May 6th

(This blog post will be the same as my other one. I'm a little too lazy to write two separate blogs right now)

Oi! Como Vai!

Today wasn't as great as yesterday obviously but we still did some interesting things. One of the students in our group had her camera stolen the other night and through some crazy stroke of luck (or actually competent police work) they found the guy and retrieved the camera. She spent a lot of the day dealing with that with the police, but after that ordeal we went to the Santos soccer stadium. In there they have a little museum showcasing the team's history and accomplishments. Pele, arguably the best soccer player who ever lived, was on this team and there was a whole Pele exhibit. We visited the locker room and in there they still have Pele's locker which is locked. They say he kept a good luck charm in there, but no one is certain. After visiting the soccer field we visited a small barbershop and met the barber who cut Pele's hair. A certain student decided it would be a good idea to get a haircut at this point. It would be a cool story to say you got your haircut by the same guy who cut Pele's hair, but we were on a tight schedule and we did not have much time to spare... especially around 30 minutes. It was a pretty warm day outside too... I did not approve, but oh well. After that ordeal we ate at a local restaurant and enjoyed some traditional brazilian food. Sausage, beef, ribs, chicken, rice, beans... all delicious!

After a very gooli gooli (don't ask) good lunch we visited one of Santos's zoos. It seemed more like a wildlife preservation center since the jungle and zoo was integrated with the walkways. There were birds, fishes, turtles, little rodent things and some spider monkeys. It felt less like you were in a zoo and more like someone preserved a natural habitat and let people pass through it.

After the visit to the zoo we visited one of the city government buildings and met the vice mayor. He talked a lot about tourism, the importance of the ports and canal systems and was very friendly and nice. The "meeting" was in a very elaborate room and done in a casual way. The brazilians in the room would often interrupt each other and have side conversations. After the visit to the Mayor's office we explored the coffee museum/shop.

Brazil's main export used to be primarily coffee and this museum told the history of the coffee business. It brought in a lot of immigrants and wealth to the Santos area. We walked around the building and saw how they used to make coffee, the people who grew and processed the coffee, and other coffee related things.

After the coffee museum we visited Santos' aquarium. When we arrived it had just closed, but through Professor Budny's connections (he said he had the mayor call and keep it open but i don't know...) we were able to get in. There were fish, moray eels, turtles, sharks, penguins, and sea wolfs (like a sea lion). We later found out that this facility actually rescues animals found on the beaches and nurses them back to health. They also conduct research on deceased animals to find out what killed them (usually from pollution) and then what they can do to reduce the amount of pollution. We were also taken behind the aquarium to see all the medical facilities and water pump systems. They actually use the water from the ocean and pump it into the aquarium to ensure a natural environment.

Unfortunately that took us to the end of the day around 6. It was too dark to go out to the beach so instead a couple of friends and I ate at one of the local restaurants we've eaten at before. Last time we tipped around 20 percent and the workers there went insane with gratitude so when we arrived there again they ran to us and gave us the best service they could. They were smiling like crazy and waited on us hand and foot. And that's about it. We're supposed to be exploring more of the industrial side of the city of Santos tomorrow. We'll be talking to Port officials, exploring the port itself by boat, and then visiting more businesses. Hopefully tomorrow will end a little earlier so we can have some free-time while the sun is still up. Pictures may be posted later but for now I'm trying to post a bunch on facebook. Ciao!