The Sickness Settles In - Tuesday Morning

Tuesday - 

Woke up earlier than either Jon or I wanted to. Shawn was awakened by a little munchkin out playing in the hotel hallway and once he’s up, he’s not as quiet as he thinks he is. Oh well. We’re trying to help Jon safe his hard earned money for his pioneering, so we all stayed in one room. The language barrier was difficult when booking...I thought we were getting a large room with a rollaway, like in the hotel picture on the website. Nope. Standard room. Glad Jon is a good sport! He’s been so helpful, easygoing and fun. I love having a son who is also a friend. 

So before breakfast we decided that we should do some laundry today before we left for the Evening Gathering at 1:45 pm. So while eating, I googled where the nearest self-service laundromat was. I now knew I had a cold and instead of the “traditional” Brazilian continental breakfast, I went to the dried oatmeal dispenser, the hot water carafe and the brown sugar bowl and made myself a comfort breakfast. It was also a cloudy, dreary, misty day in the low 50’s which didn’t help my mood - or Shawn’s. Neither did being sick or exhausted. So I grabbed the Costco laundry pods and our laundry and off to the laundromat Jon and I went. Shawn stayed at the hotel and watched the only English channel on TV - CNN. 

The first two “self-serve” laundromats google recommenced were not self-serve, rather were  drop offs. Laundry number two pointed us in the right direction and all in all we only ended up walking about 1/2 to the laundromat. It was an interesting set up - they have 5 washers on the lower row of the wall, and 5 dryers above. You don’t pay beforehand, just tell the lady how many loads you are doing. We had one load, so she gave us one token for the washer and one for the dryer. If you need detergent or softener they have little reusable cups they fill that you can purchase. We had to wait a few minutes because all the washers were full. After a few minutes a couple sisters and one of their sons (he is Jon’s age - 25) came in. They were at a different hotel and are from the US, but speak Português. We chatted in English for a bit before a well-dressed older gentleman came in. He spoke Português to the sisters and pointed to their convention lanyards as well as ours. She was able to give a witness about the convention we just had! Soon, they left and our clothes were in the dryer. I was feeling sicker by the minute. Sinus pressure is increasing, I have a headache and my nose won’t stop running. I remembered we had passed a drugstore less than a block away. So while Jon waited for the clothes, I made a beeline to Drogaria for relief. 

As I said before, drugstores are little, set up differently than I’m used to, and in a language I can somewhat read but need some brain processing time. So walk in looking like a lost puppy, unsure of which way to go. This attracts attention I don’t want! For the size of these places, they’re over staffed. I have a lady immediately speaking to me, asking if she can help (I assume). I say No, obrigada (no thank you) and forge ahead. I find the cold medicines - where’s the NyQuil & DayQuil liquicaps? Where is anything that looks remotely familiar? Ah! I see a small bottle of Vick’s Xarope 44E! Does this one do nasal congestion? Chest congestion? Sore throat? Does it have ibuprofen or Tylenol in it? Gotta read the label. My friend from the front door reappeared to help me again...As I’m reading the bottle she takes it from me - points to the price on the shelf and takes the big bottle next to it. A brand I don’t recognize and a size bottle I don’t think I need - cheaper yes, but I’d like to stick with what I know. I thank her, put it back and grab the Vick’s again. She smiles a sad, condescending smile and walked off. I grab some Hall’s cough drops at the counter and a display catches my eye for a product that is an analgesic and muscle relaxant. Since I’m feeling a little achy I grab that too. Another worker comes up and gives me a free sample of face cream. Obviously I’m not meeting the Brazilian standard of beauty in my loose fitting yoga pants, t shirt, tennis shoes and messy ponytail!! 😂I grab a bottle of water and a bottle of juice for Jon. I headed back to the laundromat, and we finished up and walked back to the hotel. 

Knowing that it was lunch time and that Shawn would be hungry, I made a pit stop at the Ibirapuera Mall across the street. By now, I’m feeling worse and have no time or patience for figuring out language or having someone figure out mine. I took the path of least resistance - McDonald’s. Big Mac Combo w/ CocaCola, McFish Combo w/Coke Zero. 

Back at the hotel we ate, I took some Vick’s and took a nap. Got up and dressed for Evening Gathering. It was now windier and a mist was falling. I brought my fleece work jacket and a blanket. Wished I’d thought of pantyhose or tights, but no one really expected a cold snap into the 40’s in the mountains.  I didn’t really worry much about it. We got on the bus and I slept a good chunk of the way to the Assembly Hall. To be continued...