Como chegar ao Laçador

A estátua do Laçador é um dos cartões postais de Porto Alegre. O monumento é de autoria do escultor Antônio Caringi. O Laçador é o Símbolo Oficial de +Porto Alegre  e também tombado como patrimônio histórico de Porto Alegre. Ele se encontra no sítio O Laçador, junto à Avenida dos Estados, próximo ao número 747 (quase em frente ao Terminal 2 do Aeroporto Internacional Salgado Filho, em Porto Alegre).

O Laçador

Acesso pela Estação Aeroporto

Apesar de se localizar bem próximo ao Aeroporto de Porto Alegre e à Estação Aeroporto da Empresa de Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre S.A. (TRENSURB), se deslocar até o Laçador a pé destes locais poderá ser bastante cansativo. Usando o Google Maps, a distância entre a Estação Aeroporto e o Laçador chega a aproximadamente 654 metros ou 2145 pés (veja o trajeto na linha azul do mapa abaixo). A distância entre o Terminal 1 do Aeroporto e o Laçador é ainda maior.

Visualizar Sítio O Laçador, Porto Alegre, RS, República Federativa do Brasil em um mapa maior

Acesso pelo Hotel Novotel Porto Alegre Airport, Hotel Ibis Porto Alegre Aeroporto e Hotel Deville Porto Alegre Aeroporto

Estando em Porto Alegre a negócios ou a passeio, a melhor forma de chegar ao Laçador é de táxi. O melhor horário para uma boa foto no local é no período da manhã, em função da posição do sol em relação à estátua.

Acesso por ônibus de Porto Alegre

Para quem já está em Porto Alegre o melhor é chegar ao local de ônibus usando as linhas: B09-1 Aeroporto/Iguatemi; B091-1 Aeroporto/Iguatemi/Anchieta; ou ainda a linha 702-1 Bairro Anchieta.

Não será difícil perceber quando o ônibus se aproxima do aeroporto. De qualquer forma, sente-se próximo ao cobrador e peça para avisá-lo(a) sobre a parada mais próxima da Estátua do Laçador, pois tanto a linha B091-1 quanto a linha 702-1 percorrem uma longa extensão até o Bairro Anchieta após passar pelo local.

A linha de ônibus B091-1 Aeroporto/Iguatemi/Anchieta cumpre um percurso bem amplo, cruzando por avenidas importantes da zona norte da cidade, tais como Avenida Assis Brasil, Avenida Dr. Nilo Peçanha, Avenida Protásio Alves e outras. Seu traçado lembra as linhas transversais da Carris (T1, T2, etc.), pois a linha B091-1 não passa pelo Centro da Cidade.

Trajeto da linha de ônibus B091-1 Aeroporto/Iguatemi/Anchieta. Fonte: Google Maps

A linha de ônibus 702-1 Bairro Anchieta percorre toda a Avenida Farrapos. No final da Avenida Farrapos há uma curva à direita, onde é possível avistar a Estação Farrapos (à esquerda do ônibus). A seguir o veículo passará por baixo do Viaduto Leonel Brizola e a seguir já será possível avistar à direita o Aeroporto Salgado Filho. Neste ponto a qualquer momento o cobrador do ônibus deverá lhe informar sobre o local de descida.

Trajeto da linha de ônibus 702-1 Bairro Anchieta. Fonte: Google Maps

Acesso por automóvel sentido Centro - Aeroporto

A outra opção é ir de carro, pela Avenida dos Estados (continuação da Avenida Farrapos, no sentido Centro - bairros). O Sítio O Laçador possui estacionamento gratuito.

Acesso por automóvel sentido BR-116 - Porto Alegre

Em direção ao Centro de Porto Alegre, passe pelo anel viário do Aeroporto e entre à esquerda, na Avenida Ceará, no cruzamento que se encontra abaixo do Viaduto Leonel Brizola (o primeiro viaduto após passar o aeroporto). Siga pela Avenida Ceará, passe pela Rua transversal Vinte e Cinco de Fevereiro. Entre à esquerda na Rua 18 de Novembro e dobre novamente à esquerda na Rua Edu Chaves. Siga até o final desta rua, no cruzamento com a Avenida dos Estados. Entre na Avenida dos Estados e tome a pista mais à direita, saindo da pista principal.

