Two Steps Away from the Edge

The policy at the hostel is, if you stay three nights, you get a free beer "per nights" lol. So after not having enough cash on me to buy a drink at the kiosk, I came back to the hostel to see if I could switch my free beer with a free 7up. The guy laughed. I guess people don't follow up on that often. (After thinking about it, maybe he laughed because I said "libre" instead of "gratis") So after looking up my booking details, he pointed to where the sign said that if you stay 7 nights, you get a night free. I'm pretty thirsty.

So last night/earlier today, I was definitely on the low part of the study abroad emotional roller coaster, but conveniently, things are looking up already. Turns out Vanessa (Brazillian roomie), also hates the food here and has just been playing it "safe" eating McDonalds, so we're going out in a few minutes to find a good restaurant with some trustworthy reviews hopefully, so that we can find out what this place has to offer. Also, she's never had Mexican food. She says they don't have that in Brazil.

In other news, most people who are from here assume I'm Brazilian, which I thought was weird, until I saw a woman who could pass for one of my relatives in the lobby of the hostel speaking fluent Portuguese. (We both did double takes)Then I thought, "I guess I do look like her" People don't really know the difference until I open my mouth or it just becomes clear on my face that I have no idea what they're talking about, because I don't speak Portuguese. Anyway, after some helpful 'pull yourself together' tips from Arrita (thanks), she informed me that Brazil has the most Nigerians outside of Nigeria, Which is interesting, because one time in middle school when I contemplated which type of African I could pass for, I ultimately chose Nigerian. Then I called my mom and interrogated her for an hour until she finally admitted that I was adopted from a family in Nigeria when I was three months old.

I'm joking. That would have been a little bit too interesting for me to handle right now.

Things are definitely difficult, but every time I have a successful transaction, or go out and figure something out on my own, Every time someone says "entiendes?" and I can confidently say "si", I feel a little bit better about this. My ability to learn, to understand, and to make it.

Tomorrow, Vanessa leaves, which kind of sucks, but will force me back into relying only on myself again. (She's been filling in a lot of blanks for me during conversations at restaurants and whatnot). But it was very nice to have someone to travel and share things with. Even though we don't speak a whole lot, we've definitely found a way to communicate. Good thing gestures are pretty much universal.

Updates:
* Today I hailed a taxi!
* I can't wait to move into the dorms
* i went with the 7 up

Not regretting it yet,

TB