May 19, 2013: A weekend of culture

This weekend has been full of many cultural experiences. I have learned so much about Goiania and some of its main attractions!

Friday evening/Saturday morning: Pequaria

The strange, enormous cows

Friday night I went to Pequaria. Pequaria is like the "County Fair" of Goiania, except that it is in the middle of a big city. It has animals and concerts and food, just like a normal fair, but then, it also has restaurants and bars and night clubs! It is like a miniature city within Goiania with a peculiar love for plaid. Yes, everyone who goes to pequaria wears plaid and/or cow boy boots. When I was there, we took a lovely tour through a cow barn and witnessed a strange kind of cow that Goiania has (they are raised for their beef). This breed of cow has a hump on its back like a camel and they are so large! After that, we went to a sertanejo concert and saw Israel and Rodolfo, followed by Lucas Lucco. Finally, we danced for a while before returning to the PitTico around 3:00 am where we ate the X-Tudo the other night. This time however, I got a much smaller version of the sandwich!

The concert in Pequaria

Sunday morning: Hippie Fair

 The hippie fair with my host parents

The Hippie Fair is where my host parents work. Every Sunday morning they go there to sell the clothes that they make. It is quite an adventure and so hot. This type of fair has many versions, but I was told that this one for clothes is the biggest hippie fair in South America!

Sunday afternoon: Goias v. Atletico Soccer Game

The soccer game was also quite a great experience. It was the championship for the state of Goias' first division. We had to find tickets once we got to the stadium and there were so many people in line that we did not make it in the stadium for the beginning of the game. And, getting into the stadium was a battle! People were pushing in every direction and I was literally pushed through the gate. There were 30,000 people there! Luckily Goias, the team we were cheering for won, but it was close! Goias tied the game with five minutes to go and then won the championship with the tied score, since they were ahead in the bracket. I thought I might melt in the heat but it was fun to see the fans and feel the excitement.

 Vai Goias! GOOOLLLL!