sao paulo in the rain smells like portland in the rain

a mix of green and pavement and water molecules hanging suspended in the air. in the winter it falls lightly, gently and slowly smothering the city, for days without stop. it reminds me of the northwest. this city confuses me. it seems to familiar - like new york with more green, like vancouver with more poverty.

I had a realization that if I were raised in Brazil, the US would feel as distant to me as Brazil does now, because neither of my parents were raised there. it tells you how constructed and experiental (is that the right word?) nationality and identity are. I would be south american completely. not that brazil is like anywhere else in south america...

we´re going out for pizza in a few minutes with lots of family. my dad likes to joke that the brazilians steal bits of cultural identity from everywhere else in the world and improve upon it. so far this has proven true. we´ll see how they do with pizza.