Welcome to Sao Paulo!

As most of you know, we have moved on from Saudi to Sao Paulo, Brazil.  We are always grateful for the opportunities and experiences we have, but it was no secret that Saudi was not a good fit for us.  We had interviewed with the Graded School before and were impressed with their mission and their ethos...this time, they were equally impressed with us as well!  We've just finished 2 intense weeks of inservice and 2 days of school.  Graded has a very strong student learning-centered focus that we are loving, a well-organized curriculum with lots of time and conversations around planning and design, a strong emphasis on technology, and a very friendly welcoming staff.  It reminds us a lot of our school in China, but a bit less "driven" in its feeling.  It's an outdoor campus with beautiful green spaces and a park-like feeling.  It's smack in the city, as you can see!  It's also very Brazilian--we have a Brazilian track and since the school is so old (95 years) we have 2nd and 3rd generation students here.  There is a definite Brazilian/Portuguese flavor to the school!

Sao Paulo:  Sao Paulo is the biggest city in the southern hemisphere and about the size of Beijing (about 24 million people).  You can't tell from this air photo, but there is nothing flat about SP.  The whole city is tucked up in and between hills so EVERYTHING is up and down.  The city is known for crime so we do need to be very careful when we go out and about.  It's also known for being VERY expensive and that is true.  EVERYTHING costs A LOT here...and the dollar has fallen quite a bit, even since we signed on back in December, so we are making less than we had expected.  For now we are on the Greek-style austerity plan!

We haven't been out too much as we've been so busy with starting up work, but Sao Paulo is very pretty.  Very lush and tropical but without the humidity (at least not yet).  It's winter here, but the "winter" is very tolerable....although there's no AC or heat in buildings, so layering is the way to go.

Sao Paulo is also very, very diverse.  It has the largest concentration of Italians and Japanese outside of their respective countries.  People have migrated here from around the world, and it shows.  After living in very homogenous cultures, it's a wonderful change to be a part of such diversity.  At the school, however, Portuguese rules.  There is virtually no English in Sao Paulo and no one speaks English.  Learning Portuguese here, then, will be a necessity as a matter of survival.  If you think it's like Spanish, guess again--it's not.  Spanish speakers here have some more success navigating life, but even they say that learning Portuguese is not an option here--it's required!

The Caipirinha--with passion fruit!

Life:  It's Latin--very social, relaxed, always time to relax. The food is great--we get free lunches at school and it's all homemade on site.  Lots of rice and beans, lots of meat and fish...away from school, lots of cheese and sausages ala Italy, lots of wine and beer.  No American products really, and nothing in English, so shopping is quite the adventure right now!  We can't wait to go exploring--although Cameron has made us promise not to see anything interesting until he gets here.  In a city this big, there will be lots to see once we get our house in order right here in SP!

Life is good as always--every new post bring new challenges and new blessings.  We are adjusting to apartment life and the reality of living on a strict daily budget in order to do the things we want to do.  We are a part of a dynamic school that has everything in order the way it should be and we are energized by that.  Noah and Ava bear the largest brunt of the change, having to resettle and find themselves socially and academically and that is always so hard to watch.  There wasn't much to say about Saudi, but stay tuned for the adventures we'll have in Sao Paulo!