So, it all started with a fairly simple plain ride to Sao Paulo. It
was an overnight flight, so I slept most of the way. Once we got to
Brazil, the delay was in the flight to Porto Alegre (it's in the very
south of Brazil). We arrived around 4:30 and after unloading our
stuff and checking in we went to a grocery store to grab some food and
things to keep in our fridges in our rooms. Everyone has a roommate
except me because the only other guy on the trip opted to pay the
extra for the single room leaving me in a single room without having
to pay extra. ☺ Anyway, at the grocery store, as we were leaving, we
were all in the van that was rented to drive us around and these two
guys walked by one of which caught the attention of several girls on
the bus who yelled some "woohoo"s and "ow ow"s out the window at him.
He turns and starts blowing kisses and drawing air-hearts and as soon
as the professor returned so we could leave they asked him how to say,
"take your clothes off" in Portuguese. So, that's one of the first
phrases I learned. :-)

That night we went to this buffet style pizza place where they keep
bringing out different kinds of pizzas and give you a slice if you
want to eat it. After the dinner pizzas were the desert pizzas, and
they were DELICIOUS. My favorite was painted with chocolate and
topped with fresh strawberries. I was also introduced to a very
delicious drink called guaranà. It tastes a little like gingerale
with a hint of strawberry or some other fruity flavor. Maybe it's
most like a shirley temple, but a little sweeter. Guaranà is a fruit.
The label mentions nothing of caffeine, so I felt there was no harm
in drinking it especially when I discovered guaranà zero was just as
delicious, so I began to drink it like water. Two days later I came
down with the worst diarrhea right when we got to a preschool in the
outskirts of the town. Three times in 2 hours I visited the restroom
and on the 3rd time they directed me to my own private stall. The
embarrassment continued to mount as the LBM issues continued for the
next three days. I avoided dairy altogether drugged up on Immodium,
pepto and tums, but still couldn't kick the problem until one of my
other professors tells me that guaranà is loaded with caffeine and
probably wouldn't be good for my bowel issues. Basically, this drink
is a much better tasting Red Bull. I immediately quit drinking it and
suddenly returned to normal…but I did have to suffer through the
caffeine withdrawal headaches…it was a veritable Mormon detox. Don't
worry, Mom…I survived ;-)

Porto Alegre is not like most of Brazil. It's a bit more liberal and
much more politically active than the rest of the country. We visited
schools and programs that were very indicative of this fact, but one
in particular I would like to share. An old factory that made corks
for wine bottles was converted into an art gallery for people to
browse for free. All of the art is politically driven and right on
the outside is a very tall tower (probably about 500 feet tall) that
every year on AIDS day they wrap in a very large condom to make a
statement about safe sex. I don't know how they get it on, but
Fernando (the Brazilian professor in charge of our program) tells us
it's really made of rubber because he touched it one year.

I've wasn't quite livin' it up down in Porto Alegre. It was kinda
like being in Provo, UT with no car. There's not much to do at night,
and nothing is in walking distance from the hotel. Also, it's close
to 40 degrees and all I brought was beachwear. We were originally
told to bring a light jacket cause it might be cold, after all it is
winter down here, but none of us were prepared for the need for
scarves and gloves.

Fortunately, everything I got to see was worth the trip. The poverty
level in the country is immense but there are amazing programs for
turning that around, and some incredibly driven and courageous people
who started them. One in particular started a recycling program
collecting all the recycling materials from the city and sorting them
to be taken to recycling centers. The money raised goes to the women
who work there and to programs for educating those women and their
children. Most of these women were prostitutes who were taken out of
their situation in order to learn to be strong women instead of weak
and subservient to men. It was a very moving and inspiring visit.