Member-only story
I Spent 2 Weeks in São Paulo. It Was Nothing Like I Expected.
I thought I knew what Brazil would be like, but I was wrong
Before visiting Brazil, my idea of the country came mostly from familiar — even stereotypical — images: beaches, palm trees, football, Carnival and Rio de Janeiro.
São Paulo was different.
I knew it was one of the largest cities in the world, but it never featured in the picture I had formed in my head.
That changed as soon as I arrived.
How did this 22-year-old Irish boy end up in Brazil?
The opportunity to visit Brazil arose when my university began advertising a travel grant, the aim of which was to support international travel to undertake an activity that would develop skills relating to our degree pathway.
My degree was in Portuguese, so I suggested to my friend, ‘What if we applied and travelled to Brazil?’
That’s exactly what we did and, after a successful round of interviews, we were awarded the £1,000 bursary.
Luckily, we managed to find return flights from Dublin to Brazil (via Atlanta) for the absolute bargain price of £520 — unheard of btw! — and a really stunning looking Airbnb for around £400…
