Walked down to the hypermarket to get my supply of Coke-Zero and beer. A few pictures to finish the day. First is the view from a footbridge to the hypermarket. Next is the beer section followed by the cachaça section. Cachaça is a sugar cane based spirit. Chrissy still makes caipirinhas with it in the USA. In the USA it costs about $20 a bottle. Here the same stuff is only 7 real. I thought the name of the toilet paper was interesting, as you see in picture #4 and last is the overview of the grocery store. I didn’t buy only beer and Coke-Zero. Got some potato chips too.
More curiosities
A few other curiosities continuing from my earlier São Paulo posting.First is a picture of some corporate art. Just thought it looked nice. Next is an odd modern building. I do not like the look, but I bet the apartments are nice inside and it is memorable. Picture #3 is one of those rental bikes. IMO, the presence of rental bikes like this indicates the neighborhood is reasonably safe. Penultimate is a jabuticaba tree. They are unique little trees in that the flowers and fruit are directly on the branches, as you can see in the picture. Last is the pool at my hotel. It is actually long enough to swim and if it gets reasonably warm in a couple hours, I will try it out.
First is a picture of some corporate art. Just thought it looked nice. Next is an odd modern building. I do not like the look, but I bet the apartments are nice inside and it is memorable. Picture #3 is one of those rental bikes. IMO, the presence of rental bikes like this indicates the neighborhood is reasonably safe. Penultimate is a jabuticaba tree. They are unique little trees in that the flowers and fruit are directly on the branches, as you can see in the picture. Last is the pool at my hotel. It is actually long enough to swim and if it gets reasonably warm in a couple hours, I will try it out.
Nice Day
Good luck. It was rainy and dreary for the past five days, but today it is partly sunny, so it was a joy to walk around. Better save the nice days for weekends. As I mentioned in earlier posts, my walk home from the Consulate was not pleasant. Rua Santo Amaro is one of the least attractive major streets in São Paulo. It is my misfortune that it is the most direct route from where I am to where I want to be on weekdays.
However, not far from the ugly street are some very nice ones. Today I walked up and down Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek. Juscelino is the Brazilian president that caused Brasilia to finally be built and in many ways is the father of modern Brazil. If you notice the use of the first name, this is an important convention in Brazil. People are called by their first names. If you go to an event where your name is listed in alphabetical order, you will find it by your first name. If you are taking a taxi to a restaurant on Avenida Juscelino Kubitschek, the driver will more quickly understand you if you say Avenida Juscelino that if you default to the last name, although in the case of so famous a man it would not create confusion. Notice in the picture on the street sign which name is most prominent
I will generally let the pictures of speak for themselves, since I don’t know any more about them than you do by looking at them, but I will point out a couple of things to notice. I have a picture of a bike trail. New major streets feature bike trails. It is a brave rider indeed who rides traffic, but if you are near the trails, you are reasonably safe. I also included a picture of a foot bridge. Notice how they have cut holes in the bride to preserve the trees – a nice touch.
Taxis in São Paulo
I am just going to take the taxis. Walking is just not pleasant. Look closely at the first picture. Notice the small sign in the first picture. It points to the sidewalk for pedestrians. Of course, I could take a different route and maybe I will find a good one, but for now …
Besides, I like to talk to the taxi drivers. I always ask to sit in the front seat and they always let me. I learn a few things about the area and about what people are talking about.
I made the driver happy tonight when I told him that I decided not to use Uber. Not surprisingly, he did not like Uber, said it was unfair to a guy trying to make a fair living. He complained that he had been searching for a fare for three hours.
Sometimes the stories are inspiring. I talked to a guy yesterday who told me that he starting driving taxis thirty years ago after he suffered injuries on his construction job. He put his two kids through school with the money he earned and now they have good jobs that do not require such punishing physical work. His son is an engineer and his daughter a teacher. You can count this man’s life a success.
