Quite the initiation weekend we’ve had in Uberlandia. Saturday, Sep 7 – our first full day here – dawned bright and sunny.
The hotel had a large breakfast spread – papayas, melons and assorted fruits
and juices, dozens of varieties of Minas Gerais pastry specialties, of which a
“cheesy bread” turned out to be the best and other staples – eggs, sausage,
cereals, oatmeal.
San Diego Hotel, our home for the month
The view from my 10th floor room
I decided to go for a
run in the gym. The gym, on closer inspection, turned out to be a couple of
treadmills and a recumbent bike or two – a bit of a let down. Running on the metric treadmill with Portuguese instructions was a challenge, to say the least.
Our full group rendezvoused at 1 PM for a neighborhood walking tour.
ATM, beauty
parlor, laundry, restaurants and convenience stores were all duly visited – but
none were open, on account of it being a national holiday - Brazil’s
Independence Day. Brazil became independent on Sep 6, 1822 – marking its 192nd
year as a nation.
Lunch was arranged at a nearby restaurant. The place was quite
crowded – families seem to like eating out on weekends. Post lunch, on to a new
adventure – taking a city bus to the local shopping mall. We pay 2.70 Brazilian Reals (BRL or R$) for
a ticket, and are allowed through a turnstile into the bus station, which is
like a sealed box. When the bus pull in, the gates open and the corresponding
doors of the bus disgorge people. The first one that came along was packed, and as we
had a large group, we let it go by. The second one was packed as well – and we
got the drift. Summoning my best "getting into a Bombay local train at rush hour"
spirit, I made it in, and a number of our group followed me in. A short ride took us to the main shopping
mall. At the entrance, Rodrigo spotted an acai stand and we all went it and got
acai smoothies with guarana – very good ! The more adventurous got chocolate
and coconut toppings as well. Stuffed to the brim now.
The mall was as typical as malls go – local and
international clothing, shoes and all sorts of things that you didn’t know you
wanted / needed. Rodrigo points out the prices of imported running shoes – BRL
1000 (US$ 500) for a pair ! Apparently, import taxes are sky high here, and the
price difference between a locally made and an imported pair of shoes is huge.
Someone mentioned an anecdote about Brazilians heading to Miami on shopping
sprees – makes sense now. We visited the Havaianas store in the mall – good
Brazilian-made sandals, and cheap too. Made a mental note to come back for a
pair. Then leisurely 15 minute stroll to the hotel.
Plans were made to meet at 7 PM to head out for a “county fair”
of Uberlandia. Should I nap ? Decided that I may not wake up from my
food-induced coma if I did, so caught up on email. On a shuttle bus to the
state fair at 7 PM. We meet another group of international corporate volunteers
from a chemical company – 10 of them, came here a week before us. Talked to a
few about their week’s worth of experience – and judging by their responses,
they seemed to be coming along very well. A short ride later, we are at the
country fair. As we headed in, I noticed that we were being escorted as a large
group through some offices, and finally into a large conference room . I hadn’t
expected to be in a conference room at a county fair, but there we all were,
exchanging puzzled glances. Bruno, the IBM coordinator, is equally bewildered,
but, per his “go with the flow mantra”, we all relax and wait. A photographer
and a videographer busy themselves taking pictures and recording our every
movement. Then a host of officials enter. Turns out the chairman of the
organization, the Uberlandia Tourism Director and other
dignitaries had come to welcome us in person! A few short speeches later, we
finally get used to our new-found VIP status . We are taken around various
stalls, showcasing local arts, food products (quite a spread for us to taste,
including locally made cheeses that tasted like “panneer” and coffee liqueur), a
nice dinner from a food court that featured food from local farms and a visit
to an indigenous Brazilian crafts stall, where I picked up a few things for
back home.
Then on to the main event of the evening – a music
performance by Cristiano Araujo, a sertanejo star. Sertanejo is roughly equivalent
to Country & Western, but with liberal infusions of rock-like elements. Cristiano
kept our group entertained till 2 AM. When we straggled back to the hotel,
several fans peeked into our van – turns out Cristiano was staying at the same
hotel, and they were hoping for a glimpse and an autograph. They were no doubt disappointed.
Cristiano’s the dude
on the far right – from the CAMARU brochure
The team getting down
wit’ it at Cristiano’s concert
Sunday morning, the group tours Parque do Sabia, a municipal park with a nice lake, running track, kiddie rides and coconut water vendors. Then on to Cajuba Country Club - we got memberships for the month. Nice facilities, including 3 pools and 3 gyms - I plan to get there as often as I can.
Lunch was arranged at a churrascaria called Tropeiro. Rodrigo, the Brazilian program coordinator, gives us the 101 on eating at churrascarias - avoid the carbs they ply you with, go for the prime cuts, intersperse with salads. The food is very good, and I overeat with gusto. The staff graciously allowed us to tour the kitchen, where we see the skewers being loaded and put on the grills. When we left, we saw a large crowd waiting to get in - times are good for Tropeiro. I decide to walk back to the hotel.
Skewers of deliciousness turning slowly at Churrascaria Tropeiro
A couple hours to digest, and then on to a team meeting. Bruno runs the show with aplomb, gets us through some team building exercises and then teaches us how to hug like the Brazilians. Rodrigo ends the session with some laughter therapy. Vanessa suggests dinner at a city square - she tempts us with stories of great caipirinhas, music and finger foods. I cannot resist - so off I go. Sure enough, the caipirinhas are wonderful, and the general atmosphere is very chill. We head home early (before midnight counts as early) to face our first day of work. The inaugural event is to be held at the Mayor's office, and we'll be meeting our clients for the first time.
#ibmcsc brazil
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