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So last weekend was great. My friend Dan from Brown, who studied abroad in Salvador, is back visiting for a month. On saturday we took a lovely walk down a crowded street with lots of vendors! I bought some shoes (finally) and had lunch at this amazing vegetarian/vegan restaurant (why I did not go before I do not know!)
Then I went with Dan, Estela and Helder to the most amazing ice cream shop that was quite far. Estela drove us and was a most amazing host. I believe it may have been the best ice cream I have ever had (and yes I do have pictures and they will be up on my food blog eventually...see below). Then we went to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a fabulous day.
On sunday I went to a lunch of one of Dra Fabiannas relatives to celebrate the baptism of twins. They were adorable and it was one of the poshest parties I have ever been to! The mother really had an eye for party planning. Every detail was perfect. I definitely felt out of place....since I was wearing a simple dress and flats and all the women were in gorgeous dresses and very high heels. I have pictures and will post them later when I return home. Why am I not at home you may ask?
I have been staying at Dra Fabianna's house since monday so she can keep an eye on me. I have a fever and rash....and probably have some sort of viral infection, but puzzling nonetheless to both ID doctors that have seen me. But it certainly has taken me out, like no other illness has before. Anyway, I think that I am on the path to recovery so hopefully I will be in full form on saturday where I will be going to Praia de Forte (where there are honu or turtles!) and on sunday there is the Disney parade (not entirely sure what that will entail but I am sure I will be entertained)
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April 29, 2010
April 18, 2010
April 17, 2010
more rain
So this week was filled with rain...much rain.. so much rain that two bridges collapsed, several neighborhoods were flooded and countless trees and light poles were down. This was the same storm that caused flooding in Rio de Janeiro and all of those deaths by mudslide. Luckily it was not so bad here and I do not believe we had any deaths, I just got really wet four days in a row trying to get to work. I was pretty grumpy because I could not get my morning run in until today (4 days of getting up early only to see pouring rain :( )
Thursday evening was my colleague's birthday so I went to her house for a party. I ate lots of brigaderos and practiced my portuguese until I got too tired...then I watched brazilian music video.
On friday I went out for acaraje ( balls of black eyed peas fried in dende oil or palm oil, served with shrimp, a tomato, cucumber salad and caruru, a sort of sauce made of dende oil, peanuts, shrimp, okra among other things....) through a miscommunication with my friend we accidentally ordered a huge piece of beef on a giant skewer. This was the first time I have eaten beef in over two years.....and I must say I do not enjoy it..... :( I miss vegetarianism and plan to revert once I eat at churrascaria (i am willing to try anything once and a churrascaria is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet where waiters bring every type of meat imaginable to the table and you can ask them to slice some off of their giant skewers).
Today was finally nice and I went to the beach... again it was a very different experience. We did not go swimming because of all the rain. But we did go to the baraca....or cafe on the beach and drink beer and ate food (more acaraje). It was fun and nice to finally be outdoors!
Thursday evening was my colleague's birthday so I went to her house for a party. I ate lots of brigaderos and practiced my portuguese until I got too tired...then I watched brazilian music video.
On friday I went out for acaraje ( balls of black eyed peas fried in dende oil or palm oil, served with shrimp, a tomato, cucumber salad and caruru, a sort of sauce made of dende oil, peanuts, shrimp, okra among other things....) through a miscommunication with my friend we accidentally ordered a huge piece of beef on a giant skewer. This was the first time I have eaten beef in over two years.....and I must say I do not enjoy it..... :( I miss vegetarianism and plan to revert once I eat at churrascaria (i am willing to try anything once and a churrascaria is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet where waiters bring every type of meat imaginable to the table and you can ask them to slice some off of their giant skewers).
Today was finally nice and I went to the beach... again it was a very different experience. We did not go swimming because of all the rain. But we did go to the baraca....or cafe on the beach and drink beer and ate food (more acaraje). It was fun and nice to finally be outdoors!
April 8, 2010
slow internet is worse than_________(fill in the blank)
when it rains it pours
and when it pours all wireless electronics stop functioning.
I mentioned before that my home internet connection is very slow and stopped working last weekend when we had a bunch of rain.
Well the rain started up again and not only does the home internet not work, but the wireless internet at work stopped for several hours. I asked why and of course chuva (rain) was the answer.
In addition to the internet, cellular phones stop working as well! so strange.....
to think of sunnier things....here is a photo of the city from the high city of the marcado (an old slave market) that reportedly has a tunnel to the harbor right next to it.... what for I did not understand..
and when it pours all wireless electronics stop functioning.
