rooted journeys

This week marks one month of officially (and legally) living in São Paulo. It has been a good month. Our expat group is constantly expanding and we are both thoroughly enjoying work. In general, we’re happy to be working again, but we’re also enjoying what we’re doing – learning and contributing at the same time. Our portuguese is progressing slowly, but more and more we’ll be called upon to communicate in portuguese speaking meetings, so this will force the issue.

Last weekend was a gloomy one full of rainy days. Here’s a little peak at what life might be like in the heart of the rainy season, which is quickly approaching. This picture below was taken from the window of our cab as we were trying to get to the next neighborhood over. Also check out this video we took from inside the cab – yes, that is what I would call a sidewalk and road washing away.

So as you can imagine, we opted to spend a lot of time cooped up indoors, which made for some tasty meals, juice and relaxing.

This weekend we plan to explore a little bit more, so I hope to have some fun stories to share. And next week will be a busy one full of  design workshops as the architects for our big project will be in town from London. This will really drive home the fact that we’re on the other side of the table (as in the developer side), so we’ll certainly let you know how that feels!

Well, it has been quite a while since we last appeared on this site. We have had an amazing six months of spending time with our families and friends in the US. And though our roots are still there with are family, friends and the homes we grew up in, we’re quite excited to be on our way to a more settled life – albeit in a huge city in a foreign country!

We have officially returned to Brazil to live and work in São Paulo. So far everything is great – we work and live in the Jardins neighborhood, which is pricey but quite lovely, filled with wonderful restaurants, insanely expensive shops and one of the nicest grocery stores in the city (I can even get organic yogurt there! Believe it or not, that’s saying a lot). We are currently in a fully furnished and functional studio apartment, which has been great (our first week in a hotel was less than ideal).

Though not pictured, it is complete with a nice, tiny kitchen where I have already baked part of a Fazenda Alfheim piglet. It is on the 19th floor, so has a bit of fresh air and an expansive view.

Work is going well. We have spent the first week or so mostly getting oriented and it’s looking like we’re going to really enjoy the work. We’ve already determined that we love the people we’re working with – 6 of us in total at the office. Here’s a shot of our first day on the job – exploring the company’s small project on Rua Oscar Freire, which will be Calvin Klein and Levi’s stores, in addition to a new Fasano Restaurant – Gero Panini with some fun green spaces.  Our primary focus at work will be on a much larger, mixed-use project, the details of which are not yet public…let’s just say we’re very excited about it!

Since returning, we have caught up with our expat-crowd friends, which has already begun to expand. It has been especially nice to have some friends to see upon arrival. We also had a special treat this past weekend when we got to spend time with Rance and Lone (of Fazenda Alfheim). We ate at Rodeio (a well-known and historically loved Jardins restaurant with excellent Picanha) and also attended a free orchestra concert at Sala São Paulo. This theater was remodeled from an old train station – it is spectacular.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back soon to post more about our new life in São Paulo.