A quick pic from my new location: I call this piece "I'm-in-a-new-place-and-I-love-it-already-very-very-much-and-won't-want-to-leave-I'm-sure"

On the plane ride from Charlotte to Rio, I learned the term "beleza" (cool) from my seat-buddy. By the end of my first day in Salvador, I had learned that you can respond to "todo bem?" with "todo bom." (Is everything going well? Yes, everything is good.) Today I learned a bit more in my first Portuguese class: when something is really tasty you say "Tá uma delícia" while tugging at your ear. You tell ME why. So I feel like I'm gradually entering into the cold pool. Saturday I get placed with my host family, so that will be like diving in, fully submerging, and making a splash. Considering my Portuguese spills over the edges, soaking my ego every time I open my mouth, this might be less of a metaphoric-stretch than you think.

We have been staying on the outskirts of the city for the last two days but today we saw a section of the city called "Pelourinho". Pelourinho sells good ice cream. I tried cajá. Pretty much every flavor on the menu was defined in English as a "Brazilian tropical fruit" so I ordered almost as blindly as I would have sans-translation. Salvador has a lot of hair-braiding stands in the tourist section. Salvador plays hosts to lots of school field trips. Salvador has narrow cobblestone streets, a lot of churches and plenty of plazas. It's all just perfect perfect perfect from my perspective. Eu gosto muito da esta cidade.

Indulge me in just one complaint. It's the only one I have. Honestly.

I've been bitten! Now, if I liked mosquitos the way they like me, it wouldn't be a problem. But, you see, I don't, and the little "passionate kisses" they've left on my fingers, ankles, wrists and cheek are just a sign of desperation. So let me say it now: your love will NOT be requited. Leave me alone. Jesucristo.