Lena Welch ‘20
Staff Reporter
A group of LLM students attended the University-sponsored T-Pain concert Saturday, August 25. While the group arrived late, they took the opportunity to enjoy the event.
“It was free, and it was in an email,” Eduardo Carvalho said.
“We read our emails,” Cosi Piehler added.
While no one in the group who attended described themselves as T-Pain fans, they did gather some important takeaways from the concert—or, one important takeaway.
“‘I’m in Love with a Stripper apparently is a hit?’” Carvalho asked for confirmation from this reporter.
With the confirmation in hand, Carvalho added, “And it was funny because I saw on Instagram the President, Jim Ryan, he went to the concert and he posted something that said, ‘I was really happy that Mr. T-Pain…he was great! Marvelous concert.’ You can check it. I saw it online.”
In fact, President Ryan’s post said, “Finally checked this off my bucket list: Mr. Pain was terrific!”
New UVa President Jim Ryan welcomes T-Pain to UVa in his inimitable style. Photo courtesy Twitter.
Terrific, indeed, but the free concert is not the only thing the LLM students have enjoyed in Charlottesville.
Carvalho and some of the other LLMs have supported the Cavaliers at sporting events, including at Virginia’s season-opening football game against Richmond. A weather delay did not prevent a group of LLM students and some of their families from attending the 42–13 win. For most LLM students who attended, it was their first time watching an American football game in person, but not for Carvalho, who once saw the New England Patriots lose in a home game.
Carvalho is not only a fan of watching sports; he is also an avid tennis player.
“I’m going for tryouts at the tennis club, but I’m thinking about the Outdoors club (OVaL). I want to go hiking and do those sorts of things. Hiking and tubing.”
Carvalho has enjoyed socializing with the other LLM students and his PAs. He even complimented this reporter before Piehler cautioned him, saying, “she’s recording that, and she’s just going to play it over and over!”
The Belo Horizonte, Brazil-native who now resides in São Paulo, said is he is actually most excited for the classes and professors at UVa Law, although some of the professors are a little intimidating. “Specifically, Jim Donovan. He was as good as I expected. In the first class, amazing. The guy is amazing. It’s so different because he told us, ‘This is not a law class. This is an MBA class.’ So, it was different. It was nice. At first, I was literally shaking because he asked us to read a really short case about Wal-Mart, and I read it, but all the other readings were big and stuff, and this was just a short case. I made some notes of what I thought and stuff, but when he started asking questions, he was asking stuff that I did not think about. And I said, ‘He’s going to call me, and I don’t know what you’re saying.’ And I was shaking. But by the middle of the class I stopped shaking, and I could speak and it was okay. It was good.”
However, Carvalho, Piehler, and fellow LLMs noted that there is another thing the LLM students were not prepared for: the frosty interiors of the Law School. Carvalho noted that he wished he had known about the heat. “I didn’t think it would be so hot.” And Ernst added, “And I didn’t think it would be so cold inside.”
The group echoed the sentiment before making fun of this reporter for the Snuggie she wears during exams and making fun of Chinny Sharma ’19 about wearing running shorts in class.
Nevertheless, the group asserted: “Every single LLM student is freezing!”
While Carvalho is excited for his year in Charlottesville with his classes, professors, LLM and JD classmates, and tons of opportunities for outdoor activities, he loves his home country of Brazil.
“I really like it here, and I think I’ll really enjoy the year here, but I will miss home. I would like to be there. We have several problems in Brazil, like violence. But our culture, it’s something very special for us, obviously. Maybe that’s like this for everybody, but in the end, I really miss Brazil. Our way of life is really good.”
lw8vd@virginia.edu