April 6, 2004

Adventures in São Luís

I am currently writing this from an internet café in a shopping mall in São Luís. If you are keeping current with this blog (and, after all, who isn't?), you know that my own laptop went to the happy hacking ground in the sky last week. Therefore, these entries are apt to come from many exotic locations between now and the time I secure a replacement.

Itacyara and I spent most of yesterday on the town, seeing the various sights in downtown São Luís. There really is much to see. The old part of the town has a distinctly colonial feeling, while the newer section is decidedly urbane. We visited several quaint souvenier shops, as well as the major outdoor market. The tempreature was (and continues to be) extremely humid--kind of like having your own personal sauna.

One thing that made us quite sad was seeing the construction of a new cathedral for the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus). This is a Brazil-based cult built around the personality of one man who claims that if you give money to his church, God will solve all your problems. The cathedral he his building is huge, and quite ornate. It is one of many such structures being constructed in major cities all over Brazil. Many of the other charismatic denominations in Brazil are seeing the success of this group and adopting the "name it and claim it" philosophy for themselves.

The only other adventure I had yesterday was when I went into a public restroom, only to discover that there was no toilet paper. I asked the attendant about it, and he confirmed that, indeed, there was no toilet paper to be found. After I pressed him, however, he did offer a solution. He found a spiral notebook and ripped out two sheets for me to use. I had no other option. I discovered that if I crumpled and un-crumpled the paper several times, I could get it to "roughly" the texture of toilet paper.

Posted by Andrew on April 6, 2004 3:58 PM.

Comments

Posted by: Shannarie at April 6, 2004 8:09 PM

Posted by: Nate at April 7, 2004 10:57 AM