It's good to be queen

Yesterday, we visited the Palacio/Museu Nacional de Quinta da Boa Vista. It was the royal palace for Emperor Dom Pedro II and Empress Leopoldina and then, when Brazil became a republic, it was converted into a natural history museum. It has exhibits that include: shrunken heads from Africa, pre-Columbian pottery, ancient Egyptian mummies, ancient Roman vases, native Brazilian crafts, entymological charts for Brazil/Latin America in general (pinned butterflies, etc.) and so much more. Not only that, the building itself (as well as the surrounding royal gardens) has such an interesting history. For a history nerd like myself, it was paradise. By far, my favorite display was ancient Egypt. They had mummies, stellae, pottery, jewelry, and a few sarcophaguses (sarcophaguae? What is the plural anyway?). It's a little sad to see someone's coffin but it really makes the imagination run wild--wondering who they were, what they looked like, how the died, etc. Unfortunately, like most museums, we were not allowed to take any pictures. Afterwards, we went back to the last portion of the zoo--which was free and right next-door--and took the pictures we had wanted to a few days before.

Also, today was my last official day of class at IBEU. I take the comprehensive exam tomorrow and if I pass I will receive a certificate of "competency" in my given level of Portuguese. If I don't pass, I will still receive a certificate that asserts my completion of a certain number of hours of Portuguese instruction. Either way, it works so, I'm not worried. Here's a photo in front of the building that houses IBEU---->
My time here is almost up, only about 2 weeks left. After tomorrow, I will start doing research interviews like a crazy person and also traveling around like a crazy person; I want to squeeze every drop of time out and accomplish as much as possible. It goes soooo fast...before I know it, I'll be preparing lesson plans and cooking for myself again...que pena!!! (what a shame!!!)