Nice to Meat You!

Today was a long, amazing adventure beginning and ending with way too much food!

Waking up to the sound of traffic, birds, and chattering voices reminded us that we weren't in Kansas, uh Edmonton, anymore. Breakfast was a precursor to what was to be a day full of amazing food. Breakfast included both familiar and not so familiar food including homemade bread, cheese, papaya, and the one thing most of us can't function without...coffee.

The morning continued with a bus tour of Porto Alegre with our tour guide Juanita. She introduced us to the beauty and history of the city. We enjoyed seeing the beautiful architecture of the city, all the beautiful greenery, as many trees as there are people in Porto Alegre, and the soccer stadium where some of the World Cup games will be hosted. As part of the tour we experienced a dance/martial arts and music performance called Capeoira. They played music on instruments, sang, and danced. We later learned that the dance was inspired by the slaves in Brazil who wanted to escape their lords. They would disguise the fact that they were practicing fight skills by weaving in dance like movements. Some of us got to play instruments and a few learned the dance. I'm not sure how good we were but it was a unique experience. The tour also included a visit to the public market to give us a taste of everyday Brazilian life.

From there we were off to PUCRS, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande Sul. This was our first of two buffets for the day. The food is quickly becoming a tourist attraction for us. We also had a chance to learn more about the university and their exchange program, the food alone may convince a few people to come back for a semester. We then took a short tour of the science museum before returning to the hostel.

One of the highlights of the day was returning to the hostel to discover that the luggage would be arriving at 5.30 PM. It did not arrive in time for our concert; however, the story and our strange, pieced together attire provided a few laughs for our audience. Our tic tac shakers in particular were a hit and a few people wanted a picture with them.  Despite a lack of cohesion in our uniforms the concert went well. We received a standing ovation which Fernado later explained meant we had touched the hearts of the people. It was an inspiring feeling knowing that music truly is a universal language.

Beef, chicken, and pork oh my! Our late night dinner was at a BBQ place with entertainment. Not only was there a buffet of salads, rice, and fruit but waiters we constantly coming up to us with various cuts of meat. Some of the men looked like they had died and gone to heaven. By the end we had all discovered that shaking our head no our waving our hands vigorously in a slashing motion didn't always translate into "No, I can't eat another piece of your delicious meat, I'm about to bust".

While the BBQ'd meats were a huge hit the entertainment was the highlight. It involved traditional dancing, music, and what can only be described as a man furiously and frighteningly whipping two ropes with heavy, metal balls around his body and hitting the hardwood floor with them, making a loud pop. The performers seemed to enjoy having us Canadians in the audience and called two choir members up to participate. Peter and Siobhan were chosen and at first they looked a little chicken but in the end it was an experience they will never forget.

The day ended with half of the choir joyously uniting with their luggage. Several girls declared that it was better than Christmas morning. We now have our proper uniforms, drum, and shakers...we are thinking about keeping the tic-tac shakers since they were such a hit.