Ice cream, CAASAH, Drums and Hot Chocolate

We haven't updated in a while because we didn't go anywhere to exciting this past weekend. However I would like to take this opportunity to talk about what seems mundane to us.

Pretty much everyday I have gone to get ice cream, usually at McDonalds. It recently got a little out of hand, with as many as three trips in one day. It was at this low point that I realized the extent of my addiction and an intervention was convened. I now allow myself only one per day and try to do less than that. Just across the street is a place called Frio Gostoso which is a kind of fancy ice cream place, and then McDonalds is three or four blocks away and have ice cream cones for R$1.50($0.75) or two for R$2.00($1.00). I am such a sucker for bargains that at first I'd just get ice cream cones, but then my friend Kelsi here got me to try the Top Sundaes. They are a little more (R$4.10 or about $2.25) but soooo good. There's also a cake place with fancy desserts around the corner from the McDonalds, as well as an Acai place a couple blocks away. Acai is a berry from the amazon that is very dark purple and they blend it up into an icy frozen smoothie thing with other flavors added to it. We usually get banana because it's been on special since we got here. And it tastes really good. It counters the tartness of the berry with the sweet banana-ness.

I thought that only three hours at placement everyday wasn't very long, but when all the kids are kicking and screaming and spitting on each other and us, it doesn't go by fast enough. CAASAH has gotten much more challenging and exhausting and less rewarding. There are really only two kids there that are really good, the rest are street kids that steal everything we bring and will try and beat us up if we don't let them have their way. I'm having a hard time remembering why I wanted to go there. I believe I'll stay there because I'll feel guilty if I leave the good kids there with the punks.

Tuesday we went to watch the drum group Olodum, which is apparently famous worldwide. It was fun and our friend Rachel danced with the big group around them. That's what one of the videos is of. After that we went to this place we call "the chocolate bar" but that's not what it's really called. Anyway, they have hot chocolate there that is really good and is the consistency and appearance of like homemade hot chocolate pudding. REALLY GOOD.