Se la

"Se la" is an expression in Portuguese that means "whatever" or "I dunno." It's just one of those things that I have learned to use as an interjection here, although, admittedly, my fluency with this is nowhere near a native Brazilian.

Anyway, this morning I went to the swimming beach near the hostel where I'm staying. For those of you who have been following this blog for a while, it's the same beach where I spent the day with a Frenchwoman when I was here in Salvador in March. It's the same beach where people applaud the sunset.

So, today I was swimming, and I thought I would share with you all some thoughts about the water. It was clean and clear and a greenish-blue color. The water is so clear that as I swam, I could see schools of fish swimming beneath me. The bottom was also clearly visible, with big, black rocks occasionally breaking the taupe-colored sandy floor.

About a week ago, Talia, the American writer, and I came to this beach at dusk because I wanted to swim at that time of day. There were fluffy, steel-gray clouds in the sky that the sunset highlighted with rose and orange. The container ships that dotted the horizon faded gradually into the blackness of the evening as the last rays of light disappeared. But the water below me seemed illuminated. Granted, it was the super-powerful floodlights pointed at the beach that kept the water looking like it was almost daytime, and that allowed me to continue seeing my feet as I floated around. Se la, I thought it was cool that the sky and everything else had become an oily black, and I could still see my feet under water.

A couple of days ago I tried to change my ticket to come back in mid-July, but Northwest told me that they didn't have anything available, even checking up to July 19th. Obviously I'll keep you all posted, but I'm starting to think that at least this segment of my Brazilian adventures is coming to a close. As a result, I've decided to start really acting like a tourist. Hence the beach today. And tomorrow a day trip to a nearby island. And more photos at the local market, which, once again, makes it clear that Salvador is the developing world.

Oh, if any of you have suggestions for temporary work that would let me save some money to come back here, please let me know. While I would consider things in New Orleans and maybe Madison, New York is the most likely landing place for me. Plus, I miss pub quiz. And all you people who make life so good. Love you all.