For starters, I'm getting plenty of little tiny ones from the kids at the preschool. It's fun to spend so much time with the babies not only because they're absolutely precious, but also because I'm getting a taste of what it's like to grow-up Brazilian: what books they're read, snacks they're fed, things they learn shouldn't be said.
Last Friday some of the babies and I had our very first celebration of Carnival. I didn't have a "real" costume so I dressed like a super Gringa, wearing a paper crown and an American flag. A lot of the kids were dressed like superheroes or disney princesses, it was similar to halloween, except that no one was dressed scary- just adorable. All the teachers knew the words to the songs they were playing, one I remember is: O que é, o que é by Gonzaguinha. I felt like an outsider just humming along, but it was nice to realize at least I finally understand a lot of the words. With the music blaring through the speakers we all played with sprinkles, whip cream, and bubbles - the school, like the rest of Brazil is a big beautiful mess at the moment. 
When I'm not at the preschool you can usually find me at a school for people my age preparing for the final exams to get into public universities. There I've been getting a lot of Portuguese and making plenty of valuable observations about Brazilian youth:
The girls are very touchy. I don't mean just in the dramatic sense- I'm talking about everything from holding hands, to playing with hair, to kisses straight on the mouth - right there in class ! Needless to say I've been getting a lot of affection there too, I'm their "Gringa." 
In case I wasn't getting enough attention at my schools, of course now it's carnaval. In case you don't know, Carnaval is the huge celebration before lent that takes place in many predominantly Catholic countries. It's been explained to me that the drive to party is to get all your crazy and sinning out before you have to be on your best christian behavior for the entire month before Easter. There's a lot of elaborate costumes, dancing, and "amor e sexo" The real "Carnaval" takes place at night with the huge dancing competion, but during the day there are many Bloc parties. They close off entire blocs for dancing, drinking, and celebrating during the day. Some of them are themed like, "lingerie" or with more traditional samba music. I've been to two myself and find them to be loud and friendly. Sometimes strangers hug me or pat my back, and I wonder if it should make me uncomfortable. But it doesn't hurt, and really who decides what makes one person a stranger and another a friend? When does a shy smile turn into a kiss straight on the lips? We're all dancing at the same place at the same time, maybe that's enough in common to be friends for the day. With a line drawn, so long as I keep an open mind, I'll continue getting a lot of hugs, and really that's fine by me.
No comments:
Post a Comment