You know you're in Brazil when...

You know you're in Brazil when... you go to "Clube das Mulheres." (Warning... this blog entry has butts in it. If you are offended by butts, do not read any further.)

I have noticed quite a change since I have come to Brazil. When I came, I told myself I would do things I have never done before. I told myself that this would be a year for challenging myself, making myself better and reaching my limits. And, at this point in my journey, I feel I am making fine progress. When I first arrived to Bahia, I made a list of 100 things to do while I am in Brazil. While I haven't completed all of them, I have certainly completed over half, which I am proud of. I have bebcome more confident and daring in so many ways. I wear sleeveless tops and dresses now, something I never would have thought of doing before Brazil, tan in a bikini instead of a one-piece, go out with friends on the weekends, and make spontaneous trips to see new things.

For this reason, when my host mom surprised me and said, "My friend and I are going to the 'Women's Club' this week. Will you go with me?" surprised, I said, "um... ok." Never before would I have gone to a club like this, but I figured, what the heck, I'm in Brazil! So, Wednesday night came and my host mom, her friend Rose (pronounced Hoe-see in Portuguese) and I headed off.



When we arrived at the place, I was, I admit, a bit embarrassed and nervous. But as time went on while we waited outside to be able to enter, my nerves calmed down. There were women of all ages and types there, but most were between 20 and 30, right in my age range. After entering the club, we took our place at one of the many tables and wanted for the show to begin.



At 9:30, all the men came out in suits and danced. Then came out the cowboy, Austin Powers, the soldier, the police officer, the Indian, the carpenter, the sailor and finally the Spartan. Each came out and performed for probably 20 minutes. No worries... no nudity!



2 1/2 hours later, the show concluded. Keeping in the spirit of trying new things, I managed to dance on stage with both the carpenter and the police officer and thoroughly enjoy myself.



Although I probably won't be doing anything too crazy, I really have tried to adopt a new "Go with the flow" and "Just say Yes" policy. I've found that being more confident and doing more things has allowed me to experience new experiences and be a little bolder over all. I'm not sure if I'll be able to continue this new theory when I move back to Decorah, the town of 8,000, but I'm trying to take advantage of the new experiences as they come here in Sao Paulo.