I recognized one driver’s Northeast accent and when he talked about growing up in the country, we found a shared an interest in “Globo Rural.” He said that he had long dreamed of returning to his native land, but his family had grown up in São Paulo and now that was their native land. He would never go back.
I find it surprising that the drivers do not immediately guess where I am from. Of course, they know that I am some kind of outsider. We Americans think that others think about us more than they really do. Taxi drivers are aware of the USA. How could they not be? But it is not top of their mind. They have plenty of other problems, hopes and dreams. I have not asked any of them what they think of the USA and none have volunteered any general attitudes, although many have a friend or relative who has been to the USA. Some of their questions, however, illustrate their impression. One driver asked me if we had homeless in the USA. Another asked if we had traffic that requires a rodizio (where different license numbers cannot enter town during rush hour on different days). I talked to one guy about relative prices. Food is generally cheaper in Brazil than in the USA, but not in relation to salaries, and electronics are more expensive.
The world is rapidly changing and so is the relationship between the USA and Brazil. I am talking about a deeper level here, not one based on current politics. São Paulo is bigger than New York. I don’t think many people in the USA or in Brazil realize that. And China is Brazil’s biggest trading partner.
Below are some pictures from around São Paulo. They are self-explanatory, except maybe the last one. That is a bar in the Fundação FHC. It used to be an exclusive club and the bar is left over from those times.
I recognized one driver’s Northeast accent and when he talked about growing up in the country, we found a shared an interest in “Globo Rural.” He said that he had long dreamed of returning to his native land, but his family had grown up in São Paulo and now that was their native land. He would never go back.
I find it surprising that the drivers do not immediately guess where I am from. Of course, they know that I am some kind of outsider. We Americans think that others think about us more than they really do. Taxi drivers are aware of the USA. How could they not be? But it is not top of their mind. They have plenty of other problems, hopes and dreams. I have not asked any of them what they think of the USA and none have volunteered any general attitudes, although many have a friend or relative who has been to the USA. Some of their questions, however, illustrate their impression. One driver asked me if we had homeless in the USA. Another asked if we had traffic that requires a rodizio (where different license numbers cannot enter town during rush hour on different days). I talked to one guy about relative prices. Food is generally cheaper in Brazil than in the USA, but not in relation to salaries, and electronics are more expensive.
The world is rapidly changing and so is the relationship between the USA and Brazil. I am talking about a deeper level here, not one based on current politics. São Paulo is bigger than New York. I don’t think many people in the USA or in Brazil realize that. And China is Brazil’s biggest trading partner.
Below are some pictures from around São Paulo. They are self-explanatory, except maybe the last one. That is a bar in the Fundação FHC. It used to be an exclusive club and the bar is left over from those times.
Renewable Energy
Got some useful appointments in today. Our first visit was with a couple of guys at the São Paulo Secretariat of Energy – renewable energy. We were following up on a successful speaker visit and hoping to strengthen connections and contacts. Our Brazilian friends were more than eager to do this to our mutual benefit.
Brazil is a leader in various sorts of renewable energy and they have a lot to share, especially in areas like biogas, ethanol, biomass & biodiesel. Of course, the USA has a lot to share too in some of the same areas, but in addition in areas of storage and energy net coordination. Mutual sharing means mutual benefit, since more brains are better and when we solve problems in diverse ways, we learn more than if we just have a few options.
Brazil, like the USA, is a continental country. When talking about renewable power, this brings challenges and opportunity. Brazil has a lot of wind power potential, for example, but it is poorly distributed, with the best wind power sites in the less populated areas of the Northeast. Wind (and solar) are also inconsistent. They need some sort of backup.
Hydroelectric power has been one of the best backups. Energy can be brought on line (or taken off) easily. There are two developments that have been creating complications. One is that droughts have made hydropower less reliable, even has the capacity of hydropower is being reached. A related problem is how dams have changed. In the interests of protecting local ecology, new hydro projects tend to be “run of the river” rather than reservoir based. A run of the river system, as the name implies, depends on the water running through the river. River flow varies with the seasons and the weather and more importantly for power storage, it cannot be turned off and on. The river flows as it wants.
