve been in Sao Paolo. These places were very open to drugs. Probably that’s the main reason why there are many visible policemen in the city. Quite scary, right?! We stayed in a very dangerous place without us knowing about it. But at least knowing it later helped and made us feel calm and confident that ‘at least, nothing bad happened to us.’
In less than 2 days, I will be coming back home but I am happy that I got a chance to experience differences in cultures in different areas of the same country. I need to discover more so that I can better fill up my experience bank. Two days can still be considered long to discover new things here in Brazil!
-maron-
07aug2008
5:39hrs
Campinas, Brazil
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