Só Quero um Xodó

Hello all! Last Friday the 7th was independence day here in Brazil so we had a long weekend which I spent on the nearby island of Itaparica. There I stayed in a house with fourteen other youth and we spent most of our time buying groceries, cooking, doing dishes, lounging on the beach when it was sunny and playing cards when it was raining. Fortunately, everyone is a musician so there was constant singing and percussion. They even let me play the shaker and beat on a little drum every once in a while.

I would say it was a very agreeable weekend, but not a whole lot of homework got done making for a hectic week of reading, paper writing, and presentation preparing.

Yesterday, our program went to a movie together and I had to skip a class to go to it which turned out to be not very worthwhile as the film was not what I would call “good” in the conventional sense of the word. But then they took us out to dinner so everything worked out.

Well, that maracujá juice I had for lunch is making me sleepy, so I’m going to read a bit about the evils of privatization to lull me into a soothing nap.

In loving memory...

Pelo amor de Deus!

Hello! It has been a full month, I must say. After a stressful week of final exams and papers for my summer courses, our program rewarded us with a lunch at an upscale rodízio churrasqueria (all-you-can-eat barbecue) where there was limitless meat of all kinds, bread and cheese, rice and beans, pasta, and of course cake for dessert, but no vegetables. During our week of vacation before our real Brazilian classes started, we spent a lot of time with some new Brazilian friends at outdoor bars, on the beach, and at the movies. Classes started slowly as neither professor nor student finds the first weeks of class very important here, but I have finally figured out my schedule for the semester. I am taking Intermediate Portuguese III, Race and Class in a Multicultural Society, Anthropology II, Drawing I, and Practical Piano. That’s right, I’m taking a drawing class and piano lessons. I like all of my classes a lot, and I think it will be a balanced work load. The anthro class will definitely be the most demanding and we already had a quiz on Monday, but I think the professor likes me, so I should be able to get help if I need it. My little old woman piano teacher is awesome as is my drawing teacher who brings us bread every Friday. I already had the Portuguese and the Race and Class professors during the summer and I really liked them, so I think I’m in good shape.

Two weeks ago we took a day-trip to Cachoeira in the interior to watch the Festa da Boa Morte, an annual celebration of a historical black sisterhood. Cachoeira was a major slave trade center in its day and prospered with the sugar industry and later with the production of cigars. Now it is largely deserted and survives only on tourism, which there was no lack of while we were there.

Katie and I in Cachoeira:

The parade during the Festa da Boa Morte:

The cigar factory in São Felix (near Cachoeira):


Last week was the first time that I went to all of my classes, and I also went to my volunteer work where I’m supposed to teach fourth-graders from poor neighborhoods how to speak English, but mostly ended up trying to make sure no one was stealing the markers. Despite their rowdiness, they’re beautiful children and they all gave me hugs before charging out of the room to go home. When I went back this week, I enforced some more rigid rules and we managed to learn numbers and colors and play Bingo.

For any interested Portuguese speakers, my Portuguese class has decided to create a blog about our frustrations and discoveries linguistically and otherwise here in Bahia and you’re all welcome to read and leave comments (preferably in Portuguese) at http://bocaprafora.blogspot.com/ Non-Portuguese speakers are welcome to enjoy the pictures, few though they may be.

I miss everyone and I hope all is well up there down in the U.S. (That’s for Mandee.)

Send news!

Love,

Alída Luissa Perine (how to get a Brazilian to pronounce my name semi-correctly)

Bom dia!

It has been a nice, routine week of going to classes and doing homework without too many extra adventures going on. It’s a good feeling to be comfortable taking the bus and walking to and from my different classes. This is the building where I take my culture class in the morning and where the study abroad office is located.

One thing I’ve noticed is that Salvador is a pretty dirty place most of the time. The gutters are often clogged with trash and most neighborhoods smell faintly of urine. Thankfully, there are plenty of uniformed servicemen working on keeping things more tidy. The other day these motivated workers set about completing the important task of raking the hill across from my apartment.

Yesterday, we went to Cidade Baixa which is a more modest section of Salvador contrasting to the industry and bustle of the upper-class neighborhoods where we live and take classes. It is also the location of the Igreja do Senhor do Bonfim.

People come here to ask Senhor do Bonfim to heal them and make wishes by tying colored ribbons to plastic molds of whatever body part is ailing them and hanging it up in the church. This makes for a very spooky “wishes” room.

The colored ribbons of Senhor do Bonfim are extremely common and all over Salvador. Many people will try to sell them to you and they're available in most gift shops, but if you hang around the right places they'll be gifted to you for free. A friend is supposed to tie it to you with three knots and with each knot you make a wish. Supposedly, when it breaks your wishes will come true. Almost everyone here has one on their wrist or ankle.

That’s all for now!

Love and beijos..

Capoeira, soccer, and dancing, oh my!

Well, despite you all being really terrible at the comments game, I'm updating again. =)

The exciting news is that I think I did about every cultural activity possible in this past week. The unfortunate news is that I didn’t bring my camera to any of these events. The good news is that my camera has not been stolen.

On Tuesday, we went to a favela - or rather, a community, since favela is no longer a politically correct term - and had an introductory Capoeira class. The neighborhood is called Baixo da Égua and it seemed like a pretty classy place as far as favelas go. During the fall semester I’ll be able to teach English classes there if that’s what I decide to do. Anyway, trying to do capoeira was fun, despite failing miserably.

