The Flight
Unaware of Ethiopian culture, or any African nation for that matter, I had many misconceptions before the flight - let us just say, my thoughts were bordering on being very racist, something that is typical of bigotry as a result of utter ignorance, but then we all have our own biases and prejudices, right? My greatest apprehension was I might not like the food during the flight. Being a diabetic who is not only constantly hungry but whose hunger is accompanied by a terrible trembling to the point of fainting, eating a full meal at the right time is very important to me. Not only that, the food should satisfy my palette. So, what would Ethiopian food be like? I guessed it would be terrible considering the strangeness of the culture and all that, again as a result of ignorance that is tantamount to stupidity. How wrong I was. First, the stewardess assigned to my section was not only uber beautiful, (so there, my first bias) her stance, her walk and her height was just like a model's, smelled good (another stupid bias, I may be a bigot without my knowledge) and spoke good English. So were a number of them. What's even more surprising was that I liked the food! All meals were to my liking. Not bad! (On my flight back home, I asked the stewardess if the food they were serving are traditional Ethiopian food, she said no! There you go! I could have been right at this point.) When we arrived at Addis Ababa, a young African male was a little bit loud and was cranking a joke. "Everyone please remain seated There is a bomb inside the plane and it will explode in a matter of minutes." Nobody was taking him seriously but he kept on. How I wish an airport official were there to apprehend him as he was becoming to be very annoying.
My first obstacle at the Addis Ababa airport was finding the gate where the flight for Sao Paulo was located. I had been staying there for quite a while and still the screen did not project Sao Paulo. While my boarding pass did say which, I still had to be sure for there had been a number of times when the gate I was to board, i.e. HK airport, was changed in the past. It was then that I decided to look at the flight number instead. It got even more confusing. Yes, my flight was there but it said Argentina, which was even worse. I don't know what to do. So, I waited and waited until an airport official asked me where I was headed. When I said Brazil, he showed me to the gate. To make a long story short, it said Argentina because it is a connecting flight that would land in Sao Paulo first.
The People I met
I arrived at GRU in Sao Paulo in the afternoon of June 20. There had been a small confusion as I had not seen any of my welcoming party anywhere as I got out in the arrival area. I waited until I got a little anxious thinking I was at the wrong airport. Not having a cellfone that I can use, I frantically sent a message to my wife if she could contact Kim, not remembering that it would have been the wee hours in Manila and that my wife would have been in deep slumber already. Then it dawned on me to try to contact Kim via the same platform, fb messenger, hoping she would have access to the internet as I did. True enough,after several minutes, she did reply and we compared our bearings and soon enough, there they were. Kim, her husband and mother-in-law were there to pick me up.Then it dawned on me and was a bit alarmed remembering that the lady at the immigration, who did not speak a word of English, failed to return to me the landing or disembarkation slip that I filled out at the airplane. Frantically, we looked for someone who could tell us what to do as the slip might be needed on my way back home. Finding one employee at the airport, he said it was not important so we were on our way and my first stay in Sao Paulo, Brazil has begun!
First, they took me to the grand matriarch of the family whom Kim and Renan call Vova or grandmother as some sort of a courtesy call. Vova was a kind and high-spirited, loving woman who always had a smile on her face. We also met Angela's younger sister and older brother, Tio Luis. They were all pleasant, accommodating and very welcoming.
Renan's mother, Angela, Gob bless her, is a beautiful middle aged woman at 56. She was our designated driver all the time I was there. She lives in a town called Sumare, a two-hour drive from Taruman where we stayed, with her boyfriend, Paulo. As it was a long drive from her place to ours, the two occasions that she were to take us to her place was to come to the city days before our intended departure for Sumare so she could tour us first before the event. It was her who took us to the parks and several interesting places and every time we went out, she not only drove us to these outings but even came very prepared with picnic food and various biscuits so that we do not get hungry. .
The next Brazilian I met was Paulo, a guitarist who showed me some bossa nova songs, and even tried to teach me what was to become my favorite song "Chega de Saudade" I would have learned it but not knowing how to sing it as I did not know the words made learning it to be futile. Added to that was the fact that the chord shapes and progressions were far different from what I am used to making it even more difficult. We would jam playing the blues and a little jazz taking turns at doing solos and comping and I could say that his knowledge of music was superb. When I showed him my classical piece by Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa lobos entitled "Choro tipico," he responded with another famous classical piece by the same composer, "Preludio no. 2" prompting me to request for a copy of the piece which he not only willingly obliged but gave me a copy of all the etudes and preludes done by the composer as transcribed by the great Andres Segovia.