ショッピングセンター建設による都市開発

　日本における中規模以上の都市が発展するのは、駅が中心です。

駅にはまず駅ビルが入り、駅周辺にはデパートや商業施設・マンションなどが建設され、街の様々なインフラが整備されます。駅から近ければ近いほど便利であるため、地価は駅からの距離に比例して高くなります。

　このように日本では都市の発展に関して電車が果たす役割は非常に大きいです。

　一方、ブラジルにおける中規模以上の都市の発展の形は、電車が通る駅ではなく、長距離バス用のバスターミナルが中心だと言えそうです。

なぜなら、ブラジルにはそもそも大都市を除けば電車がなく、バス社会だからです。ただ、近年は格安航空会社の参入により、飛行機チケットが求めやすくなっているため、ブラジル国内の長距離移動を考えれば飛行機社会になりつつあると言えます。

しかし、基本的に空港は郊外に建設されるために、都市は空港を中心に発展しません。

それでは何を基本にブラジルの中規模以上の都市は発展するのでしょうか。

私の考えでは、ブラジルでの都市はショッピングセンターを中心に発展しているのではないかと考えています。

２００１年から私が住んでいるポルトアレグレは人口が約１４０万人、ブラジル最南端のリオグランデドスル州の州都です。

私が住み始めた当時も、ポルトアレグレには既にショッピングセンターが何箇所かありましたが、実はここ４、５年新しいショッピングセンターが次々と建設されています。

今日はその中の３つのショッピングセンターを紹介します。

１．ショッピングトータル

ポルトアレグレのセントロ地区近郊には長い間大きなショッピングセンターがありませんでした。そこで、１９世紀から１９９８年までビール醸造所として利用されてきた建物を改修し、２００３年にショッピングトータルとして落成しました。

このショッピングには映画館・大型スーパーといった通常の施設のほかに、比較的小規模のお店が５００以上も入っているのが大きな特徴です。歴史的建造物を再活用することでセントロ地区近郊の活性化を促進したという点で、非常に評価できます。

２．バッハショッピングスル

　

　ポルトアレグレ市の南部にはショッピングセンターが存在しませんでした。しかし、ポルトアレグレ市内を貫く第３幹線道路の建設を機に、不法占有者などが多く住む同地区の開発に乗り出し、バッハショッピングスルが２００８年末に落成されました。

このショッピングは、敷地面積が約７万平方メートルあり、駐車場には４０００台の収容が可能で、大型スーパー・映画館・プレイグラウンドなどのほか、２１５の店舗を有しています。

同地区には元々何もなかったために、周辺スラム街の住民たちに雇用の機会を提供したほか、同地区周辺のマンションの建設ラッシュ、インフラ設備の整備などショッピング建設による同地区への経済効果は非常に大きく、理想的な都市開発であったと言えます。

３．ブルボン・ウォリグ 

　今年４月に落成されたばかりのポルトアレグレで一番新しいショッピングセンターです。同ショッピングセンターの近郊には、既に大型ショッピングが２つあるために、どのような意図で建設されたのかはよく分かりませんが、周辺は道路が整備されたほか、高級マンションが建設されており、一定の経済効果はあったとは思います。

このショッピングが他のものと違う点は、日本のデパートのように縦型の７階建てであるということです。ブラジルは日本の国土の２３倍もある大国ですから、通常ショッピングは土地を贅沢に利用した横長スタイルの２・３階建てが多いのが特徴です。

以上、ポルトアレグレにあるショッピングを３つ紹介しましたが、それぞれ特徴は違うものの、ショッピングセンターを通じた地域の発展という意味では、みんな共通しているのではないかと思います。

ポルトアレグレを訪れた際には、そんな視点を持ってショッピングセンターをご利用になるのも面白いかもしれません。

Evolving Porto Alegre

Porto Alegre like all the world´s cities is a ragbag of the great and the dire. I love living here quite like I love Lemmy from Motorhead, warts´n´all, but there´s room for improvement. Much smaller than London it offers many things we Londoners don’t have and we can learn from the way of life here as no doubt Alegrenses learn from our gross and gourdy metropolis. Obviously the first thing that should change in Brazil is the huge gulf between rich and poor which leads to crime and destitution the world over, but apart from that here is my list of things I think PoA could do with and without…

Do with:

garam masala - bring your own or see if you can find it in the public market!