That night after classes, we went to a soccer game of one of the local teams. Now, I’ve been to some unruly soccer games, but this particular stadium was absolutely out of control. Almost as soon as we got there, a fight broke out among some fans and it quickly escalated into a wide-reaching brawl. The armed police merely looked on, as more people rushed to the scene. This proved to be far more entertaining than the actual match, as the beloved team of these boisterous supporters had very little actual talent. Fortunately, the opposing team was even less endowed with soccer skill, so the home team won, much to the glee of the drunken fans. Yes, soccer, the beautiful game, is an intellectual sport requiring finesse, strategy, and setting off illegal mortars after each goal.

The next day, we participated in an Afro-Brazilian dance class, which turned out to be quite a workout. This was definitely a good time, but one felt very self-conscious of one’s whiteness and lack of rhythm or ability to improvise dance moves. This insecurity was only intensified by the many pairs of eyes of local students peering into our classroom as we struggled to execute a dance sequence.

That night, we went to a Candomblé ceremony, but we arrived late so we missed the trancing at the beginning. It was still really cool to listen to the music and watch the dancing. Since it was a festival of one of the Orixás, everyone was dressed in traditional garb of the Orixás. I decided that my favorite Orixá is Oxossi, who lives in the forest with the animals and is patron of horseback riders. Fitting, right?

Yesterday, I went to the beach and then we went to the Afro-Brazilian museum which is in a really old building that was interesting in and of itself. They had some old urns there that made me feel concerned about what they did with the remains that had been inside them.

I have another essay due on Monday, and my family is preparing some delicious feijoada for lunch (it is Saturday after all) so I’m going to get back to real life in Salvador.

I love yous and miss yous. Send news.

Beijos..

I’ve been in Brazil for over a week! This is my first time successfully using Internet on my own laptop.. I’m using Wireless in the gigantic shopping mall near my house. I hope nobody mugs me on the way home.

For those of you who are already dying to send me letters, all of my mail should be directed to:

Alida Perrine the Great
C/o Jeferson Bacelar
CEAO - Centro de Estudos Afro-Orientais
Praça Inocêncio Galvão, 42 (Largo 2 de Julho)
CEP 40.060-055
Salvador - Bahia - Brasil

And for those of you who want to Google Earth my residence, I live at:

Rua Guadalajara, 07 Ap. 101
Edificio Alto da Colina
Bairro: Morro do Gato - Ondina
Salvador da Bahia
CEP 40.140.461

It’s a pretty nice apartment and we live on the first (second) floor. (You can see my bedroom window in the middle.) I have a cool family, though they mostly keep to themselves. This is my 23-year-old Brazilian sister Fernanda:

We’re drinking ginger ale… it’s very popular here.

I’ve been pretty busy so far taking part in the various cultural activities with the program on top of my intensive Portuguese and Brazilian culture classes. I just finished writing my first paper (don’t worry only 2 pages). I also founded a successful bakery.

The city life is very exciting and everything is close to the shore. I’m sure I’ll spend a lot of time at the beach during the coming year.

I think that’s all for now, dear readers. Now that I know that the wireless works here, I'll try to update more often and I'll also be able to use Skype here. (lidamonstr) All in all, I’m having a remarkable time and speaking lots of Portuguese. Do send news of yourselves.. I miss you terribly!

Beijos
Much love,

Alida

ps. Dad, I sent you a few e-mails, but I don't think you're receiving them for some reason... I'll try from my other e-mail address... I love you!

The Awaited Departure

It's almost go time! Oh boy! Tomorrow evening I'll be leaving this country for approximately one solar year.

I spent my last day in Michigan with my lovely family to celebrate my Grandma's birthday.

It was quite a charming reunion and a nice send-off for me. Thank you familia!

So, I zoomed home from Bancroft to start packing and making final preparations for my trip and experienced a veritable kaleidoscope of emotions.

First, I felt apprehensive, unsure.

This uncertainty gave way to full-blown horror.


I then eased into sadness about leaving behind my wonderful friends and family (present blog readers.)


I soon recovered and gave in to excitement and hopefulness for an unforgettable year in Bahia.


I think this is how my mum feels about the whole thing.


In case anyone (Jared?) would like to track my flight, here be the itinerary:

UA5373 departs GRR on 25JUN at  814P and arrives ORD on 25JUN at  816P
UA 843 departs ORD on 25JUN at  932P and arrives GRU on 26JUN at 1005A
JJ3330 departs GRU on 26JUN at  235P and arrives SSA on 26JUN at  455P

So far, I have not made any progress on the aforementioned packing and final preparations so I must remedy that. Thank-you for your time dear readers.

The next post shall contain my brand new address, and I am currently accepting submissions for all of your addresses for the purpose of the sending of postal cards. Muchly appreciated!

Peace and love,
A.

Thank-you Mail Lady!

What an exciting day, dear readers! Both my new digital camera and my new passport turned up on my doorstep at exactly 11:24 AM. I combined their forces for a lovely photo op:

Well, the passport turned out to be pretty boring, but fortunately for me it's a beautiful day outside so after figuring out my new camera I was able to take a lovely nap in the grass.

Fortunately for you, dear readers, my memory card only holds four photos at a time so that's all for now.

Much love.