A Day in the Life

A day in the life of Marjorie Claire Fisher- July 25, 2011

• Wake up
• Watch The King of Queens- it's either that or Greek on Brazilian hotel television at 8 am (unless you are fluent in Portuguese)
• Head down for breakfast where the hotel offers lots of fresh fruits, breads, cheese, ham, cereal, and coffee
• Catch the shuttle to my client which is only about five minutes away (five minutes of silence because the shuttle driver, Julio, doesn't speak English and I don't speak Portuguese)
• Arrive at client at 9 am
• Work on various things until lunch
• Take a full hour for lunch with my team in the cafeteria at the client
• Work until 6 pm
• Call the shuttle and usually wait a long time for it to arrive to take me back to the hotel (yesterday I didn't want to wait so I took a cab)
• Arrive back to the hotel and relax for a little while before dinner (evening English programming usually includes Oprah and Seinfeld.)
• Play futebol with Erik, Johanna, Laura, and Frankie on the top floor patio of the hotel
• Go to a pizza restaurant for dinner within walking distance of the hotel
• Come back to hotel and play cards in Johanna's room

There you have it. Kinda like my life in Chicago only it involves eating a lot more beans and rice.

Sao Paulo Weekend

Moving on up

After a good time on Thursday singing our hearts out in our very own karaoke box Laura and I tried for a repeat good time and went out with Frankie, an intern here from South Africa, Miguel, an intern from Spain, and Miguel’s friend from Sao Paulo. We went to a club called Jockey which had both a live band and then some popular American music we could dance to. Miguel’s friend taught me how to samba and I also got a little fame when I invited myself onto the stage. I danced up there for a little while and then when the singer gave me a microphone so I could sing along I sang “Meu no falo Portuguese” into it. “Meu no falo Portuguese” happens to be my most used phrase and translates to “I don’t speak Portuguese.” Needless to say, I was a hit.

Taken in our very own lobby

I promised a Brazilian bonanza this weekend and it did not end Friday night (or as you may look at it, early Saturday morning). On Saturday Laura and I got up and headed over to the nice part of town around Paulista Avenue (or the Michigan Avenue of Sao Paulo). We couldn’t afford really any store except one- Havaianas. Havaianas, although once the ugly shoe that one wears when cleaning the bathroom, have found worldwide recognition as the top flip flop brand in the world. Havaianas are made in Brazil and their concept store is in Sao Paulo so Laura and I made the pilgrimage to buy average quality flip flops for above average prices. We spent a lot of time browsing and deciding which pairs made the best souvenirs.

After wandering past stores we couldn’t afford we decided to head to a lunch we could barely afford- Fogo de Chao. As I have mentioned before, I was dubious about going to Fogo de Chao because we have one on LaSalle Street in Chicago, but all the Brazilians I have talked to said it was the best in Brazil so Fogo de Chao was the place to have our Brazilian lunch. As Laura and I arrived with our Havaiana bags we were greeted by a waiter who pulled out our chairs and were ready to treat us to a four star lunch. We just took our time eating as much meat as possible, occasionally turning our cards to red to stop the waiters from bringing more meat in order to digest the vegetarian’s nightmare. While eating Miguel and his friend showed up and joined us in our feast.

Laura and I planned on going to the Sao Paulo futebol game at 6:30 that night and Miguel and his friend were also game, so we headed over to Morumbi Stadium. Sao Paulo was playing a team from out of state called Atletico, and because it was not a huge rivalry we were informed that there was less of a chance of getting caught in a fight. The security to get into the stadium was tight though. We actually got patted down, making it harder to get into Morumbi Stadium than boarding a flight.

The game was a good time, although it was kind of chilly and I was still tired from the night before. The best part about being there was watching the fans and how into they got. They had all these organized cheers, something that I can’t say is found a lot in the United States, and I don’t think there was one person at the game who wasn’t wearing their team’s colors. Unfortunately the game tied at 2-2 (Laura and I were cheering for Sao Paulo) but we still got to experience the Brazilian passion.

Laura and I were wiped out by the end of the second half, so we hopped into a cab in order to arrive at our hotel and take a nap before going out that night. Jessica’s buddy’s girlfriend was having a birthday party so we decided to attend that after trying to catch up on some sleep. The party was at a bar called Dublin of all things. We had to wait in line a while to get in but once we were there we had a great time. Everyone at the party was so kind to us and the band there played a good mix of songs along with a DJ so we could dance away so of the thousands of calories consumed during lunch. Also, it was nice to get a taste of my Dublin roots (although I think the only thing Irish there were the three street signs hung on the wall). Laura and I took a cab home around 1:30 (Jess had left earlier to catch a bus to Rio) so we could rest up for another packed day on Sunday.

Sunday I got invited to spend the day with Laura, her buddy Gabriela, and her HR person Rita. Our first stop was Embu, a smaller town outside of Sao Paulo that has a great craft fair. It was nice to get out of the city and get a view of the beautiful countryside of Brazil. I didn’t buy a lot there, but I enjoyed my time strolling along the winding streets.

For lunch they had planned to take us to Fogo de Chao, but when we told them we had gone the afternoon before they changed the plans. Instead of going to the nicest restaurant in Sao Paulo we went to the second nicest. The Italian place we went to is located on the top floor of the tallest building in Sao Paulo and although the food was average, the views were amazing. We relaxed and took our time eating while viewing Sao Paulo spread out below us. After lunch we also took our fill of pictures from the top of the building (where Gabriela and her fiancé got engaged).

All in all, a great Sao Paulo weekend. After going to a futebol game and actually spending a full weekend in Sao Paulo I think I can call myself a local.