The next family I was to meet was Renan's cousins from his father's side. Renan's father was a cop, probably something similar to our NBI police. He was making an apprehension by his lonesome not knowing that the culprits had back up and was killed when Renan was about 10 years old. Anyway, his uncle, Rafael, is a high ranking official of the police force. We were invited to their house and there met his wife, Sylvana, another very lovely woman who makes you feel at home even though it was just your first time to have met. I feel bad that I cannot, at this time, communicate with the family as I had not practiced speaking in Portuguese. This was my first time to sample Brazilian staple churrasco, a preparation of grilled beef or any kind of meat for that matter, as Rafael was in the grill when we arrived. Their sons Yuri, father of that cute little adorable child, Laura and Vinicius, father of Bernardo and Gabriel were there. Unfortunately, the eldest and only daughter, Rafaella was not there as she had to work that day. I was to meet her in another day and the night of our departure for Manila.
Rafaella
Laura
Bernardo
Gabriel
My first obstacle at the Addis Ababa airport was finding the gate where the flight for Sao Paulo was located. I had been staying there for quite a while and still the screen did not project Sao Paulo. While my boarding pass did say which, I still had to be sure for there had been a number of times when the gate I was to board, i.e. HK airport, was changed in the past. It was then that I decided to look at the flight number instead. It got even more confusing. Yes, my flight was there but it said Argentina, which was even worse. I don't know what to do. So, I waited and waited until an airport official asked me where I was headed. When I said Brazil, he showed me to the gate. To make a long story short, it said Argentina because it is a connecting flight that would land in Sao Paulo first.
The People I met
I arrived at GRU in Sao Paulo in the afternoon of June 20. There had been a small confusion as I had not seen any of my welcoming party anywhere as I got out in the arrival area. I waited until I got a little anxious thinking I was at the wrong airport. Not having a cellfone that I can use, I frantically sent a message to my wife if she could contact Kim, not remembering that it would have been the wee hours in Manila and that my wife would have been in deep slumber already. Then it dawned on me to try to contact Kim via the same platform, fb messenger, hoping she would have access to the internet as I did. True enough,after several minutes, she did reply and we compared our bearings and soon enough, there they were. Kim, her husband and mother-in-law were there to pick me up.Then it dawned on me and was a bit alarmed remembering that the lady at the immigration, who did not speak a word of English, failed to return to me the landing or disembarkation slip that I filled out at the airplane. Frantically, we looked for someone who could tell us what to do as the slip might be needed on my way back home. Finding one employee at the airport, he said it was not important so we were on our way and my first stay in Sao Paulo, Brazil has begun!
First, they took me to the grand matriarch of the family whom Kim and Renan call Vova or grandmother as some sort of a courtesy call. Vova was a kind and high-spirited, loving woman who always had a smile on her face. We also met Angela's younger sister and older brother, Tio Luis. They were all pleasant, accommodating and very welcoming.
Angerla's portrait which I presented her on her 56th bday
Renan's mother, Angela, Gob bless her, is a beautiful middle aged woman at 56. She was our designated driver all the time I was there. She lives in a town called Sumare, a two-hour drive from Taruman where we stayed, with her boyfriend, Paulo. As it was a long drive from her place to ours, the two occasions that she were to take us to her place was to come to the city days before our intended departure for Sumare so she could tour us first before the event. It was her who took us to the parks and several interesting places and every time we went out, she not only drove us to these outings but even came very prepared with picnic food and various biscuits so that we do not get hungry. .
The next Brazilian I met was Paulo, a guitarist who showed me some bossa nova songs, and even tried to teach me what was to become my favorite song "Chega de Saudade" I would have learned it but not knowing how to sing it as I did not know the words made learning it to be futile. Added to that was the fact that the chord shapes and progressions were far different from what I am used to making it even more difficult. We would jam playing the blues and a little jazz taking turns at doing solos and comping and I could say that his knowledge of music was superb. When I showed him my classical piece by Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa lobos entitled "Choro tipico," he responded with another famous classical piece by the same composer, "Preludio no. 2" prompting me to request for a copy of the piece which he not only willingly obliged but gave me a copy of all the etudes and preludes done by the composer as transcribed by the great Andres Segovia.
