February 5, 2025 • 25 mins
Have you ever wondered how to build authentic connections in a city of over 11 million people? In this heartwarming episode of Why São Paulo, host Emily Witt sits down with Eiki Sasaki, a lifelong Paulista who transformed from a self-described introvert into a community builder through his work with Talk Talk Speaking Club. Listeners will discover the magic of Parque da Aclimação, learn practical strategies for meeting new people in São Paulo, and gain insights into how diversity shapes Brazil's largest city. From finding hidden park gems to joining vibrant language exchange communities, this episode reveals how anyone can create meaningful connections in São Paulo. Press play to uncover how this dynamic city brings people together in unexpected ways.
Topics Discussed:
- Parque da Aclimação as a hidden gem in São Paulo
- The evolution of Talk Talk Speaking Club
- Making friends in a megacity
- Cross-cultural connections and language exchange
- Marathon training in urban parks
- What it means to be a Paulista
- Post-pandemic community building
- São Paulo's diverse population
- International relationships formed through meetups
- Building bridges across different cultures
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Hello and welcome to Why São Paulo?
Exploring Brazil's magic through its people and places.
I'm your host, Emily Witt, and today we're exploring a deeply personal and inspiringtopic.
Finding your place in a city as vast and vibrant as São Paulo.
Making friends in a new city is never easy, but I was fortunate to discover a wonderfulcommunity called Talk Talk Speaking Club.
(00:29):
Joining me today is Eiki Sasaki, a lifelong paulista with a unique perspective on buildingconnections and exploring opportunities in one of the world's most dynamic cities.
Eiki, one of the group's organizers, warmly introduced himself during a meetup I attendedlast March, leaving a lasting impression with his passion for creating meaningful
(00:51):
interactions.
In this episode, we'll discuss Eiki's favorite hidden gem,
Parque de Climacao and how he found a sense of community through running groups, meetups,and the Talk Talk Speaking Club, a fantastic place for meeting new people and practicing
languages.
Whether you're looking to learn something new, expand your social circle, or simply feelmore at home in Sao Paulo, this conversation is full of practical insights and heartfelt
(01:19):
stories that show how connection can transform city living.
Let's start with the question that I'm gonna ask all of the guests.
do you have any lesser known or special spots in Sao Paulo that holds?
significant meaning for you that resonate deeply with you.
(01:42):
It's hard to find a place that is a hidden place and less known.
A city that everybody is digging up and searching for new options and entertainment.
We live in a time of digital influence, digging up new tips and new areas, gems in thecities.
(02:07):
I have a really deep connection with another park that is not Ibirapuera.
Ibirapuera is the main park that first came to the mind of people when they visited thecountry because of the architecture and the infrastructure there.
But I have a deep connection with Parque da Climação, which is very close to myneighborhood and where I grew up.
(02:32):
When you see from high above, you see that it's only dense vegetation.
You barely see the structure of the park.
But when you get in there, you see a beautiful lake inside with ducks, fish.
And sometimes if you are lucky, you can see even woodpecker.
(02:54):
There is also
a guy that is also Japanese Brazilian that he voluntarily to build a artificial perch forbirds to feed birds and he brings by himself, it's lights of fruit to feed the birds and
attract the animals there.
(03:14):
And it's so cool because you feel in the heart of Sao Paulo that vibe of countryside.
Besides the fact that my mom used to bring us when we were kids to play in the playgroundand also feed the fish and ducks with crumbs of bread, it was the first place that when I
(03:40):
was a kid and I wasn't under the supervision of my parents,
me and my brother went to the park to venture out by ourselves and it was one of the firststeps that we took to explore the cities and also brought a lot of friends, special people
to wander there, visit that park and one of my last experiences that
(04:07):
going to stick to my memory forever is that it's also the place that I trained for mymarathon that it was one of my great accomplishments in my life the park is so small so I
took I needed to take 30 laps literally 30 laps around the lake to train for marathon butit's
(04:30):
I love.
it's cool to see people, watch people, and see people from all walks of life.
