Next stop: ????

Quick entry because I’m about to head out for the night and then I’m jumping on a bus tomorrow to…..somewhere….not really sure where, but I’m itching to get out of Gotham and more especially because we have off from class tomorrow (Thursday). I forget the actual name of the holiday but in the most-politically-correct-way-possible-although-I-am sure-there-is-a-more-politically-correct-way-to-explain-it, tomorrow is Brazilian African American commemorative day. There is also a bank holiday for a commemorative day for native Indian Brazilians and European immigrant Brazilians. So I’m off tomorrow and normally don’t have class on Friday so signs are pointing to a long weekend out of town. I am thinking beach. Wouldn’t you? But the forecast for the beaches on the Sao Paulo northern shore this weekend are for rain. If all else fails, I might just head to Rio for more praia (beach) and samba in the streets of Lapa. Speaking of beach, last weekend I hit up a cute little beach town called Santos. It was a real quick, easy-access getaway from São Paulo, only about an hour away. Santos is also the largest port and logistics center in Brazil. Knowing how big and significant the port is, I wasn’t expecting much from Santos to be honest. In my worst case scenario projection was envisioning it to be a dirty beach full of the backwash and grime from the port. Maybe it was because I set the bar real low, but I thought the place was great! It was a clean, fun, vibrant, lively beach town. Its thriving beach atmosphere and décor reminded me a lot of Rio. As we know, there’s only one Rio, but Santos begged a comparison. I’ve thrown some pictures on here. I’ve also recently discovered the magic of Skype. I’ve always had it but used it mainly for instant messages, not to make calls. But for whatever reason I got hooked on to the call feature of it – both to other Skype members and to regular phones in the US – and have been trying to get in touch with people. If you use Skype, let me know so I can add you on and we can chat. Time is flying by here (I only have a little more than a month to go) and before I know it, it’ll be New Years. My salesman persuasion is chipping away at a few friends who are giving more and more serious thought to coming down for New Years. I’m not mentioning any names so as to not compromise privacy issues, but you know who you are so just do it!!!

Ate mais gente!