rebel against the box

so yesterday the buses went on strike...until the issue is resolved...which means probably not tomorrow me thinks. so this morning in an attempt to max out the sunny day derica and i woke up at 7am grabbed breakfast and walked to the beach. i know it doesnt sound difficult...but its actually an hour walk to the good beach where we wanted to go. was great tho cause by the time we got there it was hot hot hot. studied portuguese on the beach, swam in the ocean, generally burnt my ass in the sun...and then grabbed a taxi back to get to our portuguese lesson almost on time. im becoming slightly brasilian in my time keeping skills.

after the lesson we went to our samba class with our new mate alex. hes a great teacher...and i havent sweat that much in a long time...not even after running. was insane, but soo much fun.

had a look at our new apartment yesterday that we will move into on the 1st of june. amazing!! its not the initial one that we had thought...its even better! literally i have dreamt of living in a place like this...and now its a reality!! i cant get over it! its a 3 story walk up...i always wanted to live in a walk up! :) we are on the second floor and the balcony looks out over the ocean and the harbour! it has a hammock in it...windows everywhere, white walls, ceiling fan, tiled floor, big kitchen...fully furnished, bathroom out on the balcony....so so amazing. and its in beautiful san antonia area of salvador! its too good to be true! such a gift for the next month! after that...who knows!

must go now...on the hunt for food. im obsessed with this pimenta stuff...like a hot salsa that i have taken to putting on everything. need to learn how to make it tonight!

observations of the last couple of days...

there are a lot of cats living near the piss fountain....its actually slightly freaky.

i think i saw a dead dog yesterday...it was just lying there in a weird place.

there are also a lot of dogs in the area...they sit wherever they want...middle of the street, sidewalk...anywhere.

sat on the beach yesterday until the sun set...practised my portuguese for about an hour with a random local on the beach. was good.

saw an olodum gig...they are famous here in brasil and have played with michael jasckson in the past. it was awesome but i still cant hear very well...that together with my hat makes for completely deaf scenarios...aiding my portuguese learning. i will post pictures soon...of olodum, not me looking confused in conversations.

found myself in a local bar with alex...potential samba and percussion teacher for us...watching old men, young kids and everyone inbetween dancing samba in between the tables. was wicked! i must learn.

back at the hostel hung out with chileans, irish, aussies and brits...another late night...with many laugh out loud moments.
a mixture of spanish and portuguese and english...

i seem to have had a breakthrough in life here in pelorinho....i walk through these two squares a few times everyday ...with insesant harrassement from men, people selling things, general comments, etc. from the same people usually...i recognise most poeple around here now. but today....i successfully walked through the square without a comment...me thinks this is breakthrough because they are beginning to recognise that i am living here a little more permanently. i even had one lad, who constantly harrasses me about my dreads....see below rant entry...come up to me in a bar the other night and out of nowhere...apologise to me! unbelievable. he was probably drunk...but still we had a positive exchange for once...ta bom!

and in a few days i move into my apartment..in an amazing area not too far away...so excited about getting to know that area really well.

must go...wander and discover and falo portuguese mas algum! or something like that...

last night...where do i begin...the day started off shitty...my portuguee lesson was horrible. so hard. i seem to have hit a slump or something. the problem can be only one of three things...either this is just normal and i am about to jump the wall of beginner portuguese...or my teacher is going about the wrong method with me and the way i learn...or i simply and plainly SUCK at this beautiful language. depending on whether its raining or not depends on the answer. its currently raining so i think i just suck at htis language. martha wainwright is helping me through...for those of you who listen to her music you may know which song i have on repeat?!!

im digressing...back to my day yesterday....after a horrible lesson i decided to go for a run to get out of this funk that i was in...got ready and it began to rain torrential rainfall...plan abborted! so i sat in the cafe with a coffee and sulked. the only good thing being bob marely on repeat.