And some people live there in the neighborhood and know each other.
You barely see outside of that park or even outside of that neighborhood, that sensationof countryside.
I love this.
And what neighborhood is it in?
(04:53):
I'll have to, on my next visit, I'm gonna write this down and it sounds like a lovelyplace because similar to New York, you need a space to just take a step back and look at
some greenery.
so I'm glad you've...
(05:13):
Yeah, I'm glad you found it.
Curious which marathon did you run?
And two in Rio and two in São Paulo.
Only in Brazil.
Thank you.
that's the yeah, I'm a runner myself.
So and I did New York.
yeah, so running around the cities we love in the end the parks.
In fact, I trained in in the park that I used to go to as a child, too.
(05:36):
So that's that's a really, really cool connection.
I have another question for you that's that's funny, probably gonna be funny to theaudience who are familiar with
the city and the state of Sao Paulo and wanted to ask your opinion, like, especially assomeone who runs groups for people who are out of town or who are new to the city, how
(05:59):
long does it take to officially become a Paulista or a Paulistano?
Like, is there, you know, is...
At the same time that it would take forever for you to become Paulista because even I,that I was born and raised here, people treat me like a foreigner just because I'm a
minority.
(06:20):
At the same time, everyone could be a Paulista because it's a city full of migrants thatpeople tolerate.
You barely can notice that it's you.
you are local or foreigner because everybody could be a Brazilian and specifically apolissa because that is the beauty of the city.
(06:43):
That diversity of any city that migrants that live together.
It is what make the city special.
So it could take months or years of lifetime.
You belong at the same time that at the same time you.
Don't be long.
You always need to explore, try to fit in.
(07:04):
That's so true and something that I feel, I think we had touched on this before we startedthe recording in I grew up in the New York area and I grew up in an environment that is
very similar to the city of Sao Paulo and it's this concept of a lot of people from allover and what
(07:27):
was very special for me when I first came to the city and then discovered the city wasthat similarity in that feeling that there are different people from all walks of life
somehow making this all come together in beautiful ways and also, you know, ways thatalways like
(07:52):
just in terms of like, you know, putting so many people in one place.
There's a lot of things that come along with that, but it's this adaptability of livingside by side with different people of different backgrounds and something that's quite
beautiful to me about being there as well.
(08:18):
still touching on this topic that I assume is something that you really appreciate andlove about the city.
What else to you as someone who's grown up in the area?
What do you think makes it such a special city in addition to what we just touched upon?
we are million people.
At the same time, you might feel lonely, if you push yourself out there, you can findpeople that match you, that have common interests.
(08:45):
I'm a shy guy, an introverted guy, and I used to be only around people that were
from my inner circle that were have kind of same similar background.
And especially during after pandemic, we do feed up, I do feed apart from some, some, somefriends of mine.
(09:12):
And then getting to know people because of those social interactions during meetups,allowing yourself to be in.
in contact with people that have different backgrounds of you, that have people from allwalks of life, you realize that you don't need to be so social anxious or live only within
(09:36):
your community.
You can cross-brother and realize that people are nice.
Overall, they nice, friendly, willing to get to know you.
They have different stories, have different and interesting stories.
And...
(09:57):
Yeah, I feel that I have more optimistic perception about...
sharing and trying to build community because I usually hold on that stereotype thatpeople that live in a big city, half of my life I thought about people that live in a big
(10:17):
city, they are stressful, just too individualistic.
They just want to lead their own lives.
They just think about work they're kind of rude while you're rate.
newspaper you see all those dramas are crimes lack of structure flood in the city but whenyou venture out and get out of your comfort zone to meet people for real they're nice they
(10:45):
end up to be nice and then you change the perception what it means to be a polista thatlive in a big city there at the end of the day they're
people with stories, with heart, with soul that don't want to share their time with you.
that's such a wonderful answer.
(11:07):
I'm loving this conversation so much.
