Doctors and Snakes

For Family Home Evening on Monday we had a lesson on China from the Burkes who spent two separate years there teaching English for BYU. It brought back memories of our visit to China.

We have been going through files on the computer to organize our work so someone else can figure out what we have been doing. For example we had over 100 PowerPoints, some duplicates, some previous versions, some in development, and some never used. Being the end of the month, Diane started compiling the metrics for technology specialists.

We had an early meeting Wednesday with the director of finances for the area to figure out how to handle travel. He said we could get a credit card to use for travel. It will make it much easier (especially for our replacements). I was surprised when I arrived at the Portuguese class on Wednesday. They had treats and some thank-you gifts to show appreciation for teaching the class. It was really thoughtful.

Friday morning I took Diane to the hospital so she could have them check on her ankle she sprained three months ago and still hurts. The hospital is only a block from our apartment complex.

The Leforte Hospital

After getting signed in we waited for a consolation with the doctor. He suggested having an MRI to see the condition of the tendons. This meant going across the street to the hospital lab for some blood work (and returning next Monday to pick up the results), going in on Tuesday for the MRI, then returning next Friday for the results. It took us most of the morning.

Waiting patiently

When we returned to the office we were invited to join the team for lunch at a new churrasco place where they were cooking the meat on a fire they built outside the building. It took quite a while to order the food and the others were short on time so they headed off to another place and we went to the apartment for lunch.

Churrasco

In the evening we went to the theater on Paulista Ave to see a movie, Concussion, that would start about 6 pm. It ended up they didn't have that showing so everyone decided to eat first then go to an 8:50 pm showing. It seemed quite late for us so we went to eat with them with the intent to go home afterward. Diane decided she wanted to go to the movie so we did, getting home about 11:30 pm. It was a late night.

The Hales had a big Saturday activity planned and invited anyone to go along. It ended up we were the only other ones to go, so we had a foursome.

We took the bus to the metro station then walked to the Butantan Institute (part of the University of São Paulo). It is a biological research center specializing in microbiology and antivenin for snakes. 

Selfy outside the Microbiology Exhibit

The institute has a large collection of laboratories and museums in a wooded area. 

Ready to walk up the path to the institute

One of the tree museums

They had an outdoors snake pit showing several snakes they work with.

Snake in the grass

In front of the library

 While we were there two members of the church stopped and talked with us. It is always nice to be recognized by our name tags.

Elder Hale talkes to members

Boa constrictor in a tree

 We always like meeting new people as we go on these side trips.

Workers preparing another exhibit

 The first museum we entered taught us all about microbiology. It included a lot of educational information about common (and less common) diseases. There were several microscopes set up to look at microorganisms. I could actually see them. It made me want to study microbiology.

No, Paul, that's a stack of glass bottles, not a microscope

Microscopes in the exhibit hall

Famous scientists in microbiology

As we were walking to the next exhibit a boy rolled down the window of his car and said, "Look, the missionaries". It was a young LDS family living in Brazil. The father works for the state department.

Looks like a Mormon minivan

 The second museum had a lot of snakes and other reptiles in enclosures. It made me want to study serpentology.

Snake in the glass

From there we went to the museum that showed the history of the institute with old laboratory equipment.

The history museum

Old scales (major or minor?)

Serpents on the wall and pathway

 It was a lot of fun to visit the Butantan Institute.

Leaving the institute

We then took a bus ride to Feria Lima street where we had a late lunch. Another bus took us to an old church "Nossa Senhora do Brasil". It was like a lot of the Baroque churches in Brazil. 

Nossa Senhora do Brasil

Azulejos - Portuguese tile

Is this the Cistene Chapel?

The alter

Side porch

 A lot of the Brazilians in São Paulo want to have their weddings in this chapel. We can see why - it is beautiful. We attended a baptism there. The parents were told that the baby was too young to remember what was said so they should bring her back when she is 19 for communion.

Baptism

Flower outside the church

 We started walking toward a bus stop on Brasil Ave and passed some grand buildings. Sister Hale decided she would return to Brazil and live in one of them.

Sis Hale's new home

 We passed another one that looked like it was open. It was a home furnishing store with a lot of modern fixtures. We enjoyed looking through it.

Home Depot São Paulo style

This house had at least 20 bathrooms

Exhibit of Brazilian city profiles

We got back in the evening tired. After a short rest we cleaned the apartment and had leftovers for dinner.

We had another fast Sunday today. They seem to come quicker than when we first arrived in Brazil. We start with Priesthood/Relief Society meetings at 9am then have Sunday School, followed by Sacrament Meeting. There are a lot of people who like to bear their testimonies. They keep them short so more people can participate. Technology is alive and well in the Church (at least in São Paulo). Today in priesthood meeting the pianist used an iPad for a hymn book, the conductor used his iPhone, and several of us used iPads. Who needs books?

