Stranger in a Strange Land

In my role as global head of Information Assurance, I had the opportunity to travel around the world.  On my first international trip, my mentor mentioned how he tried to schedule an extra day whenever possible to enjoy the sights.  I made a habit of this.  When traveling to a country where English was a first or second language, I had no trouble getting around.  In other countries, I would make a point of asking a local co-worker to show me the city. This worked out well on most occasions - until my Saturday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In Brazil, the primary language is Brazilian Portuguese with a few people speaking Spanish as a second language.  I speak American English with muy poco espanol (very little Spanish).  So Saturday my host had arranged for someone to act as tour guide for the city.  Needless to say, the person assigned did not show up.  So I decided to take my chances and explore the city on my own.

My first stop was the subway.  The map was probably fully comprehensible to local residents and probably to most Portuguese-speaking people.  To me, it was utterly incomprehensible.  There is no clear identification of any tourist attractions or points of interest.  Even entering the station, it was difficult to comprehend how to use the ticket machines. They were automated, and presented an option of Portuguese or Spanish.  The symbols and icons were just different enough from US counterparts as to be confusing.  After studying the machine for a number of minutes (and hearing comments from those in line behind me that I could not comprehend)  I decided to return to the streets.  There I wandered about, sightseeing as best I could.

I enjoyed the open air markets and was lucky enough to find one vendor who spoke English.  I still have a large piece of Emerald ore carved into an Indian head.

My experiences did not end there.  Walking up and down the street I passed a number of wonderful smelling restaurants and bakeries.  However, a bit of knowledge about local cuisine indicated that I would not know what I was getting and might find it less than palatable.  It is sad to say that I ended up dining at McDonalds on an extra value meal that I was able to order in Spanish by the numbers from the picture (ah numero dos grande por favor).

While the signage probably would aid most Brazilians in finding their way, I can honestly say that none of it provided decipherable clues that I could use.  It was an interesting lesson.  I would hope that as the world continues to shrink, more standardization takes place on icons and other forms of signage and devices. Likewise, creation of multi-lingual kiosks that can walk someone through the process of purchasing would be greatly advantageous.

After this trip, I have found that I have greater compassion for foreign travelers I meet in America, as that Saturday in Sao Paulo I gained a deep understanding of what it means to be a stranger in a strange land.