Well I made it. The trip started out quite inauspiciously as my flight was cancelled from Albany to JFK because of mechanical issues. Instead of re-booking me on another flight, which was apparently impossible, they decided to drive me and 5 others to the airport instead. This was fine. I didn’t mind – I had plenty of time. But the driver had severe OCD and panicked while driving over the Tappan Zee bridge. He was also terrified to drive in NYC. He dropped me off at the wrong terminal and refused to drive us anywhere else for fear of getting lost. At least the experience gave me hope that I wouldn’t be such a bad taxi driver, should it come to it.
I was met at the airport by Leandro, as planned. We got to the hotel at 6 on Saturday with a quick glimpse of the new TNC office under construction. It will surely be the pride of TNC in the southern hemisphere when complete. My hotel is about a 5 minute walk from the office. And quite the hotel it is!
Sunday I spent the day walking the city. For those who don’t know, Brasilia is a planned city. It was constructed from scratch in 1956 and completed a mere 4 years later. The design of the city is modeled 
after an airplane, with the wings making the 2 main sectors of the city. The main east west axis is bisected by a north south axis acting as the fuselage. From the outset, the city was meant to be driven. The axes are designed to facilitate traffic movements. People are a different story, from what I discovered. Trying to get from my hotel(in the hotel sector – everything is thematically placed in the city) to the main tourist attraction – on foot – was quite the challenge. I witnessed no fewer than 8 people(old ladies included) sprinting across the street. I realized that it wasn’t just me who couldn’t find the crosswalk…
After just a day I started to get my bearings and felt more comfortable. It’s amazing how quickly that can happen! Here’s some pics from the first day.
Santuario Dom Bosco
Looking towards buses and government buildings
Catedral
2 Comments
April 30, 2008 at 12:48 am
Whoa…it’s a space-agey place! All those monolithic government buildings must make you feel quite at home. Glad to hear you made it despite the taxi driver’s efforts not drive you further. How is he going to make a buck with an attitude like that? Love that you are blogging already — keep it up!
p.s., Perry said on Sunday he misses you already
May 1, 2008 at 11:49 am
I just noticed the uniBRAS sign. The women in Brazil must really be into unicycling if they have their own dedicated undergarment store. Sweet!