that evening a few of us decided to go out and dance...forro...i had never seen it...lets just say it was my first and last forro experience. its basically brasilian country. they love it! we sat down and ordered and then the music started...i knew it was only a matter of time before i was dragged onto the dance floor. before the thought had fully escaped my brain i was on the dance floor...my new forro teacher was really great...he led me around the floor teaching me the steps really well. obrigada alex. i sat down but a minute and soon i was ushered again(brasilian men are very forceful) however this time the experience was not so nice. granted this particular hommes could speak english but mostly the most irritating chat up lines known to man! everything from... you are a horrible dancer but have a great body...(cheers mate!) to... i cant dance either i only lead when im taking someone to bed!!! it got worse from there...so after a few choice words from the ozmatron i promptly excused myself and made my way back to the safety of the posse. im telling you ive heard it all here! mostly it just makes me laugh out loud..a lot. we soon left to search out more interesting music minus the accordian...we ended up in am amazing samba house...literally a tiny restaurant with a band playing, all the tables stashed away...and about 300 people packed in and more spraulling out into the street....it was incredible. it was so packed that you literally couldnt move...everybody was on top of everybody...we danced and danced. some nice lady saw that i obviously was new to the dance...my ass wasnt wiggling quite right...so she took it upon herself to personnally train me. she was amazing! today i am sore...but in the right places so i think i was doing something right. brasilians can dance! i dont know how they move and shake like that man! its not normal!!

after a few hours of me and derica watching each others backs...we headed home.
so fun. so fun.

i love brasil. i love the heat at night, the creativity, music, dancing till you sweat your weight in water, pineapple, living in flip flops, the beach, the way people are happy here with whatever they have and whatever their circumstance, the way this culture is so alive and open. its beautiful.

i have to take this moment to explain my hatred of the fountain in placa de se. its bad enough that it sprays everywhere...it cant be contained. it goes all over the pavement...all over your face...its like youve been peed on. its disgusting. the most irritating part is that it tries to be all extravagent and has spurts of water coordinated with classical music. however if you are lucky enough to catch it at night its light up and the water molests passers by with celine dion syncronized music...quite the show.

its when i see tourists taking photos of this unfortunate sight that really grates on my nevers....ITS NOT COOL, BRAZILIAN, OR FASCINATING!! STOP TAKING PHOTOS OF IT! ITS A DISGUSTING WATER FOUNTAIN FULL OF PEE... AND PLAYING CELINE DION!!!!!

meu deus!


having a rough morning as you may have noticed by the above rant....its raining this morning and i was banking on studying on the beach. guga had a surprise for me this morning....a grammar book. cheers. i love grammar...catch the sarcasism once again. are you saying i suck at it or something?!! :)

so im off to learn my verb tenses again...too many irregular verbs inthis language me thinks.

the good news is that we are moving into the apartment on june 1st for a month!!!!

so exciting! its on the 9th floor over looking the city and has a balcony! its only a few minutes walk from where we currently are and close to a park that i like jogging in.

when i asked lili how she knew i wanted to stay in salvador...she said i could tell in your eyes! whatever works eh?!

im excited about being here another month or more...i love salvador and i want to get a better grasp of this language. starting to make friends here who arent travelling through...which is cool. more of the hostellers left yesterday! in and out, in and out. had so much fun last night...sitting around the table in one of my favourite cafes...derica from london/jamaica, claudia from brasil, me, bruno from denmark, marina from brasil and toronto, luis from barcelona, stewart from australia...all speaking in a mixture of portuguese and english...

i love it here...have i mentioned that?! i love me here...i feel like me here. it feels natural and normal me being here. if i had to come back now for some reason i would really find it hard. i suppose i prayed that too before i left. god is very exciting these days...as long as im trusting him...he seems to be enjoying that. and in turn so am i. funny how that works.

i am also absolutely loving revealing more bits of god to derica as we journey here together. totally love her...and there are so many moments that i just smile inside because i know god has thrown us together...and if its so that he can be revealed in a more real way to her at this time....im happy to be a part of it. this apartment thing was cool because she said that she felt like it was meant to be...and i said that i prayed the night before and exactly what i prayed feel into our laps...its god. i think she got what i meant.

very cool.

now im procrastinating...i dont want to open my grammar book. ugh. but its raining and im not impressed.

tchau meus amigos! eu precisa estudar...

so im alive and surprisingly not sore after my run with guga last night. but me mate said i was slow...that i know...but i have stamina...so i win in the end.

somehow ive managed to commit myself to staying in salvador until i can successfully run 18 km~s without passing out...and i have a personal trainer and portuguese teacher to help. sweet....theres no getting out of it now!!

heres a wicked faith buuilding story for you all....last night me and derica were seriously considering looking for an apartment for the next month...way cheaper than the hostel...so i went to bed praying that if this was where i could concentrate my time and learn portuguese a little more than would god open up a door for this apartment to be possible... i mentioned to guga that i was thinking of staying here because i love bahia...
he must have said something to the other woman who works the front desk with him....because this morning she pulled me aside and said that she was going away on holidays from june 1st and she was offering me to stay in her place for hte month...and then when she gets back there was the possibility of sharing the place with her...i almost freaked out...that was exactly what i had prayed...and she came to me! i didnt have to do a thing!

