Final Countdown

I have been thinking about the final days of my study abroad experience for a while, especially during low moments. I thought I would be happy and excited to go home, but I find myself feeling very conflicted because a lot of me wants to stay. I was taken in and loved by two Brazilian communities- my neighborhood and my capoeira academy. I kept telling people I would return in a couple of years, possibly for the World Cup in 2014 to avoid facing the reality that I may never see my friends and family again.

I had a lot of ups and downs during the ISP, mostly downs for the first half and ups for the second half. After the first half, (which I think is where I last left you) I quite working at Projeto Axe due to some unfortunate events and started to become what I can simply describe as a capoeira groupie. I would spend most of my days and hours with the capoeira professors- doing what they did and watching the art and beauty of capoeira. I have never been so intimately involved in such a different type of life style.

Last night was my last night with my host family in Salvador, and I decided it would be a good idea to pack and start to detach myself from my former 4 month life. First things first- take out all my braids and start to look more American than Italian. Like leaving my neighborhood, this process took a bit longer than expected because I was more attached and meshed together than I had anticipated. What I mean by that was, I had left my braids in for so long that parts of my hair had started to dread. After two hours of picking and pulling, I finally have semi-normal yet much thinner hair. Like my departure, de-braiding hurt, but I think it will be good to be clean and normal.

We are now back in the orientation house, which is about 30 minutes outside of Salvador (by car) near the airport. ISP presentations are today and tomorrow... Friday will be reflection and then we have a happy 5:00am departure on Saturday. Devin is going to meet me at the airport in Miami later that day (6PM Dev, don't forget if you are reading this!) and we will be going out to celebrate his graduation and my return. I leave at noon the next day for Montana and will start work at Mountain Sky June 15. I'm going to be a busy bee, probably starting tonight when I attempt to put my presentation together for tomorrow.

I created, produced, and directed my first documentary which will premier for the first time tomorrow. In short, the film is about Projeto Axe and how capoeira promotes health with children in the situation of the streets and children in teh favelas. I plan on passing out motion sickness pills before hand. I have watched and edited the film so much I'm not sure I will be able to watch it again tomorrow.

Ok, I got to go. Sorry this post was so scattered and disorganized. I will be HOME in 4 days. Thank you to everyone who kept up with my blog throughout the semester. I look forward to seeing my family and friends soon. Much love.

#1 Threat: Rain

If Stephen Colbert lived in Brazil right now, his #1 threat on the threat count down would be rain… bears would probably be number two. Oh, what a crazy week I’ve had. Recently, the rain has developed this nasty habit of pouring off and on all day, every day. The rain dictates city life. Rain means less buses, more traffic, and more of a pain to try and walk around. Take yesterday for example: I spent two hours (when it usually takes me 30 minutes) traveling to work to VERY disappointingly discover that all events had been cancelled due to rain. I was drenched and my former bright and cheery yellow umbrella was looking very disgruntled and sad, kind of like my spirit. Do my advisors call me to tell me all has been cancelled? No. Do I get sexually harassed by the main director of street educators in his car on my way home? Yes. I ended the day curled up in my bed, watching “Heroes” (thanks to Julia) with a liter of Coke Light.

Today I had glorious plans of going to the beach but alas, the never ending rain ruined them. I came home to find Igor curled up on the bathroom floor. Fatima told me in an unsympathetic tone that he went out last night and drank too much. At first I thought, “Aww, poor Igor.” Then, after listening to him puke his brains out (all the walls are paper thin) I started thinking, “Poor me! I am stuck in the house and have to listen to this!” Like Fatima, I am now also unsympathetic. I decided walking downstairs to Fatima’s house to type out this blog and some emails sounded like a better plan. Puke in peace, Igor.

I may or may not go to a birthday party in Liberdade today… it depends what this crazy weather does. Tomorrow, if it’s sunny, I plan on going to the message beach and surrounding myself in new, peaceful scenery. PLEASE DON’T RAIN TOMORROW!!! All I want is to be dry.

Next week I am going to work more with street kids in the capoeira center. I fricken LOVE Projeto Axè! It’s such a great program, minus the douche bag administrator. In short, Projeto Axè uses art, capoeira, and dance to give children in the situations of the streets self-confidence, self-worth, and a means to become productive, healthy citizens. The children have to first agree to go home or live in an assigned house: in turn, they get three meals a day, access to health care, a choice of which program to participate in, and a change to work to replace street wages. At the moment, Projeto Axè is helping over 1,000 children in Salvador. It’s amazing and I’m really lucky to have this opportunity.

