trabalho a vivir, não viva para trabalhar

Carnaval is less than a month away and in true Brazilian form, the city is already starting it’s celebrations. Every neighborhood has a “bloco” or organized band and dancers who perform different types of Brazilian music and dress up in costumes for street parades. Walk anywhere in the city in the late afternoon/evening and you will likely run into a bloco practicing their lineup for Carnaval. Last night we went with some Brazilian friends to one of these outdoor concerts/practices. The music was unbelievable, the dancing was great, and the best part? It was pouring rain! Everyone was drenched from head to toe and still had a great time! Our friends then drove us to a club down the street, and the car broke down in the middle of the highway! We ended up pushing the car to a gas station, and wading through knee deep water in the streets to get to this place, where we proceeded to dance like maniacs till 5 in the morning ☺ It’s typical here for people to not go out until midnight or so and stay out till 6am (when most things close). Unbelievable night! Not to mention after a few capirinhas, I seem to be fluent in Portuguese… ☺

Today, Jenny and I went downtown and wandered through the old part of town. The architecture is very European and there are praças everywhere filled with pigeons (which the Portuguese imported to make the place look more European). We wandered through the Saturday markets, attempted bartering for various items, and then stumbled across another bloco practice. We ended up sitting at a café and eating a delicious lunch, drinking cervejas, talking, and listening to the great Samba music for the rest of the afternoon ☺