im going today at 3:30 to look at the place with her! so amazing!

on a different note...tuesdays here in salvador is the night where everybody comes out to play in the plazas...there are live music stages everywhere and little kiosks selling caiperinhas, etc....it a lot of fun. a few of us here in the hostel managed to hear about this big free concert in the campo grande area of town. it was amazing. it was this amazing music feista of bahias best different musical talents and styles. it was almost like a corner turned that night....something shifted...or changed or something. i looked around at the masses of people standing on the bleachers in the heat of the night dancing, singing, and celebrating this culture and diversity thats here... and i felt a part of this place like i hadnt before. derica and i looked at each other and said that we are not leaving this place. at least not yet.

later that night we made our way back to pelorinho and caught the last of the concerts there...another marriage proposal, yet another run-in with the everso famous fabio, kind words from meu amigo mr.davinci, a small exchange with jack johnson of bahia, and a slightly hilarious moment with the rastas from the local reggae bar...i was almost flung over a shoulder in the pouring rain and taken away! but in the end we made it safley back in bed in larengeiras...our new home. ive literally been in the hostel now the longest out of everyone! its hilarious but so cool because we are getting to know the staff! amazing really they are so cool.

had my first potential rant in portuguese yesterday...the street i walk down everyday has a couple of rasta guys that hang out at the top of the road...always cheeky and always up to no good. depending on the day they either love my dreds or they shout that my skin is the wrong colour and i should cut my dreds off. so i finally got pissed off and started laying into him. soon other guys joined in and i was able to express that im not a rastafarian and that people have been dreading their hair for centuries before rastafarianism even exsisted and that they should read history! thats where the conversation ended. havent seen them since. so either i won or they are doping their homework.

dreds on a woman here is not common...in fact noone has them apart from men...which is kinda cool i think. there are only 2 reactions to them...people either totally love them and want my babies(unfortunately) or they think its horrible that a girl would want straight sleek hair. image and materialism are so huge here...would have expeted it...but lynne when you said that i would challenge the stronghold of materialism i now am beginning to see that. so i am keeping the dreds as this weird sort of going against the norms thing. maybe it will make more sense inthe future but for now it seems right.

must go and get ready for my lesson....this language is a huge mountian i hope to conquer...but right now its just hard work.

added some photos from salvador finally.
i keep forgetting to take my camera...or else leaving it behind because of theives...which means i dont have a lot of photos yet.

today i mainly studied in the hammock in the hostel...its chucking it down outside right now.

turns out im going for a run with cutie from the front desk tomorrow...he is going to kill me! he~s totally fit...and im well... in my broken portuguese i tried to say ´go esy on me´....but we~ll see if that translated or not.

im off now to a gig and hopefully some food!

the title for my book which i will write...one day. the more i chat to people around here and in the hostel the more i realise the places i have found myself and the places i want to be are always the ones which im advised against. for legitimate reasons...but mostly advised out of fear. when the tourists arrive in vancouver they are handed a map of the city. the key to the map is printed on the area of the city known as the downtown eastside...they dont want people to go there or see what happens there so they block it off the map...with a key.

here its simiar...either the favelas have big lines through it with `dont go` written on it or its just green space with nothing there.

i like life under the key...its often the heartbeat of a place...it often makes everything else around it make sense...its revealing...its real...raw...creative...honest...expressions of intense community...intense corruption...and intense poverty...where christ is felt and seen most vividly...and where the most incredible, miraculous, revolutionary and supernatural things can be experienced...where more often than not we can be a part of something much much bigger than ourselves...it challenges our worldviews, selfishness, commitment and greed...it inspires us to love beyond what we thought was possible...and we are changed forever.

on a side note...im feeling so creative here...but i dont know what to do about it...so im constantly looking for cheap outlets to dive into. its this place...its such a creative place. so much of the musical talent from brasil comes from salvador.

have had some amazing conversations with my mate derica as weve been exploring the city together...well mainly exploring the beaches and cafes. shes amazing...only 18, so full of life and creativity. being able to share about my life with god and experiences so far is so much fun....

back to the beach today...hot. first had breakfast here in the hostel, like every morning. its on the house...sort of. i guess really im paying for it but whatever...its great and lasts me the whole day until the evening when i splurge and eat again. its a great place to meet people in the hostel and wake up to really really strong coffee.

