Hmmmm, what´s been going on this week? Well, I am getting used to the new teacher and the larger class, but at the same time, I find myself becoming much more distracted during the lessons when Marcelo decides to talk on about some subject or another in Portuguese. It is a good learning exercise to try and understand what he´s saying, but it is extremely taxing and I cannot help but switch off and start thinking about the evening or going to sleep or about the weekend. Hmmm. So, the new additions to the class are two Italians (one cool, the other slightly weird), one Swiss-German and the weird, socks-and-sandals-wearing Austrian with a ponytail. He creeps us out.
Last night, being a Tuesday and all, was Pelourinho night. We met up with the plan to go to a concert, but apparently the band who were meant to be playing are in Europe on tour. How rude! So, after wandering around a little, we eventually ended up at Bar Panoramique, where there was a samba band playing. After a couple of strong caipirinhas and some cheesy chips, we took to the dancefloor and busted out some samba moves! It was a lot of fun putting our lessons into practice, though it was really hard keeping the feet moving. The pace was so fast, and Brazilians seem to move their feet at warp speed, but it was really good! Before the bar, we watched an awesome percussion band playing in the street. So many people gathered to watch as they beat out rhythms on massive drums, and the most interesting thing was that a group of guys started to dance to the music in formation. It was brilliant! Never have I seen a bunch of grown men start dancing in-sync in the middle of the street (and never will I again, probably), and it was difficult to imagine stiff Europeans doing the same thing. Others joined in with the dancing behind them, and soon there was a number of lines of people all performing the same actions in time with each other. Very cool, and it is at times like this that I really enjoy the Brazilian way of life; the nonconformity and the freedom of it all.
