June 4th - Day Two

We landed in Sao Paulo and had a little delay at the terminal. Throughout this delay the Brazilians did not seem to get too angry or annoyed by the postponed flight. After boarding the plane we departed for Manaus around noon. We arrived in Manaus around 3:30 and we were met by Gloria, our travel agent and guide. She had helped us set up many of the activities that we would be taking part in over the next few days on the Amazon. Along with this we had an opportunity to exchange American dollars for Brazilian reals at an exchange rate of one to two. During the exchange I wondered whether we would see a change in the rate over the span of our trip. And whether this change would be positive or negative. If the rate were to decrease it would be logical to exchange as much money early on in the trip and get a better rate.

After settling into our hotel a few of us went for a walk around the block. As soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk I realized that my biggest hurdle to get over in Brazil would be the language barrier. I speak a little Spanish, but this would not be enough to carry on conversations with people in Portuguese. I realized that I would have to start learning as much of the language as I could as well as improve upon my hand gesturing. During this walk I had the opportunity to get to know some of the other people on the trip and we quickly became friends.

We returned to the hotel and soon left for the group dinner that we were having at a local pizzeria that served all-you-can-eat pizza. The pizza was delicious and there were a variety of toppings on the pizzas. The place reminded me of a Brazilian steakhouse where waiters bring food to your table and you pick what you want. After dinner we went to a grocery store to buy bottled water. The tap water down in Brazil is not potable due to the corroded pipes that bring water into the buildings. The grocery store, though similar to American stores, was much smaller in size. I hardly recognized any of the products that were sold there but was able to buy enough water to last a couple of days. I was surprised to see that some of the more expensive liquors were behind lock and key and a guard was posted outside of the store. The walk back from the grocery store was not long, but there were trash piles covering the sidewalks on nearly every street. There were no trashcans anywhere and I was not sure what to do with my empty bottles and trash. I am curious as to what the waste management will be like in the rest of the city.