And let's talk about the way in which we met, which was at a
The name of the group is called Talk Talk Now.
Can you explain to me the origin, your involvement, and what it provides for you first andthen for other people as well?
(11:28):
But I'd love to hear about your involvement and then what it's done for you individually.
And then we can talk about how it can also really help other people who are looking tofeel less alone in the city.
Yeah, I got involved with this group after pandemic.
Everybody was feeling isolated and wanted to build bridges with other people.
(11:53):
And also was in the phase that all I did was to go out, go to the coffee shop anddecompress and read my book by myself.
And then I felt that I would just have that experience of
sense of community if I lived in the countryside of Brazil.
(12:15):
Simultaneously, I was having class with a tutor of English and then he said, you need tonot only have lessons, you need to incorporate in your real life English.
Search for language exchange group in your city.
huge city, you might got to know a lot of people.
(12:38):
And then I got to know a lot of people that at the first phase people, probably 80 % ofBrazilians come to practice languages.
But at the end of the day, they see that it's more than that.
You improve your ability of dealing with people, you improve your communication ingeneral, you
(13:00):
share a story and listen to many different stories from people that come to the citycurious about about Sao Paulo and and again you start to appreciate even more the city
because people that fell in love we got to in contact with the people that fell in loveand decided to live in the city and some people
(13:28):
even say like I met in the last three weeks or last month a girl from Rio that it's awonderful city with beautiful beaches and landscape.
It is a dream for anyone to visit there and maybe live there and she said that São Paulois the best city she ever
(13:52):
She ever visited and now she decided to live here.
A lot of expats also have the sensation they decided to live here for many other reasonsbecause they like their service here, the diversity of our gastronomy, the server option,
affordable or even free options, community centers, clubs, concerts, theater.
(14:18):
plays, movies, everything happened in the country, either in Rio or São Paulo.
You know, that's interesting and awesome about the group and what it provides to people.
And I think another aspect that makes the group so special is I felt when I was there thatit was a mix of people who did not grow up in Brazil.
(14:44):
In addition, there's a very strong population of people that I met that actually
grew up either if not in the Sao Paulo region or in maybe a different state.
so it's not just people who didn't grow up.
It's not just people who are outside the country that are there.
(15:05):
It's also people who didn't grow up in the city in addition to native Polistas andPolistanos as well.
So I felt that there was this
beautiful mix of people just wanting to get to know one another.
I really enjoyed that aspect of your group that in addition to the languages, the groupitself is diverse in terms of the regions that people are coming from.
(15:36):
It's not just one area or
you know, let's say one community on this side and one community speaking this language onthe other.
I think it's a very opening environment to anyone who walks in that just wants to makefriends in general.
That's true.
I also made good friends and you build some connections that is like forever.
(16:01):
When I visited like Italy, I hung up with a guy that I had a connecting flight for one dayin Rome and I hung up off with a guy that I met in the club.
And also when I visited South Africa,
also had dinner and got together with my friend from...
(16:24):
that is also...
Japanese American and Japanese Chinese American she was living there does remote workerfor one month and we had that coincidence of being there in the same city and one of my
friend also Paloma that became one of my best friend she's American Mexican and she joinedmy
(16:53):
trip to Japan and it is special.
One of my close friends are people that I made, friends that I made in this group.
Do you think there's something different about the one in Salpalo, the dynamic of thegroup that might be different than some of the other ones that you've been to?
(17:15):
Maybe it is just one thing that is not different from other groups, but it's different ofplaces that you go by yourself.
You go to a place by yourself or to a bar with your group of friends.
You might not have interaction outside of your social circle, but going to the speakingclub like Talk Talk, you...
(17:40):
Give yourself the opportunity to interact with everyone.
Everyone is open to interact with everyone.
Everybody is anxious and urge you to and open to talk to everyone.
for someone who's new to the city or who lives there and is just looking to expand theirfriend base, how does one find out about the group?
(18:02):
How can one get involved?
