Turned on the TV for the first time

My host mother came into my room yesterday to address something that had been worrying her, "Rachel, why don't you ever turn on the television?" They very kindly provided me with a room with a giant television, and I had apparently offended them by not using it. So, I turned it on to watch the election results. Of course, most talk is of the run-off election on October 31st. In my family, like on tv, the general conversation is regarding, "who will Marina Silva support?"--because whoever she supports, everyone agrees, will win. I'm excited for another month of televised candidate debates. (And for more campaign pamphlets littering the street. I collect them, because I'm a nerd, and so it really does look like Christmas to me)



Also in political news:
1. A professional clown (palhaco) won a state representative seat in Sao Paulo. He may not get to keep it, though, because there's a lot of talk that he's illiterate (analfabeto) and didn't make this fact known during the campaign.
2. Though it is mandatory to vote in Brazil, you can vote in your current city or where you were born. My host mom returned to "the interior" to vote on Sunday because she wanted to vote for her cousin, who is a local candidate. My host sister votes in the interior, too, but since she didn't want to travel, she just had to go to a local voting point and "justificar" her vote--eg. make her excuse official. If you're in the hospital during elections, you need a doctor's note.

The news reports also included a study on growing obesity rates in Brazil (developed country...ahh!) as well as what to do with their aging population, and how to change the cultural norm of not saving for retirement or the future.