Welcome to Salvador Indeed

So...I figured it was about that time to let all you dedicated readers know that yes, we are still alive and doing well. In fact, I´ll stop lying...we´re doing absolutely fantastic.

We arrived in Salvador two days ago and for some reason, I have almost completely forgotten what Sao Paulo is like.

Maybe it´s the beaches...

Or the skantily-clad, beautiful women who I´m sure a blind man couldn´t miss...

Or maybe it´s knowing that in a little over a week Salvador´s Carnaval (reputedly the best Carnaval in Brazil) is going to be passing right by my door...

Whatever it is, Salvador is absolutely absolutely (yea, I wrote it twice) breathtaking. If I were more of a computer wiz (or maybe I should say, less or a technological dinosaur) I would include some pictures with this entry--hopefully my more advanced compatriots will lend me a hand here.

To give a breif account of what has transpired thus far, I settled into my host family´s home two days ago in a very nice apartment on the 7th floor of the building which overlooks Praca Campo Grande and as a result, a major Caraval location. My family consists of two host mom´s (who may or may not be life-partners) an aunt, and some other students renting out space, including a kid named Mateus whose reputation far precedes him (I imagine I will be telling you all more about him in the coming entries). As I was getting settled, I was immediately interrupted by one of my host moms (Barbara) and asked if I wanted to attend a family bbq. Being the open guy I am, ready to try new things I quickly agreed, not knowing what I was getting myself into. The bbq was nice, and lots of fun: to give a breif synopsis, I helped cook and taste the meat as it was prepared, in between taking shots of cachaca (if you are not familiar, think of rubbing alcohol), and learning the Samba from the various women/family members at the party.
P.S. All of this happened before 1PM...Not bad for my first day in Salvador.

Much more to come soon, I promise.
Brazil love, Tudo Bem.