High-tech priesthood meeting

Goiânia

This Monday we went to Goiânia, the capital of Goiás, which is a 3-hour bus ride from Brasília. We took a 10 am bus so it wasn't too rushed. We enjoyed watching the green fields between the two cities.

Green fields of Goiás

Going along the river

 We checked into the hotel then went across the street for a late lunch. The traditional foods in this region are prepared using big wood-burning stoves.

Lunchtime in Goiânia

Goiânia is a planned city like Brasilia but much larger. It was built about 40 years earlier using construction that reflected the old Bandeirista style rather then the modernism of Brasília. Roads form rings around several large circular squares (a round peg in a square hole?) with roundabouts about every other block, some of which form little praças.  I walked around a bit to get oriented and find the nearby chapel where we would have our meetings the next day.

Cute children on the streets of Goiânia

Tuesday was our work day. We started with breakfast, which had good fruit and pão de quejo (cheese bread).

Goiânia from our hotel window

We walked to the church for a 9 am meeting with Lucas (assistant FM) and Jeferson (CTS). We went through an orientation then information on the new webcast. 

Jeferson and Lucas

After the meeting we went out for lunch.

Lunchtime

We visited 8 chapels in Goiânia, many more than we anticipated. It took all afternoon. We passed the first airplane invented by a Brazilian in Goiânia before the Wright brothers.

The first airplane

I'm going to save you the pictures of the outside and inside of all the chapels except for this one.

Cute, eh!

Lucas did not have a car available so Jeferson took us around. At one point he had to drop off some decorations for his wife at a bottling plant where she works.

Shift change at the plant

 We passed the "Grande 'Ole Opry" of Goiânia. The city is known for Seranteja (country) music.

Giant electric guitar

 One of the chapels had an overgrown garden in back with various fruit trees and plants.

I can't remember the name of this fruit

 We had nice weather all day, but some clouds moved in to make the skies more colorful.

Blue sky with clouds

Jefferson took us to his own neighborhood on the south side of the city. It felt good to see the "real" Brazil outside the big city.

Southern neighborhood

Caught some missionaries in action

 He took us to see his sister-in-law where we had some Goiânia cheese (It's famous in Brazil) with goiabada (guava jam). It was quite tasty.

Snack time

Jefferson with his relatives

A fruit vendor asleep on the job

When we got back to the hotel it wasn't quite dark so we decided to see a bit of the city. We walked to a local park which had a small art museum.

Looks like he needs something to eat

Paining in the museum

Giant insect infestation

We enjoyed the walk through the park.

Big Foot was here

Small lake in the park

 We went to see the central square (circle) of the city where there are state offices and several sculptures.

Is that the leaning monument of Goiânia?

Wednesday we returned to Brasília by bus. There was a man at the bus station that looked like a typical cowboy from the Brazilian Cerrado.

Gaiânian Cowboy

We checked back into the same hotel in Brasília and got a quick lunch - pequi chicken. Pequi is a common fruit for this region. It has sharp thorns as part of the seed which can stick in your tongue and lips if you bite into it. Fortunately they had removed all the spikes when they made the lunch.

In the afternoon we had a chance to walk along the tail of the airplane (the city is designed to look like an airplane) to see the JK monument. We saw a few other sites along the way.

Flowers in the garden

 We stopped at a little museum that honored the Brazilian Indians.

Two Indian warriors

Indian baskets

Indian dwelling

 We finally got to the memorial for Jûnius Kobecheck, the Brazilian president who built Brasília as the nation's capital. His motto was "50 years in 5 years" and he did it. The whole city seems to be a monument to him.

Kubeitschek

Sculpture on the grass

 The monument showed a lot of worldly honors, but now he's dead.

Sepulcure for JK

 We then had a long walk back, seeing some of the famous buildings on the way.

The stadium

 We stopped for a look at the choro club where they perform folk singing in the evening.

Choro club

 We went into a fancy Shopping on the North wing, but didn't find anything to eat.

Mall on the Asa Norte

 We decided to climb the tower again for one last look at Brasília.

I love Brasília

On Thursday we flew back to São Paulo, arriving just after noon. After a taxi back to our apartment we did some quick grocery shopping and headed back to the office. As of now we combined English classes so Elder De Paula is teaching the class. That meant we could go home and rest.

Friday, after a busy day, all of the ICS department went to the temple. It was nice having the whole group there together. 

On Saturday we took a little walk to some stores in the neighborhood (we usually don't have time to explore the stores close by) then worked in the apartment to catch up from our trip. 

It's now Sunday and we have a new week (and month) ahead of us. We'll see what it brings.