Well, well… happy September my loves. We are approaching spring here and spring in Salvador is essentially summer, so that means lots of sun and HEAT. We’ve had some toasty days in the past week, but thankfully there is almost always a nice breeze.

I read an article on Thursday about functional illiteracy in Brazil and it said that only 26% of the population can read and write without difficulty. I found that to be completely incredible. It is partially because many children drop out of school to work with only enough knowledge of letters to be able to decode street signs, but Luciana also told me that even those who stay in school can pass up to 8^th grade without being able to read or write because there is no standardized test until then and teachers “advance” the students despite their incompetence. I asked if it is mandatory for children to go to school here and I learned that though it is officially mandatory, the law is enforced by only specific (generally middle-upper class) employers who require their employees to show proof of school attendance and immunizations for their children before they can be hired. This is of little consequence for the mom who sells bananas on the street and sends her children to sell candy on the buses instead of going to school.

I also learned that it is mandatory to vote in Brazil and that this is strictly enforced. If you don’t vote in elections you can’t get your driver’s license, passport, or other official documents. I personally think that mandatory voting is a terrible idea. What ends up happening is that politicians come in and do something nice for the poor, who then feel indebted and out of gratitude vote for him. Granting favors does not make you a good politician. My Portuguese teacher told us that she thinks that after a politician has been caught committing a crime he should be forbidden to run for any public position. That way they will think twice before jeopardizing their career by scamming the public.

Friday CIEE had a post-orientation activity in which we all went to a yoga house for a relaxation session and small group talks about how we are doing dealing with culture shock, our family situations, and starting classes. We waited outside in the rain for half an hour before the van came to pick us up in Garcia, so that ticked a few people off who had woken up early after late Thursday night in Rio Vermelho. One of the group talks was led by an American psychologist living here in Salvador. He was a strange little character. He advised us as an anthropological experiment to try kissing Brazilians here, even if we have significant others at home. (Don’t worry Chase, I’m not convinced.)

When I got back home Bethany and I decided to go to Barra to talk to a travel agent about plane prices to travel around a bit during our holidays. We browsed around for a while and then went to a hotel to book a reservation for her boyfriend who is coming in October. When I got home I sat to chat with Conchita and we watched the end of a telenovela and the news at 8. One of the stories was about the drought in the Sertão. I saw pictures of the water that they have to drink there because of lack of another option and I was completely blown away. It started my little brain ticking about all the work that could be done here in Brazil. I think it would be a fabulous place to work because there is plenty of fundamental work to be done and Brazil also has wonderful places to escape to during the holidays.

Saturday morning I went for a run in Campo Grande and in the afternoon I went over to Bethany’s for a study date. I didn’t end up leaving until 12 hours later. We ended up talking much more than studying, watched 2 episodes of The Office, listened to half of the Wicked sound track, met up with Michelle, got some food, watched Tropical Paradise, visited with Erin and Kate (a girl from the summer program studying in São Paulo), and chatted with her host mom, Ana Rita, until 1:30 AM. Opps…

This morning I’ve done a mild amount of studying, but for the most part I’ve been visiting with Consuelo and her baby Diogo. He is 1-year old, but he knows that he’s the baby and he can get away with almost anything. The cute little rascal! Watching him walk around made me realize how behind the babies at CAASAH are in their development.

Tá gente, I’d better get to studying because I’ve got plenty of readings to do. Beijos! Don’t forget to send me an e-mail and let me know what you are up to!