The next morning, Friday, I met my non-romantic friend in Boa Vista. I was late again but she had stayed in the area so we were still able to hook up when I called her cell phone. She had just learned about a free tutoring/teaching program called Rumo no Futuro (Path to the Future) that aimed to help public school students pass the federal university entrance exams. Friday was the last day to register. She worked in the afternoon so we spent the morning going to the registration location, getting the correct information (This is much easier said than done!!), making copied of her needed documents, and then actually registering. This program is distance learning based and does its tutoring via TV. When this was done we sat in a nearby park talking about the past year and a half, until she needed to go to work. One of the things we talked about was whether or not she might have passed the entrance exams she wrote the previous month. The results were supposed to have been published that day in the newspaper. The top 4,000 students pass. I think she said up to 25,000 students across the state (Pernambuco) write these exams. This conversation turned out to be an education for me about the education system in Brazil. The public education system seemed to be confused and inefficient, just like here. My friend said that some questions on the exam were completely foreign to her because the entire topic was omitted from the curriculum in her school. An example was the math exam she wrote. Her teachers glossed over trigonometry but there were many involved trig questions on the exam.
When it was time we walked to her place of employment, an exercise gym where she worked as a receptionist. It was also in Boa Vista not far from the park where we sat. She is allowed to use the facilities and has been working out. It showed and I remarked that she seemed to have lost weight from the last time we saw each other. She said yes she lost 4 kilos, about 9 pounds, and beamed when she said it. She had a curvaceous sexy body 18 months ago and it was even sexier now. She lost fat from her stomach and waist and that accentuated her hips and bust. That day she wore a halter top without a bra and a mini skirt. In previous talks about religion, she had said that she disliked evangelicism and other religions that restrict clothing choice because she enjoys wearing tops that show cleavage and skirts and shorts that show off her legs. Her body and her clothing caused many male heads to turn and I am sure she enjoys the attention. As we parted I accepted an invitation to come to her house that Sunday and meet her family.
I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Recife. I went to a landmark called Forte das Cinco Pontas. It is an old fort from the colonial days built in 1667 and now houses a museum that documents the growth of the city. I found it very interesting to see photos and maps of the city as it was 30, 50, and 80 years ago. I also went to the Casa da Cultura but was disappointed with it. It is a former prison, built in 1855 that operated until 1973, but now houses stores selling tourist stuff. I tried to visit the Museo do Homem do Nordeste and Museo do Estado but both these museums were closed for renovations. In the evening, I finalized the time and place for meeting the third lady Saturday morning. With a stroke of luck, I was able to finally get through to a fourth lady who agreed to meet me Saturday afternoon.
