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February/March 2020 FORUM

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February/March2020

EscapetotheClubeHípica

ByHelenShaw

CONSULATECORNER

Ilove living in São Paulo. The bustling

streets, the bars and restaurants, the

culture,themusic,thepeople–everyday,

I marvel at how lucky I am to live here. I’ve

livedinalotofbigcities,butSãoPauloisby

farthebiggestandthebusiest.Asmuchas

I love it here, sometimes the endless

concrete gets to me, and I just feel this

inescapableurgetogetoutintonature.

That’s why once week, near the end of my

workday at the Consulate, I catch myself

lookingattheclock.Iwaitimpatientlyasthe

minutes tick by. As soon as work is over, I

grabmybootsandhelmetanddriveoutto

the clube hípica, the equestrian club. I

breatheindeeply,andsuddenlythosecity

smellsarereplacedwiththesmellofhorses,

hay,andtrees—awelcomechange.

WhenIarriveatthestables,I’mgreetedby

one of the horse grooms. He’s got an

infectioussmileandalwaysseemstobein

a good mood, talking a million miles a

minute as he zips around the stables,

tacking and untacking the horses. He’s a

good foot shorter than I am, but doesn’t

seem to be afraid of even the biggest,

grumpiest horses. This is good for me,

becauseInfiniti,thehorseIride,isabsolutely

enormous and always seems to be in a

terriblemood.

The groom helps me get saddled up and

mountedonthehorse,andthenInfinitiand

Iambleouttothering,wheremytraineris

waiting.Mytraineriseffortlesslycoolerthan

Iwilleverbe,andwhileI’mputtingmyhorse

through his paces, he wanders around

dictatingvoicememostohismanyfriends

onWhatsApp,intrueBrazilianfashion.

IappreciateridinginBrazil.WhenIusedto

ride in the United States, I got the feeling

that my trainers were overly worried that I

wouldfall,hurtmyself,andsuethem.Here,

mytrainerisn’tafraidtochallengeme.Not

tomention,ofcourse,thatpracticingasport

inadifferentlanguageisagreatwaytolearn

new vocabulary in Portuguese – not just

things like “stirrups” and “reins” but also

words like “counter-clockwise” and “figure

eight”. By chatting with the people at the

stables, I learn slang and idiomatic

expressions that I would never learn in my

moreformaluseofPortugueseatwork.

After my riding lesson is over, I often hang

aroundchattingwiththehorsetrainersand

grooms.Theyaskmeaboutwhatlifeislike

intheUnitedStates(“Soyou’refromTexas,

did you ride a horse to school?”), and I ask

them my questions about Brazil (“Why are

Brazilianssointothevoicememofeatureof

WhatsApp?”). Spending the afternoon at

the stables allows me to interact with

Braziliansoutsideofworkandtoengagein

the type of person-to-person exchange of

ideas and culture that is the foundation of

diplomacy.

To me, the clubehípica is a welcome oasis

in the vast expanse of concrete that is São

Paulo. Going there – to the fresh air, the

smells, the horses, and the people I am so

fondof–isnowoneofthemanyreasonsI

lovelivinginSãoPaulo.§

USCitizenContacts

Emergencies:(11)3250-5373

(incarceration, detainment, evacuation,

health)

Non-Emergencies:(11)3250-5000(from

1-2pmdaily)orsaopauloacs@state.gov

(lostpassports,repatriationofremains,Social

Security,minorhealthissues)

@USCitsBrazil

TheofficialU.S.EmbassyTwitter

account for American citizens in Brazil.

TheEnglishfeedfeaturesdailytipsand

newsfortheexpatcommunity.

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TheAmericanSocietyofSãoPauloFORUMNewsletter

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