What kind of outreach do you do so that people are aware of the community?
We have our Instagram at TalkTalkSpeakingClub, advertise on Couching Surfing app andMeetup app.
Yeah, but it's basically these three main pages and apps.
(18:26):
But that's how people get to know and sometimes by reference, referring to
right, right.
Actually, yeah, if people that I know are going to the city, I'll often tell them, you youshould try this meetup group.
In fact, for me, when I went, I thought it was so cool.
(18:47):
I was trying to describe this concept to some of my friends here.
And we do have meetups, but I think that language
Meetup isn't as well known here to as many people that you can go and you can speak alldifferent kinds of languages.
And so I think that you definitely have gotten your name out because a lot of people werefamiliar with the can you describe what I know?
(19:16):
I know you do different themes.
throughout the year, like not every event looks the same way, but how often are youmeeting?
What is the structure looking like of the group if someone sort of wants to have arecurring social network?
Yeah, on Fridays we are going to a karaoke place at Let's Bar at Villa Maddalena.
(19:42):
It's one of the bohemian neighborhoods of the city.
Saturdays we go to our Irish pub where we can enjoy rock music from 10pm, but before thatwe get to know each other from 7pm.
And sometimes we scheduled events like going to a restaurant, ethnic restaurant, we wentto Russian restaurant, Peruvian, Indian.
(20:14):
And we also had feijoada during the feijoada on a carnival season.
And then after feijoada, we also got together to join to
Blocking your party.
Yeah.
yeah and that certainly actually that's my next question how much of the population thatcomes to these events would you say are tourists versus expats versus people who have
(20:45):
grown up there and lived there I know it's probably tough to say a percentage
60%, 80 % they're Brazilians from all the regions, from all the other cities.
And 20-40 % of foreigners that live in the city are they're traveling, getting to know orjust visit or passing by, passing by or they're going to continue their...
(21:16):
in itinerary, in other cities or other countries.
Yeah, but lot of people, I know some expats that live here in Brazil for 7, 10 years, theyspeak Portuguese fluently.
Sometimes they don't even have an accent.
(21:36):
I have a Japanese accent.
I have Japanese accent when I speak Portuguese, even though I'm Brazilian.
Mm.
Japanese background some people they're expat they have neutral accent I feel like it'sfunny it's funny I don't speak like native but you speak like native you're Russian I met
(22:01):
a Russian girl that she speaks like native with no accent with all these slangs
some people, can pick the language up very quickly, especially if they've grown up havingto learn more than one language.
I'm very determined to learn Portuguese, but for me, it's a bit of a slower process.
(22:25):
I'm trying to be bit gentler with myself.
in terms of fluency, but I have to remind myself that each day if I try to learn a few newwords and it'll just continue to get easier and easier.
I'm thinking about something that you said about this concept of different Brazilians fromdifferent regions really getting to know one another.
(22:46):
And I think that's a really interesting and
special element of the city is that there's such a large community of people from regionsoutside of Sao Paulo.
And I think that it really helps you understand how large and diverse the country is inand of itself.
(23:08):
And that people that are coming from different regions of the country are learning so manydifferent things about
someone who might have grown up in let's say the north or the south or the city versus ofa town in a less populated area.
And I think everyone just seems so excited about learning one another's background andwhat their story is.
(23:37):
I...
Really appreciate you sharing your story with us today.
Thank you again for joining me in kind of conversation.
Yeah, I'm excited to see how your group grows and the friendships have.
Have there been any marriages out of your group?
Has anyone?
(23:57):
have like four, at least four couples.
They got to know each other and one of the girls, one of the Lebanese girls said that shewould invite me to her wedding.
Yeah, there's one couple that got to...
Yeah.
That's so wonderful.
(24:18):
I was curious.
And it's just the beginning, right?
So who knows?
Who knows?
Well, thank you so much for joining me and have a good evening.
Boa Noite.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Why São Paulo, Exploring Brazil's MagicThrough Its People and Places.
