Bahia!!!!

This week has certainly been interesting. Monday morning we left real early in th emorning to head down to Bahia. We drove most of the day, and then we stayed in some podunk town in Pernambuco. It was interesting to see the difference in the highways between states. We knew exactly when we left Ceará and entered Pernambuco because suddenly the streets weren't full of potholes. Speaking of which, I really thought that Brazil's highways would be better than they are, but apparently that's taken care of by the individual states, and Ceara for some reason is way behind. We hit several large potholes that basically had the same effect as going over a speed bump at 70 mph.

Anyway, we got to Bahia, and we thought we were going to stay in Feira de Santana, and travel to Salvador everyday, but as it turns out, there weren't any rooms available in any reasonable hotel in Feira because of some conference they were having, so we ended up staying in a hotel that overlooks the beach in Salvador (I know my life sucks). We taught the workshop in the afternoon in Salvador, then got in the car to rush out to Feira to teach the workshop there. Both were definitely different experiences. We only started with 9 people in Salvador, and we ended with 7, so that was a REALLY small group for us, but I really liked teaching the small group because we could focus more individual time with them. All but 1 were members of the church, which really helps. I don't know if I've written this yet, but serving in the church really helps people get jobs because it gives experience they wouldn't otherwise have. Also, I'm not sure why, but members of the church just get it easier. They understand what's going on and aren't afraid to make mistakes in the workshop. Anyway, that group was a ton of fun and I think they learned really well. The group in Feira started with 19 and ended with I think 12, and all were members of the church. I felt bad because we arrived late everyday, so someone else always started teaching for that day and we picked up where they left off, so I didn't feel like we got to know them really well, but they were really prepared and just got everything the first time we explained it.

We didn't have a lot of time to go out and see the city until today, but today was a ton of fun. First, we went to the Farol da Barra/Forte de Santo Antonio which was the first lighthouse in the Americas or the first in South America depending on if you read the English version or Portuguese version of the info sheet. In any event, it's a really old lighthouse and also Brazil's first fort. Outside I bought a berinbau (an instrument used in Capoeira) and learned to play with this guy they call "O Mestre" (The Master). Then we headed downtown and saw the Cathedral of Sao Francisco. It was honestly kind of sad to see they way the Catholic church looks at Christ (always sad, suffering, or dead), and to see the ridiculous amount of gold that was thrown into that cathedral. Then we just kind of walked around and ate some typical Bahian food. It was a ton of fun. I love Bahia. If I marry a girl whose rich parents want to fund my honeymoon, I think I'll come here.

We're headed back up to Fort tomorrow, but we won't get there til Monday. Amo todos voces! Sejam felizes e não façam nada que eu não faria, ta?