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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