(24:45):
I hope you enjoyed the stories about this incredible city, learning unique insights fromthe discussion.
If you found this episode interesting or inspiring, please share it with friends or familywho might also be curious about São Paulo and the depth of incredible aspects of life in
Brazil.
Don't forget to rate and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
(25:08):
it really helps others discover the show.
You can also find the transcript in Portuguese in the show notes.
I'm so excited to continue this journey with you as we uncover more of what makes SãoPaulo and the country of Brazil so magical.
Until next time, take care and keep exploring.
Hello and welcome to Why São Paulo?
Exploring Brazil's magic through its people and places.
I'm your host, Emily Witt, and today we're exploring a deeply personal and inspiringtopic.
Finding your place in a city as vast and vibrant as São Paulo.
Making friends in a new city is never easy, but I was fortunate to discover a wonderfulcommunity called Talk Talk Speaking Club.
(00:29):
Joining me today is Eiki Sasaki, a lifelong paulista with a unique perspective on buildingconnections and exploring opportunities in one of the world's most dynamic cities.
Eiki, one of the group's organizers, warmly introduced himself during a meetup I attendedlast March, leaving a lasting impression with his passion for creating meaningful
(00:51):
interactions.
In this episode, we'll discuss Eiki's favorite hidden gem,
Parque de Climacao and how he found a sense of community through running groups, meetups,and the Talk Talk Speaking Club, a fantastic place for meeting new people and practicing
languages.
Whether you're looking to learn something new, expand your social circle, or simply feelmore at home in Sao Paulo, this conversation is full of practical insights and heartfelt
(01:19):
stories that show how connection can transform city living.
Let's start with the question that I'm gonna ask all of the guests.
do you have any lesser known or special spots in Sao Paulo that holds?
significant meaning for you that resonate deeply with you.
(01:42):
It's hard to find a place that is a hidden place and less known.
A city that everybody is digging up and searching for new options and entertainment.
We live in a time of digital influence, digging up new tips and new areas, gems in thecities.
(02:07):
I have a really deep connection with another park that is not Ibirapuera.
Ibirapuera is the main park that first came to the mind of people when they visited thecountry because of the architecture and the infrastructure there.
But I have a deep connection with Parque da Climação, which is very close to myneighborhood and where I grew up.
(02:32):
When you see from high above, you see that it's only dense vegetation.
You barely see the structure of the park.
But when you get in there, you see a beautiful lake inside with ducks, fish.
And sometimes if you are lucky, you can see even woodpecker.
(02:54):
There is also
a guy that is also Japanese Brazilian that he voluntarily to build a artificial perch forbirds to feed birds and he brings by himself, it's lights of fruit to feed the birds and
attract the animals there.
(03:14):
And it's so cool because you feel in the heart of Sao Paulo that vibe of countryside.
Besides the fact that my mom used to bring us when we were kids to play in the playgroundand also feed the fish and ducks with crumbs of bread, it was the first place that when I
(03:40):
was a kid and I wasn't under the supervision of my parents,
me and my brother went to the park to venture out by ourselves and it was one of the firststeps that we took to explore the cities and also brought a lot of friends, special people
to wander there, visit that park and one of my last experiences that
(04:07):
going to stick to my memory forever is that it's also the place that I trained for mymarathon that it was one of my great accomplishments in my life the park is so small so I
took I needed to take 30 laps literally 30 laps around the lake to train for marathon butit's
(04:30):
I love.
it's cool to see people, watch people, and see people from all walks of life.
And some people live there in the neighborhood and know each other.
You barely see outside of that park or even outside of that neighborhood, that sensationof countryside.
I love this.
And what neighborhood is it in?
(04:53):
I'll have to, on my next visit, I'm gonna write this down and it sounds like a lovelyplace because similar to New York, you need a space to just take a step back and look at
some greenery.
so I'm glad you've...
(05:13):
Yeah, I'm glad you found it.
Curious which marathon did you run?
And two in Rio and two in São Paulo.
