“How are you guys doing?”…“I’ve been hearing that the virus is exploding in Brazil”…“The president seems like a nut!”…“Is it safe down there?”…“Are you safe?”
We’ve been hearing a lot of these questions lately. Being so far away from home during a global crisis is truly a strange experience. We appreciate that we’re on your minds and we worry about you, too.
Let’s catch up!
Scott and I are making the best of the shutdown and actually doing really well — six weeks and counting. I think that’s our superpower as a couple; is our ability to make the best of any situation, paired with the fact that we just seem to have incredibly good luck together. That said, without a home — our home — during a lockdown, we don’t have the usual projects to keep us busy.
If given a free weekend back in LA, I would normally be working on a project or organizing something (much to Scott’s dismay). We no longer have that closet with the art and sewing supplies with projects for that rainy day. My Pinterest project board is still waiting, full of ideas yet to come. No garage full of bikes, tools and wall paints that could fill our days. And no chef’s kitchen with every appliance and gadget known to man to prepare exotic meals to our heart’s content.
The saving grace is, no house payments, no car payments, no property taxes or utility payments. We have enough money to live comfortably on the road for a long time — especially here in Brazil, where our dollar goes a long way.
Along with the added benefit of downtime — unencumbered time that we will never ever have again — we’re beyond grateful and humbled by our luck and freedom during this time.
We also get asked…“So, what’s it like in Sao Paulo?”
Well, from my perspective as a landscape designer, it’s sheer heaven on earth. If we must be ‘stuck’ anywhere, this is definitely a beautiful place to be.
Before we arrived, we were warned by some friends “You won’t want to stay in SP long….so many other cooler places to visit…crazy-busy big-business city.” Well, fate had other plans and as you might expect during a shutdown, we’re experiencing SP in a completely different way; void of massive traffic and noise, minus business commuters and without all the pollution.
Some streets have security stations where their safety monitor can sit during a rain shower; otherwise he sits on a chair on the sidewalk.
We’re staying in what appears to be a safe neighborhood, although there are numerous visual security barriers that suggest otherwise — tall wall-encased yards topped with razor wire and double-gated entry systems. Most streets have a security monitor; a man who sits watch for the homeowner’s who employ him.
We were told that in the past, when the economy was worse and there was a lot of political unrest, robberies and kidnappings were common. And now, not so much. Our friend Ernesto says that his family always kept a box of 'fakes’ in the house — meaning fake watches, jewelry and credit cards — to give to robbers so they’ll go away. He still suggests that if we go out at night to hire a driver and don’t wear nice jewelry.
Our super-cool mid-century modern home is located in Jardim Paulistano; which is the LA neighborhood equivalent of West Hollywood. A walk around our neighborhood has me in awe of the modern homes, picture-perfect tropical plant specimens — palms, philodendrons, bromeliads, Brazilian Birds of Paradise, bougainvillea and ginger. It rains so often here that no home has an irrigation system (annual rainfall is 52 inches to Los Angeles’ 16 inches).
“What do we do all day?”
Exercise
Everyday. At least an hour. Cuz we don’t have an excuse not to. And because we’re eating carbs like there’s no tomorrow. Walking the neighborhood, walking to get groceries, riding bikes, jogging, boot-camp style calisthenics and YouTube yoga classes.
After lunch Scott and I go our separate ways to opposite corners of the house as if we’re going off to work. A little space is always nice.
Passion projects
Revamping this blog - We both love writing, documenting and sharing our experiences. We imagine ourselves reading this blog ten years from now and recalling our amazing experiences and friends we’ve met along the way.
My side hustle - Before we left LA, I launched a side-business. So, when we decided to take off on this world tour, I put everything on hold. I now have nothing but time to dive deeper into this business; research, write blog posts and set-up the digital shop. I have missed working, so this has been a great creative outlet.
Grocery shopping
Even though this is the one place where we are most likely to catch the virus, it’s turning into our new favorite pastime; equal to our recent favorite pastime of researching new travel destinations and restaurants. The grocery stores here are rarely busy and, when we go, we don our masks, lube-up our hands and cart handle, and keep our distance while navigating the Portuguese product labels.
Carrefore is our Albertson’s-like neighborhood store. Emporio Santa Maria, is like Bristol Farm’s, only better — their croissants and salmon patties are to die for! Horti Sabor is similar to Seaside Market in Cardiff. And then there’s the candy store for foodies, Eataly!
With all of these shopping options, it frustrates us that it’s difficult if not impossible, to find certain US grocery staples like brown sugar, buttermilk, baking powder, vanilla extract, dried spices, fresh basil, lemons, grapefruits, kale, arugula, and ground turkey….oh the hardships we must endure.
Podcasts and Youtube learning
Scott’s really been into Sam Harris’ Making Sense podcast. I’m a fan of Rachel and Dave Hollis’ Rise and Rise Together podcasts and The Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields. Also, Amy Porterfield’s online marketing podcasts and anything to do with manifesting dreams.
Books on tape
Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime (since we thought we would be traveling to South Africa this month).
Staying connected to family and friends
It’s been our saving grace to chat and FaceTime with our friends and family. For the first time we can remember, when we call someone, they actually answer the phone! It’s like going back in time. And we love our Zoom cocktail hours. Unfortunately, the 4-hour time difference with Los Angeles, we’re either having cocktails and they’re not, or we’re trying to stay awake past 10 pm.
My new addiction. If you see them, grab ya some! You’ll thank me.
And then there’s our happy hour!
