Day 4: Praia
29Oct2008 Filed under: Korean Celebrities Author: adminSoft sand crunches under your feet.
You dip your toes in the tide—the waves swell menacingly, but unafraid beachgoers all around you swim out into the deep and play capoeira in the shallows.
The water is cool; the sun is warm; the tropical breeze is dry, refreshing.
That is the beach in Salvador, and there are a lot of beaches in Salvador. I went to Porto de Barra today, one of the most popular beaches, about half an hour’s walk away. During summer, it’s so crowded it’s impossible to even find a spot to sit down—but Brazil is still in its winter this month. That means there were two whole square yards I could call my own. 
I was a little scared of the waves—they were quite high, compared to the ones at California’s beaches, but I braved a few before my eyes and nose started to sting from the brine. I spent the rest of the time sunning, letting my friends play the soccer and frisbee, and watching the fluid movements of some capoeiristas having fun on the sand. One Brazilian man was just flinging himself all around, doing cartwheels and backflips and aerials and twisting his body in impossible ways, changing directions mid-flip and somehow still in perfect control of himself. It was mesmerizing and made me want to take up capoeira again as soon as possible.
The tide rose extremely quickly, and I soon found my entire towel drenched and sandy from an unexpected wave. My feet and body weren’t dirty enough. How do Brazilian people stay so… clean? Miserable! But after the beach, I treated myself to a yogurt-like concoction of açaí with moranga (strawberry) [pic] at a place called Nacos. It had a creamy sort of texture, but açaí has a very strong flavor that strawberry doesn’t do much to temper. I don’t think I’ll be ordering it again, although it’s probably the equivalent of a Jamba Juice smoothie for Brazilians. In fact, I think Jamba Juice is probably responsible for foods like açaí, matcha, and pomegranate gaining favor among Americans during recent health crazes. The former does have more antioxidants than any other fruit, I was told.
I came back pretty late last night without telling my family where I’d been. I tried to contact them three times; the first time, our male maid, Manuelo, picked up. I managed to say “it’s Amy” before I ran out of minutes on the calling card. I had my friend contact his mom, who is a friend of minha mãe (my mom), and she said to just try calling later, as she didn’t have any other numbers for my family. I phoned two more times with a new card, but on both occasions the phone just kept ringing… which I later found out is also a busy indicator.
I came home safely and quietly at 3 AM, and in the morning my mother gave me a note:
We
agree
preoccupied
yesterday
the nightAll of us
to speak upto wake up
you?
I didn’t quite understand the last part, but I found out that they had gone to lengths to find out where I was, calling on the school and the program coordinator (who must have reassured her that we were all together). I felt really bad about it, but there was only so much I could do. Anyway, after we cleared all this up—she was relieved, happy, and understanding, not angry—she took that note back and grabbed a Portuguese-English dictionary, and motioned for me to sit down.
She finished writing and pointed at the paper, then at me. It read:
My doll, joy, baby
I think I died. My family is the best! ;_;
P.S. Who did I encounter not once but TWICE more today, but Fabio, the man who so bluntly expressed his feelings for me at the club? The city must be a lot smaller than I thought it was… how awkward.
xk
January 17th, 2008 at 10:17 am
quite the opposite actually! I’ve got two brothers (15 & 17) and a sister (21). It’s a big family in a big apartment
oh yes, and there’s a male maid named Manuelo (I think) who’s very cool and cooks the most delicious food, and a dog named Dolly? or something like it… Something like “Darli” [r’s are pronounced like throaty h’s in portuguese]. oh and a tortoise who lives on the balcony with some planters. hahaha, whose name they can’t remember.
it’s a big family, Brazilians are just SUPER nice and loving! I’m not used to it.
xine
January 17th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
hmm and random, but
do your host parents not have their own kids? just curioso
xine
January 17th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
mmmm, acai. the way you describe foods and drinks… mmm. :9 and the beaches sound heavenly ! ! you mussttt post some pictures soon. your descriptions make me wanna go abroad there as well ! but (i don’t think i told you this yet?) i’ve decided to go to france during my 5th year
and wahhh on noa ! yeah, i met her like once or twice, she’s actually more of a friend of a friend who unfortunately got written up at my birthday with me lol. ask her to tell you about the cheeseburger song 
CRAZY SMALL WORLD THOUGH, on multiple levels (fabio and noa) !
speaking of fabio, way to play the field, baby! can you take a picture of this fabio fellow ? i am quite the curious.
ps. played professor layton and the curious village
wtf it was NOT what i was expecting. i was hoping for like.. relevant puzzles to the story, but there was hardly any semblance of a plot ? okay now i’m rambling haha.