180 Million and Still Small

Several weeks ago I wrote a post about how I manage to unexpectedly run into people I know while going about my routine even though São Paulo is home to 18 million people. In Canada, the standing joke is that as soon as someone discovers that you are from Canada/Canadian-City-In-Question, the question “Do you know my uncle/cousin/sister/friend/ex-colleague” always follows. Of course, it doesn’t help the stereotypes when we often do know the person’s uncle/cousin/sister/friend/ex-colleague. I am getting the feeling that it is no different in Brazil, even with six times the population.

While in the hotel in Recife, I was riding in the elevator with a colleague from Canada. We were speaking in English, which prompted the third person in the elevator – a Brazilian – to inquire as to our provenance. I responded that we were both from Canada but that I was presently living in São Paulo. Our co-rider responded that he was also from São Paulo and that he worked for Microsoft and was in Recife for a conference. Since the Consulate in São Paulo is located in the Microsoft building, I immediately asked him if he worked in the Torre Norte, which of course he did – a mere eight floors above my head! Later that evening, when work activities were long concluded, we had a drink in the hotel bar and shared a few laughs about the two Paulistanos who work in the same building meeting in the elevator in Recife. Some might say that this really a sign of São Paulo’s immense size, but I don’t believe it for a minute! I can hear my mother humming It’s a Small World right now!