When the replacement coach came, it came complete with two Military Police officers. They oversaw the transfer of the luggage from coach to coach. It seemed to us that the coach driver had waited until he was through the ring of favelas surrounding Sao Paulo, before he parked the coach on the hard shoulder. Interesting.
When we got on the replacement coach, we met a very nice Brazilian lady who spoke English, who was travelling with her mother and young daughter to whom she was just beginning to teach English. The little girl was overjoyed to be able to show off her knowledge of numbers and basic words in English. After going through a few phrases, she then said to me:
"Vocês moram em São Paulo?" ("Do you live in Sao Paulo?")
"Sim, nos moramos em Sao Paulo" I replied ("Yes, we live in Sao Paulo")
"Vocês devem falar Português, se vocês vivem em São Paulo!" she exclaimed. ("You must speak Portuguese if you live in Sao Paulo!")
"Eu sei, eu falo um pouco de Portugues" I responded. ("I know, I speak a little Portuguese")
Anyway, the very nice lady (who was called Andriana) took us to the taxi rank and helped us get a taxi, which was very nice of her. I'm convinced that taxi drivers hear my accent and charge me at least 50% extra.
N.B. For anyone who reads my blog and thinks I have a very low opinion of Brazilians, that is simply not the case. They are capable of great feats of helpfulness and kindness on a scale that I am not accustomed to in the UK or Canada, possibly in some parts of the US you might experience it. No matter how many assholes I come across in Brazil who try to screw me or my mother over, I would much rather be in Brazil dealing with Brazilian "nuances" than in England dealing with the English. For every dickhead here, there are at least five lovely people.
I have to admit I'm really glad to be back in SP. Rio was beautiful, I had a really nice relaxing holiday, experienced some amazing sight and sounds...but somehow coming back to SP is a bit like coming back to civilisation. When I saw the skyscrapers and highrises in the distance I felt relief. And a bit of excitement. I'm finally starting my new life proper!
I've thought about a few things that make me prefer SP to Rio:
- The weather - in Rio the heat is sweltering. It gets far more humid and it also feels hotter in Rio than it does in SP - and it's the kind of heat that I just can't handle. I was running errands today and it was the same temperature here as it was in Rio, but it felt a lot fresher. I know Paulistanos complain about the humidity here, but it's really not that bad. Now I've been to Rio, I appreciate the weather more in SP.
- The transport system - Rio has 2 metro lines, SP has 5...and 6 CPTM lines (overground). Also, bus drivers in Rio drive like lunatics. I thought they were bad in SP, but they're positively slow in comparison.
- The service is better - when you go to a supermarket, restaurant, shop, etc the staff are far more helpful and welcoming in SP than they are in Rio. Shop assistants in Rio sometimes make you feel like they're doing you a favour by doing their jobs. Shop assistants in SP on the other hand, though they are far less likely to speak even a small amount of English, will try much harder to help if you have a problem. They seem to be far more interested in providing a good service and doing a good job than they are in Rio.
- Things just...work better here. Don't ask me how or why, they just do.
The only bad thing is that I've completely lost the muscle tone in my legs that I had built up over two months of walking up and down the steep hills of SP every day. Copacabana is completely flat, as were most of the places we visited, so the next couple of weeks in Bela Vista are gonna be a bitch.
I totally agree with all your points of SP vs Rio. I LOVE SP so much too - and I live here in Rio... go figure.
ReplyDeleteSP feels way more organized, despite the fact that so many people live there. That, and it's way more cultured - people seem to be more educated? Rio gets a big fat zero for service.
I think part of the reason SP seems nicer peoplewise is that Paulistanos are still interested in foreigners. I think Cariocas are a bit jaded and fed up with it - I don't blame them, I would be with the amount of tourists in Rio. Paulistanos don't come across foreigners as often so it's understandable it doesn't annoy them as much.
ReplyDeleteAlso there are a hell of a lot more people living in SP - if you don't do your job properly there are at least 10 people who will be happy to take it off you and do it better. I think that's a pretty strong motivator to give a good service.