after derica and i took the bus to costa azul and went for a run. we took our time at breakfast so when we actually started running it was 12 noon exactly...kinda studpid cause it was crazy hot. i almost died from drowning in my own sweat. not a nice visual...sorry.

was amazing tho to run along the ocean watching the huge waves listening to my music. after we flaked out on the beach baked...attempted to do portuguese homework, but then a good song would come ona nd i had to concentrate on the music...obviously. thought i would try and cool off in the ocean....again, almost died! being slightly dramic here mom, dont panic! ;) but the waves were REALLY big!!! and after tryingt o sneak my way into the water without hte big ones noticing i was thrown rudely back onto the sand...with half the sand from the beach taking up resisdence in my bikini! not nice...so i decided to stop procrasinating and study some more.

headed to the supermarket on the way back...bom preço...good price! so derica and i will attempt rice nad beans for dinner...need to save our pennies so its off to the ktchen for us.

there is live music constantly playing outside the hostel in the sidewalk cafes here. its cool cause whether you are downstairs in the cafe...hanging in the hammock upstairs...or in the shower on the second floor....you can hear the music loudly! also at 4am...but im used to it now nad thankfully dont need earplugs....i hate those things! they dont stay in and feel like bugs.

speaking of...i had one in my bed last night....thinkin i might skip the amazon this trip. next time perhaps...after the favela i should be a hard nosed bug attacker!

derika and i make a good team...while i was cheekily getting the guys phone number from the hostel yesterday evening...so he could show us around the city of course....she was chating away to this girl who was moving into a favela to work with the kids...she invited us to come and stay for a bit...apparently. not sure if she knows yet that we really want to take her up on that invite! this week sometime...even for the day to see it and help out with whatever shes doing. so excited but also totally terrified....which means i am totally going to do it! its the same feeling that i had before moving int o the downtown eastside...which kinda terrifies me in itself cause i feel in love with the downtown eastside and it was hard to leave.

anyway...i have to go study...hve abot a million sentences to write hanging over my head and my teacher goes so fast that i have to keep up! kinda like someone else i know on this trip!

bom noite!

so new territory taken in salvador. tired of pelorinho so i asked around to see where the braileiros here in salvador go to hang out...found this club called zauber multicultural....only problem was that it was down this really dodgy, badly lit alley in a bad area of town...after slight hesitation we gathered the troops (local brasilians also looking for company in the daunting walk down) and made it to the club...we had heard that there would be live music...kinda rock, sort of salsa, type drumming stuff. sounded random and interesting...and anything was better than the usual tourist traps/craps. after handing over 10 reais to a hole in the wall the size of an orange(for security reasons me thinks? no window nothing...just a hole which i assumed had a person on the other side??) we entered...it was an amazing venue! and we were the only non-locals there! it was great!! it was in this really old part of town with fallen down buildings....it kinda looked like it could have been used for a scene setting in the movie romeo and juliet(the latest version with leonardo dicaprio) so amazing. the club itself was in this gothic looking round building with this huge lit up eagle on top...and red lights everywhere. it was small...and totally funky.

the place was just filling up...we got our one free drink (called made in brasil...please dont ever order this if you find yourself here....it was like vodka aquafresh) and settled outside in the hot air and stars waiting for the band to start. bands tend to start at around midnight here and go till about 3am...it was 11 so we knew we had a few hours to hang out listening to the current dj spinn a random collection of not so great songs. could it get better? no. the band was totally shite! we left at 2am...after waiting for a taxi for ages...we realised we had to walk back up the terrifying path...all the guys in the club we like ´dont go its dangerous!´ we finally convinced this big black guy to escort us...even he looked terrified! it was like something out of a scary film...you know you shouldnt but you have to. i just prayed and suddenly felt TOTALLY unafraid and at peace that we would be ok. like there were tons of angels with drums surrounding us. so i set off...with others in tow. thanked the random dude for his bravery and went home safelly! thanks god!

so apart from the totally crap music, nasty drink and scary journey back...it was an awesome night because we had found something original and off the beaten track. mission accomplished...and i even got to practise a bit of portuguese.

speaking of portuguese...i highly recommend the new study game called...weyeeaahhhhyyyyy! if you have any questions...ask derika and mr.brasileiro from the cafe.

off to the beach today as its totally sweltering! and i have so class today!

decided i may head north up the coast with this girl i met here in salvador. there are a few places i am thinking id like to see. im here for sure for another week as im wanting to continue with language lessons. things are coming along nicely but speaking fluently seems like this impossible mountain im attempting to climb.

