Apparently the world knows that America is fat. The main trainer, Igor, even told me this morning that he was really surprised when he found out I was American because he didn't think many Americans worked out.

My mae found out this morning that we are going to Candomble (an African descended cultural/spiritual experience) to see what it is like. She reacted rather strongly to say the least. I ate breakfast this morning listening to a diatribe against Candomble as force of evil. She said that it is not a cultural experience and not worthwhile. She understands that it is part of the program and I will be going no matter what she says but she is seriously concerned about me bringing evil spirits into the house. She is certainly deeply set in her beliefs and may seem like kind of a hard woman to live with on that front, but I am actually enjoying the experience a lot. She is a very nice woman and kind of lonely since her kids are moved out (mostly) and doesn't mind cooking extra for me.

Most importantly, her nephew is awesome. He has been showing me around our area -helping me join the gym, taking me to his favorite beaches and introducing me to lots of cool friends. They all love trying out the phrases from English class - they all seem to know "the book is on the table" - and teaching me bad words in portuguese. Apparently it is absolutely hilarious to watch me say bad words. We also watched lilo and stitch last night in portuguese. I actually understood a fair deal and it was pretty funny!

Spent TONS of the weekend at the beach. Actually a variety of beaches to be exact. I walked up and down the coast for a few miles each day and hit up the touristy ones, the soccery ones, and then had my cousin show me the secret ones. It was really fun. There are some great places where you can actually get in and swim for a long ways in relative calm. And then the huge waves which are fun to hang out around and watch the local surfers do their thing. Basically there is a beach for everyone, including me.