Only in Brazil.
Thank you.
that's the yeah, I'm a runner myself.
So and I did New York.
yeah, so running around the cities we love in the end the parks.
In fact, I trained in in the park that I used to go to as a child, too.
(05:36):
So that's that's a really, really cool connection.
I have another question for you that's that's funny, probably gonna be funny to theaudience who are familiar with
the city and the state of Sao Paulo and wanted to ask your opinion, like, especially assomeone who runs groups for people who are out of town or who are new to the city, how
(05:59):
long does it take to officially become a Paulista or a Paulistano?
Like, is there, you know, is...
At the same time that it would take forever for you to become Paulista because even I,that I was born and raised here, people treat me like a foreigner just because I'm a
minority.
(06:20):
At the same time, everyone could be a Paulista because it's a city full of migrants thatpeople tolerate.
You barely can notice that it's you.
you are local or foreigner because everybody could be a Brazilian and specifically apolissa because that is the beauty of the city.
(06:43):
That diversity of any city that migrants that live together.
It is what make the city special.
So it could take months or years of lifetime.
You belong at the same time that at the same time you.
Don't be long.
You always need to explore, try to fit in.
(07:04):
That's so true and something that I feel, I think we had touched on this before we startedthe recording in I grew up in the New York area and I grew up in an environment that is
very similar to the city of Sao Paulo and it's this concept of a lot of people from allover and what
(07:27):
was very special for me when I first came to the city and then discovered the city wasthat similarity in that feeling that there are different people from all walks of life
somehow making this all come together in beautiful ways and also, you know, ways thatalways like
(07:52):
just in terms of like, you know, putting so many people in one place.
There's a lot of things that come along with that, but it's this adaptability of livingside by side with different people of different backgrounds and something that's quite
beautiful to me about being there as well.
(08:18):
still touching on this topic that I assume is something that you really appreciate andlove about the city.
What else to you as someone who's grown up in the area?
What do you think makes it such a special city in addition to what we just touched upon?
we are million people.
At the same time, you might feel lonely, if you push yourself out there, you can findpeople that match you, that have common interests.
(08:45):
I'm a shy guy, an introverted guy, and I used to be only around people that were
from my inner circle that were have kind of same similar background.
And especially during after pandemic, we do feed up, I do feed apart from some, some, somefriends of mine.
(09:12):
And then getting to know people because of those social interactions during meetups,allowing yourself to be in.
in contact with people that have different backgrounds of you, that have people from allwalks of life, you realize that you don't need to be so social anxious or live only within
(09:36):
your community.
You can cross-brother and realize that people are nice.
Overall, they nice, friendly, willing to get to know you.
They have different stories, have different and interesting stories.
And...
(09:57):
Yeah, I feel that I have more optimistic perception about...
sharing and trying to build community because I usually hold on that stereotype thatpeople that live in a big city, half of my life I thought about people that live in a big
(10:17):
city, they are stressful, just too individualistic.
They just want to lead their own lives.
They just think about work they're kind of rude while you're rate.
newspaper you see all those dramas are crimes lack of structure flood in the city but whenyou venture out and get out of your comfort zone to meet people for real they're nice they
(10:45):
end up to be nice and then you change the perception what it means to be a polista thatlive in a big city there at the end of the day they're
people with stories, with heart, with soul that don't want to share their time with you.
that's such a wonderful answer.
(11:07):
I'm loving this conversation so much.
And let's talk about the way in which we met, which was at a
The name of the group is called Talk Talk Now.
Can you explain to me the origin, your involvement, and what it provides for you first andthen for other people as well?
(11:28):
But I'd love to hear about your involvement and then what it's done for you individually.
And then we can talk about how it can also really help other people who are looking tofeel less alone in the city.
Yeah, I got involved with this group after pandemic.
Everybody was feeling isolated and wanted to build bridges with other people.
(11:53):
And also was in the phase that all I did was to go out, go to the coffee shop anddecompress and read my book by myself.