went out for caipirinhas with the chicks from the hostel last night. to one of my favourite cafes. great coffee!!!! and great caipirinhas too. bonus.

feeling like i want to get out of pelorinhos...the more im here the more im beginning to see beyond the facade of this area.

after breakfast i went to the beach to catch the sun while it was out. was so beautiful! had amazing conversation about god with the newest recruit to the dorm. was so fun. then i headed off to another language class. where i was officially introduced to bossa nova. not bad...not great...but chiled out. picture the palm trees swaying and the cocnut slurping people in white hats lounging by the sea.

need to find more people who want to speak to me in portuguese...and not try anything on in the process!!

currently covered in sand...and listening to bob dylan´s ´one more cup of coffee´...thanks crys.

had hilarious conversations over breakfast with direka...my potential pilgrimage buddy...they eat a lot of cake for breakfast.

must have dreamt something crazy last night cause i riped out my nose ring thinking it was a stick! came out of my slumber wondering why i was holding it my hand...trying to figure out what it was. very strange? its back where it belongss for any concerned readers....in my nose.

off to find some food.

was so knackered yesterday i went to bed early...woke up still really tired.... but.... its sunny out today!!!!! so after class im off to the beach to hang and study...hopefully with another new dorm d freshie...im becoming a bit of a vetran in the room now...with only the 70 year old uruguayian beating me by a day or two....but ill win in the end. the staff here are great and are starting to realise that im not really here as a tourist...the language books sprawled out across the cafe are a good hint...now they just great me as ´hey canada´ and let me get on with it! nice.

just came back from the afro-brasilian museum...so strange. it gave me a headache. over four million africans came over to brasil, through salvador, alone during the slave trade years...300-400 years. with it they brought over their religions and spirit worship....which is why its so strong and concentrated right here in salvador.

went for a walk to this lake last night with a few people from the hostel...it was right in the city. our taxi driver decided he wanted to come with us...he seemed nice so he parked the car, turned off the meter and came along. a little random... but nice. turns out the lake is full of huge statues of the different orixas or candomble gods. each representing a different thing. people the taxi driver/tour guide...told us that some people were afraid o this area because of the spirits that lived here. say roses and sweets that people had left. you cant seem to escape it here...it dominates the city.

im tired.

there are tiny little spiders crawling all over the computer...makin me a little itchy so i think ill make a move.

time to congugate me verbs...ugh.

a place to call home. www.laranjeirashostel.com.br (i forget how to put the link on properly) i love it here.

sao paulo update for those of you not checking the news....things have settled down it seems. this is good.

ive finally posted a few new photos in the sidebar. a few friends, and bands and sunsets from the last 2 weeks. more to come but downloading was trying my patience and my pocketbook.

if you send me your address i will send you a postcard from bahia. they are nice you will like it!

last night i found myself in the company of my fellow dorm d meninas and miquel the canadian. we had a few beers, hung out in the plaza listening to the bands play, fought off the over eager samba teachers with our newly found skills in capoeira...and once it started raining...again...we ventured down to see if mr.portuguese jack johnson was out again. sure enough...this time singing an amazing rendition of damian rices ´the blowers daughter´...in portuguese. i thought the english version was amazing...portuguese takes it to a whole new dimension.
sadly this small bubble of bliss was burst with all the tables surrounding us snorting coke. we all sat there in amazement as the waiters scurried around whilst the patrons simply whipped up the table cloth and snorted a few lines before putting the tablecloths neatly back where they belonged. shocking...

feeling tired today and heavy with things ive seen. if you pray...i could use it now.

so im attempting to put some photos on the site...but until then....its another lovely day here in salvador, brasil! and im off to another lesson.

many of you may have been following the tensions in sao paulo....its a little crazy there at moment. please pray if you can. i spoke to one of my mates there last night. theya re all ok, but a little scared. everybody is staying inside. she has never seen anything like this before. me thinks letting people out of prision on mothers day isn~t such a great idea? it seems now that the prisioners are targetting police and their families in order to get better priviledges for prisoners. riots are happening in all the jails across the sao paulo state and buses are being lit on fire, etc. a little mad down there. so many police have been killed already. its really not good. please pray.

whilst all the madness goes on down there...here it continues to rain.

having a great day so far...
got up early...er. had breakfast...off to another portuguese class....this time with another student. korean guy who i swear turned up drunk. he reeked of alcohol. was beneficial for me tho in the end as had had more lessons than me so i thought i would be way behind...but in fact i was getting bored with him! so im back to one on one lessons with me prof. nice.

