a bunch of bananas

In other news, carnaval starts tomorrow! and goes till Tuesday night. I might try to take some pictures for you guys, but I'm worried about getting my camera stolen, so I'll see if I can work something out.
Thursday and Saturday I'm going out in a bloco...that's when you follow a band on a big truck/float with tons of speakers down the street. It's corded off by security so that the millions (literally) of people in the street don't rush in. Friday Heidi will (hopefully) be getting here, and we'll go watch all the bands go by from above, in a camarote. Sunday, who knows. Rest a little. Then out of the craziness of Savador and off to southern Bahia to relax for the rest of the time. After that I might hang out in Heidi's little town for a few days, and mayyyybe head down to Vitoria to say hello to my host family from the last time I was in Brazil. All this by bus, yay.
So, it should be a busy week. I'll be sure to give updates whenever I get a chance.

A Tour of Salvador

I finally did a bunch of the touristy stuff this weekend. This will be mostly a bunch of pictures of the city so you guys can get an idea of what i'm enjoying while you sit reading this with cold hands, cold feet, and sky-high heating bills.


The view from the Farol da Barra, or Barra Lighthouse. Those are mostly people fishing out on the rocks:
Here's a picture of the lighthouse itself. It's a famous landmark in town. It used to be a fort way back in the 16th or 17th century- whenever it was that the white people came.

This is a square, usually called Campo Grande, I guess the real name is July 2nd Square. It is supposed to commemerate the independence of Bahia (which came after the rest of Brazil). It's got a bunch of temporary construction stuff up because this is one of the main areas during Carnaval.

The Elevador Lacerda, that takes you from the upper city to the lower city (and vice versa) for 5 centavos. Come here to see tourists.

Some houses that are next to the Elevador, yes people live there, yes this is a touristy area. I think the fact that it has no roof is slightly charming.

In Pelourinho, the really touristy part of town. This is also the oldest part.

One of the three hundred and something churches in Salvador. This one is special because it's some odd kind of baroque, I don't remember exactly.

This is inside another church. I should remember the name but I don't. The whole inside is covered in tons of gold leaf, imagine the walls and ceilings all looking like the background of this picture. It was also very hot inside.

Guess where we are now? Another church, that's right! This is Bonfim, another landmark, and one of the more famous churches in Salvador. Maybe the most famous. Those little colored ribbons are sold outside; people put them on their wrists too. I could tell you a lot of things about this church, it's actually very intersting, but I'm tired. Google it if you're so inclined.

Some kids playing in the ocean:

I think this is part of a museum, but it looks like it used to be a church:

Me inside an art museum. A not very good modern art museum.

Ignore the water bottle and this is a very nice picture:

Another sunset:

a couple of pictures of the man in my life ;o)

Sailing

This past weekend I went sailing. Well, to be more specific, I sat in the boat while the people who knew what they were doing did the actual sailing.
We left Saturday afternoon, racing in a regatta to the island of Itaparica, across the bay from Salvador.

Here is a picture of some boats....some "rustic" sailboats:

On Itaparica:

If you look closely, that's a person walking on a sandbar, and a boat stuck on the sandbar:

Stopping for a drink:

I just like this house:Leaving the island (those are people playing soccer on the beach):

boring pictures

i was recently told that this page was boring, which i must admit has been true recently.

i feel like i haven't actually been doing that much, so that might be part of it. the past couple of days we've been redecorating the houes, moving stuff around, had new light fixtures and switches installed through the whole house, got a new fridge and freezer, and various other exciting domestic things.

here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:



a very flattering picture of me putting the first coat of yellow paint on the wall:
just to put a new outlet in, a huge hole had to put in the wall. this is our crappy repair job:


a mess, but almost finished:




everything is a lot cleaner now, and if anyone cares to see, i'll post an after picture when it's all done. though who knows when that will be.

i really haven't much to say lately, things here just seem so normal and everyday that it doesn't feel like there is anything exciting to update on. but, i'll try.

starting with my package...still waiting, waiting, waiting. waiting has become the story of my life in brasil. wait for the bus. wait for a ride. wait for people to decide what their plans are. wait for students. and on and on and on. my patience is really getting tested here.

my latest exciting news is that three people are actually going to be coming to brasil for sure. which means they've bought tickets and have dates set.
first, heidi is going to be moving to southern bahia (my state) to teach in early february.
and davey and kristy are going to be flying into rio in march, where i will somehow meet them. i don't think we'll spend the whole time in the city, i'm going to plan a couple nice side trips to some smaller towns and possibly islands. (amy, do you remember the name of the poussada in paraty?)

okay i could write more, but i just don't have the motivation. sorry guys.

an apology

dear davey,

i am so sorry my blog is not stimulating enough to keep your attention.
i will work harder to try and keep it updated, though it is difficult when i still don't have a camera.

love, sheila

I can't believe I spelled balloons wrong.
It was either a typo, or the more Portuguese I learn, the less space there is in my head for English.

update

I went to my first Brazilian wedding yesterday.
I still don't have a camera, so, no pictures. Too bad.
It was fun. Every time I went in the women's bathroom there was somebody else throwing up. When we left at about 2 in the morning (I think?) everyone was still going strong.

Reveillon!

They just looove baloons here. This is a picture of the pool area, before the party got started:


the following are pictures of me.... and various people:





heading to the beach at dawn:


flowers for Iemanjá:





Sunrise- looking at this i was 100% glad I wasn't in Michigan:

Feliz 2006!

Okay, no New Year's pictures yet, hopefully I'll get to those tomorrow. To tide you over, here is a picture of me and the world's cutest baby at the Salvador airport:

hey...

Is anyone ever going to actually come visit me? Or should I stop getting my hopes up?

