#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.