Girls be warned

As O Atrevido mentioned, everyone says that Carnaval is all about kissing. But unfortunately, much of this kisssing is basically, if not completely, forced. At about 2am on the second night of Carnaval, I found myself accompanying a group of three random Brazilian girls who I didn´t know but were somehow connected to a friend of my host brother (and no, I didn´t force any of them into anything they didn´t want to do). I was walking with them through the pipoca (if you don´t know the terminology see: Carnaval 101) for about an hour. I was behind three of them, holding the girls hand in front of me while we followed her friends. She basically got a free pass for the night. There´s a certain level of unspoken respect between guys during the festival. If you appear to be with a girl, or are atleast holding her hand, they can all look, but they don´t dare touch. Any other girls however...it´s one big meat market.

The two girls in front of us faced a virtual obstacle course filled with Brazilian men and assorted tourists trying to get a piece. Compared to the States, rules regarding sexual harassment here are pretty lenient throughout the year. During Carnaval, I don´t think they exist. Making eye contact is basically the same as telling a dude you want to sleep with them. And, once a guy thinks that his advances have gotten the slightest form of positive feedback (and "positive" is a very flexible term), it takes a relative miracle to escape the situation without atleast giving up a kiss, if not more.

So I´m with the girls, trying to provide as much help as I can, brushing off dudes that have grabbed one of the girl´s arms, karating chopping some guys who don´t take the hint and hold on for too long, and just kindof looking on in disgust at some of the guys who simply go for a slight, yet extremely pervented, stroke of the hair.

At one point, one girl actually got corralled by a guy using a string of beads (kinda like Mardis Gras, but beads are traded for kisses and hookups rather than getting flashed). It appeared to be a pretty perilous situation, but my momentary worry was quickly transformed into a kind of awe. Even though the guy with the beads attacked from behind, the girl immediately, if not pre-emptively employed a Matrix-esque spin move/dip, escaped the well planned, predatory advance, and kept moving...all in one motion, while not breaking stride, nor changing the stone-cold demeanor on her face. I was impressed indeed.

So, although I am far from any sort of feminist (and in some ways pride myself on that fact)...women of the world, I give you much respect. And although I just provided a harrowing image of Carnaval in Salvador, don´t be fooled, it´s still great. You just have to know what you´re doing.

And for all those of you who are worried about Tudo Bem´s recent lack of posts, don´t worry. He´s absolutely fine...for the most part.