Happy Un-Valentines Day

Mary and I were sitting outside enjoying the fresh air after consuming the worst chocolate cake either of us had ever eaten. Our Valentines Day date. Our dry mouths and sugar-coated teeth made conversation about the environment in which we were parked in. High school students in uniform passed us by in clusters, some hand in hand with their significant others. Business men in black pants and ties, street vendors, and women picking up sweets were amongst the other passersby. And then there was the gay man (this may be considered controversial because of our judgement, but I consider it more straightforward than anything). He clearly wanted to be our friend, which was fine, but what he did not realize was that we had no idea what he was saying to us. It is often amusing how many people do not get the point that we do not speak Portuguese. But, he eventually got the point, and continued on his way only after batting his/her eyelashes at me. We knew he/she was not permanently gone, because of previous encounters, so we patiently awaited his/her return while continuing our people watching fun. Across the street was a man on a ladder fixing some wires. I was convinced that he was going to fall off due to the constant honking of cars racing down the street. Ivan, our driver, also managed to find us outside of Frio Gostoso and had a quick chat with us (which we were positive he understood none of). As the gay man finally returned and we prepared to begin our short walk back to the house, he once again began to attempt to engage us in conversation. We reluctantly replied with another, "Nao falo Portuguese." Another man walked by, said something that sounded sort of funny, and began to mimic (in a joking manner) the gay man. Mary and I could not stop laughing, and decided it was a good time to end our people watching.

My weekend was spent at the beautiful Praia do Forte, two hours north of Salvador. The purchasing of bus tickets and departure went smoothly, and we even managed to have the bus to ourselves for a majority of the ride. Mary, Emanne, Asbjorn and I walked with smiles on our faces to the pousada (hotel) that we would be staying in and went to our rooms. After turning on the air conditioning, taking full advantage of our deck with the most comfortable hammock in the world, and unpacking, we ventured out to have a beginning of the weekend drink with french fries. A nice long shower was followed after by long-craved Mexican food. We were eventually joined by two young Swiss men, who were "the most boring people we had ever met," as Mary says. Unfortunately later that night, Emanne had contracted a 24 hour stomach bug and was up sick most of the night. On Saturday, she had to go to the local clinic and get an IV for rehydration.

The next day was spent mostly walking around and looking through the stores. As tempted as I was to buy a large majority of the items I saw, I contained myself and got away with a pair of flower earrings. We ended our afternoon with a long walk/photo shoot on the beach. Mary and I then had a nice dinner date and ate a local specialty, Moqueca. We decided to have an early night, and went to bed shortly after.

On Sunday, Emanne was feeling better, so the three of us went to the Tamar Project, a turtle conservation project in the area. They have rescued turtles on display that we got to see, and tons of rescued turtle eggs from the beach that will be released when they hatch. Fortunately, our bus ride home went smoothly, and we even all got seats! The only downfall was the accident. Not our bus. But, we were stopped in traffic for a few minutes and witnessed a recent accident. The motorcyclist was laying on the ground in recovery position, his bike at least 100 feet in front of him. He did not look very good, but thankfully he was wearing a helmet. This was the kind of accident that will not allow me to sleep for days.

Now that I am in my second to last week in Brazil, I am even more terrified about leaving. How can I leave the children that I have gotten to know so well over the past five weeks, and have grown to love. I know that I will not see most of them again, even if I do return. But, when I do return to Lar Da Crianca, I hope that all of the children that I know there now, will be gone and living happily in a loving home. Leaving Mary will also be difficult. We have been by each others sides for the past five weeks, literally living on top of one another. But, I know I will see her again.

I also spent some time editing some photographs yesterday and today. Because I got a new computer, I was allotted another free trial of Adobe Lightroom, the photograph editing program I use. Please take a look at my new photographs and let me know what you think!

New Photographs Here!