Oi from Brasiiiiiil.

Well. I was gonna go to a restaurant with my friend to watch the game, but then we decided not to go out, and so I stayed at the house. However, I was super sleepy and decided to take a leeeetle nap before the game....aaaaaand I slept through the. whole. thing. All the way into overtime. However, I did manage to wake up in time to see the goal.....viva Espanha! Looking forward to Maracana in 2014.....





Thursday I went to PBF, the English school in which I worked previously, and visited with students. I can't remember a lot of their names but I do remember many. It's so awesome to see them. That night I went to my beautiful friend Dani's house and had dinner with her, and then just hung out with her and her mom and boyfriend at the house. Friday we went to Plaza Shopping, which is the big mall here in Niteroi...and I didn't buy anything. NOTHING. I practiced self-control. It was difficult. I tried on a pair of boots that were just amazing and yet I took them off and resisted. I deserve a prize. LIKE SOMEONE CAN BUY ME THOSE BOOTS. hahaha.

But seriously, I don't think I'm gonna be able to leave here without more Brazilian stilettos. I just can't.

Saturday I went to PBF to do conversation class, and hey, I was only 45 minutes late. NOT my fault. Well, kind of. Alex (the owner of the school and the one who is kindly letting me stay with his family for 5 weeks) left the house at 7:30 AM and since I was hanging out with Dani until super late the night before I decided I would just take the bus and the van and go later. Class started at 10:30. I woke up in plenty of time. I left the house in plenty of time. I went to the street where the bus passes, which also happened to be the street of Livia's and Karen's school, where they happened to be having a dance exhibition, and Livia was going to perform. So I decided to stop for just a short meenit.

The kids were dancing to oldies, like tunes from Grease and they had all these awesome costumes from the 50s and 60s. SO CUTE. Ended up taking a little longer than I thought. Then I had to wait for the bus. Then when I got to the center of Niteroi, I had to wait for the van, which took forever, then the traffic was terrible, and naturally I arrived soooo late. Oopsie. When I got there there class was almost over but I went in anyway and just chatted up the students.

Let's talk about vans and buses for a minute.

Buses are pretty easy, because obviously they have numbers and routes. Vans are a little more tricky, because sometimes they change routes depending on the day and time and passengers and whatever the driver feels like doing that day. There used to be a van that passed by the house and went all the way to Alcantara, where PBF is, but apparently the vans are all illegal anyway because they drain money away from the buses, so now vans only go from the center of Niteroi, and not from the beach where I live. Anyways, I have had my share of slightly panicky moments in the past that the van I'm riding in is not actually going to pass where I need it to pass.

For example, yesterday I flagged a van for Alcantara, and the driver asked me if I was going to centro, the center of Alcantara. It's been a while since I've been there, so give me a break, but I couldn't remember 100% if I needed to be dropped at the centro or the Alameda, which is the street. I just said, sure, the centro. I recognize the streets and such around the area, so I can always just have him drop me when we get close to the school. Except he went flying by so fast I didn't really have time to stop him. Slightly worried, because I was already super late and if he wasn't taking a roundabout and coming back the same way I was gonna have to take ANOTHER van to get back, or else walk like a mile through Sao Goncalo, which is not known for it's beauty and safety. Ha. Thankfully, he made a roundabout and I got out a few blocks from school. Ah, I love the vans. Always an adventure.

I went to McDonalds with Virginia, my fellow PBF teacher and good friend, and with some of my students, and then I went back to Icarai with Alex around 2. After an awesome nap, I decided to meet Viriginia in Sao Franciso, which the beach near Icarai, and have dinner at one of the many food establishments on the beach. We had pizza---SO. GOOD. Then later her brother and his girlfriend joined us later, and we had more pizza, haha, and just sat there, talking and people-watching.

This morning I went to church with Betty, Alex's wife, and then this afternoon, well, as you know, I slept through the World Cup Final.

I think this blog post is way too long.

TCHAU