The month of March continued the regime of daily language training, and I have reached a level comfortable enough to communicate in the future in business. That is a nice place to be, but now begins the tedious task of perfecting all of the small details that impede one not from communication, but from sounding competent. Below are a few highlights of the month.
Sao Paulo. In mid-March, I was lucky enough to have an invite to speak at the Rotary Club of Sao Paulo-Sudeste. My friend Karuna's father, Lakhi is a Rotarian in Sao Paulo and I could not turn down the chance to check out a new city while simultaneously talking with a group of Rotarians about the Rotary Foundation. I took the overnight bus from Rio for $R70 and then the metro and taxi to Karuna's house. I usually eat well when I meet with clubs, but this time was especially nice, as Lakhi, Karuna's father, owns a very successful Indian restaurant called Tandoor. After arriving to the Daswani's home, Lhaki took me to his Club for my speech. I spoke about future personal goals and the future of relations between Brazil and the United States. After that, I left Lhaki to his professional responsabilities and went out to see the city (Karuna had to work during the day).
Sao Paulo is a giant. It is sprawl, as far as the eye can see. Traffic runs through its veins, and movement through it's air. The city was founded by Jesuit priests over 400 years ago and has since become the industrial and financial heart of Brazil. Due to business interests and cooler climate, people are also much more formal than their surfshort Rio counterparts. I checked out their central park, the Bovespa(the Brazilian Stock exchange), and the view of the city from the top of a tall building. One can see why Brazil and Sao Paulo will remain an economic force in the coming decades.
Dengue- Back in Rio's tropical climate, what began as a "normal" number of Dengue Fever cases, had grown into an epidimic. Rio's climate is perfect for mosquito larvae, and due to rains, standing water, and warmer than normal temperatures last year, Rio has experienced an increase in the transmitting mosquito Aedes aegypti. Though my part of the city is relatively free from cases, the suburban areas of the city have been hard hit. The poor public hospitals have been filled to the extent that the national government has set up military hospitals at the city's perimeter. Forty-thousand people have contracted the fever, and about fifty have died, mostly children and elderly. The fever actually passes after a few days, but without proper care, dehydration is deadly. It is a little scary, but in some ways, as a person with private health-care, the treatment accessible to me even if I were to contract the illness is much better than much of the population.
Poverty- Allow me to use this time to talk about poverty and the cycle of poverty that exists in Brazil(and much of the developing world). First, in my travels in non-developed countries, I forget to notice that I daily pass human beings that live a less than human existence. I guess I have been travelling long enough to not be shaken by such things, to even in some ways accept such things, that I forget to transmit this point to the American reader. Debates in the U.S. about poverty revolve around being disadvantaged. Not that I belittle this argument, but I feel that true poverty has never been seen by the average American. Statistically speaking, many Americans below the poverty line are overweight from eating cheaper fatty food. Though they many not have wonderful accommodations, home does exist. If you were to draw the poverty line in the developing world, people are underweight from not having any food at all. Home is a cardboard box next to open sewage for whole communities outside of the U.S.. As educated Americans(and you are educated if you are reading this on the internet), we are not often exposed to the poverty that is young, jaundiced, walking barefoot searching through the trash nightly for scraps. Programs are in place, non-profits and government do what they can, but the process of actual developing this lower population, even while a country has a healthy economy like Brazil, will take much investment, awareness, and more than that, time.
Future Plans- I will take this opportunity to state that I have recently accepted a fellowship to study a Masters in Public Policy at Duke University. I have been preparing to return to study for a while, but this weekend, I made my final decision. Beyond being in the South, I chose the Duke program for the quantitative strength and hands on skills of the program that I could later use in the workforce, and to analyze problems in trade and politics. I will start in the fall, and the program will last two years.
That's all for now. Pictures attached.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatGjZy5Ztmek¬ag=1
Sao Paulo. In mid-March, I was lucky enough to have an invite to speak at the Rotary Club of Sao Paulo-Sudeste. My friend Karuna's father, Lakhi is a Rotarian in Sao Paulo and I could not turn down the chance to check out a new city while simultaneously talking with a group of Rotarians about the Rotary Foundation. I took the overnight bus from Rio for $R70 and then the metro and taxi to Karuna's house. I usually eat well when I meet with clubs, but this time was especially nice, as Lakhi, Karuna's father, owns a very successful Indian restaurant called Tandoor. After arriving to the Daswani's home, Lhaki took me to his Club for my speech. I spoke about future personal goals and the future of relations between Brazil and the United States. After that, I left Lhaki to his professional responsabilities and went out to see the city (Karuna had to work during the day).
Sao Paulo is a giant. It is sprawl, as far as the eye can see. Traffic runs through its veins, and movement through it's air. The city was founded by Jesuit priests over 400 years ago and has since become the industrial and financial heart of Brazil. Due to business interests and cooler climate, people are also much more formal than their surfshort Rio counterparts. I checked out their central park, the Bovespa(the Brazilian Stock exchange), and the view of the city from the top of a tall building. One can see why Brazil and Sao Paulo will remain an economic force in the coming decades.
Dengue- Back in Rio's tropical climate, what began as a "normal" number of Dengue Fever cases, had grown into an epidimic. Rio's climate is perfect for mosquito larvae, and due to rains, standing water, and warmer than normal temperatures last year, Rio has experienced an increase in the transmitting mosquito Aedes aegypti. Though my part of the city is relatively free from cases, the suburban areas of the city have been hard hit. The poor public hospitals have been filled to the extent that the national government has set up military hospitals at the city's perimeter. Forty-thousand people have contracted the fever, and about fifty have died, mostly children and elderly. The fever actually passes after a few days, but without proper care, dehydration is deadly. It is a little scary, but in some ways, as a person with private health-care, the treatment accessible to me even if I were to contract the illness is much better than much of the population.
Poverty- Allow me to use this time to talk about poverty and the cycle of poverty that exists in Brazil(and much of the developing world). First, in my travels in non-developed countries, I forget to notice that I daily pass human beings that live a less than human existence. I guess I have been travelling long enough to not be shaken by such things, to even in some ways accept such things, that I forget to transmit this point to the American reader. Debates in the U.S. about poverty revolve around being disadvantaged. Not that I belittle this argument, but I feel that true poverty has never been seen by the average American. Statistically speaking, many Americans below the poverty line are overweight from eating cheaper fatty food. Though they many not have wonderful accommodations, home does exist. If you were to draw the poverty line in the developing world, people are underweight from not having any food at all. Home is a cardboard box next to open sewage for whole communities outside of the U.S.. As educated Americans(and you are educated if you are reading this on the internet), we are not often exposed to the poverty that is young, jaundiced, walking barefoot searching through the trash nightly for scraps. Programs are in place, non-profits and government do what they can, but the process of actual developing this lower population, even while a country has a healthy economy like Brazil, will take much investment, awareness, and more than that, time.
Future Plans- I will take this opportunity to state that I have recently accepted a fellowship to study a Masters in Public Policy at Duke University. I have been preparing to return to study for a while, but this weekend, I made my final decision. Beyond being in the South, I chose the Duke program for the quantitative strength and hands on skills of the program that I could later use in the workforce, and to analyze problems in trade and politics. I will start in the fall, and the program will last two years.
That's all for now. Pictures attached.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AatGjZy5Ztmek¬ag=1
