Day 6: Sao Paulo Part 2!

We are still soaking up the Brazilian culture, music, and of course, food, as we continue our stay here in the enormous city of Sao Paulo. Our day began with breakfast on the top floor of our hotel, where we also just had a group supper together. It was gostoso (delicious!)

Though religion within a church is important in this country, there is also an inevitable religion that is practiced within a stadium. This religion is soccer, or fútbol as the Brazilians call it. We took a comfortable bus ride to the Museo do Fútbol which was very entertaining; perhaps we would have learned more from the museum if we spoke more Portuguese...haha

Nevertheless, the time spent at the museum further emphasized the importance of soccer in this country and the rich history that it has here. In the afternoon, we experienced first-hand another important aspect of Brazilian culture, this aspect being kind of the main reason we came here: music!

The members of the JO were pleasantly surprised to find out that our "meeting" in the conference room this afternoon was actually a performance by four talented Brazilian women who call themselves the "Choronas." They performed for us sambas, bossa novas, and choros, among other genres that I can't spell very well :) It was beautiful and relaxing music to listen to. The ensemble consisted of a flute (and piccolo), 7-stringed guitar, an instrument similar to a ukelele, and a pandiero. All there music was memorized and performed with great poise and musicality. This definitely was a real treat for us, especially for Sarah who played "Um-a-Zero" with the group. The music of these talented ladies will continue to ring in our ears...especially for those who bought one of their CD's today ;)

The rest of the hours of the day were filled with a trip to the mall, grabbing some food at the market, swimming on the roof of our hotel, or sneaking in a cat nap. It has been a memorable trip so far and this group has been outstanding to travel with. Stay tuned for yet another synopsis from us tomorrow! This is Kristina signing off from the saxophone section- peace and love to all our family and friends (and "Hi Mom and Dad!")