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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: Third day in Salvador |
| 3 | +creation_date: '2000-05-23' |
| 4 | +image: photo.gif |
| 5 | +author: Chris Dawson (cdawson) |
| 6 | +layout: post |
| 7 | +--- |
| 8 | + |
| 9 | +### Written by: Chris Dawson (cdawson) |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +I'm now entering the my third day in Salvador. There is, so far, much |
| 12 | +to like. The people are beautiful and they seem to know it, which |
| 13 | +makes them doubly so. The view from the beach is fantastic. The city |
| 14 | +itself, from what I've seen in two days, is full of deep history |
| 15 | +beneath the cobblestones. Before I left Portland I was having second |
| 16 | +thoughts about coming here but I know I have made the right decision |
| 17 | +now. |
| 18 | + |
| 19 | +So far I've only really come in contact with people who speak English |
| 20 | +well. Aside from my roommate who speak English not at all, that is. |
| 21 | +The first person I met was Jussara, the daughter of the woman who is |
| 22 | +renting me the room. Jussara is medium height with a short bob for |
| 23 | +hair and the typical Brasilian countenance. She is almost too |
| 24 | +friendly for me to bear sometimes. Coming from America you grow |
| 25 | +suspicious of people who are overly friendly and I've had to catch |
| 26 | +myself thinking that there must be a reason that she is so nice to me, |
| 27 | +when in fact it is most likely because that is the way she is. |
| 28 | +Tonight we were going to head out to go Salsa dancing but because |
| 29 | +there is no phone in my apartment there was no way for her to contact |
| 30 | +me and I, her, so I assume they went off without me. |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +I also met Jandaira, the mother of Jussara. Full of smiles every time |
| 33 | +she sees me, but there is little communication between us because of |
| 34 | +the language barrier. |
| 35 | + |
| 36 | +Today I finally met the Brittos, the family that helped me find |
| 37 | +Jandaira and Jussara. Rose Britto is the aunt of Louie, a friend of |
| 38 | +mine from Portland. She is very kind. I also met her husband today. |
| 39 | +He is retired and for now I gues that means he can nap when he wants |
| 40 | +to. I also met their daughter Ryan. Ryan and I spent a good part of |
| 41 | +the afternoon together. I think Ryan likes the company of someone |
| 42 | +like me because she can speak English. She took me to lunch at a |
| 43 | +'Comida a Quilo' joint, of course, called Big Beef. I don't like the |
| 44 | +idea of paying for the food I eat by weight since I am not paid by how |
| 45 | +heavy I am, but the food was pretty decent. |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +After that we went to the Mercado Modelo. This apparently was the |
| 48 | +site of a slave trading business. They now sell arts and crafts from |
| 49 | +local merchants; lots of talismans and sculpture, busts, almost all in |
| 50 | +bright colors to contrast the dominant theme there which was dark |
| 51 | +black women in pure white dresses. The building where the Mercado |
| 52 | +sits in two stories with a basement. The basement is covered with |
| 53 | +water except for concrete slabs placed to act as a walkway. The water |
| 54 | +is only a few feet or so deep but is extremely murky; one child behind |
| 55 | +us grasping his father's hand tightly worried aloud that there might |
| 56 | +be 'tuberão' (sharks). There were definitely sharks on the first and |
| 57 | +second floors, kid. |
| 58 | + |
| 59 | +Afterwards we stopped outside in the back to see the Capoeira |
| 60 | +fighters. Capoeira is a different kind of martial art than I have |
| 61 | +seen before. Lots of high kicks and spins, but landing a blow was |
| 62 | +something that only the lower students did mistakenly. I like the |
| 63 | +informal nature of Capoeira; it seems like there is a rhythm you find |
| 64 | +with experience but not necessarily something you would get from a |
| 65 | +teacher. |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +Next we followed the elevator up to Pelourinho, the haunting grounds |
| 68 | +of many of the characters from Jorge Amado's novels. All the streets |
| 69 | +were pure cobblestone and treacherous. We sat in a cafe outdoors and |
| 70 | +sipped limão and coca leite(?) from two straws. A pregnant woman gave |
| 71 | +me a cloth bracelet upon which tying around my wrist I was told to |
| 72 | +make three wishes. I wished for happiness in my love life in Bahia, |
| 73 | +happiness when I start my job and happiness to my family. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | +As I write this my body itches. This bed has bed bugs and there are |
| 76 | +mosquitos about. I am not sure if it is better that ther are silent |
| 77 | +but not one of them made even the slightest buzz the first two nights |
| 78 | +I slept here. But if this is roughing it then I really can't |
| 79 | +complain. |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +I never finished my introductions. The two men I live with are São |
| 82 | +Paulo, like the city I think, and Luis. Both are extremely friendly |
| 83 | +and talkative, about what I have no idea, but it is nice to hear them |
| 84 | +speak to a complete stranger like me without hesitation. I cooked up |
| 85 | +some leftovers for dinner tonight and Luis offered me his hot sauce |
| 86 | +(pimenta) and some flour type of stuff that I've seen before but don't |
| 87 | +know the name of. Then we talked for an hour or so and he gave me a |
| 88 | +pen from his company. After that he brought out his television and he |
| 89 | +tuned it to the news for me. None of what I am writing here makes any |
| 90 | +difference in the grand order of things but I am not sure that is the |
| 91 | +point. I am profoundly astonished, when I think about it and see it |
| 92 | +in cold black ink here on this paper, at the level of generosity and |
| 93 | +kindness shown to me since I have arrived in Salvador. Maybe that is |
| 94 | +why, without exception, everyone I have asked so far, loves living in |
| 95 | +here in Salvador. I plan to keep asking but I think I know the |
| 96 | +answer why. |
| 97 | + |
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