My company is a small tech startup, leveraging wearable devices to measure and quantify consumer behavior for clients. We contribute to the design, methodologies and analysis of research data while also doing field work. Although my primary responsibilities lie in analysis and marketing, being in a small company, everyone is called on to field the research as well. Our work is about equal parts domestic and international. This year I’ve been to Mexico City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, and most recently São Paulo.

The city of São Paulo was magnificent and I’m humbled to have experienced it. It’s a warm city about an hour from the coast in Brazil, south of Rio de Janiero. A local colleague described her city’s culture as similar to New York — focused on business, friendly, driven with a love for arts and culture. As I took my abbreviated tour of the city, I saw beautiful homes scaled up hillsides, restaurants full of folks on their lunch break dining on fix-priced buffets or fast food and coffees.

While in São Paulo, I had the good fortune to meet my Brazilian doppelganger, Adécio who was very generous with his time and eager to exchange cultures with a North American. We went to dinner at a Brazilian restaurant where I tried my new favorite beer, Brahma Black. He took me to Paulista Avenue, the famous SP street known for its shopping malls, busy business vibes, and the Museu de Arte São Paulo (MASP) among other things. Another night, we ate at a  Japanese all-you-can-eat restaurant where we were served sushi, maki, sashimi, and nigiri. It was good though I did notice a difference between American and Brazilian Japanese food. Pizza, ice cream and especially any type of buffets or all you can eat are very popular in São Paulo. Seeing films is very popular in São Paulo and the city is full of theaters where locals see Brazilian, European and Hollywood films.

Brazil is at a cultural cross-roads, not unlike many of the people in my generation feel the U.S. is. Adécio mentioned he thought that Brazil would legalize gay marriage this year. He was very interested in American queer culture and feminism and we discussed issues of race and dangerous police in our countries. Even while there a short while, I got familiar with some of its problems and shortcomings as a developing economy and world power. My personal experience was very positive and Adécio was a true host for me in his city.

My new amigo Adécio and I talked about Brazil’s love of film and food. Adécio happened to be a big fan of Nicki Minaj, and our tastes in American films were fairly similar. When we met he was wearing a Captain America T-Shirt, so I knew we’d get along. Adécio found it really important to know an American and asked me a lot of questions about America’s perceptions of Brazil and told me the Brazilian perceptions of the U.S. I didn’t quite have a good answer for him when he asked what Americans thought of Brazilian other than that Americans are quite self-centered and do not think much about other places. I couldn’t think of what our country thinks of Brazil other than Rio, supermodels, and waxing. Honestly, I hadn’t spent much time thinking about Brazil before I was planning to visit.

Adécio said that taking photos and selfies is very popular in Brazil.

But the country found a fan in me. Though I’ll need to practice my Portuguese before making a return trip. On my last day in SP, I visited the Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), where they were exhibiting works from their collection of Artists from Paris in the 20th century and a large collection of works by Brazilian artists and those who had influenced MASP’s history. There were also several pieces from Picasso, Monet, Manet, and other notable European and American names. The current exhibition stole the show though. “Acervo MASP” is a modern, self-reflective and self-gratifying retrospective of MASP and its history of celebrating Brazilian art. Most of the pieces were modern, fitting for the location in which they were displayed.

MASP architecture makes it hard to miss — painted shockingly red and seemingly floating over a park.  As I learned about Brazil’s culture past, below the floor of the building, a demonstration was growing — protesting the decisions of the current administration at a location known for its historical ties to protest, politics, and revolution.

Brazil is a large country, with access to an immense amount of natural resources deriving from Amazon Rain Forrest. I gathered that similar to many places in the world, its citizens are frustrated with the income inequality and are fighting for  their country to provide the infrastructure necessary to sustain its growing population. I went into a mall while I was there and remarked on the crazy number of baby stores.

Being an English-speaker in SP is not easy, though my knowledge of Spanish gave me a slight leg up. The languages are extremely similar in their grammar, syntax and conjugation, but accents and differences between vocabulary left me ignorant of the world around me. Luckily, my new Brazilian amigo and Google Translate on my phone allowed me my limited participation in the world around me.

São Paulo is beautiful and hilly. I walked around the city even with its hills and valleys, taking in the diverse architecture and neighborhood vibes as I crossed from my hotel in the Perdizes (a neighbor that reminds me fondly of San Francisco — with a European influence, but its own special uniqueness), toward Avenuda Paulista.

My experience in São Paulo was one I wouldn’t trade for anything. Being able to travel and work 5,200 miles away in a land many people would only dream of visiting. It’s exhilarating to go to a place that is much different from your home and yet find comfort in similarities, new friends, kind colleagues, and good ol’ hotel hospitality. If I visit again though, I’ll be sure to see a beach before I leave.

Oh and I forgot to mention, this was the view from my hotel’s penthouse deck. They’re heading into Winter folks.

Tchau tchau for now.