today i learned how to conjugate into the past tense and talk about colours. fascinating, i know.

after that i took the bus to costa azul and went for a run along the beach. so nice! just as i was about to break into another verse of ´ás the waves crash on the shore...´ it started to chuck it down with torential rain!! so i took up residence in the nearby coconut hut. then jumped back on a bus to pelorihno...but not before being totally drenched by a passing bus. classic...as if i wasnt wet enough...nobody wanted to sit beside me on the bus...smelly, wet, rasta gringa. desculpe me!!!!!

after a gorgeous crepe in the hostel cafe with the leeds chicks...im off to do copious amounts of portuguese homework. ugh.

last night found myself in this reggae bar...me and this girl i was with were the only forgein people to be seen...was kinda crazy. i dont think ive ever been so stared at in my life....even africa doesnt hold a candle to this particular evening. hilarious. i was trying to imagine what they were thinking....two white girls, one with dreads, hanging out,...??

met another canadian last night...toronto, portuguese speaking so handy to have around. going to watch some capoeira this evening with him.

met with my portuguese teacher, tania, today. turns out shes this full on christian and has seen people saved in her office. from local prostitues to forgeiners traveling through. as soon as i had called her to ask about lessons god started showing her stuff about me. and today she prophesied. so nuts. but i really like her a lot. shes going to show me around some places. i was able to tell her a little about why im here and my heart etc. we chatted for over an hour about god stuff and stories, miracles shes seen, etc...totally crazy. but a lot of fun.

now im sitting in one of my favourite cafes in the area....cafe conosco. hanging out...with a ton of portuguese homework hanging over my head and a serious need for another coffee.

the spiritual atmosphere here is kinda intense...so much stuff goes on in this area....a lot of it this candomble. its demonic stuff camophlaged in with the catholisism. in the past people werent allowed to worship their traditional african gods and so they hid it in catholisism...each saint also has a corresponding candomble spirit. its a tourist attraction now to go and watch a candomble service or spirit possession trance thing. me, not so much...tomorrow if its not raining im off to the ocean side of the penninsula to pray and try to digest all that ive seen here in the last 3 days. the water seems to clear my head...just like it did in vancouver.

saw my mate mr.di vinci again. kinda fun when you start to become known in an area. hopefully soon it will be for reasons other than a white rasta chick. hmmm...

my first night in pelourhinos, the area of salvador that im staying, was so fun! i am staying in a dorm room with a several others girls. after a shower, emails, a long walk to the beach and a short bus ride back i found some lunch and wandered back to the hostel to see what was happening. my goal was find a cervejah buddy. im staying in the party area of town so it is always noisy at night...its great cauuse somethings always happening...its not great cause you have to put up with the tourists...:) i made a few friends and we went out to see what was happening. we were a random mix, uk, brazil, and uruguay. havent met any canadians yet...

we started walking around and heard this drumming so we followed and it was awesome! they were a group of teens all playing a drum and drawing the crowds in the streets, we followed them thru the streets...people dancing, try to sell stuff. it was awesome! some guy gave me a necklace and then took off...random acts of kindness? we decided to settle in one plaza where there was a brazilian-esque jack johnson playing quitar. soon we had fabio pulling up a chair...an hour or so later we had ourselves suckered into capoiera on the beach for this morning...he didnt show up...perhaps because its raining...perhaps becuase we kinda figured as much. but at any rate we had a good laugh with him and his mate and i got to speak portuguese. so that was cool. they were from the nearby favela area and came out to hang with the tourists...i know i know it sounds dodgy but they really werent. i have a sharpening sense of discernment and i feel so protected at the moment...its weird actually.

people have said you have to be soooo careful here with money and safety etc...i beleive it but as soon as i arrived here...from the airport to town...and walking around the streets here, through the crowds of people etc, even the crowds at night...i feel so safe. i actually feel like i belong here at least for right now...which i suppose tends to give you a sense of authority or confidence or freedom in that place then...whatever it is its god and i feel it which means i can also interact with my surroundings and the people i meet here in a cool way...
...i feel gods presence i suppose is what im trying to say. and i feel like i have some reason for being here...not as a tourist but as a resident salvadorian. perhaps thats learning the language.

feel so much better after a great sleep. i have a portuguese lesson at 2pm. i stoked about it...i am loving learning this language.

