more pictures

check out my awesome complete Itacimirim beach panorama. sweeeet.

palavras inglesas

hey gang
so I need some contributions today... my english teacher here requested I write up a list of English slang words for the class (complete with definitions and possibly examples). I'm trying to avoid ones that if said unwittingly by a Brazilian in the US would get him/her in trouble, but anything else is fair game.

got any ideas?

eu vou

I went to the circus... a birthday party, and I've been hanging out with the other exchange students. So far one has been sent home, and we gained Capri from Bermuda (hahaha fun times). I have still been tired a lot, I think it's the heat and the capoeira. I've been feeling sick too, probably the heat again... and Paulo told me spring started yesterday! Summer is going to kill me.

I've been making friends outside of school, which is good. I went to what was called a "bible study" but it was really just two Brazilian guys meeting at an American guys house to talk about life and stuff, it was fun but I got in a little trouble because there was a mix up about where I was so Paulo got really worried...it got worked out though!

Talked to Lara in Alemanha, I'm already having a hard time remembering the english names for the days of the week (like the fact that I have capoeira on terça and quinta...it takes me a few minutes to remember that that means Tuesday and Thursday...)

capoeira is going well, but last class I started to sweat something crazy and I couldn't see (my vision got all staticky) and I had to sit down for a while. I think I've been sick recently.

looks like I'm going on the Pantanal Bonito trip in October, with Capri, Macall, Sofie and possibly Greg (Bermuda, Canada, Denmark and Canada). hopefully that'll work out!

saturday looks like I'm headed to a music show with some girls from school, and sunday I'm either going to chill with Moni's family or the other exchange students, hopefully my host family remembers to wake me up in time to try church out. Looks like it could be fun!

I'm not at home right now, this is supposed to be geografia class but the teacher didn't come to school...so tchau!
-- m

tô perdido. sempre perdido.

painstaking and thus terrible half-panorama from the top floor of my house
bandeira (flag) de Salvador, Brazil e Bahia (in order left to right)

the furthest left is probably the hotel flag walkways. they are all over. very useful for crossings busy high ways.
the coast!!
the city at sundown

view from projection room at Vieira
pretty dynamic shot...just fun fact, in Salvador, ALL OF THE SIDEWALKS ARE THESE CRAZY INTRICATE MOSAICS. that squid thing? that's a mosaic. made out of piece of stone about egg sized. this is the WHOLE CITY. it's crazy cool.
whoo Obama
next to Farol da Barra

near the beach in Salvador
view from top floor
fusca!
these things are everywhere, some are shaped like berimbau or coconuts. it's crazy.

there you go, city-view-seekers
that's what I got so that's actually good
-- m

fotos

no worries I have read your comments, but this is going to be a foto post.

Lara and Caffa
swimmers

oddly interesting sun
Lara and Zen
impersonating theatrical zombies
I wanted to go exploring, but my friends think I will get myself killed.
sweet shot of Lara

Pedrinho! wearing a Eugene tie-dye shirt no less
walking to MAM (Museu do Arte Moderno)
fun times at the theater (I know I look really pissed in this picture, but those were some of the funniest moments of the trip so far)
beach at MAM

that's not all but I am tired of falling asleep first period every day. night!

one fell swoop

I am going to reply to comments all in one blog entry, 'cause I have time to kill right now. I am waiting at school for the afternoon class to get here.

to Rob and Sara: 'capoeira' is a Brazilian dance/martial art/game thing. it looks and is really cool. as for the language deal, I am beginning to agree. I tried to write a 'redaçao' today (a paper in Portuguese about the nature of science)...tough beans. as for interact, it's kind of cool getting to see the other intercambistas, but other than that it's just confusing... Sara you are very funny haha. as for the climbing deal, I'm still climbing, just secretly, 'cause for some reason it freaks Brazilians out. haha Ian is having a quite different exchange than I am.

Suzi: yea this year is going fast already. I feel like I sort of missed out on the culture shock deal..brazil is very familiar and doesn't strike me as hugely different. people are people, whether they scream in class or not. Interact is a Rotary organization (Rotary is the program I was sent to Brazil through). I am ALWAYS tired. I still learn things and laugh and act goofy, but I keep yawning. people think I'm weird cause of it.

Jonah: whoa you comment a LOT. I will try to be brief. That's cool about Ichi, she is yet another person I often wish I had gotten to know better. I would like to look at that sketchpad when I get back actually... I didn't spend a lot of time around EPL before I left so no, but feel free. also that CapoEira shirt is cool, I just can't wear it that often without feeling really dumb. also yea Salvador is like 3 million people, it's pretty big and very crowded. the favelas (slums) are literally houses stacked on top of each other,. it'd very different. I am not going to go back to being vegetarian until I get home. I have heard very little about Christian (my counterpart?) except that he is quiet, cute and likes soccer (that last one is very typical of South Americans, as you probably know).


