Brazil: Search for a Hot Shower [part 1]
What is a vacation anyway?
Especially when it seems like every day is a new nail in the ‘the world is ending, economic winter is upon us, enter the bunkers!’
Well, for two weirdos in September of 2026 a ‘vacation’ meant…
Gallavanting around São Paulo, visiting family and friends while grappling with various mid life crises.
The weirdos:
M: A native Brazilian, youngest of 7, who moved to the USA after hooking up with a scientist. Likes the color green, maybe the most level headed of the herd, crippled by shoulder centered nerve issues.
Jr: An emo who follows M around for lack of anything better to do. Raised in the US, crippled by financial anxieties and a lack of any familial roots or support system. Brought too much misc crap, stained pants with mustard.
Why?
Around July, M noticed that nothing in life was going as planned. Work was in a weird inbetween due to two factories consolidating, resulting in a tense environment covered in a fog of layoffs and incoming machines + personnel. House hunting plans were going stale in a market of high bidding buyers, economic doomerism(from Jr), and an uncertain retirement looming… After talking to one of her ‘go getter’ nieces, she found herself having made a payment on a sitio rental, and with plane tickets purchased. Life lesson: “The stars will never align, so get up and do what has to be done.”
A very true but very unfortunate life lesson… husbands don’t fall from the sky, art skills don’t manifest themselves, and the perfect steak never gets made if you let it rot in the fridge…
Jr’s contribution: $$ and a warm body 👌
Criteria for a successful trip:
No fatalities
Lots of hugs with family
Pet lots of dogs (Jr)
The Itinerary:
Landed in Guarulhos, SP
Drove 3 hours to São Carlos for a 5 day stay with M’s hubby(the scientist), S.
Drove back to the Casa Verde region, stayed with S’s fam and visited some of M’s family and friends via Metro / Train / Uber
Drove down through Fog and mountains (“ The Serra“) to Bertioga and stayed with M’s fam
Main event, a 2 day stay in a rented Sitio in the Mogi das Cruzes region for a family reunion
Last day, back in Casa Verde before the plane flight.
A vacation back to your home country is for sure different than somewhere you’ve never been. Tbh I can’t say either one of us is less stressed than before, but maintaining connections to family and friends is worth it.
WHAT KIND OF TRIP THIS WAS
Not Tourism: … we went to the Ecological Park of Sao Carlos (a Zoo)- We also went to the Bi-Annual Book Festival in São Paulo!
All about Family: a little bit in each area, all doing their own thing to survive.
Heritage: uhh…
Everyday life: is all about working hard to grasp opportunities and find the bright spots in a dreary world.
What we deliberately did differently from a normal vacation: bro idk what a normal vacation even is… the last time I relaxed during a vacation was when I didn’t know what taxes were ;w;
WHAT THIS SERIES WILL EXPLORE
Money: I mean we prolly spent less than ‘tourists’, but not nothing…
Food: We ate a lot. I bet you’ll be surprised by the meaning of a traditional brazilian hotdog!
Family: Always manage to f up your plans!
Culture: Hugs and Kisses for everyone! Technically it’s supposed to be a brief hug with an air kiss to the cheek. Jr doesn’t understand this custom, and kisses everyone indiscriminately! Those who are too tall get kissed on the neck…
Transportation: Car, Metro, Train, and Uber!
Language: Portuguese!
Unexpected experiences: A stray dog decided to hang out with us during the family reunion. We messed up during check in for the flight to Brazil by using the wrong passports… My cards didn’t work and I nearly cried, multiple times!!
Below, I’ll attach some pictures from throughout the trip as a thanks if you send some zaps, but no pressure.
I’ll be writing more about each part of the trip soon. See ya!
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