Dias primeiros

eThings are slow here because classes at AEC-TEA have not started yet - they begin in about a week and a half. My routine is simple but enough for now; I run, eat (rice, beans, fruit and vegetables every meal hehehehehe ahhh), clean (brasileiros are the cleanest people I have ever known), read, play capoeira, walk around town, go to the market, do some more housework, maybe a português lesson, maybe yoga, whatever I feel. We have teacher training on Monday and Tuesday, and in between now and then I am probably going to travel a little bit to find some water! Capim Grosso is H-O-T (I explain frozen yogurt every day to someone different - maybe I miss it?) and would you believe it there is not a single lake or pool here. So we will quest to find a waterfall. And later this month, Carnaval, stay tuned.

Seven people live in the volunteer house, and they are all nice, however only one is local. The rest are from Europa, and three of them speak zero portuguese so it is very frustrating for me to speak english with them. My brain is in full-speed-ahead português mode right now and I feel like it is a set back to speak so much english, so often.

HOWEVER! This will change when classes start. Because, along with classes, we can choose whatever projects we want to work on in the community - and nobody in the community really speaks english because in Capim Grosso, there is absolutely to reason to. I will offer yoga classes at AEC-TEA (in português...real life!) and I have my eye on two community projects: a mental health center and a village three miles out.

The health center offers classes and workshops (read: music, dance, capoeira, arts, yoga) for people with ´mental health issues,´also this term spans anything from depression to down syndrome to mild physical dysfunctions; because Capim Grosso is so small, they don´t have enough resources or people for such a separation.

I also want to go twice a week to this small small teeny tiny village, where unemployment is high and child prostitution and child labor are rampant. I would work with kids there twice a week, playing, teaching yoga, bringing the guitar, whatever. These two places are great opportunities for me to connect with people in the community, and while I am excited to teach english classes, I am really over the moon that I get the other opportunities as well!! My experience thus far with people in the community has been really special - these are some extraordinary people - and I am so excited to build deeper relationships in my time here!