Monday, Monday

I had a pretty darn relaxing weekend.

After all the festivities from the week, I got to sleep in a bit on Saturday. When my room finally all got out of bed, we decided to head down to the local beauty spa. Mani/pedis (and other beauty treatments) are really cheap here, and they’re regulated by a federal health surveillance team, so it’s all safe. I opted for a mani/pedi/eyebrow wax day. My other roommates got haircuts and waxing treatments. It was a little intimidating since none of us besides Mariana spoke Portuguese, but we made it work. I’m planning on going back before I head back home…get all polished up!

We went back to Pelhorinho Saturday afternoon and did some shopping at the market. We also toured St. Francis church. The church was gorgeous…the main area is covered in gold and has thousands of deities and faces carved into the walls. It’s a basque church, and the only one in Pelhorinho that has two towers…all of the other churches could only afford one. And the shopping…….I can only say one thing: CHAOS! There are hundreds of shops crammed on top of each other, and all the owners want to barter and make you try things on. I mostly did research (what can I say, I like to get a feel for everything before I buy!), but I did get a hammock and a painting. If anyone wants anything in particular, let me know…I’m getting the rest of my souvenirs on this Saturday. When we got back, everyone else went to a reggae club, but I decided to some much needed R&R , and read the last Hunger Games book.

Sunday was pretty much a lazy day. We woke up and immediately went to the beach. It rained for a little bit, but I stuck it out until the sun came back out and got a little more tan (which is still amazing to me!). The rest of the day was spent making bruschetta, playing card games, and generally just lounging about.

Today was a pretty good day at class. Our first lecture was on technology and innovation within the Brazilian Healthcare system. It focused more on the financial aspect of it than the actual science of it, but since I’m writing my paper on this topic, I still found it pretty fascinating. The 2nd lecture was on the private healthcare systems in Brazil, and how they complement/support the public system. It was a little number heavy, but the overall message was interesting. We got lunch at the university café, and then wandered about to find some ice cream. When we got back, we had a shorter day and just got to work on our presentations. Had it been nice out, we would have high-tailed it to the beach, but as it was, it was down pouring rain. Since the weather has been mostly good, I can’t really complain however. We played more card games and I sorted my laundry (exotic, I know). I’ve been spending the rest of the evening planning out what activities I want to do the rest of the time I’m here.

Tomorrow we’re going back to Pelhorinho for the Tuesday night street party. I think I’m going to try to check out the old lighthouse Wednesday night, and on Thursday we’re heading downtown to see the Body World exhibit and FINALLY see Harry Potter. We’re also going into the shanty towns for one of our field trips this week, so it should be a good time.

Hope everyone back in Michigan is surviving the heat wave!