Dictator
07-24-2014, 10:11 PM
.....Day one, the airport from my city was surprisingly annoying. It seems one of our local soccer team was using it, and I've never seen such concentration of dark skinned people in one group before. Not even near public schools. They also were loud. Very loud. Finally the plane came and I could get away from them.
I obviously got to one of the airports of the region (this time was Garulhos's) and I must say that the bathroom of that place was disgusting.
.....Spent some time in a car I finally arrived to the city center, and that their air quality is something that I hope never have to experience again. The Tietê river is also horribly stinky and some ancient buildings were sprayed and falling apart. The city center is better, not the air of course because that thing (dust, smoke? dunno) is everywhere... In the part of the city that I had to stay I felt like an alien. There were places that I was the lightest guy around, and I discovered that it is uncomfortable for some reason. Not because they are dark but because I'm around people that are too different from me. The USA consulate was a more pleasant experience, finally a place where I would be around Brazilians without standing out.
.....After finishing the bureaucracy there I took a taxi to the 25th march street and I started to feel uncomfortable again, that place is my nightmare given form: Too much people, too much noise, too much pirated products, too much un-culture. There were people screaming around, trash on the street, policemen with bulletproof jackets (WOW), Hobos, etc, etc, etc. I plan to never set my foot there again. Ever. Tired from that hell, I took a taxi to a not-so-close Mall that was a more pleasant place. I watched a movie - that happened to be in a Cinemax room, and it seems they used the same "layout" in every place of theirs, I could fake I was at home. - then I took another taxi to the place I was staying and well, first day finished. Now I had the interview in the next day.
.....Day two, I traveled more around the city - never saw so much hobos in one city before. In all my life I've seen two, three of them (one happened to find his family this year). I was shocked at the amount of poverty and wealth in one place together. - and arrived at the consulate for the interview. After more bureaucracy and queues (I had about 5 of them before the interview. At least American bureaucracy works.) my non-immigrant visa application was approved. I traveled more around a good part of the city before the lunch. Finished the lunch I got back to the airport and traveled back to my home. I will never complain about my city again. Maybe I will, but not so much. I also would like to say that São Paulo may look a bit bad after all my rantings, but the problem is that I had to stay in one of the worst parts of the city, so if you plan to visit this place one day, do not let my text stop you... Just avoid the east. Well, that's it. It was a great experience.
I obviously got to one of the airports of the region (this time was Garulhos's) and I must say that the bathroom of that place was disgusting.
.....Spent some time in a car I finally arrived to the city center, and that their air quality is something that I hope never have to experience again. The Tietê river is also horribly stinky and some ancient buildings were sprayed and falling apart. The city center is better, not the air of course because that thing (dust, smoke? dunno) is everywhere... In the part of the city that I had to stay I felt like an alien. There were places that I was the lightest guy around, and I discovered that it is uncomfortable for some reason. Not because they are dark but because I'm around people that are too different from me. The USA consulate was a more pleasant experience, finally a place where I would be around Brazilians without standing out.
.....After finishing the bureaucracy there I took a taxi to the 25th march street and I started to feel uncomfortable again, that place is my nightmare given form: Too much people, too much noise, too much pirated products, too much un-culture. There were people screaming around, trash on the street, policemen with bulletproof jackets (WOW), Hobos, etc, etc, etc. I plan to never set my foot there again. Ever. Tired from that hell, I took a taxi to a not-so-close Mall that was a more pleasant place. I watched a movie - that happened to be in a Cinemax room, and it seems they used the same "layout" in every place of theirs, I could fake I was at home. - then I took another taxi to the place I was staying and well, first day finished. Now I had the interview in the next day.
.....Day two, I traveled more around the city - never saw so much hobos in one city before. In all my life I've seen two, three of them (one happened to find his family this year). I was shocked at the amount of poverty and wealth in one place together. - and arrived at the consulate for the interview. After more bureaucracy and queues (I had about 5 of them before the interview. At least American bureaucracy works.) my non-immigrant visa application was approved. I traveled more around a good part of the city before the lunch. Finished the lunch I got back to the airport and traveled back to my home. I will never complain about my city again. Maybe I will, but not so much. I also would like to say that São Paulo may look a bit bad after all my rantings, but the problem is that I had to stay in one of the worst parts of the city, so if you plan to visit this place one day, do not let my text stop you... Just avoid the east. Well, that's it. It was a great experience.