parks, parks, parks

Today we were shown around by Carol and her friend Lorena. John had to watch all the World Cup games today. Argentina was playing at some point, and Argentina is Brazil's biggest rival, or so we were told last night by John and Carol. So it was just us four girls today. We started out by going to the park that is right by the apt, the one Brandie and I tried to go to our first morning here. It was definitely open today and filled with families. I found it to be a combination of a zoo, a botanical garden, and a playground. There were some animals around: turtles, birds, monkeys. The park was also set up to be a mini jungle, with all kinds of trees and plants all around. There were also spots with playground equipment or places for kids to climb around, such as a cave and a tower. When you get close to the edge of the park, you can hear traffic, but when you are in the middle, it is very still and quiet.

Next we went to the zoo, which was in many ways similar to the first park, but it had more animals, including three jaguars and a few crocodiles. I had the song "Never Smile at a Crocodile" in my head, except I only remember that first line. I need to be reminded of the rest of the lyrics. There were also some free-roaming lizards (iguanas?). These parks were different from zoos at home, however, b/c some of the animals were able to roam around the park more and the you could get up much closer to some of the animals.

We then went to another park that used to house government officials many years ago. John's grandfather apparently worked for the government a long time ago, and so his dad once lived in this building. Now it is a park for people to walk around. There was a train car which had an ice cream shop inside, so Lorena and B had some ice cream and we all enjoyed the air conditioning.

They took us next to an outdoor Sunday market that reminded me of the county fair, almost. There were many street vendors there, selling their wares. We even saw a tent promoting vegetarianism! We got a card for a vegetarian restaurant in town. It is closed today, but maybe B and I will go tomorrow. There was also live music playing, and a huge mass of people listening and dancing. It was a lot of fun! It was crazy crowded, but we all stayed together. We also saw some Capoeira dancers, which is a sort of martial-arts dance. We even saw a few women dancers, which I had not seen in the footage I watched b/f coming here.

After enjoying the crazy party for awhile, we went to a restaurant to have lunch. It was a buffet, which was good b/c I could find things to eat, but it wasn't an all-you-can-eat buffet. Instead, they weigh your plate and you pay for how much your plate weighs. Another interesting thing about Brazil is they never have free refills on drinks in restaurants. Lorena remarked after lunch that she drank too much and so she was full, but she and Carol split one can of soda! I suppose if you grew up only getting small amounts to drink at meals, you would be used to it, but I am forever thirsty. Carol says that the only place you get free refills is Pizza Hut, b/c it is American.

I know that I've talked about the traffic here in Belem b/f, but I just want to reiterate the sentiment: holy crap. I would never be able to drive here w/o having a heart attack. Not only is the traffic crazy, but you have to parallel park in these tiny spaces...ridiculous! There are people everywhere who help you park and pull out of a space, expecting coins in return. Sometimes they are not necessary, but a couple of times, they definitely were! Carol remarked about her bad driving, but I told her that there was no way I could park in that space.

Also, I don't know if I've said this yet, but the majority of the cars here are hatchbacks. There are some larger SUVs, but there are a lot of smaller hatchbacks, like Honda Fits. I'm not sure why hatchbacks are so popular, but they are. I love being driven around the city and taking in the sites. That might be my most favorite thing. I have a constant inner commentary running in my head the entire time. Most of it I never remember by the time I come to typing it down, but some I do.

Brandie and I are back at the apt now taking a little break. We might go to church with Lorena tonight. We'll see if b is feeling up to it later.