free weekend

As usual, I'm pressed for time so I have to make this quick. This week Portuguese classes ended and we won't have them again until we go to Fortaleza. It's kind of scary, we're on our own for now. Unfortunately our director decided that it would be cool if our Portuguese midterm, journal entries, 3-4 page reading analysis, and money we owe the program for books were all due on Wednesday, after we had been gone all weekend. Let's just say that Tuesday night sucked for all of us. I'm really frustrated with the administrative aspects of the program, a lot of the things the director asks us to do don't make any sense and then when we ask questions she gets really defensive. But it's okay, I'm here in Brazil and I'm having an amazing time and I'm not going to let anything ruin that. I've always been a "go with the flow" kind of person and I find that it's helping me a lot here. There's a saying here, "o jeito brasileiro", or "the Brazilian way". When I get lost, or confused, or frustrated I just take a deep breath, shrug and say "o jeito brasiliero" and move on.

Anyway, after a complicated week, we had a free weekend, and a three day weekend at that. So on Friday we went to this beach about an hour away called Praia do Forte. It was a perfect day to go to the beach, but then again, almost every day here is. So we swam and ate and drank cachasa (sp? it's Brazilian rum) and told stories. Then we headed back to the city to hang out. There's this club in the Pelourinho called "Phantasy Night Club" that we always pass by so this time we decided to check it out. Baddddd idea, haha. We thought it was a dance club, but it was a strip club. You haven't seen stripping until you've seen someone strip to "Power of Love" and "Beauty and the Beast" by Celine Dion. Wow.

Yesterday I took it easy during the day and then headed to Guimel's because we were going to have a party for Michelle's birthday. The party ended up being 6 of us American girls, Guimel's host cousin and a bunch of his friends (the same guys we had a jam session with before) and one of their girlfriends, hanging on on the third floor of this house. We had a good time though. Our motto is that no matter where we go it will be fun because we'll make it fun, and we rocked that joint. The girlfriend was really cool, she spoke a little bit of English so we could switch back and forth between Portuguese and English. So we danced and played a little music. I made up some new words to a song to make it about Michelle's birthday, it made me think of my dad because he's good at doing stuff like that. Speaking of dads, my host dad finally came back from Recife yesterday. It's kind of weird because I got used to it being just me mom and Danilo, but my host dad is a cool guy. And I looooove my host mom, she's so cool. Today when I came down for lunch she showed me how to make fresh orange juice. Then we danced and sang Brazilian music, and then we had beers and watched a DVD. It's crazy to think that we're only going to be in Salvador for 2 1/2 more weeks and then it's off to Fortaleza for an entirely different experience.

Okay, so I'm not as pressed for time as I previously said. I'm at an internet cafe with Ashley and we decided to buy another 30 minutes. Time for a list:

A few things about Brazil

- Almost all of the juice is made fresh here, even in the restaurants. And the coffee is amazing.

- Pedestrians do not have the right of way here. You have to watch yourself because cars and buses will hit you if you get in the way.

- It's perfectly acceptable to drink whatever you want, whenever you want. Yesterday afternoon on the bus there was a guy drinking a beer.

- Fashion for women here consists of really tight and revealing clothes and high heels and/or platforms. And it doesn't matter how big you are.

- In Salvador, there so much history surrounding you all the time. The Piedade, which is were my bus stop is, is where 4 free blacks who were part of the tailor's rebellion were executed. Rua da Força, a street I walk down nearly everyday, is the street the led down on the way to the execution.

There's tons more stuff but that's all I can think of right now. And now I am honestly pressed for time and should end this entry. Hope all is well in the States and thanks to everyone who comments on this blog or emails, etc... I appreciate it :)