7/29
Leaving tomorrow morning for Brasilia. We’re going to stay a little under a week there and then I’ll be in Sao Paulo for about 2 days (Aug 5-7), on the 7th I leave to spend 3 weeks in the States. The plan is business and church the first 2 weeks and the second week I really want to try to see my Grandpa, though if we don’t find work before then in the States I may not be able to fund even a trip that close. Will be praying.
All that said, below are some random observations and stories.
Have you ever walked into a public restroom at a grocery store and the toilet was basically a hole in the floor? If you haven’t gotten the hint at how remote an area this is, think of this:
There are many undiscovered indigenous tribes in the Amazon, and the Amazon begins in the western part of Para (the state Amazonas is the next state over). The people here have a generally negative view of the “indio” and use the word “indio” to describe (mostly children) who act uncivilized. Saying someone does something like an indio here is like the American saying, “Were you raised by wolves?”
I, however, am fascinated and don’t know how you can live so closely with another culture and have such disinterest and ignorance toward it. You can tell who the indios are from a long ways away. Many are half covered in tribal tattoos, the general facial structure is different, and I even saw my first monkey here (he was attached to an indio child, which I wanted to watch all day long, but I also have manners enough not to stare). I hope to go back to the States with some sort of interaction with the indio culture here and perhaps some fun cultural gifts.
All this to say, the tribes are just across the river. I feel almost close to some undiscovered tribe just by bordering so closely with the indios who enter the city daily for healthcare or those who go to school.
On another note, have I told you that I ate armadillo? I’ve also eaten the fruit of cacao, which is tasty but very slimy and it’s hard to separate the seeds. I do think it’d make for a great smoothy. There’s also something else I plan to eat, called a Paca, which I’m not sure what it is, but I can find out….
8/2
I’ve been here in Brasilia two nights (this will be the 3rd). I’d hoped to be in Sao Paulo earlier, but it looks like my plans are frustrated yet again and there’s just no way for me to get there early. I’ll be buying my ticket for the morning of the 7th and will basically spend most of the day in the airport. At least that does give me more time in Brasilia, so hopefully I get to see some things here. We’re supposed to go out, but my sister-in-law has a habit of frustrating my plans with her own (not the one who lives here, but the one who’s always with me. Starting to drive me up a wall. Won’t say too much on that note or this would just become a venting post of not nice things, but I won’t let my whole last week here (and first touristy week in Brasilia) be sabatoged, even if I have to kidnap my hubby and daughter and steal away in the car in the middle of the night. If we had the money, I’d try to get us at least one night in a hotel (some friends of ours have a hotel in the city that I would love to visit for a night or two).
I’ll write more later and perhaps even post some pictures when I actually do do something.