Sou Americana

Turns out Bad News Bear, though a bearer of bad news, is no liar. I wish he was, given that all he ever tells me is bad news, but it seems as though when the calendar turned to "February," the temperatures in Natal increased exponentially.

I joke with all of my friends that, because I am American, I only take one shower per day. You see here in Brasil, at least in the northeast, everyone showers at least twice a day, if not more. One in the morning, one in the evening, and maybe one or two in between. They are genuinely disgusted when I tell them that I am only accustomed to showering once a day, and that unless I feel like I really need it, I'll do my part in conserving water. The first few retreats we went on, they all looked at me like I had grown horn (or fungus, I guess, given the subject at hand) when they all went to take showers before dinner and I stayed behind. Each time I had to explain, jokingly, "No, I'm American, I just take one shower per day." Now, it has become such a common conversation, that when they ask, "Cris, vai tomar banho?" (Cris, are you going to take a shower?) all I have to do is respond "Nao, sou americana." (No, I'm American.) They always laugh, but they understand. No further explanation needed.

So imagine my surprise, and my friends' surprise when I told them the news, when Friday I had already taken two showers by 2:30 pm. After my first, normal shower, I spent the morning going back and forth between my apartment and the church building because I was doing laundry. The second, shortly after 2 pm, was precisely because I had spent the morning walking back and forth between the church building. Since being in Natal, I had not yet experienced anything like the heat experienced on Friday. The sun was so hot that I was positive I was getting tanlines during my 2-minute walk.

So, in conclusion (I learned to never, ever write that phrase in a scholastic paper, but I think we've already established that this blog is far from that....) BNB may bear bad news, but he is no liar. Now, what does that mean for my Portuguese? Hmmm....

P.S. I realize that some of you, namely a certain few of my friends from ACU, developed a nervous tick as soon as you read that there are some people in the world who actually shower on a daily basis. Just a fair warning to you, my 3-times-per-week showering friends, you would never make it in Brasil. :)