We got home late tuesday night to a delicious meal of beef stroganoff, rice and chips (yes, they sprinkle chips on some food, the type that look like miniture fries). We crashed early and slept in before going to visit one of Andre's ex-bosses. Andre used to work at a huge sport club in Sao Paulo called Sirio (named after the country Syria). His boss still worked there as well as helping his wife run a hairdressers called Salon Mediterranee. We met his boss at the hairdressers (or cabellereiro - bit of a tongue twister!), he was really friendly and tried hard to speak English to me. We had some coffee at the next door cafe and went back to his salon so Andre could get his hair cut (finally!). I kept saying to cut it shorter on top but he kept saying 'No! You will see by bald spot', so he ended up with a short back and sides and nice and high on top, bit 90s Will Smith style. Now he is saying he should have listened to me!
So we went home after that, I was feeling a little dizzy and weak so I slept the rest of the afternoon! We woke up for dinner, did a little bit of shopping, then went back to bed! We even slept in the next morning! We woke up about 10 and Andre said come on lets see some more of Sao Paulo city centre, we can't waste another day sleeping, I agreed even tho I was still feeling weak and any food I ate was going right through me!
We had lots of fun checking out the sites right in the city centre. We saw a curved facade skyscraper by Oscar Neimeyer and visited a really old theatre and church at the Sao Bento University. Next we went to the exact point where the city was founded. A small column represented this centre and directed you towards the different nearby cities, such as Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. Nearby was a giant and very impressive church, which made me forget all about the church at Sao Bento! We went inside and noticed a huge change in atmosphere; outside on the street sirens were blaring all around (because a polition was visiting) and people were everywhere making lots of noise, and inside the church beautiful music was playing while they were holding a prayer session.
Afterwards we raced back to the car park which was closing soon (7pm), to collect to car and head home. We met Nego (one of Arleide's brothers) outside Andres house with two of his gorgeous kids and his dune buggy car. He had come to visit from Salvador Bahia. So as much as I needed to use the toilet, we stayed and chatted and I was amazed at how much conversation I was able to make with him! He is really friendly and funny! I managed to excuse myself after a while so I could use the toilet, I crashed onto the bed afterwards and fell asleep. A little while later Andre came in and said he was going to visit some friends so I could get some rest before we went to Forro that night. But when he came back I was still asleep and he said I looked really pale so he said he wanted to take me to the hospital instead of Forro (that was a really rough deal, Forro would have been way better!).
So we missed out on Forro again! I said I didn't need a hospital, but Andre said they had GP docters there aswell. It only took two minutes to get to the woman's hospital where Mariana was born and I saw a GP who spoke english without having to wait too long. I explained my symptoms and he said I had a virus that my immune system couldn't resist (because I hadn't been to brasil before) and prescribed me some medicine to treat the symptoms. I was starting to feel really weak and dizzy again, but managed to get up and walk out of the room. Andre mentioned to me that I was going to have a needle and somehow that made me feel even more dizzy and weak! Andre was talking to the nurse at the front desk and trying to hold me up, but by that stage I coulbn't see anything except flashing lights and I started to collapse.
All of a sudden the trip to hospital was all a just a nightmare and I was sleeping comfortably in a familiar bed. But no, that was the actual dream (confusing hey) and I was rudely awoken by being carried through the swing doors of emergency by two people! They put me on a bed and Andre was there reassuring me while I was crying like a baby! The nurses pricked my finger, ouch, and stuck a huge needle in my arm to give me some fluids. The whole time I was freaking out a bit because my nightmare had become real! But after a while I was able to calm down and regain some energy, so we went home for some more rest.
I feel heaps better today so the medicine must be working! We had to buy three different types of pills but it wasn't as expensive as it is in Australia, only R$35 and the trip to hospital was about R$140. Andre looked after me so well! He is so caring and supportive!
So now we can get on with our holiday... :)
