The Club

On Sunday my friend Leo brought me, Aline and Alex to his club. Clubs are very popular here and they are often added benefits given by your employer. They are large areas with pools, volleyball courts, soccer fields...everything that you could want for a Sunday afternoon. Leo's mother is a nurse and she has access to a club nearby. Apparently Leo is allowed to bring four guest for free.
Unfortunately it is rainy season. So we spent much of the afternoon under the covering of the food court. But it was stil warm, so Leo and I found time to get in the pool.


The most interesting part about the club experience was the medical exam. Apparently this is a very common pratice here, becasue none of the Brasilians I was with flinched at all at the idea. Before I was allowed to go into the pool...or even into the pool area I needed to get a medical exam. The medical exam was in a different building and I had to pay R$5 for it. A man in a medical coat took me to the back room, where I was told to take off everything except for my bathing suit. He then looked very closely at my hands, front and back. Then he looked at my body closely, front and back. And that was it. I went back to the man I had paid and he gave me a black wrist band...he also had yellow ones...I'm still not sure why I got the black one. I didn't feel very comforitable going for a medical exam and then given a black wrist band. I was certain that it mean one of my legs needed to be amputated or something. Not to mention I had just paid R$5 to stand in a room with just a bikini on while a man looked me over. This is a strange country.