may go watch the surfing later on the oceanic side of the penninsula. a great place to go for a run apparently. on the bus ride from the airport i saw many brazilians running along hte seawall there.....so i am excited about that too...generally excited all the time...i have my moments but mostly im just taking everything in and loving what i see. trying to hear from god but just feeling his presence at moment...which im contect with.

but for right now im off to introduce myself to the newest contingent of dorm D...two chicks from leeds...

im here...and i LOVE it already. after a quick 2 hour night flight, a sweet bus ride into the centre and a five minute exhausting walk to my hostel thanks to the help of my new friend leonardo di vinci...i am here. i finally put my head down at 7:30 am...again. 2 hours later im up and exploring. ITS SO HOT..compared to sao paulo...i think ive sweat a swimming pool already. nice. sitting in an internet cafe after a long walk trying to find the beach. its nice because although im staying in the old part of town which means tourists and other travellers, its not really the season at moment...just coming out hte other side...so on my walk i didnt see to many...however i did walk really far! in the end i was going to collapse so i hailed a cab and impressed him with my portuguese skills that he took me the rest of the way for free. obrigada!!

so far on my explorations of salvador...havent fouind a portuguese school, but was invited to a candomble event...which i will certainly NOT go to. devil worship and spirit possession isnt really on the agenda for this weekend. also was invited to learn capoira but not sure yet if he was cool or not. currently sitting across from the beach. i need to buy a map cause i have no idea where i am...just keep the water on your right oria....

starting to recognise some cool brazilian music on the radio...this place seems really music oriented and there are tons of music shops selling instruments.

back to the heat and my search for a language school...and friends.
tchau.

last night found myself in another club in vila madelena. love it!!! this time i got in free cause a friend works with the band that was playing. FCLG...or 'funk, how you like it'. jazz, soul, funk ...it was awesome! afterwards...danced a little samba...or tried. i seriously donºt know how they shake it like that. spot the gringa!

...and spot the over-friendly samba teachers. alex to the rescue perhaps?! :)
i have started a new language game with my roomie called the phrase of the day. i say it wrong...she gets a kick out of it...everyones a winner. yesterday was 'i donºt know samba!...but ok!' and 'no kiss please!' dear lord these brazilians are passionate!

today the phrase of the day is 'im so tired!' to bed at 7am is fairly normal here as the clubs dont close until people leave! nice...

leaving tonight at 3:30 am to slavador. arrive in the morning...so again, no sleep. but im having sooo much fun! i love brazil so much. been praying that if this is a place i can spend a lot of time that i would totally fall in love iwht the place and people....and its happening at an alarming rate. kinda feel like god isnºt really saying much but has my hand and is running around in wild fury with a huge grin on his face...wanting to show me everything. im trying desperatly to stay on my feet! lovin it!

ive been here just over a week and already its hard to leave this place for another. but i got a one way ticket in hand...and im going to see whats on the other end. hopefully some portuguese lessons.

so i spent the morning in hot pursuit of this irritating and very gross bug in my room...i won in the end. like a stealth panther.

had another unintentioanl portuguese lesson over breakfast with andrea...with my new classy dictionary in hand i learnt extremely useful words like ´that is an enormous dog.´ and `scarecrow`...should help me out in salvador surely.

went out to vila madelena again last night...love it there. this time with the girls. i picked up most of what they were talking about. speaking is another matter however...yesterday i had to try and explain sheep in portuguese...not sure how i got on that topic really...i was reduced to animal noises. seriously no shame. they didnºt seem to mind and in the end humour is the way forward, as we all know.

had my first experience trying to pick apart the words to 'the vision' yesterday. was fun...had a hard time with the 'meaning of the matrix and how the west was won'...think i need to learn my verb conjugation first. !!!

have been reading a bit on the history of salvador. was the main place where people were brought during the slave trade...so within brazil salvador still has the largest african population...i need to learn more about this place...

im off to the paonderia...or bakery...seriously those on a carb free diet would die in a week here. bread, cheese, sugar...staple foods. which explains why my friend here said 'the problem isnºt that brazilian bikinis are too small...its just that the bums are too big.'...hmmm....not true for everyone here i must say...but funny nonetheless.

run down on the past few days...

went to the market with andrea...drank sugar cane juice. was good. they put soo much sugar in everything. they think im nuts that i dont have sugar in my coffee. had an in depth conversation about it with mr.dolly parton yesterday. he doesnºt speak english so it was hilarious. but basically thinks im crazy.

