written on the national day of hangover--the day after carnaval (salvador, brasil)

so carnaval finally ended. i never thought it would. cairpirnhas, dancing, axe, i love it!

basically, it~s like a week of constant street parties. samba bands frequently marching past my hostel, drumming groups, dancing, it~s over. i~m really into axe music now, and can sing along. i~m probably going to head out and buy a couple cds later this afternoon.

last night was the best night. it was fat boy slim with layo e bushwacka and DJ MARKY! you know who i was there for! mr marky himself! i paid 260 real for my tickets and they were up to 400 real at the end and it sold out. it was basically like zurich~s street parade with thousands of brazilians and gringos dancing in the streets. when the drum n bass came on, i of course got a little bit crazy with my dancing, but so did others. heaps of fun. i ended up going to bed at 730 this am if that~s any indication.

otherwise, the carnaval week was just nuts. the bands did circuits around the pelhourino district, and i would hear noise from my hostel from about noon until two am. it was just nuts. the carnaval was everywhere.

carnaval also brings out this thing in people where they just want to kiss you. i.e., a guy says something, i say, ño falo portugese, he replies, english, i say sim, then he says you are beautiful can i kiss you. i say no and he asks why not. when they start to get upset and ask why not i tell them it~s because they are ugly.i~m mean, haha but i~m getting sick of these annoying guys!

i had some weird swollen ankle thing. at first i though it was an allergic reaction to a bug bite but rebecca (my roommate who~s doing an internship on tropical diseases in forteleza and is in med school) read the packet of malarone and one of the possible side effects is fluid in the legs. i finished my malarone yesterday and the swelling appears to have gone down. i went to a pharmacy and they gave me some stuff too. i just love getting medical assistance in foreign countries. between rebecca~s portugese and my translation book and the minimal english of the pharmacist, we were able to get it sorted out. oh and crista, i had to skip running yesterday and have been decreasing my running during this. i knew i wouldnt run that much, and there certainly have been no twelve milers or twenty since ive been here.

i~m feeling really sad. for me traveling is a way of life. going home after such a short holiday--i dread the thought, esp the five million questions at work. i know im going to isolate myself. t and i talked abt going on the big trip i~ve always wanted to do with a heavy focus on asia. we~ll see...hopefully!

right now, i can~t get into my email for whatever reason. frustrating b;c i paid in advance and now i~m not using it all. but that~s the deal for now, so if i~m not responding to your emails, that~s why.

so another night in salvador (there are still drumming groups making the circuits), some kiwi caipies and maybe a fun things tomorrow--i leave for rio in the afternoon. i~ll be home tuesday.

i know i sound bratty with my whining~~~i~m so glad to be here and knoiw i~m lucky to travel but at the same time, i~m sad to leave. i miss you all and hope everyone is doing great. i know sad things have happened at home but i love you!!!

manaus, brazil

so after too many hours crammed into airplanes, i arrived at manaus. i hear bk in nyc it~s freezing and there~s a winter storm advisory but im pleased that it~s humid, mid 80-s or so--very comfy.

so far i havent done much--ive only been here a handful of hours. i started my time in manaus by booking a jungle tour--i~ll be in the rainforest from tomorrow morning until tuesday early evening. it sounds good and the guy said they~ve had vegetarians before so hopefully i won~t starve. i~m really excited about that.

my hostel is a bit of a dump but i~ll survive. only two nights here total.

after i signed up for my jungle tour, i went on a run of manaus. the streets are crazy--absolutely crammed with people and it was an adventure but kind of fun. i went to see teatro amazonas which was pretty, and tried to find food--unsuccessfully. brazil is not kind to vegetarians.

i must find food or i~ll surely faint.

mahatma gandhi quote

"whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."