After spending 20 days in the jungles of Brazil, we visited 3 cities of Brazil at the end of our trip. The first one was Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America. Ray and I taught at the American International School in Sao Paulo from 1974-1976. Ray taught Chemistry and physics, and I taught math and general science. We were half of the whole science department. Our daughter Ling Ling was born in Sao Paulo, so this city holds many fond memories. Superintendent Richard was out of the country, and Tracy, the school’s chief administration officer, welcomed us with open arms. She brought out the old yearbooks and showed the pictures when we were teachers there. How young we looked 50 years ago! Tracy then took us on a tour of the campus. A lot has changed in half of the century. The most noticeable was the security installed at the entrance. We used to drive our car straight onto the campus, and now we had to go through several security checks before being allowed in. The school expanded about twice the size and now has 1300 students (Preschool to 12th grade), 280 teachers, and staff. It still is one of the largest international schools in Sao Paulo. We met the current science teachers; many of them were not even born when we were there. Everyone was curious about what the school was like so long ago. In the modern science room with a smart board and many computers, I told them that the first Hulette Packard 8-function calculator was sold for $300 in 1975, and only the rich students could afford it. We all laugh at the changes in half a century.
We drove around Sao Paulo with our tour guide, Laura, trying to find the old neighborhood where we had lived for two years. It was impossible because Sao Paulo had grown so much, with all the infrastructure and high rises built over the years. The old neighborhood no longer existed. We stopped by Batman’s Alley, where some famous mural art covered both sides of the walls. My favorite one was the black and white beetle. Sao Paulo has a cathedral, but Our Lady of Brazil church is by far a prettier church. The wall was covered with hand-painted blue tiles, and the ceiling resembled the Sistine Chapel. Sao Paulo, being the financial center of South America, has many expensive Condos and Apartments. Some even have beautiful balcony gardens. However, when you look past the tennis courts and the swimming pools, you see a favela (slum city) right on the other side. Sao Paulo is widely considered to be the wealthiest city in Brazil, but the gap between the rich and poor is hard to ignore.
