I haven't posted for a while, so I`ll try to update you as much as possible without boring you. I'm writing this on the kindle so if the grammer isn't what it should be then I'm sorry. So on Tuesday Bruno and I caught the bus to the local school, I wasn't really sure what we were doing there (I'm often at a loss as to what is going on, purely because I don't have enough Portuguese and they don't have enough English to explain) but a teacher met us and presented me with a fifteen year old boy who spoke fluent English called Tompson. I hadn't realised how much I missed speaking English until then. Not having to struggle to make myself understood was such a relief, as well as being able to speak at a normal pace, rather than in slow motion! He had the English to say what no one else could, that we were going to meet some classes of English students. So I was suddenly presented with lots of eager kids ranging from maybe 13 in the first class to 17 in the last. They were very welcoming and excited to see me and incredibly curious about me and my life and England in general. I explained to them about gap years and why I came to Brazil. Tompson acted as interpreter and did very well, only occasionally speaking to me in Portuguese or the kids in English when he got confused! The students were obviously unaccustomed to seeing Europeans, they said that I looked like a doll (white skin, pink cheeks and lips, blonde hair, blue eyes, pink dress) and the younger ones were very giggley! There are white people here, but very few and most are quite tanned so I really stand out, I attract a lot of stares and people keep warning me about pickpockets because they will target me. The fascination with the colour of my skin is almost univeral, people keep putting their arms against mine and saying "preto e branca" which translates as "black and white".
After that we drove to one of Zelia's relative's houses to have a Birthday lunch for Bruno with some pretty good cake! I saw Edilson Junior in the evening and he made me these pancake things with manioc flour, butter, condensed milk and coconut. They were really nice. In the evening Bruno and Edilson and Edilson J and I went to a bar and had some food and caipirinha, which is a kind of cocktail and very good, if a little strong! Bruno ordered some tequila,which comes in much larger shots here than in England! I totally mandled it though. Oh, and I taught them the song "I like to drink with Bruno, cos Bruno is my mate, and when I drink with Bruno, he gets it down in 8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1" which they thought was hilarious!
On Wednesday Bruno and I went into town and got our Yellow Fever vaccines. Nothing is more scary than having to get medical treatment in a foreign country without an interpreter. It was fine though and I'm now covered for the next 10 years! Had a small bout of homesickness, but soon got over it with some retail therapy! Got myself a dress,some shorts and a very touristy, but very cute Brasil tee!
In the evening I went back to the school to be shown off before the parents of English students and then went off to have dinner with Tompson. Speaking to him cured my homesickness better than shopping and I'm fine now.
That covers all the main points. More later. As always, I send my love, you are all in my thoughts. xx
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