OK, This is my second day of being sick and I´m sick of it!!(pun intended) I woke up this moring thinking things were better but unfortunately my flu didn´t think so. So we went to lunch as I was feeling just fine when I woke up but after getting something in my stomach the flu kicked in again and I am having to stay home again tonight. (boooo!!!) Last night I missed a Brasil wide party celebrating the saints of June. It was a challenge going to sleep with all the firecrackers going off especially since Marley (Gonz´s dog) is scared of firecrackers so every ten minutes or so I would get a dog in my lap (the big wimp). I think it´s the only thing he´s afraid of though, he´s a big Boxer who´s only lost one fight in his life.
Well, being sick does give me the chance to update this thing so here goes. Two nights ago when I was feeling OK (I was in the calm before the storm) we went out to a bar in downtown Sao Paulo. I was feeling well enough to have a couple of drinks and do a little socializing but I wasn´t well enough to have much fun with the locals. We got home at about 4AM and I wasn´t feeling at all well then so I didn´t get much sleep.
I just failed my first attempt at Brasilian instant soup making. It´s the first time I´ve had to cook for myself in this country and it is rare for people who have much money or are male to cook ever here. The kitchen is still regarded as a womans place and rightly so as I discovered the hard way that even Brasilian instant soup isn´t as easy to make as American and it´s especially difficult because I can only somewhat read the instructions. I get the basic gist of things but the minute details like starch included don´t necessarily come out. Thus I made boiling water with a glop of condensed starch. Of course I have no problem with the drinks and I think my favorite soda in the world, Guarana, is from here. I´ve never seen it in the states but I´m on a quest to find it just as I did the Terere last summer successfully.
OK back to the story. The next morning we got up about 11o´clock which I found funny as we made an effort and insisted to Gonz´s friends that we were hanging out with the next day that we would be at their casa at 9AM, so here it is 11 and I´m just being woken up. We finally made it to their place at around 1PM and headed up to a "farm" about an hour northeast of Sao Paulo in the mountains. There was supposed to be a party there that evening but we wen´t to hang out for the day and had to come back to town for the night festivities as Paula (Gonz´s)girlfriend (whom I´ve known for a long time as well) had promised her father that she would be at a party for Medical residents that he was hosting. They were reluctant to go as apparantly medical residents in Brasil are even more snobby than most are in the States. I opted to stay home because the flu really hit me hard so I went to be early.
Continuing the dialogue that I started in the last post.
The roads of Brazil Part Dois.
It is true what they say that with civilizaion comes better roads. As one approaches Sau Paulo the roads get better. Brazil has a state system similar to the United States. As a matter of fact the majority of them are of similar size to those found up north. Including Amazonia which is comparable to Texas in size. (side note the good drinking water tastes bad here and the bad drinking water tastes just fine. It´s because they use organic filters (clay) for the good water) As you head away from Sao Paulo the roads get more sparse until you get to the Amazon when they are practically non existent and most people travel by boat. There are good roads from Sao Paulo to Brasilia which is the countries capital. There are two states directly to the north of Sao Paulo (which is also a state), Minas Gerias and Goias. Minas Gerias has a farily good system as it has a long border with Sau Paulo but as you head away things of course get worse and in the rural areas things can get bad. Goias is the state which contains Distrecto Federal, Brasilia so to it´s east things are nice and there is a wonderfull road heading from Brasilia west to Goiania, Rio Verde, and Jatai. But get off of that road and you´re in trouble. We have to head north on the western border from Rio Verde to Diorama, Goias which is the headquarters for Pro-Fauna Cerrado. After leaving Itapu the roads are entirely dirt which isn´t bad as long as they´ve been maintained since the rainy season. If they have been ignored, the ruts can get deep and by that i don´t mean a foot, I mean a meter or more, and sometimes just as wide as deep. But the roads are generally maintained in Goias as there is some civilization. I think possibly the worst roads in the world are in Mato Grosso which borders Goias to the northwest (Brazilians agree they are the worst in Brasil at least). Here the roads are so bad that many times people trail blaze side roads in the ditches to get off of them. A word to the wise government. If you are going to put in asphault roads, make sure there is enough money in your budget to maintain them or make them thick enough to not become a gigantic pot hole. The average road in Mato Grosso I would estimate has about 3 large pot holes every 3 meters, and you basically need the whole road to swerve around them and have a somewhat smooth ride (except for horizontal G´s). I do not suggest the weak of stomach to visit Mato Grosso or if you get carsick bring a load of Dramamine and boxing headgear to keep you from cracking your skull on the car´s sides or windows as you sleep. I haven´t been further north than Mato Grosso so I can´t tell you about those roads but if I get there I will update.

If you have any burning questions, would like me to expand upon anything, or want me to do anything while I´m here please write me a note in the comments link. I would love to hear from anyone reading my blog.