Hippie Town

Last week I started my ISP which will focus on the benefits of capoeira for removing children from the streets to homes. I met my academic advisor on Thursday and started interviewing/filming on Friday. It´s a little scary taking my video camera in public, but what will happen will happen. My advisor is a true city girl, pretty cold. I´m glad I only work there for one week.



I found a University that hosts college kids from CA near Campo Grande, where I now get free internet (b/c I pass as a gringa) and where I met a surfer from CA named Lucas. We were talking about cheap get aways and he mentioned a place called Aldeia Hippie in Arembepe. I left on Friday afternoon by myself with a backpack full of the absolute necessities, a little money, and the names of the busses/Aldeia Hippie/Arembepe on a piece of paper.

I was a little nervous, especially after arriving in Arembepe in the dark and without a clue of where to go. I took a moto-taxi to the edge of town where the driver dropped me off with a curt "Aldeia Hippie- straight". I gave the guy an extra $10R to walk me into the village. It somehow had slipped my mind that hippies don´t use electricity and I would arrive in utter darkness. Shoes in hand, we waded through a stagnant river and then up a sand bar, dodging palm trees and getting a little light from the many stars overhead. After narrowly dodging the hidden rear end of a horse I arrived at the "Janice Joplin" house. It looked fitting, so I bid my guide goodbye and stepped inside the little open hut made of palm trees, old plastic tents, and many numerous other objects.

The man of the house (Cezar) should have his picture in Webster under Brazilian hippie- an indigenous Brazilian with a full head of long black dread-locks wearing a turquoise speedo, lying in a hammock with his woman, complete with five little hippie children eating popcorn on plastic chairs- eyes fixated on a mini battery TV. After a little small talk, Cezar said I could sleep in the hammock for $10R. Ta bom.



I didn´t get much sleep- mainly because the dog kept barking, and the rooster began cockling at 4am. At one point, the rooster was directly beneath my hammock. When I woke up, I started talking with the family about how life was like in the Hippie Town. People visit from all over the world to camp and smoke mj. Everyone was very friendly and laid back. As I was exploring, I met a man named Cacao who owned a pousada in the village. He was very friendly and hospitable. As he was showing me around, he shimmied up a palm tree and opened a coconut for some delicious coco de agua. One of the main attractions, besides the enourmous amount of weed, are the turtles that lay their eggs on the beach.

I was planning on staying until Sunday, but I freaked out and high tailed it for Salvador later Saturday evening after exploring the nearby town of Arembepe. The hippie´s were great, but I needed a companion in order to feel safe. Amanda!! Why did your apendix have to burst?!

On Sunday I went to the National Ballet of Cuba with Julia in a very fancy theater near Campo Grande. For $15 US I got into the nose-bleed section and enjoyed 3 hours of beautiful dancing, while being surrounded by the most well-dressed white people I have seen since my arrival in March.

Two very different experiences, one really great weekend. I want to go on a different adventure every weekend until I leave on June 13. Suggestions are appreciated! Until next time, my hand might as well be glued to my umbrella because the forecast calls for rain every day, all day.

Pagode

I just returned to the grind in Salvador and thought I should catch you up on the end of my village study in Santo Antonio de Jesus. I think this was by far the best two weeks I have had in Salvador. I was completely and helplessly submerged into Brazilian culture and had both hands in the health sector. Most days we would walk door to door to check up on patients, register new patients, administer vaccines, regular check ups, you name it. Other times we would be sitting side by side with public health agents in the post waiting for the rain to stop, waiting for a task, or just waiting for no reason. Never in my life have I done so much sitting, pondering, and waiting. It´s a great thing I was blessed with Maritza as a partner- our long, deep talks about life were the best time fillers.

All Brazilians know how to have a banging time, especially those in the interior because there is not a lot to do otherwise. The 10 hour pagode/fogo party was the icing on my village study cake. Typical Brazilian party- total madness. The floor was dirt which quickly turned into mud. There were two main venues- one was the main stage with pagode/fogo music and the other was a small DJ cement area with techno music. As soon as main stage switched artists, people would hurry to the other "techno-club" venue. Brilliant- non stop dancing. I like pagode- it´s a dance that makes you forget you have bones in your body. Unfortunately, we only stayed until 3 am for the entirety of the pagode. Fogo, the main attraction, didn´t start until 4 am. The later it got, the more the dangerous equation of (men + alcohol + cloth wrapped around fists= fights + police beating people off of each other) started to make me nervous.

