Happy Birthday, São Paulo!

São Paulo's Avenida Paulista, with MASP in full view. (Photo by Luis Veiga/Getty Images.)

On this lovely day 457 years ago, São Paulo was born! And that means that today is a holiday for those working in offices in the city. That also means that Brazil’s largest city has changed quite a lot over the years. The now-thriving metropolis of 11 million people wasn’t always dominated by skyscrapers and cultures from all over the world.

It’s getting hot in here

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Today, São Paulo is hot (more specifically, São Bernardo do Campo, although I’m sure the rest of the state is just as smoldering). We have an expected high of 37 degrees Celsius, and I’m sure we’ve already reached that. January is the dead of summer here, which is odd for me, because I’m used to it being the dead of winter. And it’s humid. It’s not like North American summer. Most places don’t have air conditioning, and that includes cars.

Parabéns to me!

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Hello there, readers! Guess what? Today is my birthday! Here in Brazil, birthdays are pretty much the same as in North America, but I thought I’d share some photos of my gifts (Now I can be organized! Yes! Folders! Thanks Caio!) and my lovely chocolate cake from the bakery I mentioned in another post.

Você fala português?

I have this Lonely Planet book. It's a good one to get you started if you're heading down to Brazil.

Since I’ve moved to Brazil, a lot of people have been asking me how to say certain things in Portuguese. While I’m certainly no expert (yet — but I’m doing pretty well!), I thought I’d share a few key words and phrases that might help you get through a trip to the largest nation in South America. So here it is: Jill’s Brazilian Portuguese Dictionary!

The Social Network

Lately I’ve been searching for a job. Oh, who am I kidding? I’ve been searching for a job since I got to Brazil eight months ago. It was hard at first because I was initially looking in hopes that someone would like me enough to sponsor me for a work visa. (Note to anyone considering doing this in Brazil: DO NOT.)

I love magazines! But at what cost?

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As I’m sure most of you know, I am a big fan of magazines. Not just because I write for them from time to time (hopefully more frequently soon), but because I love to flip through their glossy pages and read them. Well, to my surprise (although it shouldn’t really have been a shock, since I know all about the cost of imported goods here), when I decided to go to a magazine store to find copies of my favourite American magazines (I knew they’d never have any Canadian publications), the prices were sky high.

Why I didn’t go to the beach on New Year’s Eve

Praia de Pitangueiras, Guarujá. Felipe Rau/AE

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whichever you celebrate, and a Happy New Year! Here in Brazil Christmas isn’t so different than it is in Canada, so I won’t spend much time explaining that. It’s basically the same as the typical French Canadian celebration: big family gathering and dinner on Christmas Eve, presents at midnight, and more eating on Christmas day.