It starts precisely at 5:00 and has become a daily ritual — a combination of daily download… “What did you do today, honey?” plus a reward for getting through yet another day of shutdown where we kept ourselves busy without getting on each other’s nerves. “Cheers to us!” with a tasty G&T paired with a delicious calorie-filled platter of bris, paté, assorted cheeses, rice crackers and these more-than-delicious Moscato grapes. All that, combined with our pontifications on “How is the world going to change?” with humble undertones of “How lucky are we!”
And Cribbage. I’m getting better at it. It gives us something to do when we’ve run out of things to talk about. After that, we order dinner or cook, then a movie, and early to bed. Hit repeat.
Cooking and baking
We’re enjoying delicious home-cooked meals of salmon burgers, roasted veggies over rice and my mom’s famous lasagna. Simple but delicious. Scott loves baking banana and persimmon breads, which is part of why our exercise routine is so important. :)
Movies and documentaries
We’re still catching up on the 2019 Oscar-nominated movies: Bombshell, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Ford vs. Ferrari. And then there’s…The Okavango Delta (PBS’s excellent three-part documentary about this amazing part of Africa), The Last Dance, and I’m finally getting around to binge-watching The Crown.
Scott’s Birthday Celebration
Scott’s birthday was last month, and I had no idea how we were going to celebrate. Last year I surprised him by flying his daughters from Chicago to LA to meet us at Lucque’s. He loved it! But now what? I thought with all the Zoom meetings happening, I’d invite a few people to surprise him and to sing Happy Birthday. Well, a few people turned into 50. Oh my! It brought tears to my eyes seeing each familiar face pop onto the screen, and Scott was beyond surprised. The shutdown celebration was perfect!
Meet our new friends…
Bruno and Juliana - Bruno is the helpful guy we met at an electronics store. He offered his services to translate for us. He and his wife Juliana were our first friends here in SP. They check on us regularly to make sure we’re okay and have everything we need. They give us foodie advice and restaurant recommendations and stop by with local treats (see Scott’s birthday bon bons above).
Eduardo (his wife Dannie, Sheep Dog Zara, 8 cats, 2 other dogs and 8 fish tanks) - our lovely neighbor has been awesome providing local info. We’ve enjoyed a couple of social distancing happy hours and some curbside chats. Eduardo loves to WhatsApp us funny jokes and to see if we need anything from the store.
Leo and Ancé - They own the nearby shop, Fumo Mercantil, where we were overjoyed to find they were open, serving espresso drinks and selling nice cigars — which makes Scott very happy.
The line-up of delivery motorcycles in our neighborhood waiting for our orders.
RANDOM NOTES
Restaurants
Pobre Juan - In a very meat-focused culture, they have some really great steaks for a reasonable price. We also enjoyed their creamy delicious Tradicional mousseline de mandioquinha (mashed cassava) and roasted vegetables (veggies here always seem to be served in very small quantities).
Pecorino Mediterreaneo - Excellent fish dishes (Sea Bass, Cod).
Simbalaé - Delicious burgers with blue cheese, bacon and rustic salted fries.
Olga Ri - Huge yummy salads for $6.
Weather
It’s Fall here. Our days are typically a perfect 70 to 80 degrees with puffy clouds and a cool breeze. Winter starts in June.
The language barrier
Portuguese is a beautiful language. There’s a musical rhythm that’s easy on the ear. But honestly when I hear it, it sounds nothing like how it’s spelled — D’s are pronounced as G’s. Also, a noun ending depends on whether it’s either male or female (how do you determine if a table is male or female?). Add another layer…I say “Obrigad-A” (Thank You) while Scott says ‘Obrigad-O.”
Needless to say, we use the Google Translator app to get by.
Local politics
Much like the US, Brazil has a Trump-like equivalent — President Jair Bolsonaro believes that COVID-19’s prevention is worse than the disease. Luckily, the local governors and mayors do not agree and have applied science and data to their stay-at-home orders. Brazil’s infection and death rates continue to climb and their hospitals are near capacity.
Our Brazilian visas
Our travel visas expire here on June 13th, and we think there’s a good chance we’ll still be here. We were concerned that we’d be required to exit the country and find a new home during the shut-down. Juliana helped us research this and found that, under the circumstances, Brazil is automatically extending all visas for two months after the stay-at-home orders are lifted. Good news for us!
News from back home…
Scott’s sister Stephanie is a middle school principal in Redwood City, CA. Her daily role has shifted from managing a school to feeding her students.
Scott’s daughter Summer received notice that she’s been accepted into the art history program at UCLA!!! There’s been much discussion about the fall semester — online or open campus.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is getting pressure to open beaches and businesses which are expect to open even though California’s infection and death rates have yet to decline.
Life as we know it in the US (and the world) has changed forever. What a crazy time for us to be outside of the US, without a home, and backpack-traveling.
What’s next…
Our original plans were to be in Africa on May 4th for a 55-day overland Safari, traveling through eight countries, from Cape Town to Nairobi. Obviously, that’s not going to happen. The tour company, African Nomads, is giving us a voucher so we can reschedule our trip once things go back to ‘normal. We’re thinking summer of 2021.
So our plan now is, once (if?) the stay-at-home orders are lifted, we’ll explore São Paulo’s local sites and restaurants. We’re also excited to picnic in Brazil’s lush parks and to explore the downtown’s extraordinary architecture. Then we’ll likely jump on a plane to Salvador or somewhere along the northeast coastline. We hear that magical beaches await us.
After that we’re thinking about spending the summer in Europe, and are super curious about the unique opportunities that will be available to us as some of the first post-Covid travelers to visit those areas. In the meantime, we’ll take it slow, with a high amount of caution, and we’ll see what magically unfolds.