Bom Dia!

So, Arizona is off to Sao Paulo in a few days on business ... it's never bad to have a fun adventure while someone else picks up the tab :).

The Economist has a pretty good City Guide, with Insider Tips, useful phrases, other information and what-not. They link to previous articles about the city both at the Economist website and all over the web. The "Religion in Latin America" article might be useful; they even mention the Pope. And did you know there are 1.1 billion Catholics at this point? Huh.

Here are some fun facts I've gleaned:

* don't trink the tap water

* don't put your briefcase or bag on the ground -- local superstition holds that your money might walk away, and in reality, it might.

* Petty crime is on the rise, but murders are down. Woo hoo!

* You should only take official taxis, and keep your door locked and the windows up.

* don't go to an ATM after dark.

* only carry necessary cash and credit cards -- but keep some dollars with you to placate an assailant in case of mugging. Ugh.

* Tipping: round up for taxis, 10% in places with table service, and don't worry about it otherwise.

*Business contacts will often speak very good or fluent English. Other people like you to at least try to speak a little Portuguese.

* As risky as the whole mugging thing is, you are at least as likely to possibly get hit by a car or run over by a bus. Be careful crossing streets. They don't follow traffic rules in quite the same way, or really, at all. Red lights seem to be there for decoration as much as anything else.

I also learned that Sao Paulo is the financial center of Brazil, and that it is rich in culture (museums, nightlife, etc.) as well. Also, they see themselves as starting to rival Rio in the number of visitors (although most are still going on business), which makes them proud and happy. Nothing like a little tourist-envy to pep up a city.

In other travel news:

* TexasInAfrica will be leaving for the Congo soon. She will be there for 10 weeks, and we will all be keeping her in our prayers until her safe return!!!!! In addition to interviewing people, she'll take a little time-out to raft the Zambezi river (class 5 rapids). Just because she can. This rafting adventure has a slightly lower likelihood of leading to her sudden demise than her recent trip down the White Nile (class 5/6 rapids). She reports actually thinking she might die on that trip, but she thankfully made it back to us unharmed.

* RP and The Director's lovely, talented, and poised daughter received an Undergraduate Research Fellowship from our favorite Uni, and will be in Italy exploring Michaelangelo's art with one of the foremost (or perhaps THE foremost) expert on Michaelangelo. We are all so very proud and thrilled for her. She will take a few days to visit Cinque Terre, one of my favorite places ever. Truth be told, I'm a bit tired of all of you people running off to Italy and then just showing me pictures. I want to go!!! Barring that, please have some Gelato for me.

* Family Adventures: The Cute One is currently in Hong Kong, but will be in Perth, Western Australia soon -- with She Who Must Be Obeyed (sounds very dramatic, for such a cute, little person). SWMBO will be there visiting her mother (only 104 this year) and her brother (the fabulous Uncle T). SWMBO will return to the U.S. on or around the 2nd of July, at which point He Who Obeys will be hopping on a plane for Deutschland, where he will spend 10 days. The Cute One, in the meantime, will have returned to Hong Kong, possibly traveled goodness-knows-where on business, and will then be in Scotland with the Engineer (her beloved) and his family. She will hop on a plane for a quick trip to Germany (expects to be picked up at 11:30 at night. Seriously). And will stay for all of two days, before returning to her cute little hillside-overlooking-the-city digs in HK.

* Bella the Cat will be at Summer Camp in Louisiana for the summer. She is excited about the opportunity to pester her cousins, and would like them to know she's learned some fabulous moves. She has skills!

* Me: I'll be in Germany for 11 weeks, starting on May 30th. I'll take a quick detour to Hong Kong, just because I can, and will then return for work on August 20th. Ay caramba. Seems almost boring, compared to all of the above. I'll be accompanying students and working on my dissertation and loving every second.

A short picture essay of my trip to Austin. It's all about the love, really :).

There are actually 7 people in this picture. Can you find them all?

What would I do without friends who open their hearts and homes, no matter what time I show up, and whether or not I've called in advance?

Blessings and Peace!!