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.)

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Love,

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