Spaceship Cathedrals and Green Beer
Autor: Valerie de Estados Unidos | Publicado: 2012-03-21T19:29:00-07:00

Long time, no see Blogger world!&nbsp; I'll admit, I have simply lacked motivation to go ahead and write the last couple of weeks.&nbsp; The week before last, I travelled to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, to attend a meeting with SESI to discuss an evaluation of one of their programs.&nbsp; Ana, Pedro, Caco, and I left for Porto Alegre on Monday afternoon due to really early flights on Tuesday morning to the nation's capital.&nbsp; We enjoyed dinner at an Outback Steakhouse which was no different than American Outbacks.&nbsp; We even ordered a Bloomin Onion.&nbsp; We spent Tuesday and most of the day&nbsp;Wednesday in Brasilia before heading back to Pelotas late Wednesday afternoon.&nbsp; 

Ana and I were able to sneak away for a little bit of sight seeing and I must say that Brasilia is a very unique city.&nbsp; Formerly, the capital of Brazil was Rio de Janeiro but sometime in the mid-1900s the government decided the capital should be located more centrally and decided to have a city built from scratch to accomplish this goal.&nbsp; When looking at a map of Brasilia, it is clearly shaped like an airplane and was designed to be very modernistic.&nbsp; The government buildings were commissioned with the intent to appear futuristic and I can say that 60 years later, they are still quite that.&nbsp; The national cathedral is shaped like no other building I've ever seen and reminded of a crown.
&nbsp;Exactly identical buildings for each ministry in the govenment align a major road stretching down to the National Congress building. Ana and I walked this and noticed that each building was clearly marked with letters for easy identification of which ministry functioned there.&nbsp; Ironically, the letters for the Ministry of Labor and Employment had all fallen off and no lights lit the side of the building.&nbsp; I guess perhaps the economy has been affected down here too?&nbsp;&nbsp; I took pictures of the Health Ministry and the Ministry for the Brazilian Airforce.&nbsp; Interestingly, while the branches of the US military all come together under one governmental agency, in Brazil, the army, navy, and airforce are housed in separate ministeries.&nbsp; I was told that separation allows for easier hiring and appointment of more friends by the big wigs.&nbsp; The Congressional buildings were very odd but after reading the concept for the design, I appreciate them much more.&nbsp; The "convex House of Representatives symbolizes that it is open for all ideologies while the concave Senate building symbolizes the idea that within this space, thought, consideration, and equilibrium should reign".&nbsp; 
We also saw the opening night of an art exhibition for a famous Brazilian artist,&nbsp;Ziraldo&nbsp;at the National Museum which is shaped like a large dome and really does look rather&nbsp;alien.&nbsp; Ana and I browsed Ziraldo's cartoons and as we walked I began to notice that many were re-makes of famous photos and art.&nbsp; I was really excited to see one entitled: A Verdade or The True (see below)

After catching a glimpse of the artist himself, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.&nbsp; The next day after morning meetings, we had just enough time to see where the President of Brazil lives (equivalent to the US White House) and to see a very modernistic bridge that is apparently well known here.&nbsp; We left Brasilia and arrived back in Pelotas at around midnight.&nbsp; Glad to be back and thankful for the opportunity to see the capital, I slept well.

To completely switch gears, last weekend, I celebrated St Patrick's Day at the Irish Pub here in town.&nbsp; Before going, I called first to make sure that they would indeed be hosting a party for the holiday as I wasn't sure how legit an Irish pub in Pelotas could be.&nbsp; Much to my surprise, not only did they know, they were well prepared with four leaf clovers painted on the bartenders' faces and green beer to go around.&nbsp; I made sure to wear green and had a great night listening to a cover band and hanging out with Ana.&nbsp; 

The next day, I met with Marysabel, Pedro, Andrea, Natalia, and Lucas for some horse-back riding.&nbsp; I loved it!!&nbsp; I didn't have to fill out any liability paperwork first and there was no guide in-tow telling us to pull back and keep the horse at a walk the way it is when you do a trail ride in the US.&nbsp; This place rented out horses with the only rule being that we should return them in an hour.&nbsp; We rode down the road to the beach at Laranjal. I galloped ahead of the group and felt the wind through my hair.&nbsp; It was exactly what the doctor ordered and I loved every second of it.&nbsp; After the ride, I went back over to Marysabel's house for a nice afternoon of churrasco and family time.&nbsp; BBQ and horses, what more could a Texas girl ask for?!