A lot of people had told us not to spend so much time in Rio de Janeiro, so we decided to concentrate our time in Salvador, Brazil.
August 2007
Salvador, Brazil
As soon as we arrived in Salvador, Brazil, we saw beautiful men on the street who were doing capoeira, a blend of dancing and martial arts.
We headed towards the beach and soaked in all of the energy from the sun. It felt so refreshing! It was so amazing. The sun here had to be different than the sun in New York. It just had to be!
There were also capoeira dancers here who showed off their flexibility and grace.
The natives had dragged us off where the sunset was clear and beautiful. Everyone, including us, cheered when the sun went down. Even though it was just the sun setting, everyone made such a big deal about it. Americans usually didn't care about that sort of thing. (At least I didn't.)
Later that night, I couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because I was the sort of person who liked to sleep alone. I was an insomniac after all!
Amanda, Jen, and I had always slept in dorms where we shared with other people. At first, I didn't really mind it, but now it was getting to me.
A drunk Australian girl had just barged into our dorm and fell on her bed. She made so much noise that I couldn't take it anymore. I packed my bags while Amanda and Jen were trying to figure out what was wrong. In the end, they both packed their bags and followed me out.
I felt bad. Not only did I feel bad for interrupting their sleep, but I feel bad for moving out of the hostel for my own selfish reasons. What was I supposed to do? If I kept trying to handle it, it would only make me lose sleep more and I would become bad-tempered and irritable. This was only for the best.
Jen, Amanda, and I moved into a quieter and nicer hostel. I had moved into a room while the other two girls moved into a dorm with other backpackers. I had a room all to myself.
I had slept that whole day. Jen and Amanda had come to check on me to see if I was feeling better and I was.
They took me to a restaurant nearby and we met a guy named Sam. He was sitting with a boy who seemed out of place. The little boy looked poor and was very shy. He didn't say anything. Sam explained how he treated this little boy to a meal if the little boy helped him with his Portuguese.
When I saw this little boy, my heart broke. Just seeing him just reminded me of how much I had at home.
After the little boy was done eating, he thanked Sam and ran off.
Sam had invited us to take capoeira classes with him. We all eagerly agreed to join him.
At Salvador, we always hung out with him, because he knew where all the special events and parties were. We went to capoeira classes and events with him.
Sam had invited us to go to a Brazilian soccer game. Jen and I immediately agreed to go with him, but Amanda said that she had some work done to do with her writing.
We arrived at the soccer game and sat down on the white bleachers.
Jen and I felt like true Brazilians and chanted our hearts out with the native fans.
That night was our last night in Salvador. We decided to go partying with the natives. We all danced until we couldn't dance anymore.
Brazilian Pop
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