Tobacco leaves

You may think that tobacco would be useful for just only smoking. This morning in our hotel, I saw that the tables are made out of tobacco leaves and covered in resin. Everything here by the manufacturing plants smells quite strongly of tobacco leaf. It is overpowering. Souza Cruz and Philip Morris seem to carry steady reins over the city with hundreds of signs from clocks, to street signs, to city gates, welcome signs, street maps, city emblems such as these german dolls since the town was founded by German immigrants, tobacco advertisements to a quasi walmart with wedding registeries from the tobacco growers association. You would never think that German would be useful in Brazil but between my pseudo Portuguese and German I was able to understand the farmers reasonably well. It is uncanny. I will continue more later but sleep awaits me. Beijos