As I said, I have returned to Salvador and started my ISP today. At 8am I went with a program that hands out a hot breakfast/groceries/and clothes to children in the situations of the streets- street children in a non-acceptable term because under Brazilian law all children are protected by the Constituion of 1988 and the government is responsible for providing all children with homes and numerous other rights... I personally have witnessed many situations that scream other wise. I am living with my original host Mom which is wonderful because we get along great and Fazenda Garcia has a lot of character and a good typical Brazilian vibe.

I can´t believe I am only here for one more month!! I want to finish up my ISP in 20 days so I will have time to visit other places in Brazil before I leave- possibly the Pantanal region like my Uncle David suggested to see the amazing wild life.

Santo Antonio de Jesus

Classes finally wrapped up and I am in the middle of my village stay here in Sto Antonio de Jesus. It is a small city located on the other side of the bay from Salvador. The voyage to the city was beautiful- a short ferry ride to the the other side of the bay and then a rocky ride through gorgeous green Bahian country side. The country side is full of small hills, many palm trees, various animals eating grass on the road side, and some houses doting the horizon. It has been a great break from the concrete and bustle of Salvador.

Last week I helped vaccinate people over 60 years of age with local PSF agents. PSF, in theory, is a Brazilian national health program that focuses on prevention in families. PSF centers are placed in the middle of neighborhoods, primarily low class, and contain agents that check up on each individual in the assigned area. I really like PSF because each agent resides within the assigned community and knows the socio-economic realities and necessities. The agents check for dengue, HIV/AIDS prevelance, tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes, etc. They administer vaccinations and help educate citizens about healthy life styles.

We had some interesting vaccination patients. The trouble about working with elders are that they are very forgetful. They forget how old they are, they forget if they had the vaccination or not, they forget what their name is, they don´t know if they slept, etc. One woman in particular, had a combination of all these problems. The hardest part about PSF is that they patients can be non-compliant a lot of the time. This is a combination of a lack of education and trust in the Brazilian health care system.

This past weekend we went to a beach called Itaparica, the same beach I went to over Easter weekend. It is a very local beach with few tourists and lots of great views. Everything about the beach is cheap and wonderful, so I will most likely be doing the same thing next weekend.

I have some real school work to catch up on and a presentation about domestic violence to prepare and give on Wednesday. Beijos.

I am Amazon Woman

First, I need to give a huge shout out to Daniel Gilbert. I was instant messaging him (while I was supposed to be researching) and I was bitching about how Brazil some times really puts me out. He set me straight by telling me that this is a great opportunity and I need to get over myself and focus on enjoying the remainder of my time here. So, I have been doing just that since our conversation.

This past weekend, the group traveled to the Ilha de Mare. This island is still considered a quilombo (run-away slave community) because the population is mostly black Africans and the island is very primitive (ie limited electricity, no doctors, no school, etc). The ocean more or less completely dictates life on the island. When it rains, water collects in the wells and water is available for use. When there are many fish caught, there is plenty of food and money. When few fish are caught, people go hungry. The island was beautiful despite the ugliness that lay closely beneath the surface. There are no cars and horses and donkeys either strolled alone or carried passengers and materials from the water's edge to the top of the hills near the banana fields. I felt like an Amazon woman running along the ocean in the cool morning, in what appeared to be total isolation and undeveloped, raw country paradise. My soul has been restored and I can now handle the remainder of my time in the big, bad city of Salvador.

At the island, we stayed with host families and had a health fair clinic on Friday. With the help of health workers, we set up stations for DST/AIDS, water, waste management, dengue, nutrition, etc. Many children came and to my and others dissapointments few adults attended. The island believes in traditional medical care and as a result, skin rashes are treated with coco de agua instead of anti-fungal creams. Women give birth to babies in canoes en route to hospitals in Salvador because the ambulance boat doesn't arrive fast enough. It was very eye opening to see such a lack of basic structure.