Rad: school starts at 7, but my host dad wakes me up at 5 so I have the opportunity to take a shower and brush my teeth and whatever, then it's a 45 minute drive to school through crazy Brazilian traffic. no I'm in the city of Salvador, in Brazil obviously. :)

Lara: huhsushsuah eu te amo, lara. espero que alemanha é muito divertido... mas diferente que brasil, né? todo mundo são com saudades... <3 love!!! você é muito chata e doido também.....mas legal!!

Liz: I'm glad you're reading it! I hope Tom, Micha, Sarah and Christopher are doing splendidly. Jonah too but he's commenting up a storm so I suppose he's fine.

Ian: I have already responded to your comments.... but I was going to tell you that I haven't asked my host dad yet about summer travels...have you gotta an okay on it for sure?

Nybelle: hi! yea people keep making fun of me cause I have more than the normal amount of guyfriends I guess. I surely will not forget about you guys. it has already been a month, I'll be home before I know it....crazy.

also Sky hasn't commented, but hopefully she is reading it. so Sky, I MISS YOU. don't have any mental breakdowns while I'm not there to be cranky with you. :) <3 I also miss Margie and Roxanne and Mike....I love your family. MISS YOUUUU

I also miss Jade and Dad a lot...you too Mom and Evan. tchau!
-- m

quase um mês!!

in 5 days I will have been here for four weeks.

I have a capoeira class today in the afternoon, yesterday I attempted to play vôlei (volleyball) but I am predictably and embarrassingly ungifted at it. I tried though, got some exercise. I went to Interact too, but I was completely dead (given that I wake up at 5 every morning) so Macall probably thought I was high or something.

looks like I will going to Interact as often as possible (on Mondays nights from 8-9), volleyball or futsal beforehand, probably a laboratory of some kind for chemistry (though I have yet to get any details whatsoever about this). tuesdays and thursdays are capoeira, and it seems I will be getting a Portuguese class after all, which crushes my ego a little cause I thought I was learning plenty fast... oh well

I will possibly be going to a movie and then a party on Saturday with Moni (Australian girl at my school who has become my comrade in pursuit of our little English sanctuary. where we talk about turtles)

so this will probably be a good week.
talk to you all later
if you read this, you have no excuse for not commenting. don't be a lurker, it's creepy.


also: two of my three 'bonfim fita' wishes have come true. the last one's tough though... might not happen until I go to Minas this summer

intercambio....de novo

NOTICE: to anyone who has tried to post on the blog and has not been able to, I have enabled non-user commenting, as per Jonah's request, sorry about that. I want to hear from all of you! DO IT. me in the 'gimnasio' climbing around
Lara thought this was just crazy, though it was pretty damn tame...(note the super awesome, not-touristy-in-any-way Capoeira Coca-Cola style shirt)
and my hands got pretty dirty

Lara left today, everyone was crying and it was sad, but I have a hard time crying around people so everyone thinks I'm insensitive and heartless.

Also funny story, yesterday I got busted for climbing around Vieira (I was climbing the structures around the staircases in the gymnasium and the fence near the futebol quadras and Biggu told me he would send me home if I did it again. it sucks because about ten minutes after he told me that I found a really cool route across the roofs of the buildings and that would have been really badass but I wasted my one warning on a really weak climb......oh well, thems the breaks). pics above

more pics soon as soon as I wipe my camera

--- m

entiende? sim?

Lara and João

near the lighthouse (farol)

Barbosa and Tonhô

waiting for the bus

(Lari, João, yours truly, Lara, Zen and Caffa)

the ocean at Salvador

Lara and Pedrinho (Pedro) my host siblings

happy brazilians and a confused american

aaaand I can't play guitar

Lara tearing it up

our classes Seven Deadly Sins musical interval

the whole gang minus Caffa and a couple others at Lara's goodbye party

'caracol' : snails!!! I got João to do it with me

yup I am reaaaaallly white

left to right, Milena, if you can't guess who the next one is you shouldn't be reading this blog, Larah, Pé, and Lari

Larah

Also I pierced my ears today and it didn't hurt or anything but Lara was freaking out and taking deep breaths and stuff. I am really tired right now after Praia do Forte, but I should be able to catch up on sleep a little tonight, considering we are skipping our first couple classes so Lara can pack.

boa noite, y'all

- m