bad student

yep. skipping class today. tomorrow i will leave for praia do forte for a couple getaway days and the air conditioned internet place is a good enough place to gather my senses and figure out what's next. oh, the heat.

yesterday was a long and beautiful day. first class and then lunch and a stroll on the beach. around three in the afternoon a group of people from the school gathered and went on a boat tour. the vessel was a pirate-ship-looking thing and the three attendants were all dressed in the garb of early portuguese explorers with all the pomp and circumstance. mozart blasted from a sound system and a little show was put on as the captain arrived and took his seat. we all looked on with smiles and the captain commenced with a history of the area and various buildings lining the shore.

the view from the water gave a fresh perspective. fancy high rise condos lined parts of the waterfront and ramshackle housing occupied others. further on we passed the yacht club and then it was the beaches in our sight. the typical umbrella communities and surfers.

pictures galore were taken as scenes of honor bestowed, beheadings, and cordial dance took place. we came about and began the slow roll back to port; the sun continued its descent and mingled with the minimal cloud cover to give us optimal lighting for pictures and extended gazing and sighing.

after the cruise we broke into smaller groups and strolled through the public market. sensory overload would begin to describe this place. african/brazilian/bahian art, trinkets, musical instruments, oh my! just outside the structure, in a social square of sorts, more vendors offered their wares.

onward into pelourinho we strolled: lorrie, jenn, lucas, sandra, macaela, and yolanda (u.s., canada, switzerland, germany, holland and spain, repectively). the pace was delightfully slow and we looked about at the historic weathered buildings, bantering back and forth. soon, however, we had to deal with the usual uncertainty when finding a restaurant that will please all seven people. this scene plays out over and over. where do we go? what do you want? no, what do you want? i don't care, i'm not deciding this time. is this place too expensive? do you want to split something? what about that place over there?

at these moments i feel most like a tourist. and i also can't help but recall traveling through europe thirteen years ago, with my then companion. we would be rambling about, enjoying the sights, free from any care in the world. after all we were there for one month with nary a reservation nor itinerary. a eurorail pass took us from paris to bruges, and on to amsterdam, berlin, munich, budapest, salzburg. finally to rome, florence and venice and then back for a final glance at amsterdam before returning to paris and then flying home.

but, oh yes, the food situation. so we would be cruising around and never think about food until we were ravenously hungry. then we would look in our "let's go" guide and find something that looked good. all good at this point. the food descriptions added to our hunger and we would speak little as we sought our spot. then, trouble sometimes came. maybe the place was closed, or no longer in existence, or too expensive, or dirty. crap. now it's time for plan b. and now we're really hungry. blood sugar is beginning to plummet. irritation sets in. another fifteen minute walk and now we are talking. some barbs are thrown. some are deflected and some stick. grumble, grumble, grumble.

finally: salvation. a place to eat and recover. as soon as the first bite is swallowed it is as though all is forgiven. and for the most part it is. post meal, we laugh about our attitudes and vow to be more pro-active about the next meal.

so throw five more people into that equation and you have serious indecision.

alas, we found a place. outdoor seating on the cobbled street with only foot traffic idling by. we proceed to have a long lavish meal as music drifts around and talk turns to films, languages, the state of various unions. a delicious espresso finished off the event and the night somehow drifted to a close.