This week is our last week of classes. Soon we will be staying in a village study in Santo Antonio de Jesus and closely after that we will be doing our idependent research studies for the last month before returning home! I need to touch up my final research topic proposal before tomorrow. Wish me luck! Much love and I will try to touch base again soon.

The Robbery

The title says most of it, but here are the nitty gritty details of how the robbery went down. Alex, my Colombia U friend, and I were walking to school on our normal route at our normal time at 9 in the morning. The only unusual part about Thursday was that I was carrying two bags full of my personal belongings with the intentions of going away to a nearby island for the weekend, as we didn´t have class on Friday. I brought my camera, cash, credit card, debit card, running shoes, dresses, school books, personal journal, running clothes, swim suits, towel, jewelry, etc.

As Alex and I approached a fairly crowded bus stop near a small shopping center, three men came out from behind one of the many iron gates on the sides of the street. They began to tug at our bags. At first, I didn´t think much about it. Brazilian men have grabbed my hair and shoulders many times, but I just shrug them off and keep walking. These guys (mid-twenties) however, kept pulling on the bags. My eyes fixated on Alex´s- was this really what I thought it was? The robbers then informed us that yes, in fact, we were being robbed. One of them also informed us that he had a gun under his shirt. As the event unfolded, I tried to formulate Portuguese sentences in my head to make a deal with the robbers- take all my money but please leave my school books, notes, personal journal, or other things which would be worthless to them. In seconds, the robbers had gently taken our bags and easily ran down an alley and out of sight.

Being the slightly sheltered Montana girl who has never been robbed, I started to weep incessantly. I wept because of the robbery and because I haven´t released any other frustrations or confusions throughout this experience. Alex, the Boston native and now New York City girl, pouted for about a second before becoming impressively angry and released a long string of profanity. My favorite rebuttal- (Alex to me) "I hope the robbers are happy with our stuff, and I hope they have a fun time sticking all your tampons up their butts!"

After a long day at the police station and on the computer, I came back to my neighborhood to discover that many people I had never seen before knew I had been robbed and offered their condolences.

Then, yesterday, I came home to discover my backpack and Alex´s yellow bag on my bed! Apparently, a security guard had watched what happened and had chased and caught the robbers later that morning. One of the robbers did have a pistol and was not bluffing like I thought. I got a pair of shorts, my school books, personal journal, and Portuguese dictionary back. Alex got her swim suit and books back. There is good here!

Patience

Patience- it's the word of week. I am diligent and practice patience every day. Like right now, I am patiently waiting to register for classes. I have a Portuguese test in an hour. As I'm trying to navigate through people soft Vitor, my 6 year old host nephew, is sitting next to me asking what all the buttons on the computer are as well as showing and explaining everything in his room to me. Yes, thank you Vitor. I know what a frog is.



Home life is so great. My Portuguese is coming along and the more I understand, the more humor and meaning I find in my life here. EVERY morning, my Mom and sister complain about how hot it is outside. Every day- rain or shine. Also, my Mom will make some comment about how fat my host brother is, or how when Vitor is hungry he eats like a bicycle. Yesterday morning, my Mom was making some very rude hand gestures at the neighbor's house. She is very dramatic.



I was talking with a good friend of mine, Rachel, about Brazilian life yesterday while lounging in Campo Grande waiting for afternoon class to start. We have both noticed that Brazilians can be so ridiculous sometimes! Meus Dios (oh my god) is a favorite phrase here. Daisy, a host mom in my neighborhood, introduced me to capoeira and has taken me on a few adventures since then. When we are walking, we walk very slowly and every time she says something, she stops and uses big hand motions. It takes 30 minutes to walk 400 yards.

OK, this post was saved, but I have free Internet right now and need to post some different adventures.

GOAL!!!

Brazil is getting easier to get around, mainly because I am finally being able to quasi-communicate with my slowly improving Portuguese. So much has happened, but here are some high lights.

Last week, I went to my first local soccer game! We rode with Kristen´s host brother in a car that may or may not have been held together with gum and tape. The soccer game was held in Barra Dào, where guards with dogs were in every corner and guards in lines would walk up and down the stands. On two occasions, the guards with dogs had to charge the middle of the field to avert a fight or to protect a ref. The best part of the experience was a particular enthusiastic fan, standing behind us who would cheer or curse very loudly. One of my fav comments was "oi (Vitoria player)your mom´s a whore!" Overall, the experience was great.