It's really very easy to get the visa. And you can sleep on the plane ride.

Thank goodness for friends with cameras

These pictures are from Praia do Forte, a little north of Salvador. They have a big sea turtle research/habitat restoration project there. So here's some turtles:


Awwww, cute:

Hey, that's me. And a turtle:

maybe more later....

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to most of you, and/or Feliz Natal. Also Happy Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, or whatever it is you celebrate.
Everyone at home, I really miss you guys and Christmas (Eve) just isn't the same without you all. Or in 85 degree weather. At least it rained today, which is about as close as I'm going to get to snow. So I hope everyone has a great holiday, just know that I'm thinking about all of you.

So

as of today I am more or less alone here. Gustavo, Alison, and Ju are off to the US for a month. I wish I could have seen Alison's face when Gustavo suprised her at the Sao Paulo airport (he was supposed to be on a flight a few days later). I really think she had absolutely no idea.

Anyway, so now I have the house all to myself. and the cats. It's very empty-feeling and the porterios keep scaring me because they keep popping their head in the window to let me know that they're around if i need any help. Which is very nice, and what is also nice is the amount of people that have offered to let me spend Christmas and/or New Years with them. Six, i think, so far. I agreed first to go with Marcos, my chiropractor, and his family out to Guarajuba (sp?) where they rent a house on the beach for a week. His wife is leaving on Christmas Eve and he said I could get a ride out there with her, then head back with her again the next day. He spent a few years living in Michigan, so I guess he knows what it's like to be without family, and I am very grateful for the offer.

Besides that, I spent yesterday at a churrasco at Nate and Debbie's condo complex, it was a lot of fun, everyone got really drunk, especially the old folks. It's absolutely amazing how much better my portuguese is after a roska (vodka, mashed up fruit, sugar, ice) or two.

oh, and my camera? it's dead. R$200 to fix it, almost what it would cost to buy it again. Hopefully Santa will bring me Davey's old one or a new one from the US. I just need to figure out who Santa will be, and if he can get through customs with my electronic goodies without paying taxes.

i don't want to lose my audience, so i figure i better keep updating, even if it's boring.

my camera is being looked at, i'm supposed to call and see if it can be fixed, but i keep putting it off because that's going to be a difficult conversation over the phone. i'm going to try and get to that later today.

if i did have my camera i would post a picture of this sweet spider bite i got today. it's right on the side of my wrist and it's really big. from teh right angle it kind of makes my wrist look broken. the bugs have also taken a liking to my face over the past two nights, i'm just trying not to scratch.

i really have nothing but mundane details to update, which is why i prefer pictures.

-today i went to the pharmacy. after that i went to buy a cake for the maid/nanny's birthday. i was very proud of myself for mangaing to explain that i didn't want the whole thing so could they please cut it into a medium sized cake but then redcorate it to look like a whole cake. also in the works for today is a trip to the monstrous mall nearby, because i need socks. exciting, eh? i might also buy another bathing suit.

-yesterday i went to the beach out near praia dos flamengos, which is on the north side of town. a bunch of teachers at the american school live out there. the beach is gorgeous there and since it was a monday it was nice and empty. the lifeguard told me i was a very good swimmer ( i said, uhhh, thanks i've been swimming since i was about 4 or 5 so i hope i'm okay) and that he owns a surfing school at another beach and so debbie (girlfriend of nate, a teacher at PanAm) and i should come out and take lessons. if my burn is gone by later this week i think i will. i can't stop thinking about jellyfish while i'm in the ocean though; i don't know if i'll make a good surfer.

Okay, that's all. I'll take suggestions on things anyone would like me to write about.

:-(

Well, it looks as if this blog will either be switching to writing or going on a break for a little while.

My camera fell from a height of about 5 feet onto a ceramic floor, and it landed right on the lens. The lens itself isn't broken, but everything around it is. The metal/plastic surrounding it is smooshed, the little metal parts that hold the lens cover, and the cover itself are in a few pieces. It also makes a funny rattling noise when I shake it. I'll try and find somewhere to take it to see if it can be fixed, because I sure can't do it myself. It looks like it's going to be hopeless though.
I'm really mad, I guess at myself since there's no one else to be mad at.

Soooo my beloved parents, I guess you know what I could use for Christmas now... though I have no idea how it would get here; Alison is already taking back a bunch of electronics and there's a limit on the dollar amount. And cameras here are ridiculously expensive.

:o(

Please leave your condolences for my camera in the comments section.

Saturday

Saturday we went downtown, lots of heat, lots of walking, lots of people trying to sell the gringas things we didn't want. Later we went to one of the city beaches, Porto da Barra, which was good people watching. I even saw a transsexual in a bikini. Here is a picture of Alison, Gustavo, and Julian, at his first sunset:

Random beach shot:


A blurry picture of the beach from above:


Just random buildings:


Another blurry shot (still trying to figure out how to take good night pictures), this one of the coast, taken from our table while out to eat later that day. That glowing thing in the background is the elevador lacerda, that takes you from the lower city to the upper city:


Julian being serenaded at dinner:

P.S.

I'm going to start losing motivation to post unless I know some people are reading this, so you all better leave some comments.

Stuff

You can blame this boring post on my brother, who asked for pictures of "anything, where you sleep, the street, anything!" So, that's what this is.

The garage:
The street:

Where I sleep, and where the mosquitoes come to feast:
The kitchen:

What I see before I go to sleep, and when I wake up: (be careful what you wish for, davey)

Things that have electrocuted me so far:
the lamp
the shower head

Ju, after a few too many beers:
The bathroom:

The view from the veranda, and the scary clay frogs on what looks like a gravestone:

The pool: