{"id":34,"date":"2015-09-05T17:10:06","date_gmt":"2015-09-05T20:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aprenda2.org\/blog\/english\/?p=34"},"modified":"2025-10-30T15:43:56","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T18:43:56","slug":"7-problems-the-ill-informed-foreigner-may-not-know-about-sao-paulo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aprenda2.org\/blog\/english\/7-problems-the-ill-informed-foreigner-may-not-know-about-sao-paulo\/","title":{"rendered":"7 problems the ill-informed foreigner may not know about Sao Paulo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Ana Apolonio and Alessandro Orefice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The photo above shows Sao Paulo seen from space. To this poet who once described the Paulista capital as a black spot on our plant, we ask:  how would you tackle the problem of hosting over 20 million people without any impact at all? The questions we should be asking ourselves are : why did all these people decide to come live here and stay ? What is so special about this sprawling metropolis that would make it the biggest city of the southern hemisphere and the biggest of all three American continents ?<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Grande<\/a>
Sao Paulo and its periphery as seen from the International Space Station<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

In reality, what makes Sao Paulo special is its diversity. Here, the keyword is “VERY”: VERY GOOD, VERY BAD, VERY DIFFERENT, VERY SIMILAR. Nothing escapes the rule, everything will always be \u00ab VERY \u00bb. Thus, anyone deciding to adventure themselves into this city, will certainly find themselves in MANY unexpected situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why we have here listed the 7 problems an ill-informed foreigner may encounter in Sao Paulo. In other words, this could be considered Sao Paulo’s business card. Even though you might not be worried and everything may not be cited here, we, the writers behind aprenda2’s blog have accepted the mission of helping you overcome the contingencies  you will certainly encounter here in Sao Paulo.  If we managed to survive this jungle, so can you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1)Languages: Only 2% of Brazilians speak English. How to communicate with the remaining 98%… ?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Communication is the base of everything ! However, you will quickly come to notice that few Brazilians speak English (more precisely 2% of the population). So, if you want to chat with the remaining 98%, you’re going to have to learn Portuguese. This will be your first step in your adaptation\/integration. We aren’t saying that because we are a language school. To be honest, we only started offering Portuguese after having witnessed and experienced this genuine predicament.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Quinta<\/a>
The 5th<\/sup> most spoken language in the world. Map of the Portuguese language in current times. Source : wikipedia.org<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Not understanding and not speaking Portuguese can rapidly become a burden in your daily life : not being able to ask for your way, order a dish at a restaurant (few restaurants offer menus in English), and most of all interact with people – which remains the principal motive for your trip here. FYI : <\/strong>Portuguese is the fifth most spoken language in the world, and the third most spoken in the western world, with 280 million active practitioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All in all, there is one keynote to remember: learn, learn, learn Portuguese and your experience here will be much improved. In order to do so, there are numerous smart-phone\/tablet apps, online courses, private tutors, and language schools at your disposal. You’re not short of options when it comes to learning Pele’s language, seen <\/em>? If you would like to know more about our school in Sao Paulo and the Portuguese classes we offer, visit our website : www.aprenda2.org\/portugues\/sao-paulo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know the U.S. Government considers Portuguese an easy language?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

What are the are the most difficult languages for an American to learn according to the U.S. State Department<\/strong> ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Quais<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You are not mistaken ! The U.S. Government considers Portuguese an easy language \u2013 based on scale of 3 levels of difficulty (Easy, Medium, and Hard) \u2013 due to its numerous similarities with English… The ranking is shown in the image above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can I determine my aptitude level in Portuguese?<\/h3>\n\n\n
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\"Teste<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The easiest way to determine your aptitude level in Portuguese is to take an online test. This is a link to our school’s online aptitude test, which is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Language’s (CEFL)<\/a> proficiency scale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n