My life as a soap opera star...

I wonder if Mariana Ximenes, star of the Brazilian soap opera Cobras & Lagartos, knows that she´s been spotted several times in Fortaleza recently? I´m sure it would come as a surprise to her, especially were she to find out that the person who keeps getting mistaken for her is none other than little ol´me...that´s right, a gringa with blue eyes (instead of green) who bumbles around like a fool in heavily accented portuguese! Personally, I´m very flattered. And it´s a great conversation starter once people realize that I´m not in fact her. The fact that I would never otherwise be mistaken as Brazilian usually leads to quite a lot of chuckling. I´ve taken to watching her soap opera if I´m home at the right time so that I can discuss what´s going on in "my" life.

My body has now begun recovering from my first hour-long attempt at practicing capoeira... last week!! Talk about muscles that I never knew existed. Whew. Given my utter lack of grace and style when it comes to anything involving dance-like movement, my first class at a local gym was also the source of great amusement for the guys who were working out nearby. Luckily, I had a companion from Tucson who was willing to make a fool out of herself as well, so we simply laughed along with everyone else.

Other than that? I have a great host-sister, who I get along with very well. She´s a lot of fun and as a result I seem to have become a sort of ad-hoc social co-ordinator for much of the Arizona group because I´m frequently in-the-know about fun places to go. So far, my trip has been a lot of beaches and all-night samba and/or forro dancing, a little bit of Portuguese study, and some intense world cup fanaticism. Some of you may remember when I sent out a link to 2night.com New Orleans after my photo was posted from JazzFest? Well, if you´re so inclined, check out: www.eceara.com.br Along the left sidebar, click on the photo album for the Brazil vs. Ghana game, barraca crocobeach. I´m in a photo with some friends a few pages into the album, in a bright yellow Brazil shirt. The game was at noon this past Tuesday and as everything, including the Federal University where we have our classes, was closed for the entire day, we spent our time watching the game and frolicking on the beach. It´s a tough life...

xoxo