Fique tranquilo

As I sit back and wait on this plane that will take me back to my babies, I'm filled with gratitude for the opportunities that my work exposes me to. Reflecting on the memories I made with my team, some in meeting rooms but mostly walking around the city, in the malls, in downtown, on the streets and in the parks . Here are my highlights.

 People - What an incredibly hospitable culture and people I met. I saw hugs, animated conversations and peals of laughter aplenty. I was initially a tad anxious about my travel as I did not know the local language and was not sure how I'd be able to go about on my own. I knew I'd be ok in the local office where everyone is more than bi-lingual but was wondering how I'd get around town on my own. I learned quickly that the open minds of the locals and my over the top gestures and actions, made language a barrier we very quickly overcame. The warmth with which I felt welcomed everywhere, including strangers on the street helping me with directions, is something I will take back with me.

 Traffic - Sao Paulo is big, really big - the biggest city in the southern hemisphere. For perspective, it has a population of 12-14M people (pop density of 19K/sq mi) compared to NYC of 8.6M (pop density of 26K/sq mi). It is spread out over 587 sq. miles (compared to NYC 302 sq. miles). Understandably, when a city grows so fast and so big, traffic, and a lot of it, is an expected side-effect. However what amazed me about the traffic was that despite the traffic density, it was still very organized. Cars stayed in lanes. They had to - otherwise, they'd run over the bikes delivering food and services whizzing through the narrow gaps within the cars. In some places where the traffic was stop and go, street vendors were on the expressways standing on the lane separators, selling food - thus capitalizing brilliantly on a opportunity of customers being hungry on their long drives to/from work/home. Also, very noticeable was how few people were on their phones while driving which was such a welcome change. This fact combined with the people's acceptance of the traffic made their driving much calmer and less impacted by road rage - contrasting some of the other bigger cities traffic I've seen. 

 Payments - I was blown away by the sheer variety of payment instruments that local retailers were offering - from the traditional visa, master, amex to the more modern apple pay to the local payments through ame, boledo, elo and offline payments. This was not just in the big retailers but even at the street vendors including a street hawker where all she was selling was corn - one product, but over a dozen ways to pay. 

 Installments - Very rarely did I notice that something was not available on installments. While some retailers had a minimum threshold of 50 or 100 reals, most of them offered installments, interest free for at least 6- 12 months after which a nominal interest was charged. If customers chose to pay upfront, they often received a 5-10% discount which was likely the bank and interest fees that are otherwise built into the product or service price.

 Food - Most cultures love their food. Brazilians are no different. The variety of food, especially the fruits and vegetables was something I was looking forward to experiencing. Not only did I experience some of the local tropical fruit (pera - pears, goiaba - guavas, pineapple, watermelon, mamao - papaya, passion fruit to name a few) and vegetables, I loved experiencing the usage of it. I didn't think much of it when my team insisted I tried the Brazilian pizza but only realized why they were insisting when I finally tried it myself. The variety of vegetables that they creatively use - tapioca, cassava, broccoli, sweet potato - in their crusts or fries or pasta or bread - will certainly inspire even the most seasoned chefs. Codorna (a small quail) eggs which were the size of mozzarella cheese balls were a popular staple along with regular chicken eggs at breakfast. And of course, you cannot escape the smell, sight or the taste of the very so popular pao de queijo (cheese bread). I probably put away a few dozen paes de queijo in the few days I was there. As for beverages, coconut water and acai bowls were ever present but I also got to try the Brazilian national cocktail Caipirinha which was delicious (but fresh coconut water still for the win IMO).

 Lunch - the reason I call out lunch separately from the food itself is because food is food, but lunch is an experience. Lunch is a social experience. I did not see anyone that ate at their desks (even though I am sure there are times when some people may choose to do so). Most people stepped out with their colleagues to actually get out of the office, go and sit at a table to socialize and eat. They did not have their phones out. Most people were looking at one another and actually having a conversation while eating. There was a good mix of buffets and a la carte menus across the places we visited. I also learned that certain foods are eaten on certain days in general - like feijoada on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The dessert line up was unbelievable - mousse de chocolate, mousse de maracuja, bolo de queijo, bolo de chocolate, tapioca cheesecake, suspiro, were just a few things I tried.

Amaro.com - while all my learnings from Retail are for another day, I learned a lot from a very seamless omni channel experience at Amaro.com, an apparel store. This brand, very popular amongst millennials and gen z, has guide stores in strategic malls. In the store, they have very limited inventory, fitting rooms, branding for amaro.com, big Macs right on the center table with amaro.com open, iPads on some of the walls with their store open and with a few associates with their mobile phones with amaro app installed. We went in to the store and asked if we could try something in a different color, the associate pulled his phone out, scanned the item using the app, brought up the color options and asked if he could express ship it to me. He walked me to the desktop to show me other items in the store. He asked me to install the app and sign up to get a 5% discount. The app was a seamless experience with very good recommendations on what else I could buy with the item, gave me multiple options for payment including installments and then gave me the option to get the items express shipped or bike delivered for free the next day. Smooth and easy.

 Coriolis effect - finally, the thing I really enjoyed observing in person is the water twirling in the other direction when drained. It was my first time in the southern hemisphere to observe this effect. I have to admit I didn't know the name of this effect but learned that it was called the Coriolis after the French scientist who first documented it. For those of you that don't know like I didn't until I reached there, water (or any mass experiencing a rotating force) twirls in the anti-clockwise direction in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. It is caused by the earth's rotation. It impacts winds and weather patterns but can also be super easily observed in a sink! Try it!

 All in all, a wonderful, action packed 3 days. Lots of great learnings about the culture, people and the country. Thank you to the wonderful team that made it happen.

 #mymicrosoftlife #Brazil #learning #microsoftlife