I've been wanting to write since I arrived but I was too busy enjoying myself. I think the Gods heard me in Uruguay because since I arrived to Porto Alegre, it's been sunny and according to the people here, it hasn't been like this in a while. The 8 hour bus ride but better than fine, the lounge chair was more comfortable than my bed in Punta del Este and better than first class on a plane. They give you a pillow and blanket, some food, water, coke and in the morning coffee and chocolate milk and crackers. And totally different than the Costa Rica- Panama bus ride, we never had to get off the bus to cross. They do it all for you. I fell asleep in Uruguay and woke up to the Brazilian sunrise. I was still tired (at 6 30am) but I was too excited to go back to sleep.

Once I arrived I knew to take a taxi to Ana's (an older woman from CouchSurfing who said I could stay with her). I quickly realized my Portuguese needs work... As similar as it is to Spanish it's still different and I'm basically lost most of the time. Lucky people are very nice about it and patient and since I'm still close to Uruguay, a lot of people speak broken Spanish. But it's just difficult because I wanna speak Portuguese perfectly and it's just not possible right now... But just in 2 days I've been studying the grammar a lot more. The thing is theres different levels of learning a language- understanding the grammar, knowing vocabulary and pronunciation is totally different than understanding when they speak to you. It reminds me of when I first went to Costa Rica, so funny how far I've come in Spanish! So I just need to relax and let this wall in my mind down because I think I'm trying too hard and I feel insecure speaking and understanding. But truth be told, I'm so happy to be in Brazil and I love how Portuguese sounds, I'm really okay with being lost :-).

So Ana... She's awesome. As always, the people make the experience so different and I love her. She's in her 50's, single, at first she seems so simple and quiet but she's a total hippy. Her apartment is full of random artsy trinkets, a ton of books and old movies and records. She loves Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd. Her family is Polish on one side and she's been there and to Russia (she's also Jewish Catholic like me). She has this old rickety blue '73 slug bug and refuses to give up on it. Her friends threatened to burn it but she loves it. She studied biology, anthropology and art. She's worked in parks doing projects, studied anthropology of rock 'n' roll, and now works in the public ministry. Just like Aunt Rhonda, everytime I want to show her something on my iPod or a book, she has to go find her glasses. She took me to dinner, walked me all around the parks, the Saturday "feira" (farmers market), the boardwalk of the river... We made gluten free bread! Tonight we stayed home ate the gluten free bread with cheese, wine, salami and popcorn. random but delicious.

Right now its all going great and Im not so much homesick as I am connection-sick. I miss being able to contact friends and family all the time. Sometimes Im searching everywhere for wifi, dying to talk to someone from home. Especially now, I'm getting a little sick with a cold but I'm still enjoying my time so much. I've already had 2 buffet meals that were exactly what I imagined- meats, beans, rice, yucca, salad, and they have this corn bases potato/bread thing called Polenta, I love it. So basically, I'm satisfied with Brazil so far and it'll only get better according to Ana. Rio is hotter, sunnier and has a lot more music and dancing that I like. I can't wait!! And... I decided to change my plan a little and take the bus to Rio. 26 hours and $50 more BUT I just think it's a great opportunity to have more of an adventure, see a LOT more of Brazil, it's not like I'm in a hurry. I'm excited for it :-). Plus, so far the buses are so comfy... Talk to my neighbor, read, listen to music, sleep, watch the sun rise from the window (I chose a seat on the East by the window)... I'm sure it'll make for more blog material for Danielle :-P