I am preparing for a day of city life and a glimpse of what beats in São Paulo. People who are from here seem to enjoy it (at least as stated to a foreigner who can't understand much) but people who aren't from here seem to view it as just and urban desert- having no beach is a fatal flaw.
The wealth of the city is striking now that I can compare it to other parts of the country. Even Fortaleza and Manaus (two of Brazil's large cities) are plagued by a poverty that deprives them of glamourous districts; well to do apartment buildings, nice shops, and nice resturants. My stay in each was short but from what I saw, Forteleza only has half a strip of nice area (along the beach front) and Manaus didn't have any. It is painful to understand how concentrated the finances are. I sat on the beach chating with a Brazilian fellow and as we watched vendors walk by selling earrings for R$ 5 as a lively hood, he told me about his friend who is starting in a governmental position for R$ 14,000 a month. Teachers in Manaus make R$ 1,000 a month but I was told that the teachers in the Amazon make a lot - R$ 4,000 a month.
I still feel a bit of civilization shock from the Amazon (trouble understanding why we complicate things so much) so I am interested to see how the day goes.
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