A possible solution is natural gas. São Paulo currently has no facilities to receive liquified natural gas, but there are three terminals in Brazil (Pecém, State of Ceará; Bahia LNG Regasification Terminal, Bay of All Saints, State of Bahia and Guanabara Bay, State of Rio de Janeiro). Brazil is potentially a big market for America LNG. We are currently the Brazil’s third largest source of LNG, with great potential for more. Natural gas is clean burning and gas fired plants can be turned on and off relatively easily. Most natural gas is currently not renewable. However, there is great potential for biogas, so building out a natural gas distribution network can transition seamlessly to carry biogas as that develops.
Another “storage” mechanism is the grid itself. A big grid means that power can be moved from places suffering shortages to those with surplus. The wind may be inconsistent locally, but over a large area it tends to even out. Couple that with a natural gas/hydro backup, and you have a fairly reliable “battery.”
Energy is something I have been interested in since I was in college. This discussion was especially interesting for me and it was a joy to take part. It was very easy to see in this an area of mutually benefit. There is something even for those interested only in short term profit, since American LNG will find a good market in Brazil in the short term. I am more interested in the exchange of ideas.
And I am constantly recalling what Thomas Jefferson said – “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” If it is not too disrespectful to add to Jefferson, that light travels in both directions.
Rue Santo Amaro
My Brazilian colleague told me that Rue Santo Amaro, the street in yesterday’s photos, was designated as the most consistently ugly street in all São Paulo, so it is not fair to show only that. Gives a bad impression of the city if people think that is typical. I think he has a point. He says that it was once a decent street, with trees and shops. But since it was designated as a major artery, they put bus lanes down the middle and widened the street to take away the trees, parking spaces & most of the sidewalks. W/o parking or pedestrians, most retail shops closed. This has now been exacerbated by construction on the metros and monorail.
So, to be just and fair to São Paulo, a city I generally like, I went one block down from the ugly street and took the picture below. It is much more pleasant and much less noisy.
My second picture is the goldfish pond at the consulate. Last three are leftovers from yesterday. In picture #3 you can see some of the newer high rise apartments just off the street. Next is the trunk of that giant rubber tree. The tree sends down aerial roots that make it into a massive trunk. Last if from Atlanta Airport. If you think you will miss our president too much on leaving the country, you can get a Trump chocolate bar.
PS – notice in the pictures that the pavement is damp. It did not rain for 40 days before I got to São Paulo and the day I arrived it was sunny and warm. Then it started to rain. There have been patches of not rain, but it has kept up. More is predicted for the next five days. I am delighted that the drought is over and maybe this needed rain will be good for the plant and fill up the reservoirs. But it might have worked out better for me if the sequence had been reversed, i.e. lots of rain until the day I arrived and then warm and sunny time for my visit. I will be here about 40 days, so it would have worked out the same, but noooo.
My second picture is the goldfish pond at the consulate. Last three are leftovers from yesterday. In picture #3 you can see some of the newer high rise apartments just off the street. Next is the trunk of that giant rubber tree. The tree sends down aerial roots that make it into a massive trunk. Last if from Atlanta Airport. If you think you will miss our president too much on leaving the country, you can get a Trump chocolate bar.
PS – notice in the pictures that the pavement is damp. It did not rain for 40 days before I got to São Paulo and the day I arrived it was sunny and warm. Then it started to rain. There have been patches of not rain, but it has kept up. More is predicted for the next five days. I am delighted that the drought is over and maybe this needed rain will be good for the plant and fill up the reservoirs. But it might have worked out better for me if the sequence had been reversed, i.e. lots of rain until the day I arrived and then warm and sunny time for my visit. I will be here about 40 days, so it would have worked out the same, but noooo.