Last night we went out with the CTA van as they served prostitutes who work the city center. Whether or not it is stereotypical to call it eye-opening. It was. As well as very hard to process. We all got in the van and headed to a bar well known for seedy activity. We parked the van and got out and just chatted out on the sidewalk. Slowly the women who were hanging around the bar started approaching the van one by one. One would get in the back with the nurse Vinicius (or Vinny when we are referring to him) and he would talk to them and ask if it was OK if one of us (Frances and I) got in to just listen and learn. I was pretty amazed that none of them said no. They really didn't have a problem with us being in the van, hearing their sexual history and background, watching their blood being sampled for HIV and Hep tests and watching the general exchange with the nurse before they got condoms and left the van.

After being in there I really don't understand (more than before) people who claim people choose to be prostitutes. The first woman who I sat in the van with spilled her life story to me. She lives five or so hours up the road but comes down when the tourist season picks up and spends three months here. She has a boyfriend and she said she uses a condom with all her clients because she understands the risk (now, after contracting various STDs) but never does with him. It is the main way she is able to separate her relationship from her work. That statement almost made me cry.

The second woman I got in the van with is four months pregnant and also here for the tourist season. She has another kid that stays home in a different city with other people while she comes in. The nurse who does this is amazing. Most people couldn't do what he does but the way he makes them feel so comfortable and even gets a lot of smiles and laughter out of the women as he hands them condoms or talks about what is going on with them is incredible.

Frances and I got back to the hotel room and we could not stop talking about our night. It was shocking and so hard to take in. At the same time though, the services they provide are pretty incredible. They drive around seeking out the populations that other people generally seek to avoid or ignore. And the trust that the CTA van has bult up with the community is pretty incredible as well. Even though it is a government sponsored endeavor, women willing enter the van to talk, knowing they will be safe.

On a side note. There were so many of us in the van (which has seats in the front for two and in the back for two) that Vinny had to sit on the styrofoam blood test cooler. Styrofoam being the one sound I hate most in the world. The streets of Porto Seguro did not exactly offer a smooth and squeak free ride. More like a non-stop squeaking adventure.

Oh and today was the wettest day I have seen in Brazil. While searching for clothespins Frances and I got caught in a massive downpour. The firehose kind. It lasted for about an hour and then out popped the sun for the rest of the day.

With these clothespins we bought we set out to WASH OUR CLOTHES. After finding out that washing and drying at a laundromat costs at minimum 10 bucks (20 reais) a load (for the sketchy place) we bought some soap, clothesline and clothespins. We turned our empty ten liter water container into a washtub, hung clothesline all over the room, turned some music up loud and proceeded to have a clothes washing party for much less that 20 reais. The neighbors might think we are crazy but our room now looks even neater than before, minus the ducking down super low and getting dripped on in any attempt to leave the bed area of the room.