Three Continents, One Degree of Separation

In São Paulo I stayed in a hostel for the first time, so I had no idea what to expect. As with the rest of São Paulo, I was pleasantly surprised. I stayed in a co-ed dorm room with about six other people (though the exact number varied day to day). Apart from the occasional obnoxious snorer, the room was quiet and I was able to sleep well there. My room had a pretty diverse group of people: a strange but harmless 40+ American guy, a Swiss couple in their late 30s, Brazilian, Colombian, and Australian guys in their early 20s, and an English guy about my age. The English guy, Gaby, had the bunk below me, and we got to talking quite a bit. As it turns out, we both know the same girl – she goes to his university in England and is studying at PUC with me. It amazes me that an American girl and an English guy can meet in São Paulo and discover that the both know the same girl who’s currently living in Rio de Janeiro. Three continents, two new friends, and only one degree of separation - how’s that for global interconnectedness?

Finding out you know the same person is a pretty good icebreaker, so after that we were well on our way to becoming fast friends, at least for the next 48 hours or so. By chance we happened upon two other English girls, Lauren and Rosie, who were also staying there, though in a different room. We’re all approximately the same age and discovered that we all study the same things, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American/Hispanic Studies. We’re all in South America this semester as part of our degree program, though Gaby’s in Buenos Aires, the girls are in a small town in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and I, of course, am in Rio. And we all just happened to take a weekend trip to São Paulo at the same time. With so much in common, we had no end of things to talk about, and over the course of two evenings, we spent about twelve hours just sitting around talking. After awhile I felt like I knew them just as well as any of my friends here in Rio. On Saturday night the four of us went out to a club together, as if we’d always been friends. I came to São Paulo expecting to spend the weekend on my own, which would’ve been fine, but it was so much more fun spending it with them.

It was interesting talking with the other guests, as well. At least four of them had been traveling for a year of more, though where they got the money to do that, I have no idea. It seemed like everyone was either coming from or going to Buenos Aires. I’m going to Buenos Aires next week since it’s our fall break (I’m in the Southern Hemisphere, remember), so I was happy to be part of that trend! Everyone said it’s an amazing city, so I can’t wait to see for myself. Gaby was planning to visit Rio after São Paulo, and I kept catching myself feeling jealous of him for getting to go to Rio. Then I would remember, “Oh yeah – I LIVE there!” I love my life.