Again, I'm thankful to all the visitors to my blog. My friends and family...some I've seen just yesterday and some I haven't seen since.....whew!!!! God knows when???!!!??? I love ya'll though. I think you guys will enjoy this next entry. I know most of you have been asking about my free time, and what did I do. "Did you go out to any clubs??? What was the music like??? How were the beaches??? Any Capoeira??? How were the drinks...Caipirinha...Caipiroska???...Any Samba???...Carnival???...what did you do for fun???..." OK! In the beginning I thought I would be out hitting the clubs and the beach 24/7. However, after working with the kids, the discussion groups, the cultural tours, and Portuguese class... I was broke down!!! I saved most of my "Me Time/Party Time" for the weekend. But there was 1 or 2 nights during the week that I stepped out.....ENJOY!
Journal Entry 2/16/06
Wednesday was tour of Pelourinho by night, and boy was it fun!!! The last of the volunteers arrived yesterday. A really nice and good looking brotha from Boston. Ok...so Pelourinho...there was this famous African drumming band there and a few famous Afro-Brasilian Singers. I think one of the artists was Timbalada. It was crazy!!!! In a good way. We arrived at the club around 9ish...actually we arrived in Pelourinho around that time. We all gathered on this cobblestone side street...it had that authentic Salvador feel. This particular spot was a prelude to how the night would unfold. The band began outside on the corner. Tons of people started gathering around as they played louder and louder, with much intensity, passion, and strength. It was electrifying. We then proceeded to march to the club...our final destination. We were marching, in what felt like, a parade. This was so cool! The drummers would walk a few steps...pause....dance....and then more people would tag along. This happened for about 3o minutes before we actually entered the club. Inside the club was even more electrifying. The place became packed in no time. "A" introduced us to a few Brasilian drinks. Each drink was infused with these exotic fruits that I can't remem ber. However, I do remember maracanja(passion fruit). It was mixed with either Vodka or Cachaca, and something else. Whatever it was G-O-O-D!!! For real! Well it didn't take long for me to make it back to the dance floor. The drumming was so alluring. I remained on the dance floor the entire night. i joined in on a line dance where the leaders...3 beautiful black females created dances moves...very much West African dance inspired. I caught on really quick. I was getting my "LIFE"!!! I stayed on that floor for like 3 hours straight...Dancing my heart out and drenched in my own sweat. I'm sure I lost about 5 pounds. When the line dance first started, it was about 10 people, including myself, dancing. By the time I left about 30-40 people had joined in. Young, old, male, female, gay, straight, locals, visitors. It was HOT!!! Unfortunately, I had to cut myself off a lil early. I mean, we did have a 12am curfew, which I was trying to abide by. I couldn't forget, although this was a part of the cultural experience, I had to be fresh for the kids. So I left around 12:30am...oops, just a little pass curfew. I slept like a baby. That was such a cool night.
"Be Proud of Who You Are...Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin"
-Cornelius "Life" Jones
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