Bloco!

It was a stressful and tiring week. I am having trouble getting back into the work routine again after having 6 weeks off. The stress at work is self-induced of course as I expect perfection from myself and constantly trying to create the most effective lessons that will help my students. I also started dancing again this week, although I chose to only go 2 out of the 3 days. I decided to ease back into things :) But by the time Friday came around and I got home from dance at 7:30, I was exhausted and just feeling blah.

 I woke up Saturday morning and felt regenerated. After stopping at the organic market in the morning, I met up with a few friends and we went down to Centro to buy some accessories for Carnival! It still hasn't hit me yet that I will be in Rio for Carnival next week! There was a lot of random stuff in those stores...from boas to wigs to full blown Halloween costumes to a bulk pack of baby doll heads..yes just the heads not bodies in sight. After buying a few things we stopped in Mercado Publico for lunch and then I headed home to relax before the bloco that evening.

 Brazilians know how to have a good time and the bloco was just what I needed to get out of my blah mood. The streets are blocked off and thousands of people in the streets to dance, drink and listen to some great samba music. I spent the evening surrounded by friends dancing the night down the streets of Porto Alegre. A great night and a great reminder that I absolutely love it here. :)

 And....I love that restaurants allow you to use their bathrooms without buying a single thing! :) That would never happen back in the states.


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