random

i have been doing 1.5 meals a day. so far. i am trying to avoid the inevitable traveller´s diareha (sp. is wrong. sorry). i ordered pizza from the pizzaria down the street from the dollhouse. it was quite a challenge speaking with the girl who took my order. in salvador i try so hard to fit in and not look like a toursit. i walk fast. don´t look around (thus, hiding my awe). this usually works until i open my mouth. i stumle a lot. my 1.5 months with lily, the tutor, goes out the door! the waitress was very kind and patient. she even thanked ME for having a dictionary. at least i think that is what she said. lol.

anyway, i ordered the portuguese pizza without knowing what it consists of. the only other choice was "pizza americanha", which is a more safe choice. but i am no sell out. portuguese pizza has oregano, cheese, some kind of thin ham, corn and eggs. large pizza with 2 liter coke not quite $5!! cheap. mental note to self: just say "sim ovas?"

while waiting for my pizza i journaled. this has been very enjoyable to me. i thought about my first sunset in salvador. the sunset over the bay was very beautiful. it looked so perfect. i can tell that salvadorans are at one with the ocean. no show about going to the beach. it´s come as you are. i saw plenty of handsome tan, brown, dark bodies with wet kinky, curly, or straight hair.

i also thought about the nice staff at the pousada, especially this lady i call "speak-quick". she talks so fast. i often nod my head "yes" and follow up with "como", which basically means, "huh?" she and i watched soap operas last night. pretty hilarious. very dramatic. well, i guess the language seems more dramatic to me as compared to southern english. whereas we speak very flat and drawn out. (well, i don´t but...) this language is very tonal (?) and compact. lol. confusing for me.

i have to leave the dollhouse. soon. i swear a bus zooms by every five minutes at most 24/7. couple that with all the other noise (dogs, people, planes, sporting events, firecrackers) and i get no sleep. (*yawn*)

despite this, i have to admit that the dollhouse has grown on me. it does have nice hardwood floors- wide slabs, multi-tonal. there are not a lot of furnishings, which allows for simplicity of the mind. simple traditional brazilian lace curtains that partially cover the large windows throughout. lots of light gets in. there are several rocking chairs in the house. i would venture to say they are made of that famous brazilian cherry, but that would be a guess because i don´t actaully know what that looks like. the rocking chairs are nice to lounge in, especially on the front porch where there are lots of plants and people to watch.

i´ve spent several hours on the rooftop pato next to my room. the floor consists of huge tiles. there are two showers, a patio table for dining, and a hammock. the view from the patio goes straight up. all you can see is the sky and a few high rises. i am not the kind of girl who will just chill out in the elements for very long. however, the weather here is perfect. mid-70´s and very little humidity. and, most importantly, no squiters!!! that is..no mosquitos. just an occassional ant.

my room has a bed, dresser, and nightstand of the same wood as the chairs downstairs. nice red brown. the bed actually has a headboard, which i dont think i have ever had. modern and sleek. there´s a rug covering a portion of the floor. and two black cushion-like chairs that can be unfolded into small beds (long enough for me). i took pictures of the dollhouse. however, i am not yuet understanding how to upload my pics to a virtual space and then post them on this blog. so, if you want to see the photos either email me at obrigadabrasil@yahoo.com or leave your address at this blog.

today i plan to follow up on some recommendations from my good friend from law school who lived in recife for a total of two years. i also got some pointers from this friend(k) of a friend of my friend, TW. K has visited salvador very often AND!!! she has a friend who is here now right around the corner for me. i. am. so. hype!!!!
by the way...obrigada means thank you. just in case you were wondering.