had movie and wine night last night with some friends...not inmpressed with brasilian wine so far...may have to stick to my early morning caiparinhas...or not.

actually i havent seen an eary eary mornign yet. been sleeping in til 1030 every morning .... things seem to stary late here...which suites me fine. late to bed and late to rise. nice.

one of the posse here works in a club and with some bands or something so hes getting me in for free on thursday which im excited about.

i booked my flight to salvador...i leave on friday. so excited. from what ive heard i will love it there....im inclined to agree. its seems to be the arts, cultural, historical, capoeira, african centre...and its surrounded by ocean...which means BEACHES!!! sweet.

i am off to hang up my laundry...tchau.

or better known as the string of internet cafes...well not so much cafe really...as a place with a lot of computers and over friendly teenage boys who try out all their english words on the foriegn, but cute chick. it seems my hair is a drawing feature and my lack of portugese an interesting quality. so im currently surrounded by these hilarious guys (note the sarcasm)trying to extract as much info from me as they can. proving to be quite a hilarious sequence of events.

i love brazil.

saturday night i went out with danyella and silvana to this amazing little area of sao paulo. in the 70´s it was populated by the students, hippies and artists...so you can imagine the kind of place i mean. i loved it. we stopped and went to this one bar/club where there was this band playing who apparently are becoming more and more popular here in sao paulo. the music was awesome...the place was packed, and everything was cheap. the whole night cost me 15 dollars. nice.

will post pictures someday...but i just spent an hour in the internet cafe with lots of help from the folks who run the joint here and no luck with the downloading thing. so another time and place.
i´m off to book my flight to salvador. found a cheap one.
but first a quick and very funny story for you...
yesterday morning i woke not feeling very well...had a shower and was sitting in the sala reading or something...soon the phone rang and andreas mother answered. she spoke to me in portuguese...but all i heard was ´caipirinha´...so naturally i said yes. i like caipirinha. soon a young girl came to the apartment and ushered me with her...so i went you know trying to seize every opportunity that comes my way. she took me to another house filled with relatives and before i even sat down they handed me a beer...oh no i thought this is way to early to start on the drink...will my stomach hold up? but naturally i accepted and sat down, soon a very strong caipirinha was also put in front of me and then about 5 different types of food. amazing as they were steak , beer and strong alcohol are a bit much. ha ha
as i sat there trying my hardest to drink slowly and eat slowly the man of the house who was cooking for me decided to entertain me too...with his love for dolly parton videos. i drew the line at dancing to them...this was all a bit too surreal as it was. i had entred a parrallel universe. and dolly parton was the only thing i understood. so tragic!

i~m here...in sao paulo. i have to be quick but a few observaioins so far:
who knew that cashews came in juice form?
too much smog
off to the north east next week i think
they are fireworks i~m hearing ...not guns.
football is a way of life...for EVERYONE! the crunch is on for me to choose who to support...people are waiting!
shoo-shoo is a great vegetable
the sao paulo market is amazing
i packed too much stuff
i love my flipflops
visited prison once already...
...breath mom....
....it was a prison for young boys. if you~ve seen city of god you will know who i mean. totally fell in love with them.they were amazing and so beautiful. and loved my dreds. bonus points. it~s a random long story about how i managed to get in there on my second day here...ill save that one for another time.
i was met at airport by some friends of a friend. one speaks english the others are aiding in my speedy portuguese skills. and skills i have. me and the girl im staying with(FOR FREE!) have a great understanding...she speaks to me in potuguese and i nodd my head. then i attemt to do what sh~es just been talking about. funny and somewhat exhausting, but im learning quickly.
pictures soon to come.
huge green grasshoppers are from the devilam a hit with the black men with dreads...not sure if thats good or not yet.
a place where cashews are cheap! loving it!
oh and old school vw vans EVERYWHERE! in fact i road to one last night to the prison. i was in heaven.
roadas are in sane here. you have to work to stay in your seat on the bus...and standing is much like surfing...which i will soon try.
hooked up with some lessons in potuguese on sunday. a women i met on the bus who knew the girls i was with. random.
not sure how long i will be here...but the northeast along the coast is looking pretty good right now.

so much to say so little time. im well, very tired, missing everyone lots, but pushing on for something here...alittle longer anyway. doing my best to fight off the church pastors here and their hidden agendas,
and trying to blend in as much as possible...impossible so it seems.
found a friend , potentially a partner in crime, she lovesd god and doesn~t attend a church! speaks perfect english and just got back from travelling around the world...sound like someone i can have a beer with.
tchau...