So today was an interesting day. Me and about 14 other girls got up early and met outside the ship so we could go to church. We had planned on going to this one specific church, which didn't work out, so our shuttle driver (who was awesome by the way) ended up driving around for like 30 minutes trying to find a different church. We finally found one and we just saw that it was huge, we had no idea what denomination it was or anything, but we decided to go and see what it was all about. So we went in, and holy cow. It was gigantic! It reminded me very much of the Crystal Cathedral, you know without the Crystal. It was so funny though, because we stuck out soooo bad. The church was so huge though that they had ushers everywhere, much like air traffic controllers showing people where they could sit. So we sat off to the side toward the middle. There was some beautiful singing, (we had no idea what was being sung, since it was all in Portuguese although we did recognize the tune to one of the songs). Our shuttle driver was so nice. First of all, he came into church with us instead of leaving and then coming back, and even though he drove much further and for a much longer time, he kept the price the same for all of us. At the church, he started asking around if anybody spoke English, and they had somebody who did, so he took us to the back of the Sanctuary and talked with us for like an hour and half. This guy, who happened to be one of the Pastors there, was so nice! I forget his name, but he was born in Brazil, moved to South Africa, (that was where he learned English) then came back to Brazil. He was incredible. He answered all of our questions, about the church, and just life in Brazil in general. He translated and explained what they were singing, and what the Preacher was saying. It turns out it was a Universal church....(I had never heard of it 'til today, Tim, Daddy, and Pastor Duerr will have to educate me a little more) That church had over 6,000 members, and about 1,000 different Pastors. The Sanctuary was so huge that we were in the back and could speak at a normal volume, and people up in the front couldn't even hear us. We told the Pastor who was talking to us what we were doing and how many students were here in Salvador, and he was just shocked. He gave us some tips for South Africa since he had lived there. There was one part of the service where a woman came up and was screaming and the Pastor was yelling some stuff and it was really intense. The Pastor talking to us said they were driving out the demons. I couldn't see anything since we were like a mile from the front, but it sounded much like what goes on during those healing shows you see on TV. It was kinda odd to be somewhere where it was done firsthand, but interesting to see. As for the rest of my day, I just went back to the marketplace, did some more shopping. I tried calling my parents twice, and Tim twice and never got a hold of any of them. But its ok, the time difference is starting to become difficult. It was nice to hear their voices, even if it was just on voicemail. This evening I went with a rather LARGE group of people to go the traditional Carnival up in the historic district. And yes, I am back alive; I didn't get hurt or robbed. The place we were at was more for families. There were small children just wandering around, so I didn't feel unsafe, plus, we had rather large security people walking with us and guiding us as we were coming and going so I felt very safe. It was fun. Me and the girls I was walking with got to go on a stage and dance to some Samba music. And there was just basically bands and music everywhere. It was just fun to dance in the streets and people watch. It was pretty mellow which is good because tomorrow morning at 8 am I am going to the circus! I really hope I get to try some cool tricks. I am bringing my camera. I don't have any pictures of this evening because it really wouldn't have been smart to bring my digital camera to Carnival. The pictures I did post however are of me in my new dress that I bought for myself at the Marketplace And I got this hair wrap there as well, and I tried to tell them to do a short one, because you know, I have pretty short hair, but they made it over a foot long, and it looks really funny, so I wrap it over my head and pin it to the other side so I can wear it as a headband. It looks pretty cool that way, so it's all good. But there is a picture of me showing how long it is, and then showing you how I actually wear it. The language barrier is definitely an issue here. I gotta take a shower and get some sleep! I got another early day tomorrow!