Aracaju! - 1

I am finding myself to LOVE Aracaju!

I arrived late on Monday and stayed in the pousada across the street from the bus station. The man running the counter in the morning was very nice and tried to help me with my Português while I was waiting on my couchsurfing friend, Raphael.

Once Raphael picked me up, I was able to see more of the city. It's around the same size as Jacksonville, but has a decidedly more arid feel about it and loads more sand.

The whole family here is lovely and very much my kind of people. The mom is very helpful with my Portuguese (probably because she doesn't speak English) and her cooking is amazing! We had a traditionally Portuguese dish (from Portugual). Cod fish, potatoes, cheese, onions, and green olives. Very tastey! In the evening, I went with Raphael to an island across the bay to watch the sun set and discuss life over clams (were they?) and beer. Very cool!

Yesterday I went the central market here. It was huge! There are actually two markets now. One has produce, live and dead animals, and all kinds of grains and spices. The other one is full of handmade goods... although they look uncannily similar to a market I went to in Salvador... maybe it's sort of hand made.

In the evening I saw a performance by Leila Pinheiro. Her voice is absolutely amazing! And what a lovely woman. She seems so genuine!

This morning I went with Raphael's brother, Eduardo, to a research project he is involved with. He studies social insects, particularly ants, but this project is with wasps. There is a nest that is monitored by an American graduate student, Hanz, who really knows his stuff. He explained that he wants to know more about the hormonal changes in the wasps that indicate wheather one becomes a queen or worker and how the wasps know to single out a queen to excommunicate, and in repeat enteries is refused back into the colony. He also showed how to take blood from a wasp... which is one of the coolest things I've seen in a long time.