September 15th 2011, just another date in most people’s calendars, marks a significant change in my life. It is the day I embarked upon a new adventure…the adventure called Brazil!
Though the roller coaster ride had begun much before – from the time the idea of Brazil was proposed to me…as we went from utter confusion...to endless wait...to excitement about what lies ahead...to fear of grand failure...to last minute cancellation threat – but on September 15th 2011, I was in Samba Land…with all the anxiety and excitement you can associate with any new challenge!
One week here and I already had a great preview of what lies ahead. It turned out that, the day I landed coincided with one coworker’s birthday and hence was the day for a crazy party…party which lasted till 4 am for some on a Thursday night! Next day went by quickly and of course party plans were made for the weekend. One of my friends here invited to pick me up on Saturday evening…only learnt later that by evening he meant around 10:30-11pm! By 10:30 pm I was ready and waiting for a Brazilian weekend experience…as I fought sleep...the clock kept ticking…11 pm…11:30...zzzzzz…midnight…zzz…12:50 am and finally I got a call stating that they will be down to pick me up in 10 minutes!!
The similarity between Mumbai (my hometown) and Sao Paulo is something which struck me as soon as I set foot here. Be it traffic, crowded streets, rash driving, pollution…or the city's energy, passion and mania for success! Another thing which is similar…the value of time commitments :)
Any experience in Brazil can’t be complete without "futbal" (soccer). In my first week itself I was taken to see a soccer match between arch-rivals …Sao Paulo versus Corinthians. The attendance….45,000 …the atmosphere…electric! But, what surprised me the most was the amount of security…the section of the stadium where the supporters of the visiting team were seated and the roads leading to it were sealed for locals; in addition there was helicopter surveillance throughout the match…not to mention the ludicrous amounts of armed police deployed! They say cricket is a religion in India and soccer is the same in Brazil…but, like for most things in world…you can’t really understand it till you actually experience it!!
Another weekend has dawned…I look forward to experience all what Brazil has to offer :)
Good going, makes for very interesting reading. Keep them coming.. Maybe one that'd be very interesting would be your take on different working styles in different geographies.
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