São Paulo

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After the insane events preceding my arrivel in Brazil, I'm finally here. God! I love this weather, to trade the snow and cold mud of Sweden, for walking around in shorts and a shirt morning to evening.
São Paulo is a huge city, with 11 million habitants, or 29 million counting the entire metropolitan area. However you count it ranks high up in the lists...

I've been here, staying with my friend Priscila and her familly now for a few days now. I've just enjoyed the time off, been out in the city, at the restaurants and many bars. Meeting friends, went to the tivoli outside of the city.

Driving is insane - as expected, since I'd been warned ahead of time... redlights doesn't mean anything after dark. It's more dangerous to stay at them, then flashing your headlights and driving through... as seen by the next event.

On our way in to the city center, the car ahead of us stop at a red light, so we stop too, and this is no out in the suburbs. Priscila is in the pasenger seat, her friend is driving and I'm in the back seat (can't help with the navigation in this city anyway). A small kid, probably around 12 years, your typical beggar child, walks up to the side of the car. As the girl driving looks out, she's surprised and gasps for air. The window is maybe two inches open. As the kid sees two girls in the front seats (we were after guessing he didn't have time to notice me) he pulls out a knife and holds it through the small opening in the window. This all goes very quick, my first impulse is to somehow get to that knife. I don't, however, probably rightly so. The kid is high on name-your-favourite-drug and wants money. The girls act calm, hysterical, but calm. Give the boy what pocket money they have, around $30. He wants more, the translation I later get is: "More, I want more. I'm gonna make a hole in you!". He gets their two cellphone too. He drops one of them inside the car though, and by that time the lights turn green again and we're out of there. (The whole time, there's a car stopped in front of us, and to the right lane, so no way to hit the gas and get out of there.)

We're all pretty shook up by that event. It's also the first time they are being robbed, for 25 years, and it has to happen when I'm there... I later find out there was another kid, a few years older somewhere in the periphery, and a possibility he's having a gun. The police inform everyone in school about how to act if and when being in a situation like this, or when confronted with a thug. Be calm, give them what they want, don't argue. I'd be pissed, but I see the point. Money or material wealth isn't worth risking your life over.

That is all just one incident though, all in all, I felt good and didn't have problems with the people. Most everyone is very nice and friendly 😊

I'll attach a bunch of picture which will show more what we did so far.

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