New York to Sao Paulo

The flight to Sao Paulo was pleasant, even more so due to the fact that there weren't too many people on the flight so most passengers had some extra space, including myself. I had picked up a Sunday New York Times as I boarded the plane and went through it section by section, tossing those I'd read on the empty seat next to me. Having gotten used to reading the Times online, I forgot how nice it is to read a good paper front to back, inserts and all. I even read the real estate section, the marriage announcements and the obits.
Since it was nearly 10pm in NY when we departed, dinner was served once we were up in the air--I had a hearty Japanese meal that included both seafood and beef dishes, along with imo shochu, a vodka-like drink made from sweet potato--and then they dimmed the cabin lights. I started watching Pink Panther 2, but found I wasn't in the mood for it, so I put in my ear plugs, slipped an eye mask on and fell asleep almost immediately.
I must have slept for quite a while, waking only once to drink half the bottled water I had. When they turned the cabin lights back on, I sat up feeling refreshed, and realized I'd slept for at least 6 hours. I opened the window shade and saw a dawn sky with a full moon over blue clouds; it was absolutely breathtaking. We were just 90 minutes from Sao Paulo at that point and they were serving breakfast--a really excellent cheese and mushroom omelet, a plate of fruit, yogurt, croissant, juice and coffee.
We landed at Sao Paulo airport just before 7am local time. Immigration entailed giving an official my documents, watching her scan the front page of my passport, stamp a page near my Brazilian visa (I was able to get a 5 year business visa that allow stays up to 180 days) and pass them back to me with a smile; not a word was spoken. Going through customs was equally effortless; simply waiting in line and then giving my customs form to an attendant.
My first impressions of Brazil are only based on the airport thus far, but the people working seem engaged and friendly, the airport was crowded but clean and people have generally been polite. People have been speaking Portuguese to my colleagues and me, and I am still caught off guard by it. When I make it known that I speak English, every attendant I spoke to was able to communicate or made an effort to. There does seem to be something carefree about people in Brazil. Maybe this is just a stereotypical image of the country, but it's probably not the worst stereotype.