On Sunday I moved into my host family`s house in Nazare, a neighborhood (um bairro, like a barrio in Spanish)in Salvador. It's the closest neighborhood to where I have my morning Portuguese classes and my afternoon lectures (which are given in Portuguese by local health professionals, activists, politicians, etc. and then translated for us into English). I walk to class with the two girls who lives closest to my house, and generally people address us in English or Spanish. So far I´ve most often had people guess I was a Spaniard.



On Monday I attended a birthday party for a neighbor´s neice. Here, it is somewhat common to celebrate a baby´s birthday every month until age one. This particular Brazilian beauty is now 7 months. The coconut-chocolate cake was quite spectacular.

Tuesday was Brazilian Independence. We watched the parade (and my highlight was getting to hold up a little girl named Leticia so she could see. She was heavy, though). After the parade we went the beach with "quasi todo o mundo"--or practically everyone in Bahia, though I did see a couple of token Germans. I bought a coconut (they say one should drink at least a glass of cocunt water a day for ones health) and watched the waves from a grassy spot by the lighthouse (Farol).

Yesterday was my host brother´s girlfriend´s 23rd birthday. I was chastized a few times for speaking too much english (but, hey, everyone here wants to practice their english just as much as I want to practice o meu portugues!) and pinched and squeezed by relatives. I was also the photo-taker, which made me feel like a real family member. I´m also now finally permitted to do dishes, which makes me feel more at home and less of a guest. My host mother´s closest friend, Carmosina, and I washed the party glasses last night while singing Beyonce...apparently Brazil loved her when she came here on tour) My main success within the family is that I now have all members collecting political campaign posters (the election is nearing for several positions, among them pesident, diputados federal and state representatives) and now possess an enviable collection of smiling (mostly white) faces (weird...Salvador is 80% Afro-Brazilian. Hm.)







Tonight, Friday, we will most likely go to a Capoeira class (a marital arts/dance form from slavery days) and maybe a samba club.