São Paulo - Days 12 - 14, Thursday to Saturday, May 5 - 7

The highway between Ribeirão Preto and São Paulo is well designed and, most importantly, without speed bumps! However, for the first three hours or so, it is without adequate services. So, about three hours after leaving Ribeirao Preto, with sunset two hours before, we detoured off the highway to a village in hopes of finding a public restroom. We found a restroom, much to the dislike of the bus drivers, at a small, outside cafe. Some curious members of our group determined that this bathroom did not have a roof but did have a resident bird. This stop in a village, away from city lights, did provide an opportunity to search the sky for the Southern Cross.

We arrived in São Paulo close to midnight. At one red light, one of the bus drivers jumped out of the bus, the door closed, and the bus took off. A few group members saw this happen and started encouraging us to stop--they hadn't seen the bus driver climb into a taxi. The taxi driver led us to our hotel, but through the main fruit and vegetable warehouse area (where, we worried, we had left a trail of overturned boxes of grapes and tomatoes in our wake as the taxi careened through these narrow alleys quite quickly). It was after midnight when we settled into our rooms at the Hotel São Paulo Othon Classic.

Sao Paulo has a population of 17 million, and numerous ethnic neighborhoods, including Japanese, Italian.

Day 12 - Thursday, May 5

As we were getting on the bus in the morning, the automatic door began to close and pinned the upper arm of a faculty member until the bus drivers forced the electronic release mechanism (about 20 seconds). Fortunately, there was no need for another trip to the hospital.

We arrived at the Nutrition Department at the University of São Paulo where we were greeted with a warm welcome, including a tables full of beautifully displayed fruit, breads, and cakes. We exchanged presentations on our departments and programs and determined that we would like our respective universities to enter into an agreement to facilitate the exchange of interested students and faculty. We ate lunmch at the student cafeteria: beans, rice, chicken, salad, fruit, and juice. Information about the University of Sao Paulo and the Department of Nutrition, go to www.usp.br (available in English).

We drove to the main campus of the University of São Paulo to visit the art and cultural museums and the bookstore (featuring USP tee-shirts and sweat shirts). Afterward, we headed across the city to Helena's studio. She and her two assistants showed us numerous works and explained various techniques used. Helena also teaches at a school of art, and we stopped there to see an exhibit of student and faculty works. We then headed to restaurant 1900 to enjoy pizza, a dish famous in this city of Italian immigrants. We shared pizzas so that we could experiment with various tastes, including a chocolate dessert pizza!

Day 13 - Friday, May 6

We visited the College of Santa Marcelina, one of the top design schools in Brazil. Our interpreter and informal guide for the day was Marina, another of Karen's nieces. She had recently graduated from Santa Marcelina, and she and we were warmly received by faculty. The college is celebrating their 75th anniversary, so we were able to listen to part of a panel discussion on the history of the college. The college's website is www.fasm.com.br

Marina then took us to the chic shopping district of São Paulo where we walked and then visited her place of employment, Guilherme Duque, a jewelry designer. We saw their recent collections and talked with designers and the granddaughter of the founder of the company.

After a quick lunch at a mall (São Paulo has several), we were on our way to another studio. Our day of design continued with a visit to the studio of Adriana Bertini, an artist and a social activist who uses art to convey important messages. Her work is unique and internationally aclaimed. We were fortunate to spend time with her.

São Paulo has the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, so for our last dinner in São Paulo, we went to a Japanese restuarant. Japanese immigration to Brazil began in 1908.

Day 14 - Saturday, May 7

We started our last day in Brazil slowly to allow time for packing. We visited the Mercado Municipal, a food market with fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses, spices, tobacco, and beans. The market was recently renovated and the stain-glass windows display historical scenes.

We spent our last afternoon in Embu, a small town 28 km from downtown São Paulo, known for its market of handicrafts. Small shops and tables in the town squares offered crafts from around Brazil. Members of our group found hammocks, leather goods, jewelry, paintings, ceramics, and musical instruments.

Then we were on our way to the airport as the sun was setting. Our flight left São Paulo about 8:30 pm. In-flight movies helped to pass the time.

Day 15 - Sunday, May 8

We arrived in Chicago around 5 am after a 10 hour flight. After immigration and customs, we spent a few hours becoming accustomed to the US before our 11 am flight returned us to Kalamazoo to the delight of many family and friends.