Southern Hemisphere Karaoke

Since the first weekend we were in Sao Paulo, the Deloitte interns here put singing karaoke on our "must do" list. With just a little over a week left in Brazil it was high time to cross it off so we booked a karaoke "box" and hit Japantown last night.

Sao Paulo has the highest Japanese population outside of Tokyo and instead of a Chinatown like many large cities have, Sao Paulo has a Japantown called Liberdade. A few nights ago we received a suggestion for a karaoke place from our favorite front desk worker Gustavo so we called and made a reservation for eight last night. You have to make a reservation because you literally have a room with a karaoke machine to yourself so that you can sing your hearts out without getting judgemental looks from strangers. Of course, this also disables one from serenading strangers but that is the sacrifice we had to make.

We were lucky last night because every Deloitte Global intern (eight in total from three different continents) was available for dinner and karaoke, so we met in the lobby and taxied it over to Liberdade for a late dinner (which is actually more of an early dinner here). Once we arrived we found a nice sushi restaurant and got a room to ourselves. The room was complete with a doorbell to call the waiters and a slight odor of feet since we had to take our shoes off. Anyways, we order our weight in sushi and had a great time laughing and joking about our experiences in Brazil.

Our faces might not be the best in this one but it was the only clear photo.

After dinner we hurried to make our 10:30 reservation at the karaoke place. There we let our hair down and sang such hits as Usher's "Yeah!", "Wonderwall", "Man! I Feel Like a Woman", "Hakuna Matata", and "Wannabe". Unfortunately the place closed at 12 but we ended the night with a great rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and headed back to the hotel.

There are videos too...

We still have a lot of things that need to be accomplished before leaving a week from tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm hitting the town to get some Brazilian steakhouse, go shopping, and maybe even take in a futebol game. No worries, I will be sure to post updates on my "Brazil Bonanza" on the blog.

Minhas Meninas...

...or "My Girls."

I always feel like one bonds with the people they travel with very quickly because suddenly you are all thrown into the same foreign situation and the only people they have is one another. This held true with me and the girls that are in Sao Paulo with me. Every night we go to dinner together, although we are occassionally accompanied by some of the other global interns, and after dinner we usually hang out. We have had many memorable experiences, like prank calling other interns, trying to translate text messages that boys were sending us in Portuguese, and getting our nails done (Brazilian manicures are super cheap so we have been trying to take advantage of that). We also have developed friendships with most people we meet, including the front desk workers Marcello and Gustavo (I serenade Gustavo every night after we come home form dinner and he is working), and waiters at most restaurants.

Doing the laundry has been one of our biggest adventures. The front desk initially told us that we had to have our laundry sent away to be dry cleaned but that was just too much of a hassle. The laundry was going to take 36 hours (which is a long time when you only packed three pairs of jeans) and was going to cost a Brazilian king's ransom. I had purchased a bottle of detergent the other day so I could wash my underwear in the sink (a habit I developed in Ireland) and it came in handy when we discovered that there was a washing machine and dryer in the basement. The only problem was the elevator didn't go down to the basement so our crusade for clean clothes led us all over the hotel. It was a stealth mission because we had to be sure to avoid Marcello, the front desk worker who told us that the washing machine was only for "long term guests," and apparently one month is not long term.

We also have group chats during the day at work and just laugh a lot. Laura also made us promise that when we get married (although most of us think we may die alone/become cat women) we have to invite the other three to the wedding. The sad part is that in less than two weeks we will be scattered all over the US, but I'm sure we will keep in touch everytime something comes up that reminds us of our time in Brazil. I know this happens to me with the Wolfpack from Dublin. A song will come on the radio and the only people that will really get it are those girls. I imagine it will be the same this time and we will be emailing each other constantly once we are back in the States and miss Sao Paulo.

Falls Videos

For those of you who are partial to videos as opposed to reading the blog here are some from Foz do Iguacu this weekend. The first is a small 25 second video if you are a busy person and the second is two minutes and includes a cameo by yours truly.

Teaser Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw9gubsPZYY

Feature Length Film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqsE_xXfIik

Last of Foz do Iguaçu

Unfortunately when we woke up on Sunday it was pouring outside, and when you are visiting a national park there is not a lot to do when the weather does not cooperate. Instead we took our time getting up in the morning and checking out of our Argentine hostel. The rest of the morning was spent wandering the streets of Puerto Iguazu and doing some major shopping; after living in Brazil using the weak peso was very welcome.

After getting lunch at an Italian restaurant in Puerto Iguazu we got ready to head over the border to Foz do Iguacu. As you might recall, the American interns from Rio were still in Brazil after one of them was not able to cross the border so the plan was to meet up with them to watch the Brazil/Paraguay game (I have watched more soccer the past two weeks than the past ten years), and that is exactly what we did.

During the game I had a heart-to-heart with Danny and Laura which is always a good time. I always say that being abroad really lets you think and reflect about your life, where you've been and where you're going. You are away from friends, family, school, a familiar routine, and have time to think. I personally love it and am very grateful to not only have an old friend there (Danny) but also a great new friend (Laura).

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. Laura, Danny, Emily and I went to a Brazilian steakhouse while the Rio kids switched from what they deemed their "creepy" hostel to the one Danny had booked for us close to the airport. After dinner we stopped for some really great ice cream before heading back with a cheese pizza. We got hassled by homeless people and couldn't communicate with the taxi driver but that is nothing out of the ordinary.

The eight of us spent time in the hostel laughing and chatting before heading to bed early for our 6 am fight. The definition of travel warrior is getting on a 6 am flight to be back to the office on time Monday morning. Laura and I did it and I'm glad because the memories and sights at Foz do Iguacu were priceless and will stay with me forever.

First Glimpse at the Falls

Here is a link to my video of first seeing the falls on the boat tour last Saturday. Hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ETMCFTkKE