We Explore the Streets near our Hotel

David and I set out soon after breakfast for a couple of errands and to get a feel for the area we were in. I had done a "google map" for several square blocks but since we don't have a printer, I drew the map. Our first stop was at a "farmacia" since David forgot razors and he didn't want to spend the entire time here shaving with Lady Bics. We were assured that most people we would be dealing with would speak English but we are finding that far from accurate. Hardly anyone aside from those David & Rena's company and the front desk people at the hotel speak much English and most people speak no English. We get by with the guide book of phrases and hand gestures. For instance for the razors, David pantomimed shaving and we get "ah, barba." When it is time to pay, most vendors have a small calculator and just type in the amount and we pay it.

Our next errand was to find a bank to get Reais. American dollars are not readily accepted and there is always a foreign transaction fee for using bank cards. However, we found out you get an excellent exchange rate using the ATM machine and no exchange fees. The problem was trying to find a bank that first took our Plus network card and second finding a bank where we could read the ATM machines, i.e., English (gestures wouldn't work). Just a few blocks from our hotel is just such a bank. Once we put the card in, we were asked what language.

It is hot and humid in Jundiai today. After just about an hour and a half of walking, we were sweaty. So it was back to our hotel. We have a rooftop pool in an atrium so we went for a dip. The water was wonderful. There were no towels but the young lady already there, when we asked her in our broken Portuguese and small words in English, understood we wanted towels. She arranged for housekeeping to bring us two towels to the pool.

After the swim and cool down, we went out again for lunch and exploring in a different direction. We found a street vendor selling hot dogs. Four hot dogs and two diet cokes cost us R$7 which is about US$3.80. We then walked to the overpass of Avenida Jundiai where it crosses Avenida 9th de Julho. Most pictures you see posted on the Internet that feature Jundiai will show this intersection. A park is just on the other side of this intersection. We soon discovered we had passed our area of comfort when we entered the park. We were immediately approached by a panhandler. There was even evidence of people living in the park (bed rolls among the bushes and flowers). We took a couple of pictures and were approached by yet another panhandler as we left the park. With both panhandlers we just keep repeating "nao nao" and keep walking away. We won't be going back to the park.

For our evening meal, we went to a very small restaurant we had passed on our morning walk. No one at the restaurant spoke any English and the menu did not have English "sub-titles" we have seen at other places. Some how the waiter understood us and we ordered "chicken with salad" which turned out quite well. I would describe what we had as most like a salad with grilled chicken ("frango").

One thing that is hard for us to get used to is not tipping. We have been told many times that tipping is not expected or necessary. In fact, most meals at restaurants already have a 10% "tip" already added to the bill. Some how that doesn't seem quite enough and we find ourselves, out of habit I'm sure, leaving something on the table, and especially for this waiter who did not understand most of what we were asking but managed to bring something just right.