This past weekend, the group went to an MST camp and stayed in an MST settlement, amongst some of the poorest people in Brazil. We were about an hour out of Salvador and truely living the country life- tending to the fields during the day and laying under the stars at night. For the first time in a month, the night was quiet and cool. We were invited to a birthday party, did some samba-ing, and plently of talking to the locals. Experiencing life in an MST settlement was incredibly humbling and I was impressed with the community. Community members grew their own food and if they had extra they sold it or gave it to a neighbor in need. Conversation and spending time with people severely outweigh material possessions. Community members are expected to behave well, all those who break the rules are voted out of the settlement. Only one homocide has occured in the past 13 years.

We also visited Cachoeira, a very important historic city in Bahia. The buildings were all vibrantly colored, which is a common theme in Brazil, and the town was rich with Brazilian history. Overall, the weekend was great. I am very dirty and need to do a lot of laundry.

The weeks go by fast- full of class and afternoon adventures. It takes a lot of time to get to and from school. And homework, what is that again? The Independent Study Project has taken over my school lens. I am planning on working and doing a film project on street children in Brazil.

I´ll check in again after next weekend. Ciao, ciao.

At home in Salvador

It´s a lazy Tuesday afternoon in Salvador, and I am supposed to be looking up resources for my ISP: instead I am taking advantage of the free internet and skypeing Meredith, catching up on emails, and updating my blog.

I have been living with my new Mom and host family in Fazenda Garcia. It´s a nice neighborhood that is within walking distance from my school, the beach, and any shopping or activities I could ever possibly want to do. My mom, Ivone, is very patient with me and communicating with the family and other Bahians is getting better. My Portuguese still has miles to come before I can start researching for my ISP. Classes are every day, 2 hours of Portuguese in the morning, and the two other classes in the afternoon for an additional 2 hours.

Here are some highlights. We attended a bale folorico, which was a theatrical candomble and capoeira play. It was the best capoeira I have seen thus far. They, however, have a long ways to go before they match my astounding capoeira skills, which I have been acquiring in a class every Tuesday and Friday night in my neighborhood.

I have been going to the beach at a slightly alarming rate, usually 3 or 4 times per week. Our advisors warn us not to eat the sticks of cheese that smell oh-so-delicious, or any other vendor food on the beach to avoid living on the toilet. I have adhered to their suggestions so far, but it´s hard. If we must try things, they suggest trying them on a Friday so we have the weekend to recover.

I have attended many a festes and some concerts and samba gigs as well. All relaxing services, ie messages and mani/pedis are super cheap- $10 and $6 respectively. While many activities and aspects of life in Bahia are good, some are hard to get used to. Studying abroad is all about feeling very intense emotions. Emotions range from being very happy to being very scared and nervous. I am constantly outside my comfort zone, but am learning loads about Brazil, myself, and the States all at the same time.

I tried to make French toast for my host mom this morning and failed miserably. I think I will leave all the cooking up to her. Also, I returned home on Saturday night to find a present from my mom on my door. It was a bag, about the size of an ipod with, you guessed it... a Brazilian bikini inside!! Apparently, my American bikini is grossly oversized and this new itzy bitzy, teeny weeny, blue poco dot bikini was to be my new beach attire. It´s hairy scary down under so I´m hoping to find a sanitary waxing place soon.

Two of our fellow group members were robbed in plain sight at 11 am on Sunday morning. I will be very surprised if I return to the states with everything I left with. I need to go get some work done so I can get up and run around my usual track. Can I make it around the 1.5 mile loop 3 times? Internet is sketchy, I will try to reconnect soon.

Much love and until next time.

Orientation- Starting Thoughts

I've been in Brazil for a whole week and have started to get to know my 11 new friends and Salvador, my new home city. Orientation ended today, and in half an hour our host families come to pick us up.

Rewind to my first thoughts and impressions of Brazil. The airplane ride was long and arriving here was a little chaotic. Some members of the group were lost and arrived the next day. I was lucky enough to have Kristen, one of my good friends from Gettysburg, on the trip so everything wasn't new. I've come to know my fellow members of the group and I like them all, and can see myself staying friends with these people for a long time.

