Estou in Sâo Paulo!

So I am officially writing from Brazil today. Yesterday we arrived at 8am and spent most of the day trying to get situated. I was planning to blog from my phone but my phone data access is a little sketchy. I only have about 20 minutes before we are heading out so I will try to describe as much as I can in the time that I have.

We are spending the beginning of our journey in Sao Paulo. The city is huge - population 20 million, so if you think New York is big at only 14 million, then you can imagine how things are in Sao Paulo. The area we are staying in, Vila Madelena was once a suburb of the city but the city has gotten so big that this once suburb is now a full blown urban area. Our host told me that they open a new high rise building what seems like a least once a week. The evidence of the gentrification of this part of the city is clear as small almost row houses can sit across the street from 30 floor apartment complexes. From what I hear the rapid population growth has outpaced any attempts at city planning.

I got to take a run this morning and could really see the relative lack of planning as commercial districts abruptly became upscale residential neighborhoods which suddenly became commercial and then low-income residential. While there are some aspects of this that are disturbing, on the other hand it feels like the city is really alive and really trying to figure out who it really is. What is not clear to me is whether people have the opportunity or space to talk about what their collective identity is going to be. Much of the residential landscape is dominated by gated and fenced in homes. Thomás explained that there were many years where crime was a major problem in the São Paulo and that the gating is a reminent of that time. Yet it is on all of the new developments too.

I have to admit that anywhere in the world I am concerned about the prevelance of gates; nonetheless I don´t want to be too hasty in making judgements. One day does not an expert make. So today I will get out in the city again and learn and observe more.

We had our first group circle this morning and I feel deeply blessed to be among such an amazing group of people. I already feel the work that is happening in me as I work to figure out who I am and what direction God is leading me into. I saw that there are 7 people following the blog at this point so I am thankful to know that it is not just the people here who are following this journey. Again I welcome you to join the blog as a follower so you will get updates and I encourage you to comment back. My life does not exist in isolation, but even as you read this you are part of my community. Thank you for taking the time to read my musings, and I promise to include pictures with my next blog. I just have to find the right cord for my camera so that I can upload photos.

Boa Tarde (Good Afternoon)

Mariama