And then I felt that I would just have that experience of
sense of community if I lived in the countryside of Brazil.
(12:15):
Simultaneously, I was having class with a tutor of English and then he said, you need tonot only have lessons, you need to incorporate in your real life English.
Search for language exchange group in your city.
huge city, you might got to know a lot of people.
(12:38):
And then I got to know a lot of people that at the first phase people, probably 80 % ofBrazilians come to practice languages.
But at the end of the day, they see that it's more than that.
You improve your ability of dealing with people, you improve your communication ingeneral, you
(13:00):
share a story and listen to many different stories from people that come to the citycurious about about Sao Paulo and and again you start to appreciate even more the city
because people that fell in love we got to in contact with the people that fell in loveand decided to live in the city and some people
(13:28):
even say like I met in the last three weeks or last month a girl from Rio that it's awonderful city with beautiful beaches and landscape.
It is a dream for anyone to visit there and maybe live there and she said that São Paulois the best city she ever
(13:52):
She ever visited and now she decided to live here.
A lot of expats also have the sensation they decided to live here for many other reasonsbecause they like their service here, the diversity of our gastronomy, the server option,
affordable or even free options, community centers, clubs, concerts, theater.
(14:18):
plays, movies, everything happened in the country, either in Rio or São Paulo.
You know, that's interesting and awesome about the group and what it provides to people.
And I think another aspect that makes the group so special is I felt when I was there thatit was a mix of people who did not grow up in Brazil.
(14:44):
In addition, there's a very strong population of people that I met that actually
grew up either if not in the Sao Paulo region or in maybe a different state.
so it's not just people who didn't grow up.
It's not just people who are outside the country that are there.
(15:05):
It's also people who didn't grow up in the city in addition to native Polistas andPolistanos as well.
So I felt that there was this
beautiful mix of people just wanting to get to know one another.
I really enjoyed that aspect of your group that in addition to the languages, the groupitself is diverse in terms of the regions that people are coming from.
(15:36):
It's not just one area or
you know, let's say one community on this side and one community speaking this language onthe other.
I think it's a very opening environment to anyone who walks in that just wants to makefriends in general.
That's true.
I also made good friends and you build some connections that is like forever.
(16:01):
When I visited like Italy, I hung up with a guy that I had a connecting flight for one dayin Rome and I hung up off with a guy that I met in the club.
And also when I visited South Africa,
also had dinner and got together with my friend from...
(16:24):
that is also...
Japanese American and Japanese Chinese American she was living there does remote workerfor one month and we had that coincidence of being there in the same city and one of my
friend also Paloma that became one of my best friend she's American Mexican and she joinedmy
(16:53):
trip to Japan and it is special.
One of my close friends are people that I made, friends that I made in this group.
Do you think there's something different about the one in Salpalo, the dynamic of thegroup that might be different than some of the other ones that you've been to?
(17:15):
Maybe it is just one thing that is not different from other groups, but it's different ofplaces that you go by yourself.
You go to a place by yourself or to a bar with your group of friends.
You might not have interaction outside of your social circle, but going to the speakingclub like Talk Talk, you...
(17:40):
Give yourself the opportunity to interact with everyone.
Everyone is open to interact with everyone.
Everybody is anxious and urge you to and open to talk to everyone.
for someone who's new to the city or who lives there and is just looking to expand theirfriend base, how does one find out about the group?
(18:02):
How can one get involved?
What kind of outreach do you do so that people are aware of the community?
We have our Instagram at TalkTalkSpeakingClub, advertise on Couching Surfing app andMeetup app.
Yeah, but it's basically these three main pages and apps.
(18:26):
But that's how people get to know and sometimes by reference, referring to
right, right.
Actually, yeah, if people that I know are going to the city, I'll often tell them, you youshould try this meetup group.
In fact, for me, when I went, I thought it was so cool.
(18:47):
I was trying to describe this concept to some of my friends here.