I mentioned before that my home internet connection is very slow and stopped working last weekend when we had a bunch of rain.
Well the rain started up again and not only does the home internet not work, but the wireless internet at work stopped for several hours. I asked why and of course chuva (rain) was the answer.
In addition to the internet, cellular phones stop working as well! so strange.....
to think of sunnier things....here is a photo of the city from the high city of the marcado (an old slave market) that reportedly has a tunnel to the harbor right next to it.... what for I did not understand..
April 7, 2010
Happy World Health Day
Today is WHO's World Health Day. Every year WHO focuses on a theme to raise awareness of topics that effect health.
The theme of World Health Day 2010 is Urbanization and Health. As more and more of the world's population is moving to cities; the link between urban life and health is becoming more important. There are many health challenges facing cities, including problems with clean water, atmosphere and air, pollution, damage, violence, diet- both over and undernutrition, noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and traffic accidents to name a few. Cities are a nexus for a wide varieties of illnesses and health related problems that are not faced by rural populations.
The slogan for the “World Health Day” 2010: “1000 cities-1000 lives – Urban Health Matters”.
WHO is encouraging cities across the world (in fact trying to get 1000 cities to participate and they have been very successful with over1300 participating.)
Cities will host events meant to improve health by opening up public spaces and closing down streets. By encouraging events at the city level the WHO can create a campaign that will reach a large number of people with a local message that still relates to global health. The cities campaign allows the common citizen to participate in world health day and to recognize the importance of health in their lives and well being. This is a great way to raise awareness about health issues related to urbanization, as well as global health in general.
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2010/en/index.html
The theme of World Health Day 2010 is Urbanization and Health. As more and more of the world's population is moving to cities; the link between urban life and health is becoming more important. There are many health challenges facing cities, including problems with clean water, atmosphere and air, pollution, damage, violence, diet- both over and undernutrition, noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and traffic accidents to name a few. Cities are a nexus for a wide varieties of illnesses and health related problems that are not faced by rural populations.
The slogan for the “World Health Day” 2010: “1000 cities-1000 lives – Urban Health Matters”.
WHO is encouraging cities across the world (in fact trying to get 1000 cities to participate and they have been very successful with over1300 participating.)
Cities will host events meant to improve health by opening up public spaces and closing down streets. By encouraging events at the city level the WHO can create a campaign that will reach a large number of people with a local message that still relates to global health. The cities campaign allows the common citizen to participate in world health day and to recognize the importance of health in their lives and well being. This is a great way to raise awareness about health issues related to urbanization, as well as global health in general.
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2010/en/index.html
April 6, 2010
what have i been up to...
Well lately I have been very busy trying to get my abstraction sheet finalized and trying to learn
I had a great time this past weekend which was semana santa. It was basically a four day weekend! I spent thursday at Fabianna's house working on our respective projects. The whole weekend was very hot (95 degreesF or 35 in C) and humid, so very humid. We had lots of storms all weekend. Apparently when it rains, the internet does not work at my house....how strange? On friday I had a wonderful lunch at Fabiana's grandmother's house. The meal consisted of a lot traditional foods cooked with dende oil (palm oil). I was warned to eat only a little bit as it can be abrasive. In fact we then got into a discussion of how palm oil can be used to run cars.
I then watched a movie in the afternoon. It turns out I have been living under a rock the past few years as Sandra Bullock has made not one, but two movies. I one about alaska where she is a book editor, I have no idea what the american names is.....
As it was raining all day on friday and saturday, my activities consisted of reading books, watching movies, going to the shopping mall (i think I have been almost 10 times now.... way more than in the US). I have more to say on shoppings but I will save that for the future..
I had a great time this past weekend which was semana santa. It was basically a four day weekend! I spent thursday at Fabianna's house working on our respective projects. The whole weekend was very hot (95 degreesF or 35 in C) and humid, so very humid. We had lots of storms all weekend. Apparently when it rains, the internet does not work at my house....how strange? On friday I had a wonderful lunch at Fabiana's grandmother's house. The meal consisted of a lot traditional foods cooked with dende oil (palm oil). I was warned to eat only a little bit as it can be abrasive. In fact we then got into a discussion of how palm oil can be used to run cars.
I then watched a movie in the afternoon. It turns out I have been living under a rock the past few years as Sandra Bullock has made not one, but two movies. I one about alaska where she is a book editor, I have no idea what the american names is.....
As it was raining all day on friday and saturday, my activities consisted of reading books, watching movies, going to the shopping mall (i think I have been almost 10 times now.... way more than in the US). I have more to say on shoppings but I will save that for the future..
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