Today was my free day. I didn’t have to volunteer at CADEC, but still had to wake up around 7:00. I went to Daniel and Geli’s apartment to drive to the Federal Police Station. I will be in the country for a total of approximately 101 days, and my tourist visa is only good for 90 days. We went to the Federal Police and waited about an hour to only find out that we needed to return within 10 days of my departure. We drove through the shipyards of Vitoria, which I later discovered that they are the largest in South America! We had lunch at a typical buffet and I really pigged out on a lot of new foods. At the buffets here, you weigh your food and then pay for it accordingly. Even though I really ate a lot of good food, my bill was only around $8.50 USD.
After lunch we visited a museum owned by a railroad and mining company called Vale. It was a really beautiful building of Spanish architecture and had a lot of old mining equipment in it that my father would have enjoyed. There was even a retired steam locomotive in front and the 3rd floor contained “the largest toy train set in Brazil.” Woot! I learned a lot about Brazil’s railroad infrastructure and the different exports and imports that come through the port.
After visiting this museum we went next door to an art museum that contained abstract. It was a lot of fun guessing the meaning behind some of the displays and I’m pretty sure that I didn’t fully understand any of them.
I worked on homework and my Order of Augusta application in the afternoon and then attended my first Brazilian basketball game. We bought salt at the supermarket before going to game, but I couldn’t figure out why. After a lot of explanation, I figured out that it was for Haiti and we could get in for free with a donation. I was really impressed by this and they told me there had been quite the public outcry after the earthquake. Brazilians are very emotional people who show their feelings openly in front of others. For example, PDA is very common here and it is common to see one person yelling at another in public. Brazilians don’t really hide their thoughts and they definitely are not quiet about them.
Once we got into the basketball game, it was already the second half. The stadium was packed and very hot. This game was much more like a soccer match than an American basketball game. The stadium was packed with Flamingo Red and Black on one side and Vila Velha Yellow and Red on the other. There were large banners hanging from the walls and people were waving team flags in the stands. In the short time I was there, four technical fouls were called for fighting, tripping, etc. Brazilians do not play or watch basketball anything like Americans. There were constant chats going in the stands and someone tossed firecrackers on top of the metal roof. Then towards the end of the game, the Flamingo fans started celebrating by lighting road flares in the stands and singing their anthem. We had to leave with about 40 seconds left because fighting on the street and court erupts as soon as the game ends or even before it ends. This was certainly a cultural experience.
After the game we went to get some “fast food” which actually took about 20 minutes. This reminded me of something you buy in Morgantown after a night out. The sandwich had everything on it from beanie weanies to potato sticks. After this messy meal, we walk to a bar on the beach and drank some cerveja on the sand. We called it an early night since we had to get up early and go bodyboarding.
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