Angus, my roommate in Salvador, and I both share a common malady...
I went paddleboarding and that was fun. I think I like kayaking better, but paddleboarding is more in touch with the water.
We went to a culinary arts school and my oh my was the food delicious!! I ate even unto the dust. In portuguese they have a phrase that means you did something a whole lot. "até o pó"
This was the fancy building that housed the culinary arts school restaurant on the top floor.
The view was nice too!
This curious looking fruit is called pinha. It has small fruit-covered seed pouches. It has a good, sweet flavor.
Angus and I went to Curitiba for the weekend June 10-13. He had served his mission there. Curitiba is very much to the south of Brazil. We went from 80 degree weather in Salvador to freezing weather in Curitiba. We wore coats all the time and many times we wished we had more. The apartment we stayed in had now insulation, so you really curled up in the blankets.
This tree is an Araucaria tree. Also known as "Monkey Puzzle" trees, these trees drop their branches as they grow and leave just the branches at the top. They produce a type of pine nut that is really big and tasty. They are one of the cool things to see in southern Brazil.
When we got there we decided that we needed to go eat some good Brazilian churrasco or grilled meats. It was really good!!
I am ready to work in a brazilian grill. I already know how to cut the meat. :)
They had these huge cheese wheels as part of their salad bar. I was amazed because I know how much those things cost.
In the bathroom of the restaurant they had a floss/mouthwash dispenser. That's how you know that the food was good. It tried to stick with you.
This building is a museum called "Museum of the Eye" or the "Oscar Niemeyer Museum". He was an architect who designed the museum as well as designing many of the buildings in Brasilia which is Brazil's capital. Brasilia was built from scratch in the 1960's and they commissioned architects, engineers, etc to build the city. One of the principal architects was Oscar.
Here are some of the exhibits. I feel like they had a good mix of interesting art and architecture.
This picture below is made out of bolts and nuts and other common items from a mechanics garage.
The above frame is made from hides that were sewn together. Below is a scale model of a building designed by Mr. Niemeyer.
Saturday, we went to Parque
Tanguá. It is pretty and picturesque. Angus and I ate some pine nuts from the Araucaria trees here. They are pretty good. They gave them to us boiled (which is actually one way they eat peanuts in Salvador... at first I was like "Boiled peanuts?", but then I learned to appreciate them even if I like the roasted ones better), and I liked them, but I also wanted to try them roasted.
After the park we went to a museum that talked about the history of the railroad in Brazil specifically Curitiba. This was a HUGE book on the table. I know it doesn't look that big, but that table is probably almost 3 feet wide.
This was a really cool exhibit. It was a sample of every kind of wood that is found in Brazil. It was fun to see all the different colors and grains. The cinnamon, rosewood, and Brazil wood were all particularly colorful and attractive.
Then we went back to Salvador!! In my adventures in Curitiba, I was feeling a bit constipated and sick as well as some pain in my shoulders, but I asked Angus to give me a blessing and it was much better after that.
Back in Salvador on Monday I taught the Pimenta family how to make cookies. They aren't a common thing here in Brazil although I think that Brazilians use their ovens much more frequently than the Mexicans did.
Pomegranate of course.
Making bread with Gitana "Gina" Pimenta. She and her family really got along well with me. They send their love!
We had pizza the last night I was there (wednesday night). Then Thursday morning before I left to the airport I took the time to give the family a Book of Mormon. The Pimenta family consists of Graziela and Gabriel (twins who were helping on the survey that we did) and their parents Adriano and Gina. I left my other host family, Nazira Heine, and stayed with the Pimenta family because my time was up for the host program, but I still had time in Brazil. Anyhow, they really appreciated it. Gina wants to meet my family because she really admired how close we seemed to be. She also said that she was going to read the Book of Mormon. She asked what some of the rules were in our church for members. I told her about the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. She said, "I don't have any problems with those things." haha. :) They are good people.
I first flew to Sao Paulo and then on to DC. It was a 9 hour flight to DC from Sao Paulo. In the Salvador airport I checked in and I wanted to make sure I sent a few last postcards before I left. I sent them by gluing the stamps on with the glue bottle they provided. It was a little messy, but it works. I then decided to see if I could exchange the last bit of Brazilan money I had, reais (singular real, pronounced hay-ice and hay-ow), since I wouldn't be needing them in the states. I found one place, but they didn't have dollars. The teller recommended that I go to a info center and ask them. I was going to just exchange money in Sao Paulo, but I decided to check with the booth anyways. As I talked with the guy, I noticed that he had a mastercard that was issued by the same bank that I use! What are the odds? Then I look at the name on the card at the same time he asks me my name. It was my card! Someone had handed it into the lost and found and by miracle an inspiration, I was led to the booth to get my card. I felt very blessed in that moment.
I was carrying my coat and in the pocket of my coat was my debit card. The pocket was slightly open, but I didn't think anything of it. So when I went to the lost and found information booth, I was completely blown away to see my card there.
Me in the airport about to get on my long flight. I sat next to a woman who was visiting for the first time. Her sister lives in Maryland and she is getting married, so she was traveling for that reason. As we talked and I mentioned my desires for my family and life, she said "Você é bonzinho, não é?" Which means, "You're a good kid aren't you?". I thought she said something else at first, so I said "Sim." which means yes, so I sounded really prideful. haha, It was funny and good to talk with her on the flight.
Now I am here with my wonderful, beautiful, adorable, kind, loving, and fun sister, brother-in-law, nieces, and nephews. Let me tell you that they really make you feel like a winner. Mary says that I have "stretchy arms" meaning that my arms are really long. :)
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