Curry: If an Alegrense says they like spicy food they´re telling black lies, there isn´t one good Indian restaurant in the whole town. Not one. Where are the nosebleed vindaloos? Can I even get an authentic chicken tikka masala? Visitors, bring your own gram masala and colman´s mustard with you. See also branston pickle and cheddar cheese!

Bus timetables – Bus shelters, half-pipes of corrugated iron, line the streets but you learn more about jesus and strip joints than you do the times and destinations of the sadly characterless buses. Import those retro buses from Argentina, they´re far more exotic, and put up timetables.

where are we going?

Cycle lanes – When I first arrived here in 2011, a manifestation by cyclists for better facilities and safer roads made world headlines when a maniac plowed into it with his car. Fortunately no one was killed. Since then there still aren´t cycle paths on the road and motorists are as selfish as ever. Why not go green and replace the lane slaloming taxis with rickshaws or make them solar powered with max speeds of 20mph?

Monkeys – I don´t get why anyone would be proud that Porto Alegre doesn´t have monkeys and think us foreigners ignorant or rude for expecting them. Since when was having cute little monkeys a bad thing? The mata atlantica used to belong to them, species like the blond capuchins are all endangered now so reintroduce them, it´s not like you don´t have enough trees.

More saliva – I love sharing a chimarrão with strangers but why not share ice lollies and cutlery as well?

Others: sound time-keeping, cheaper dvds and snow at Christmas

Things PoA can do without:

Giselle Bundchen – If you blindfolded a newcomer to Brazil and took them from Salgado Filho airport to the centro historico, the shock of so many ugly people would make them think they´d entered the twilight zone by mistake. Porto Alegre has more than its fair share of beautiful women, enticing us ugly expats to your shores, but be honest, you have a plethora of different people of all shapes and sizes and too much body consciousness to sustain them. Be proud of everyone not just the size zeros and vacuous supermodels.

The Beatles and ACDC – Okay, they´re great, I get it. But while universidade sertanejo and Brazilian funk deservedly take the flak, the gaucho mobsession with these two bands is chatissimo (really boring). Putting your baby in an ACDC t-shirt makes ACDC less cool and makes you a moron.

This building – 

unfinished since 1956

Maniac Taxi Drivers: If you want to feel like a princess here, take a taxi. Within minutes of hurtling down the road you will feel like Princess Diana. The fast lane in Brazil is whatever lane your taxi happens to be in.

Others: rip-off internet shops, stripclub flyers all over the pavement (use blue tack) and the facebook page for estrangeiros/foreigners in Porto Alegre which is oddly unfriendly and snooty.

But what can we Londoners take from Porto Alegre?... I will blog about that soon!

Practicing Portugese in Porto Alegre

´Rua Lima e Silva,´ I repeat for the third time. ´Por favor!´ The cab driver understands and we set off.  ´American?´ He asks. ´Não Búlgaro,´ I say. ´Eu sou da Bulgaria´. The cab driver turns round in astonishment, ´Sêrio?´ - we almost crash and I grab the puta merda handle. ´Sim,´I reply. ´Da Sofia´… I smile to myself, now I have a captive listener to practice my Portugese on. In the following 10 minute cab journey, I manage to articulate the enormous differences between Brazil and Bulgaria in the food, weather and geography all in my best pigeon Portugese! The cab driver is genuinely interested as I tell him my own story of how orphaned in the Great War I grew up in a forest, making a living as a chess hustler until I was given a place at the prestigious Sophia University of Espionage. All lies of course, I´ve never even been to Bulgaria and am pretty sure their currency isn´t Dumplings, but we´re not talking English, we´re talking Portugese, the language I´ve spent the last 2 years learning and until I invented my alter-ego Englebert hardly ever got a chance to use.

