Home sweet home (a mini tour)

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain


Unfortunately this post is about two weeks overdue along with a handful of others, but like they say "It's never too late to get started." A quick warning though: I've never actually posted pictures to a blog before and I'm not exactly sure what I am doing, so we'll try this together. If for some reason this little experiment goes terribly wrong, just remember this was partly your fault also. :-)

So this is my house, the place I call home, and the place my poor arms and legs are under constant siege from the Mosquito's that were tenants here before me. I honestly wish I could have gotten a better photo of the place because it is actually 4 stories high and the colors are much more vibrant than i was able to capture on my first and only attempt at showing the front of the building.

The way it works here is that the first two floors are designed more like small two bedroom apartments (which are inhabited by my Capoeira mestre's family), and the two floors above them are like tiny little hotel rooms.





My room is actually quite small, but I chose it because has its own bathroom and a big window that opens out to the neighborhood outside, and more importantly, a view of the beach. Well sort of. There's a huge tree across the street that blocks what would be a perfect view of the beach.

Looking out from my window I can see the entire front part of my neighborhood. There are usually people everywhere doing all sorts of random things. On any given day you'll see people getting their hair cut curb side (which is actually a great idea in my opinion because you save on clean up time), there is always a game of dominoes going on, as well as hordes of kids playing soccer, or swimming along the coast. In general, things move pretty slowly here and it's very easy to fall prey to the lazy vibe of Bonfim.

I'd have to say that although the kids in Bonfim are often mischievous, they are really cute and are very patient with me when it comes to speaking Portuguese. They're probably my favorite part of living here. Whenever they see me on the street they yell out "Oy Coqueiro!", run over so i can pick them pick them up, tickle 'em, or something of the like. The other day I was speaking with Jessica (who is the most adorable 3 year old girl I've ever seen) and i asked her if she liked my hair. To which she quickly responded "No!" and started laughing. I asked her why she didn't like my hair and her response this time was "Ninguém gosta!" which means "No one likes it" Everyone in the room started to laugh hysterically. She's such a ham! What I've learned is that Brazilians don't always like dreadlocks and they are especially not fond of facial hair, and/or beards (and I have both now). I've actually been asked several times by different people that live here "when are you going to shave that beard of yours. É feio (it's ugly)". To which I always smile and reply "Nunca (never)" Below are some pictures of these little rascals that run amok in the neighborhood. The first is of Jessica.







































This was just a little taste of where I'm living at the moment. As for this adventure, I'm still taking it head on and looking forward to the days to come. I'll have some new updates soon, now that I officially have internet at home (well at least when it wants to work), and can continue to post more pictures of my experiences.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to read this, I honestly appreciate it.

If you have a dream, chase it. If you don't, go and get one. You'll thank yourself later.

and as always. LOVE LIFE!