Brazil is HOT! The summer is ending and Carnival ended the week before we got here. I think that's one of the main reasons that my program started so late- Carnival would have been WAY too big of a distraction. Remnants still remain in the streets. After Carnival, everything shuts down for a few weeks. Unless you are preparing to be a Samba Queen for next year's festival, in which case you start dieting, exercising, and practicing now. My Academic Director's name is Damiana: a very attractive, intelligent Afro-Brazilian woman who has a Ph.D. in anthropology and is a physician with experience in mental health, psychoanalysis, and management of health facilities. She works closely with two other very smart, helpful Bahians.

My first impressions of Bahians are that they are layed back, super hospitable, and people who like to have a fun time. One of the directors, Francisco, told us today that if Bahians are faced with a dilemma of doing their work or going to a party, they will do their work in a party-like fashion. We have used the public buses to get back and forth from our orientation house to the city, and almost everyone on the bus is very happy to tell you how to get from point A to point B, and striking a conversation is very easy. As we drive along the white sand beaches, people of all different sizes, shapes, and colors are strutting their stuff in the famous Brazilian bikinis. People are beautiful here, not because of their BMI, but because they carry themselves with confidence and are very comfortable in their own skin.

Salvador is big and rich with history. It is the first capital of Brazil and has lots of history of the original Tupi Brazilian tribes. The colors are vibrant, so between that and the sun, sunglasses are needed at all times. And sun block- the sun is very intense. I have decided to embrace my constant state of sweating. There are bunches of street vendors selling anything from water, to pills, to ice cream, to fruit. We have been warned to stay away until we build up a tolerance, and if we can't resist to try things on Friday's so we have the weekend to recover.

During orientation, we learned about all the possible diseases we could contract (there are many), as well as culture, a detailed outline of the semester, how to get around the city, what to expect from host families, etc, etc. One of the last lessons was a Samba dance lesson. The guys drumming were rediculously attractive, which is the case with most Brazilian men and women. The dance was intense, but now I feel more prepared to go out dancing. It's the thing to do here.

Final thoughts are that Bahia is one of the most hospitable and relaxed place in Brazil and probably in the world. People will stop what they're doing to help you out or show you around. They also are very obsessed with making sure that you have eaten enough and do everything they can to make sure you are comfortable. The first morning I was a little freaked out that I was committed to staying here for 3 1/2 months, but now I think that 3 1/2 months is not going to be nearly long enough. Ciao for now.

Pre-Brazil

I created this blog for a number of reasons. First, I wanted something to keep my thoughts and adventures, so what better than an online journal! More than that, I didn't want to sit down, compose emails, and clog inboxes. This blog was created for me and whoever is truely interested in reading what it is that I am doing. I will pour out my feelings, thoughts, adventures and heart in this blog. Stay posted.

I started this adventure with a wicked long winter break. Snowboarding, cross country skiing, New Year's in Bozeman with old friends, and hanging with my family in Montana was amazing and rejuvinating. I crave the solitude and comfort that home brings.

My study abroad program in Brazil started March 1st. After home, I spent two weeks in Santa Barbara, California where I interned at a non-profit which was created by a wonderful family. The foundation focused on improving the lives of children and safety for the city. I was privileged enough to be able to do a lot of traveling with my second mom, Natalie. While living the life of a spoiled bum, I hit the slopes and hit the theaters during Sundance in Utah, which was closely followed by some superb films at the Santa Barbara Film Festival. California was beautiful and I had such a great, relaxing time. :) I was sick for a few weeks, but after sleeping for 15 hours a day and taking Chinese herbs (YUCK) I was finally healed.

At the internship, I learned what it was like to work at a nonprofit, and I also witnessed how powerful grassroot efforts can be. People with money and a good heart combined with other people who possess compassion and good ideas makes for powerful social change. As my Granddad believes, those who use love as a social tool are the most happy and make the biggest differences in life. Always love and be kind.

California was followed by a few brief hours in Montana to pack up and watch Austin play basketball. Then, it was off to Key West for five days to visit my Granddad and Marilyn. What a time that was!! Key West is unlike any place I've ever been in the US. While speeding around the 4 by 2 mile island on bike, the most dangerous things are taxi drivers and random chickens in the street. Or, it's your granddad riding next to you at the same insane speed with a beer in his hand! Between that, the drag queen show, and bar hopping with people 15+ years older, I had a great 5 days. Again, family is my favorite thing. That and this new thing called TRAVELING!!!! See you all in Brazil!!!! (ok, I'm cheating since I'm already here, but that will be a new post.)