Typical reaction when I try to speak Portugese

You see being a native English speaker in Brazil is a blessing and a curse. One´s as surrounded by friends wanting to practice their English as a lightbulb besieged by moths. You´re held in very high esteem: you´re an ambassador, a philosopher, a wordsmith and raconteur. You´re all these things and more, while you´re speaking English. When you open your gob and mangled Portugese comes out, then you can see the smiles drop, interest snap, you´re suddenly a dolt, a burden, a malfunctioning robot. How many times I´ve had my friends beg me to ´Speak English!´?  How many times do they let me get halfway through an anecdote before detonating my grammar mistakes, leaving its ending hanging in the air? I have one friend with superlative English who translates everything I say in Portugese back to me in English. ´Me passa um copo´ ´Pass you a cup?´  Yeh, thanks mate.

Oooô lariá laiô obá obá obá

One night I was invited by some friends to watch them play Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, surprisingly, it´s as popular over here as say football. For five hours, I listened and understood almost everything they said to each other in Portugese. For five hours, I journeyed through towns of vampires, battled giant worms and watched spells being cast and mice having sex. All in Portugese. The only time the magic of the roleplay was interrupted was when one of the gamers would speak to me, and when they did they spoke in English! Come on guys, what the hell? 

Some of my friends have begun humoring me with the odd five minutes here and there, and for those brief spells my shackles are lifted and I can see the light of day, but then it´s suddenly over and it´s back into your hole you wretched troglodyte. And thus Englebert was born, the bane of shopkeepers. As myself I would shyly mumble for paracetamol only for the shopkeeper to look in a bread oven and tell me ´no more´, leaving me to shuffle off dejected. But Englebert doesn´t give up, he talks over those who would speak English at him. He wants not your pity. ´Uma maça´ ´An apple?´ ´Não eu quero uma maça, droga!´

People here seem taken aback that you´re trying to learn Portugese. In London, we´ve developed a facility for understanding peculiar pronunciations of the Queen´s.  Porto Alegrenses and Brazilians will also need this listening skill because while English is now the world language, many non-English Engleberts will descend in great waves upon this city in 2014 and 2016. Moreover, they need to be considerate of the few lonely expats who already live here and see grasping the lingo as the key to a richer life in this wonderful city.

Some tips for practicing your Portugese:

- Go to the church, synagogue, mosque or espirtualist temple and join in with prayers out loud

-Teach English to beginner students where a bit of translation is acceptable

-Find a Brazilian girlfriend or boyfriend, preferably someone who has never tried to decipher the lyrics of their favourite band

- Go to Subway or a supermarket where you can assemble your own sandwich

-Commit to memory the following volumes: dungeons and dragons – livro do jogador and livro dos monstros

Brique da Redenção in Porto Alegre

Every Sunday from 9AM to 6PM the Porto Alegrense (those who were born/ or live in Porto Alegre)  walk and relax in their favorite place: Brique da Redenção. It is located on Avenue José Bonifácio -Parque Farropilha. Here is a map [Link in maintenance]. To create a more relaxing atmosphere, the avenue is closed to cars all Sundays.

 Brique da Redenção is a fair where you can find dozens of booths with crafts, fine arts, antiques, and food.  It was created in 1978 because the Municipal Administration of Porto Alegre decided to develop an antiques fair modeled after  San Telmo in Buenos Aires and Mercado de Pulgas in Montevidéu. Its first name was Mercado das Pulgas, but in 2000 the name Brique da Redenção was registered and it is what we have called it ever since.

In the area of fine arts, there are paintings, artist who create caricatures, wooden art, and sculptures. You can find crafts made from various materials such as leather, silver, wire, wood, resin, iron, plaster, glass, and porcelain. The fair is ideal for antiques collectors seeking rare objects. This is one of the best parts of the fair, because you can find things like old phones and drawer knobs, and other beautiful things . There is also a variety of foods, ranging from snacks to pastries, cookies, pies and various juices. If you are into  honey, biscuits, and other homemade delicacies, you will be at the right place. Currently, there are 180 exhibitors of crafts, 70 of antiques , 40 of fine arts, and 10 of culinary items.

