Blogs from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, South America - page 14

This weekend, we had a dance class at school. It was very fun. We learned different ways of dancing in Bahia, lots of feet movements. I also went to the beach on Friday. I haven't brought my camera there, so next time, I'll take pictures of the beach closest to my place-Porto da Barra (double r's are pronounced like "h"), +-30 minutes walk. I went to Leo's basketball game. His team played against another, and I think the tournaments are between different teams in Bahia. He's #8 in the bright yellow uniform. His team played against a poorer situated team (underdog of the game). There is a socio-economical difference between the teams and in terms physical sizes, the other team had tiny players. At half-game, it was already 20 v. 6 points, I dont know the ... read more

We get a four-day weekend because there is no school on Fridays (usually) and Monday is Brazil's Independence Day. I went to the beach for an hour and half on Friday and then it started to rain. And I took a nap for the rest of the day! On Saturday, I took the bus to Shopping Barra, but I forgot my camera. It was my first time on the bus, it costs 2.20 R$ (1US$=1.85R$). I took a bus that had "Shop Barra" on the window sign and I was afraid I didn't get on the right bus, the ride there had twists and turns and I didn't recognize anything, good thing I asked the lady next to me (listening to her mp3) if the bus was on the way to Shopping Barra and she works ... read more

This is my little family: Minha Mãe (My mom) Mary, she has a lingerie store, but I haven't seen it yet, maybe tomorrow. Meu Pai (My dad) Roberto. I have no idea what he does. I do know that he is from the south. Meu Filho (My brother) Leo. He's a twelve year old student. He swims well, he has won many medals. I'll take a pic of them later. But right now, he's into basketball. The maid Zilita, she's here Monday through Saturday. She cooks, cleans, makes the bed, and does the laundry.... read more

All is well over here in Brazil bar a couple of hiccups (see below!). Since the last entry we´ve mostly been around Salvador which we´ve been using as a base. Our first trip out of there was to Lencois, a quaint little town about 6 hours west. Until twenty years ago it was a diamond mining town but when that source of cash dried up they turned it into a tourist destination as a base for exploring the nearby national park which is full of rivers, lakes, waterfalls and caves. Everything is connected by roads and paths created by the miners. We did an overview tour on the first day which was good but it felt like we were on a tourist conveyor belt - look at this, take a picture of this. The next day ... read more

I had my orientation and met my host family. I have a Mom (Mary), Dad (Roberto), and kid brother (Leo). There is also a maid (Zilita) that comes by Monday-Saturday. I haven't had the courage to ask to take their pictures yet, so someday...maybe. I don't know what they do. My Portuguese isn't good enough to hold any type of conversation. My mom speaks English quite well though. I live 5 minutes away from school, which is really cool. I get my own room, which has a gorgeous view. I moved in Saturday afternoon and mostly just watched TV with my Mom. Leo likes to learn magic tricks through Youtube, which some of them he showed us. I had spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. On Sunday, it rained. We were supposed to go to the ... read more