And we do have meetups, but I think that language
Meetup isn't as well known here to as many people that you can go and you can speak alldifferent kinds of languages.
And so I think that you definitely have gotten your name out because a lot of people werefamiliar with the can you describe what I know?
(19:16):
I know you do different themes.
throughout the year, like not every event looks the same way, but how often are youmeeting?
What is the structure looking like of the group if someone sort of wants to have arecurring social network?
Yeah, on Fridays we are going to a karaoke place at Let's Bar at Villa Maddalena.
(19:42):
It's one of the bohemian neighborhoods of the city.
Saturdays we go to our Irish pub where we can enjoy rock music from 10pm, but before thatwe get to know each other from 7pm.
And sometimes we scheduled events like going to a restaurant, ethnic restaurant, we wentto Russian restaurant, Peruvian, Indian.
(20:14):
And we also had feijoada during the feijoada on a carnival season.
And then after feijoada, we also got together to join to
Blocking your party.
Yeah.
yeah and that certainly actually that's my next question how much of the population thatcomes to these events would you say are tourists versus expats versus people who have
(20:45):
grown up there and lived there I know it's probably tough to say a percentage
60%, 80 % they're Brazilians from all the regions, from all the other cities.
And 20-40 % of foreigners that live in the city are they're traveling, getting to know orjust visit or passing by, passing by or they're going to continue their...
(21:16):
in itinerary, in other cities or other countries.
Yeah, but lot of people, I know some expats that live here in Brazil for 7, 10 years, theyspeak Portuguese fluently.
Sometimes they don't even have an accent.
(21:36):
I have a Japanese accent.
I have Japanese accent when I speak Portuguese, even though I'm Brazilian.
Mm.
Japanese background some people they're expat they have neutral accent I feel like it'sfunny it's funny I don't speak like native but you speak like native you're Russian I met
(22:01):
a Russian girl that she speaks like native with no accent with all these slangs
some people, can pick the language up very quickly, especially if they've grown up havingto learn more than one language.
I'm very determined to learn Portuguese, but for me, it's a bit of a slower process.
(22:25):
I'm trying to be bit gentler with myself.
in terms of fluency, but I have to remind myself that each day if I try to learn a few newwords and it'll just continue to get easier and easier.
I'm thinking about something that you said about this concept of different Brazilians fromdifferent regions really getting to know one another.
(22:46):
And I think that's a really interesting and
special element of the city is that there's such a large community of people from regionsoutside of Sao Paulo.
And I think that it really helps you understand how large and diverse the country is inand of itself.
(23:08):
And that people that are coming from different regions of the country are learning so manydifferent things about
someone who might have grown up in let's say the north or the south or the city versus ofa town in a less populated area.
And I think everyone just seems so excited about learning one another's background andwhat their story is.
(23:37):
I...
Really appreciate you sharing your story with us today.
Thank you again for joining me in kind of conversation.
Yeah, I'm excited to see how your group grows and the friendships have.
Have there been any marriages out of your group?
Has anyone?
(23:57):
have like four, at least four couples.
They got to know each other and one of the girls, one of the Lebanese girls said that shewould invite me to her wedding.
Yeah, there's one couple that got to...
Yeah.
That's so wonderful.
(24:18):
I was curious.
And it's just the beginning, right?
So who knows?
Who knows?
Well, thank you so much for joining me and have a good evening.
Boa Noite.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Why São Paulo, Exploring Brazil's MagicThrough Its People and Places.
(24:45):
I hope you enjoyed the stories about this incredible city, learning unique insights fromthe discussion.
If you found this episode interesting or inspiring, please share it with friends or familywho might also be curious about São Paulo and the depth of incredible aspects of life in
Brazil.
Don't forget to rate and leave a review wherever you listen to your podcasts.
(25:08):
it really helps others discover the show.
You can also find the transcript in Portuguese in the show notes.
I'm so excited to continue this journey with you as we uncover more of what makes SãoPaulo and the country of Brazil so magical.
Until next time, take care and keep exploring.
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