Ice in Brazil

Ice in Brazil
Originally uploaded by Brazil Bean Brewed.

Well the beginning of the year here for us has been packed from the start. We were able to go to the missionary conference that is held every year in a different part of the country. This year it was in Belo Horizonte, to the south of us. We headed down there with our team to represent Salvador for the first time in many years. This conference is when all the Continent of Great Cities teams get together to share in a time of English, spiritual growth and fun. However, before we really took time to take part in this conference, we made a necessary pit stop for our American teammates. Our first stop in Belo Horizonte was Wal-Mart, yes there is Wal-Mart in Brazil. We have one here in Salvador, well a store that was taken over by Wal-Mart but remains very much Brazilian products except the odd thing here and there. However, in Belo we had heard that it was a different story, very much like the Wal-Mart we left in Canada. Our whole team was very excited and left space in their suitcases to be able to bring back the few odds and ends that we haven’t been able to have for awhile. We were a little disappointed to find not much difference at this Wal-Mart but did notice they had a bit more selection of imported goods. We also got to try a donut again as they sold them in the bakery. Overall, it wasn’t as exciting as we thought it could be, but it was still fun. While the others stayed in Wal-Mart, Travis and I explored the rest of the mall in which it was located. This is where we discovered to Travis’ surprise, ice! Inside the mall we found a little skating rink and watched the Brazilians trying their turn at skating. Let us just say that was quite a sight to behold. Many people landing on their butts but it was neat to see that ice does exist here even though it’s not really good ice for games such as hockey. Oh well! After our excitement of the ice, our team headed for another American treat, TGI Friday’s Restaurant for lunch. It was great to be able to eat some American food again, like hot wings. Let’s just say it was a good stop and refresher for our teammates who were missing their favorite things back home. Now, if there was only Superstore, Travis and I would have been set. Haha, guess we will have to wait for Superstore for our furlough.