Bus Maps and Bathing Suits

I arrived in Niteroi Wednesday morning ready to go. I crossed the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, got the run down on the internship, a tour of the city, and a nice little room in an apartment close to the Sao Fransisco Beach. The apartment I am going to live in for three weeks with the missionaries Brent and Jill Nichols overlooks a small beach in the bay. However, the bay in between Rio de Janiero and Niteroi is somewhat polluted. Like Nathan Ashlocks's room, for over 200 years people have been dumping waste into it, and the locals advise not to swim in it. The ocean beaches on the southern side of Niteroi are safe for swimming. The apartment also overlooks the city of Rio de Janiero. When it isn't cloudy, I can see the Christ statue that is famous in Rio from my room. What a sight!

With all this being said, there were two things that really stood out to me after these few days in Niteroi. On Saturday, I was previledged enough to go to the Piratininga Beach on the ocean with Brent, Jill, and a campaign group that came down to see them. These two things were the bus maps and bathing suits, or lack there of.. 

Niteroi is city with a population of about 600 thousand inhabitants, and the bus transit system is very popular. There are a ton of buses that whiz by on just about every street it seems like. Already in my time here, I think I have ridden the bus around 20 times. However, after asking about, frantically searching for, and looking up online, I cannot find a Niteroi Bus Map! They just don't have them. You just have to hope and trust that the people here, and the missionaries really know where the buses go. By the grace of God, I was able to find the Piratininga Beach by myself from riding for about 40 minutes on bus number 39. When I finally got there, I was extremely releaved to see the crew sitting there on the beach. Speaking of the beach..

On Saturday, it seemed like just about every bathing suit, compared to American standards (men and women both) were A LOT smaller. Our group a few years ago experienced this at Copacabana Beach in Rio, but I had forgotten about it. I was quickly reminded on Saturday that Brazilians don't have the same bathing suit standards as Americans. If only Kevin Huddleston and Tyler Bethea were here with me now. We might all get to see a Brazilian/American culture swap in the bathing suit standard. Who knows.. maybe I'll make the switch one of these days too ;)

- In some cases, if Brazilians know that you are American, they are more likely to talk to you in English than Portuguese. - 

Just kidding about the swim suit standards. I prefer shorts to speedos.