So, what have I been up to these last couple of days? Well, I discovered a great place to eat near the school - it´s a comida por kilo, which pretty much does what it says on the tin. You fill up your plate with as much food as you like from a buffet-type selection, and pay by the weight of the food. Brilliant!
The dance class was great fun. There were about 7 or so of us, and we were basically all beginners, and so it was an excellent experience. Had some people been experts at samba, I would probably have felt like I used to in Year 10 Dance at school. There´s another one today, and a group of us are going to attend another 2 next week but outside of school. Apparently, its going to be a proper workout, so, combined with the walk to and from school, 50 minutes each way, I might just burn off the kilos I´m eating at lunch!! Our teacher may or may not be gay, but he´s certainly quite camp, which might be part of the job criteria. The Afro-Brazilian dance stuff was good, and we had a little routine worked out, but the samba was quite tricky, and just looked like a dance for people who don´t want to take their feet off the ground for too long. I much prefer the Afro-Brazilian moves - I wouldn´t be surprised if I could work my patented chicken dance into it somewhere. A bunch of us went for a walk and chatted by the beach afterwards, and it was really good to have some company for a bit longer in the day than usual. I think everyone is finding the days long and not enough to do between school ending and dinner. We´re all getting through the books we brought with us to read much faster than expected.
Thus, today I decided to buy some books if I could find them, in a bookstore in the giant mall, the Shopping Barra. Firstly though, I got myself a pot of açai. This is one of the best things I´ve ever eaten. For 4 Reais, you get a pot of the açai fruit, blended with ice, and topped with banana and granola. It´s refreshing and filling at the same time. Açai is a fruit from the Amazon, which the Indians have been eating for centuries because of its nutrional value - it´s filled with all sorts of vitamins and protein. Yum yum. The 4 Reais I save from walking instead of taking the bus have now found a new purpose!
I walked along the beach and then headed inward to the shopping centre. It´s huge. There´s a bigger one slightly out of town, which was planned as the biggest mall in Brazil. Apparently, some guy now plans to build another in Brazil somewhere which will be the biggest in South America. Good luck to him. Anyway, the centre itself was pretty standard and the clothes not cheap at all. If you think you can go to Brazil and buy shed loads of stuff for cheaper than at home, you are mistaken, unless you get it all from the street, in which case, yes, but it´ll fall apart in a short while. Oddly, Zara has conquered Brazil too (which should make my dad happy). Anywho, I found the shop, and purchased a dictionary and the only book I deemed worthy to buy - Austen´s Emma. The rest of the selection of literature in English was dominated by Danielle Steel and Harry Potter. Blame the American tourists for that (and the McDonald´s, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Subway etc). So, now I don´t need to pace myself so much with my books, which is good, as I would be so bored in the afternoons, and the flight home without something to read.
Tonight, there is an inter-cultural meeting at a bar/restaurant in Barra. We are going to meet up with some local Brazilian students who are trying to learn English, and just get to know each other. Should be interesting, but I will soon reach my limit in conversation, unless they are really interested in me describing my personal characteristics. As for the weekend, I´m not too sure what the plan is, but I might go to Bonfim, which isn´t too far away but looks pretty cool. It really depends on what the weather is like, as I don´t want to be in the middle of nowhere during a tropical rainstorm. What´s really sad and annoying is that thje churches here are some of the most amazing in the Portuguese style and in the Catholic world. They are simply laden with solid gold and silver, but because of this, they are closed pretty much all the time out of fear of theft. So, even though the guidebook tells you there are all these things to see, more often than not, you cannot. I also cannot figure out when museums are open/closed. Certainly, on weekends they seem shut. Arghhhhh. Maybe it will be something to bring up with the students tonight.
The dance class was great fun. There were about 7 or so of us, and we were basically all beginners, and so it was an excellent experience. Had some people been experts at samba, I would probably have felt like I used to in Year 10 Dance at school. There´s another one today, and a group of us are going to attend another 2 next week but outside of school. Apparently, its going to be a proper workout, so, combined with the walk to and from school, 50 minutes each way, I might just burn off the kilos I´m eating at lunch!! Our teacher may or may not be gay, but he´s certainly quite camp, which might be part of the job criteria. The Afro-Brazilian dance stuff was good, and we had a little routine worked out, but the samba was quite tricky, and just looked like a dance for people who don´t want to take their feet off the ground for too long. I much prefer the Afro-Brazilian moves - I wouldn´t be surprised if I could work my patented chicken dance into it somewhere. A bunch of us went for a walk and chatted by the beach afterwards, and it was really good to have some company for a bit longer in the day than usual. I think everyone is finding the days long and not enough to do between school ending and dinner. We´re all getting through the books we brought with us to read much faster than expected.
Thus, today I decided to buy some books if I could find them, in a bookstore in the giant mall, the Shopping Barra. Firstly though, I got myself a pot of açai. This is one of the best things I´ve ever eaten. For 4 Reais, you get a pot of the açai fruit, blended with ice, and topped with banana and granola. It´s refreshing and filling at the same time. Açai is a fruit from the Amazon, which the Indians have been eating for centuries because of its nutrional value - it´s filled with all sorts of vitamins and protein. Yum yum. The 4 Reais I save from walking instead of taking the bus have now found a new purpose!
I walked along the beach and then headed inward to the shopping centre. It´s huge. There´s a bigger one slightly out of town, which was planned as the biggest mall in Brazil. Apparently, some guy now plans to build another in Brazil somewhere which will be the biggest in South America. Good luck to him. Anyway, the centre itself was pretty standard and the clothes not cheap at all. If you think you can go to Brazil and buy shed loads of stuff for cheaper than at home, you are mistaken, unless you get it all from the street, in which case, yes, but it´ll fall apart in a short while. Oddly, Zara has conquered Brazil too (which should make my dad happy). Anywho, I found the shop, and purchased a dictionary and the only book I deemed worthy to buy - Austen´s Emma. The rest of the selection of literature in English was dominated by Danielle Steel and Harry Potter. Blame the American tourists for that (and the McDonald´s, Dominos, Pizza Hut, Subway etc). So, now I don´t need to pace myself so much with my books, which is good, as I would be so bored in the afternoons, and the flight home without something to read.
Tonight, there is an inter-cultural meeting at a bar/restaurant in Barra. We are going to meet up with some local Brazilian students who are trying to learn English, and just get to know each other. Should be interesting, but I will soon reach my limit in conversation, unless they are really interested in me describing my personal characteristics. As for the weekend, I´m not too sure what the plan is, but I might go to Bonfim, which isn´t too far away but looks pretty cool. It really depends on what the weather is like, as I don´t want to be in the middle of nowhere during a tropical rainstorm. What´s really sad and annoying is that thje churches here are some of the most amazing in the Portuguese style and in the Catholic world. They are simply laden with solid gold and silver, but because of this, they are closed pretty much all the time out of fear of theft. So, even though the guidebook tells you there are all these things to see, more often than not, you cannot. I also cannot figure out when museums are open/closed. Certainly, on weekends they seem shut. Arghhhhh. Maybe it will be something to bring up with the students tonight.
