the hotness

i think i jinxed myself in talking about the mild weather earlier. it´s a lil bit hot now. (*wipes sweat off brow*)

but more hot than the air are the people here. in preperation for this trip i read that as a tourist you should dress plainly in order to avoid attention. i am learning that this rule does not apply to me.

first of all, i look like these people. the fact that i don´t dress like them makes me stand out. of course this is probably all in my mind. but mabye it isn´t. all the ladies wear a halter top of some sort with skin showing here, rhinestones or a buckle there. and don´t get me started on the shoes. the shoes here are quite ridiculous. i´ve seen jelly sandal stilettos, four inch rubber platform tennis shoe strap sandals. shit. i get nauseuous (sp?) thinking about the shoes. i have a pair of fuschia (not hot pink) linen pants upstairs and some cute heels. i might have to wear that tomorrow on my second tour of the city.

so, i ventured out into the hood today. i dont have a proper map. and there doesn´t appear to be any logic to the layout of the streets here. 1/2 of the streets do not have signs. anyway. i just started walking. i am pretty good at remembering landmarks (thanks k & b). so, if i saw something i recognized i walked towards it. magically enough, i ended up at "shopping barra" which is a big-ass mall. i entered into C & A (they have these in london), which is between family dollar and jcpenny in terms of quality and price. i was hoping to find the bahiatursa, a tourist desk. no luck. i did find a bead store, and a drug store. (i had to some lotion and a comb. my skin and hair are angry with me.)

i wondered around the mall aimlessly for a good two hours. i saw soooo many black people that looked like they could be american. i gave them "that look" that black americans give each other when there are just a few of us around. no luck. i eventually resorted to stalking a couple of people- just hoping to hear an american accent so i can say, "a senhora fala ingles!?! I´m american too!!! Yippeee!!!!" i followed this one lady into the bead store. it took her five minutes to say something. here i am looking at random beads and buttons. nodding & grinning at the sales ladies when they say stuff to me. finally she exclaimed something in very strong portuguese. sigh.

then i followed this man in a more posh department store. he looked like a young version of my uncle tommy. it didnt take long for me to learn that he was a security guard. he smiled at me. cute thing. he probably thought i was trying to shoplift.

ah so. another night in the dollhouse. i am going to call those people and beg them to take me out to dinner, a bar, or something. if i am not successful, i will be writing a short story and having doritos for dinner.