In this traditional fair, you can also find rustic toys, kits for chimarrão, miniature cars and souvenirs for your friends. The vendors are friendly and you can touch most of the objects while you are looking at them. The prices are not bad. It is always worth it to check out the Brique da Redenção for gifts, for example, instead going to expensive stores at the mall.

However, don’t think the Brique da Redenção is only a place to shop. Going there is always a surprise, because you will never know what you will see. Sometimes there are clowns juggling and people cheering. Other times, you can get lucky and watch an art show by those who want to enrich the fair by bringing cultural events. It is really fun for  the whole family! Don’t forget your camera because pictures are allowed.

Another way to enjoy your day there, is visiting the Parque Redenção. It is a huge park where you can find a lot of trees (incidentally, Porto Alegre has many of them), shade, and grass where you can just sit and talk. There are also some activities for the kids, such as swings and slides. Balls are allowed and the children are always playing.

Brique da Redenção is full of people walking, talking, drinking chimarrão, and just relaxing, especially on sunny weekend mornings. If you want to stay all day, don’t hesitate to have a lunch there and enjoy the park Redenção in the afternoon. Here is a good tip: bring a blanket or towel because after lunch you will want to take a nap. Believe me, it is so peaceful, you can´t resist an afternoon nap.

 Have a great time, I´ll see you there

Beer in Brazil Part Deux

An English man, a Scottish man and an Irish man walk into a pub in Porto Alegre…. The joke´s on them, there are no Pubs, no real pubs, in Porto Alegre as far as I can tell after 2 years here.  Not pubs as we would understand them in any case. This is not a slur just an innocent observation as there are some inextricable differences in atmosphere, method, blah and blah. That said, there are lots of good, some great, Pubstitutes. Some of them are even called Pubs as opposed to Bars to make them easier to spot.

Say you fancy a liquid lunch, pubs in Porto Alegre don´t usually open till about 6pm so you´ll find yourself having to sit in a neon-blanched lanchonette sharing a midday drinking sesh with retirees. To get a good beer at that time of day the best place I know is Café Cantante in Bom Fim. The staff are nice and you´ll never be alone as there are other lonely people sat in close proximity to you sipping their coffee, reading the paper and wobbling about on the dainty furniture.

Kerouac- Best English night in the city

After 6pm on a Tuesday (the beginning of the drinking week for most locales) you can find a variety of botecos, bars and pseudo-pubs in the area of Cidade Baixa. All of the pubs have table service which means you rarely get up save to go to the bathroom but makes it difficult to mingle.  When you enter these establishments you are given a comanda, a slip of paper on which your orders are tallied and which you lose under pain of a billion R$ fine. The fine is only to spook you, there´s no legal way they can make you pay it. The real problem with the comanda system is when you miscalculate your own funds.

Sadly, the vibrancy of cidade baixa has been coming under attack from a neighbourhood coalition demanding curfews. This has cut off the life blood to some smaller, newer pubs who depend on live music to keep going. The new pubs that don´t have an immediate buzz around them find themselves skittering around like Bambi on ice and are soon dead. The longevity of a pub is one of the deeper differences between back home and here. If you get the chance before it slips off the edge of the world then I heartily recommend the bluesy  beatnik bar the Kerouac Rock Pub in Cidade Baixa which has live music and a kick-ass English pub quiz (see Pub Quiz POA on facebook for info).

Bier Keller - where mugs defy gravity

Some other places I recommend:  First, the Bier Keller is a mysterious tavern hidden somewhere in Porto Alegre. It´s beautifully decorated and has a giant walk-in fridge stocked full of beers from around the world. Entry is by invitation only and it´s a little pricey but the atmosphere is wonderful. Second, the Malt Store in Petropolis is a shop offering a vast array of beers. It has a few tables for degustaçao, meaning you can drink yourself merry until about 10pm. Third, Imperial on the corner of Rua Santana, is a great, great boteco with ninja-fast service, top food and a real buzz. Last and my favourite pseudo-pub is Lagom. A brew-pub in Bom Fim where you can be served draught beers in pints and listen to Maiden!

Some places to avoid: It´d be unfair to name names. Certain irish bars near Redenção with their no havaiana policy (isn´t this Brazil?); an eponymously owned pub on Avenida Mariland where they´ll try to convince you that their sound system isn´t malfunctioning and that Robert Plant raps as fast as Apache Indian while simultaneously telling you that Baden on the menu means Baden Crystal and not Baden Golden which is 5r$ more please; a Bukowski joint which would be amazing if it had about 10 more floors to fit all the sardines in. 

I haven´t been to all of the so-called pubs here, whole streets and neighbourhoods are missing from my experience, and I imagine there´s many more wonderful surprises in store, perhaps even a real pub with London Pride on tap and KP nuts and Sunday roast. 

Sharing my experiences of beer in Brazil, how it´s served and where to find it! (Read part 1)

Now, if you're looking for bars with latin music in, try here.

ポルトガル語はポルトアレグレで!?

　日本人がブラジルに真っ先に抱くイメージにはどんなものがあるでしょうか。

　サンバ。カーニバル。サッカー。美しいビーチ。常夏の気候。アマゾン。

　こういった日本人がイメージするブラジルを代表する都市と言えば、やはり世界的観光都市でもあるリオデジャネイロと言って間違いないかと思います。

　私もリオデジャネイロには何度か行き、実際に会場に足を運んで本場のカーニバルを２度見ましたが、その迫力に圧倒されました。また、白い砂浜が続くビーチにはビキニ姿の美女たち戯れているほか、コルコバードのキリスト像やポン・ヂ・アスーカルからの景観はまさに絶景であり、リオデジャネイロは観光客が是非とも１度は訪れるべき場所だと言えます。

　ただ、リオデジャネイロを見ただけで、ブラジルを語るのはちょっと早計過ぎます。

　なぜなら、ブラジルの国土は日本の２３倍もあり、ブラジルの北部と南部では気候も違えば、人種・習慣・料理・文化などが各地方によって全く違うからです。

　今日、この記事で取り上げるお勧めのブラジルの都市は、私が１１年半住んでいるポルトアレグレという町です。ポルトアレグレはブラジル最南端のリオグランデドスル州の州都で、人口が約１４０万人、イタリア・ドイツを中心としたヨーロッパ系移民が多く移住したため、ブラジル全体と比べて白人が多いのが特徴です。

また、ブラジル最南端に位置しているため、１年中温暖な気候のリオデジャネイロと違って四季が存在し、夏は蒸し暑く冬は寒いと言えます。ただ、寒いと言っても零度を下回る事はないため、東京よりは３・４度ほど平均気温が高く、比較的過ごし易いのではないかと思います。

そして、このような気候のせいか、ガウーショ(リオグランデドスル州の住民)の気質は、日本人がブラジル人に抱く陽気なカリオカとは違い、真面目で勤勉な人が比較的多いので、そのギャップに戸惑うこともあるかもしれません。

私はポルトガル語を真剣に勉強したい日本人の学生さんには、このブラジルらしからぬポルトアレグレという町が最適ではないかと考えています。その主な理由を以下に挙げます。

第１の理由は、リオグランデドスル州連邦大学(UFRGS)やポルトガル語の語学学校などの教育機関が整備されている事です。UFRGSには外国人向けのポルトガル語講座が開設されており、中国人・韓国人などのアジア系、アルゼンチン人・コロンビア人などの南米諸国の留学生と一緒にポルトガル語を学べます。また、学生ビザも発行しているため、１か月位の短期間から１年といった長期間に渡ってポルトガル語を勉強したい人には便利です。

第２の理由は、サンパウロ州やパラナ州などと違い、日本人・日系人が少ない事です。前述のポルトガル語講座には日本人学生や企業の語学研修生が多少いますが、街中で日本人に出会う事は滅多になく、アパートやホームステイなどをすれば、周囲に日本人が全くいない最適な語学環境でポルトガル語の勉強に励む事ができます。

第３の理由は、ポルトガル語の発音・方言が比較的標準語に近い事です。サンパウロも悪くはないのですが、リオデジャネイロやブラジル北東部のサルバドールなどで話されているポルトガル語は訛りが強く、ポルトガル語初心者には難しいばかりか、一旦それを覚えてしまうと、ブラジル国内の他地域に行った時にその発音の違い(訛り)を指摘される可能性があります。

第４の理由は、ブラジル人が日本語を勉強している大学・学校が比較的多い事です。同機関で日本語を教えていらっしゃる方は日本人や日系人が主なのですが、もし留学中に何か相談したい事があれば、これらの日本人に頼ることも可能です。また、これらの機関で日本語を勉強している日本に興味を抱いているブラジル人は親切な人がほとんどであり、友達になって交流を深める事もできます。

第５の理由は、ウルグアイ及びアルゼンチンと距離的に近い事です。リオグランデドスル州内にはブラジルを代表する観光都市はグラマードくらいしかないのですが、他州と違ってウルグアイ・アルゼンチンと隣接しているため、ちょっとした休みを利用してスペイン語圏の国を旅行する事ができます。

どうでしょうか。ポルトアレグレでポルトガル語を勉強したくなりましたか。

もちろん勉強目的は人それぞれ違うので、遊びや観光・文化体験を重視している方には、リオデジャネイロやサルバドールの大学や語学学校でポルトガル語を勉強する方がいいかと思います。

でも、もし語学を真剣に学びたい方にはポルトアレグレも選択肢の１つに入れてみてはどうでしょうか。

A question of transport.

A foreigners guide to navigating through the Porto Alegre gridlock.

I have a fear of flying, so much so, that every time I board a pressurized cabin, I have to tranquilize myself with the hard stuff. No other mode of transport has ever really had the same effect on me - until now.

And after yesterday's near death experience with a truck, which accelerated while I tried to cross a road, the second incident of its kind this week, I wondered: Is being a pedestrian in Porto Alegre any safer than, say, being a motorcyclist in South East Asia?

Upon moving to Brazil, a languagebarrier was something to expect, but the vast cultural differences were something I was not prepared for. I have had to rewrite the rules of almost everything I know, but crossing the road was something I hadn’t considered, until now.

Pretty quickly, I realized that the traffic here has a different set of rules. Cars in general rule the streets, pedestrians are a nuisance. Avoid motorbikes like rats. Never expect drivers to indicate. As for red lights, footpaths and pedestrian crossings, they’re just for aesthetics.

So the question is, how does one get around in Porto Alegre? Cars perhaps? Only if you are rich, very tolerant of road rage, and happy to be carjacked. Cycling maybe? With a distinct lack of cycle lanes, extremely hot weather and, cyclists being sworn enemies of drivers, cycling is for the very courageous at this moment in time.

As options were thin on the ground, I decided to give public transport a go. Admittedly, I hail from a city where the public transport has a lot of room for improvement, but Gaucho public transport is a world away from what I’m used to.

For starters, the only real extensive mode of transport in the city is buses. There are bus stops, but timetables or an indication of which buses actually stop at a particular pointdoesn’t exist. POA buses are a bit like the end of rainbows. I know they go somewhere, but the exact location remains an enigma.

Bus stop in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

Brazilians do love their stamps, documents and pieces of paper, so if you want to obtain a bus pass its not a simple as buying it in a shop. It’s communist style bureaucracy on Speed. Give yourself a good month, plan for a number of ‘certified’ documents. Then go to one place to apply for the pass, pay for the fares in a specific bank, and then get the fare credit added to your pass in another place. Easy.

So, If you’re unwilling to bus it -standing in 35 degrees; squeezed up against a stranger, have the cash and nerves to drive, or pay gringo taxi fairs, what’s the best option to get from A to B? Possibly cycling, if there were sufficient cycle lanes. As for me, I will remain a pedestrian warrior for now, fighting for my share of city space. Perhaps in decades to come this will change, and Brazil will up its game.