The next family I was to meet was Renan's cousins from his father's side. Renan's father was a cop, probably something similar to our NBI police. He was making an apprehension by his lonesome not knowing that the culprits had back up and was killed when Renan was about 10 years old. Anyway, his uncle, Rafael, is a high ranking official of the police force. We were invited to their house and there met his wife, Sylvana, another very lovely woman who makes you feel at home even though it was just your first time to have met. I feel bad that I cannot, at this time, communicate with the family as I had not practiced speaking in Portuguese. This was my first time to sample Brazilian staple churrasco, a preparation of grilled beef or any kind of meat for that matter, as Rafael was in the grill when we arrived. Their sons Yuri, father of that cute little adorable child, Laura and Vinicius, father of Bernardo and Gabriel were there. Unfortunately, the eldest and only daughter, Rafaella was not there as she had to work that day. I was to meet her in another day and the night of our departure for Manila.
Rafael and his wife, Sylvana
Vinicius and his wife, Karen Yuri
Rafaella Laura
BernardoGabriel
Museums
The very first museum Renan and Kim took me to was the MASP or the Sao Paulo Museum of Art . This museum is like a walk in history of Western Art. The collection started with Baroque to the French impressionists until the contemporary artists of Brazil. It was a wonderful experience as I had the chance to see works of painters that I admire like Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse, etc. .
One fine day, Angela took us to the biggest park in Sao Paulo, the Ibirapuera National Park. This was my first time to encounter Brazilian graffiti art and I was dumbfounded not knowing that this is nothing compared to what I shall be viewing several days after. Anyway, there are 4 museums at the park and we visited two of them. I was impressed at the first one which was the Afro Brasil Museum that showcased Afro Brasilian influence. The next was Pavilhao Japones that showcased a typical Japanese house. We were surprised at how big the coys are as we enjoyed feeding them. There are two other museums but the day was not enough to come visit them as we were afraid we could get trapped in a traffic jam should we leave during the rush hours. These museums were the Lucas Nogueira Garcez Pavilion and much to my regret, theSao Paulo Museum of Modern Art
Next place we went to was a Japanese museum at the Liberdade district, a commercial place which I think is similar to Osaka's Dotonburi in some aspect. This is supposed to be the district that showcases Asian (Japanese, Korean and Chinese) commerce. This place was a welcome tour for me because I had been craving for ramen. We realized that this Japanese dish is called "lamen" in Brazil probably because they pronounce the letter "r" and "h". Anyway, we found a "lamen" house but I think we could have chosen a better place as the ramen I had was wanting in flavors I was craving for.. However, I think I digressed. After lunch, Renan, knowing that there is a museum somewhere in the area, tried to figure out where it was. He asked around but could not find a definite answer prompting him to buy a map. Thereafter, we walked the strip for about 10 to 15 minutes and found the Museu Historico da Imigracao Japonesa do Brasil a museum that centered on Japanese immigration to the State of Sao Paulo. It would have been another nice walk through memory lane but most of the exhibit on the first floors were closed for renovation and only the top floor was open for guests.
These museums were great but as I have mentioned earlier, I will have a fantastic experience of what was next to come. The Beco do Batman. :It was so great that it merits a separate post.
One fine day, Angela took us to the biggest park in Sao Paulo, the Ibirapuera National Park. This was my first time to encounter Brazilian graffiti art and I was dumbfounded not knowing that this is nothing compared to what I shall be viewing several days after. Anyway, there are 4 museums at the park and we visited two of them. I was impressed at the first one which was the Afro Brasil Museum that showcased Afro Brasilian influence. The next was Pavilhao Japones that showcased a typical Japanese house. We were surprised at how big the coys are as we enjoyed feeding them. There are two other museums but the day was not enough to come visit them as we were afraid we could get trapped in a traffic jam should we leave during the rush hours. These museums were the Lucas Nogueira Garcez Pavilion and much to my regret, the
Next place we went to was a Japanese museum at the Liberdade district, a commercial place which I think is similar to Osaka's Dotonburi in some aspect. This is supposed to be the district that showcases Asian (Japanese, Korean and Chinese) commerce. This place was a welcome tour for me because I had been craving for ramen. We realized that this Japanese dish is called "lamen" in Brazil probably because they pronounce the letter "r" and "h". Anyway, we found a "lamen" house but I think we could have chosen a better place as the ramen I had was wanting in flavors I was craving for.. However, I think I digressed. After lunch, Renan, knowing that there is a museum somewhere in the area, tried to figure out where it was. He asked around but could not find a definite answer prompting him to buy a map. Thereafter, we walked the strip for about 10 to 15 minutes and found the Museu Historico da Imigracao Japonesa do Brasil a museum that centered on Japanese immigration to the State of Sao Paulo. It would have been another nice walk through memory lane but most of the exhibit on the first floors were closed for renovation and only the top floor was open for guests.
These museums were great but as I have mentioned earlier, I will have a fantastic experience of what was next to come. The Beco do Batman. :It was so great that it merits a separate post.
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