Greetings from South America!...where I have yet to see a cloud in the sky and yes, have already hit the beach once. It seems like a long time ago in a winter far, far away that the (female) security guard at Dulles Airport gave me some ´´good luck pats,´´ although she didn´t seem to know they were such. She let me go with a small piece of advice for my next trip through the airport: to wear clothes with less metal on it (yeah, whatever -- it´s not like I wore a lot). I then proceeded to my gate, where I took a seat near two Brazilians who clearly didn´t know each other, but were speaking at lightning speed anyway. I sat down there just to listen, to see if I could catch anything (it had already been two weeks since my last Portuguese class), and before long, I learned my very first lesson of the trip (and so far there have been many).
1) Apparently, I can pass for being Brazilian. So, sitting next to these Brazilians, I was surprised to be able to understand a good chunk of what they were saying. Not everything (even if they didn´t stop in between sentences, I needed a listening break), but a lot. Then, judgment day came when I happened to sneeze and the woman (maybe in her 60s) said (in English), ´´Bless you,´´ to which I responded (in Portuguese), ``Obrigada´´ (thank you). (She blessed me, after all -- the least I could do was thank her in her native language.) She then said, ´´Oh, you´re Brazilian.´´ I said I wasn´t (this was still in Portuguese), and then I became part of their conversation, which slowed down significantly (thank Deus).
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The flight to Rio de Janeiro was pretty uneventful, until the end, when it arrived a half hour late and I had to go through immigration, get my bag, and then do customs, before checking in again, only to find out that my next flight was already boarding (so much for layovers!). I made the flight and they even gave us chocolates on board (what´s not to like?).
When I arrived at my homestay in Salvador, my host mom (mãe) was there to greet me with a big hug. That´s Eliene. 53 years old, social worker, works at the university helping students settle in to the university and adjust and whatnot. We chatted for a good portion of the afternoon and I also met my host sister, Auana. She´s 25, got her degree in journalism, just had her wisdom teeth out the day before I arrived. Ouch. Talking proved a little difficult for her, but we managed. Even so, her Portuguese was still way better than mine. I guess that makes sense -- she´s Brazilian.
That first night was straight out of any Portuguese class textbook. For dinner, we had moqueca and then I watched Eliene make suco de maracujá (passion fruit juice)...mmmm. But I also learned another very important lesson.
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2) You´ve heard of the phrase, ´´careful what you wish for´´? How about ´´careful what you offer´´? Since I spent a lot of time with Eliene during the day (some of it while she was cleaning the kitchen), I had offered to help. She had said no, it´s okay, and we proceeded to chat (something she loves to do and does well). After dinner, I helped clear the table, and suddenly I found myself doing favors already (hanging up the laundry, putting things in the fridge, filling up the water containers, etc.). Well, I wanted to learn. And now I have -- first day, shmirst day, we´re hitting the ground running!
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Saturday was the start to the weekend, and for a person as indecisive as myself, I realized it´s funny...I chose Salvador after reading about it in a guidebook and then doing some follow-up research, and now here I am, as sure as ever that it´s the right place to be. Eliene took me to the beach yesterday, where we even did some bargaining (she started it -- and I partook in the action..obviously). Later in the day, she was going to the hair salon and asked me if I wanted to go with her, so I did. On this excursion, I learned some other notable things.
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3) Sometimes it´s okay to forgo the five-second rule, and boy is it delicious! Before the hair appointment, we walked through a nearby park, where there were lots of mangoes that had fallen from the trees. Eliene picked up a few of them and when we went back to the salon, she had the guy in the sandwich shop next door wash them off. I ate one of them while I waited for her. Kind of a mess, but totally worth it.
4) Apparently, I also look like ´´that actress from Titanic´´ (Kate Winslet). There was a girl at the salon, whom Eliene spent a lot of time talking to (I waited outside -- the salon is small), and after she was finished, the three of us started talking. That girl is Cecilia. She is 23, a dentist, and lives down the street. I guess in the salon, Eliene had said that I was there with her, so Cecilia looked out the window and saw me and told Eliene that I look like ´´that actress from Titanic.´´
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I had plans to go to the movies with Auana, but Eliene invited Cecilia, who ended up coming (it was fine). Turns out they had met once before anyway, so it wasn´t awkward or anything. We ended up taking the bus 45 minutes away (only that long because we took the scenic route, through different neighborhoods) to the huge mall where the cineplex is. Unfortunately, we got there too late to see the movie we were going to see (a Brazilian movie), so we saw an American one instead, ´´Things We Lost in the Fire´´. Here the movies are all in the original language, with Portuguese subtitles, so it was still helpful even though it was in English because I followed along watching the subtitles.
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5) Not having a to-do list is one of life´s greatest pleasures, if you allow yourself the opportunity. I am now living in Salvador, Brazil. My biggest decision yesterday was whether I should let myself take a nap in the afternoon or not (I did). Today, I´m not sure what it will be. But I am going to enjoy walking slowly when I leave the internet cafe to go to the beach, a far cry from my old desire to always walk quickly to get everywhere not because of aerobic activity but just because I clearly had somewhere to *be*.
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A few final thoughts for the day: There is a one-hour time different between Salvador and EST. Salvador is one hour ahead.
While my first few days of not knowing where the internet cafe was and not having a cell phone were lovely, I am now connected to civilization again. I will have internet at school, which starts tomorrow (though I don´t know how many computers there are, how many students, etc.), and I have a cell. My number here is: (5571) 9169-6416. To call from the U.S., I believe you would have to dial 011-55 (country code)-71 (city code)-9169-6416. To call from Europe, I think it would be 00-55-71...etc.
And that´s it from here. I hope all of you are well in your respective places around the world, and I hope to hear updates from all of you soon!
Abraços,
Missy
http://andsmilestogobeforeisleep.blogspot.com/
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