Hi, Patricija and Tessa here!

Our first full day in Sao Paolo was a free day! With the whole group, we went to the neighborhood Liberdade, and on the way we visited the cathedral Metropolitana de Sao Paolo. This cathedral was wonderful, both on the outside and on the inside. Most art was made with gold tiles, displaying the worth christian faith has in this country.

Afterwards we went off to Liberdade, which is the Japanese neighborhood. Instead of the people speaking one language we didn’t understand, they spoke two languages we didn’t understand. This neighborhood, marked by red lightposts with Japanese lanterns, has the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan. The large amount of Japanese people is due to a treaty Brazil closed with Japan in 1908, that allowed the Japanese to work in the coffee plantages. Nowadays, in this neighborhood there are many cute stores with cookware, Japanese anime characters and merchandise, as well as many Japanese restaurants.

While some people spent more time in liberdade to get some food and drinks, and visit the neighbouring stores, I (Tessa) was off to the Museo das Favelas, where the history of Sao Paulo, photographs and mock-ups/art of the city was displayed, as well as a temporary exhibit displaying the history and career of the most successful black singer in Brazil – Alcione. The impact Alcione has made on the African community here after the slavery period was very prominent, since the exhibit was well visited by many other African Brazilians.

After, we went for a visit to the Beco do Batman, which is a street in a modern artsy neighborhood in Sao Paolo called Vila Madalena. The grafitti was very impresive, and the stores with homemade arts were wonderful to walk through.

In the evening, we went to a skybar Skye. Unfortunately, we didn’t realise beforehand that it was a luxury restaurant, situated in the most expensive neighborhood of Sao Paolo…. So, we only went for one drink, after which we grabbed food for a reasonable price and went out in a fun club called the Blitzhause.

All in all, it was a very fun day! We realised that the level of English is much better here in Sao Paolo than in Rio de Janeiro, allowing us to make more connections with the locals. The best part: the club was not wayy too crowded like the clubs in Rio were, so we had a really good time there as well!