In Brazil

I arrived in Brazil at 5.30 (local time) but it took another hour to get through the nightmare that was baggage claim and a further hour to tell them I had nothing to declare and no, thank you, I do not want any duty-free! The woman I sat next to on the plane was rather large and not only claimed the armrest, but a good proportion of my seat as well. I couldn't sleep much, so ended up watching Megamind, Stuart Little, Ratatouille and The Big Bang Theory.

I met Zeila and Bruno at the airport and Bruno's friend drove us home. The driving here is a completely different style than at home - it's every man for himself out there. I spent a while trying to work out which was the fast lane, before realising that people were weaving through the traffic and that whole concept obviously meant nothing to them! We had a few close calls, though as no one batted an eyelid, I think they would not agree!

On arriving I had to immediately change into a sundress - I'm not sure what the temperature is, but I know it is hotter than anywhere I've been before - I'd guess in the midday sun it must be about 40 degrees. The food is nice, though a couple of dishes have no translations and neither do the ingredients, so I'm not entirly sure what I'm eating! I tried everything though, and it tasted good - so I won't complain!

This morning the next-door neighbour (who is a couple of years older than me), called Edilson Junior (though most just call him Junior, but wih a pronunciation that no one reading this, with the exception of Lucelia, will get), who has pretty good English, showed me around the neighbourhood. We went to the shops, met some of his friends and got some ice-cream made with acai berries (there's no English translation, and I'm pretty sure there should be a few accents on that word, but I can't figure out how to type them and don't know where they go anyway!). It was a deep purple colour and I think might be an aquired taste! I can't really describe it.

Then we came back for lunch and I slept during the afternoon as I was so tired from staying up all night. There are fans in every room, but it doesn't really help when they are just moving hot air about! I'd like to go on and describe the neighbourhood more, but I fear I'm being a little rude to Junior, who wants to take me to the movies or something, so I'll post more tomorrow.

Love to you all xx