Written September 19, 2008

Hello all. It's been a long time.

Work has been busy lately. So far I've identified 7 species of sharks, 3 of which were not in the record and 4 species of sting ray, 2 of which were not already recorded. So I guess that's good. Lately I've been busy putting together power point presentations to show the fishermen my work and plead with them to bring me animal heads or let me open up the sharks. The first meeting went really well (keep in mind I spoke for like 40 minutes, entirely in Portuguese!) and we have another meeting today. The downside? I think I have bronchitis, it's hard to talk and even breathe. I really want to go back to the good ol' U.S. and see an American doctor! But I power through.

I've ended up with two dogs and SIX CATS for the time being. I really want to give the cats away, but haven't found a home for any of them yet. It's only been like 3 days, though, and I have high hopes.

It's local election time in Brazil. Unfortunately, this means that every 5 minutes somebody passes by with an annoying add blaring from their cars. Politicians pay like $400 for one day for people to do this. They also pay people to support them. Yes, they buy votes. It seems that about 30% of the population is running for some sort of office. It's really obnoxious, but for a monthly salary 10 times the minimum wage, I can see why people want an office. One of the candidates for mayor has been taken to court 17 times, moving around southern Bahia and getting elected for various offices in various cities. He's not even from Caravelas. I hate the situation, but I can only hope the other guy wins!

My boyfriend, Thiago, and I have put together a reggae band! We've played 3 shows already. He plays guitar, I sing occasionally and dance, and we have a drummer too. I want to get some other percussion instruments (like a tambourine!) so I can play along with every song. It's been really fun and now we're famous in our neighborhood and in all of Caravelas. We're like a famous couple and whenever I go out without Thiago people ask about him. Whenever Thiago goes out without me, people ask where I am.

So, Brazil is still good. Mostly my days consist of drinking various juices, eating fried manioc on the beach and reading Agatha Christie novels that my mom sends me. Yes, it's a hard life.

Love and best wishes to all,
~Helen