8th Day - Arrival and Caipirinha

Hello! There isn't much to report today, as I spent the first half of the day just relaxing. Of course, after breakfast, I unpacked my things - it's a great feeling to finally be able to store my belongings in a closet. Mary and Louisa went to the beach early this morning. Unfortunately, I couldn't join them because of my sunburn, as I still can't expose myself to the sun :'( So, I had plenty of time to arrive and get to know my host family. Everyone here is very warm and welcoming, from the parents to the cleaning lady to the doorman (yes, they have a doorman). For lunch, we had typical Brazilian food, rice, bean stew, and salad. It sounds very simple, but my host mother is an amazing cook and can turn even the simplest ingredients into delicious dishes - it's just so comforting. Mary and Louisa came back in the afternoon and I met Mary's boyfriend, André. We hit it off right away. He's a native Brazilian, but he has red hair and fair skin & could easily pass as an Irishman. The same goes for Dogan, a German-Turkish guy with fair skin and light green eyes, whom I've mentioned before. Here, you definitely reconsider your preconceived notions about the appearance of certain population groups. Together with Maike, Louisa, Mary, Dogan, and André, we went to a Caipirinha bar nearby. It was a fun evening, which we're going to repeat tomorrow, as André is celebrating his birthday (even though it's actually on Monday - it's just normal here, or so I've been told) and he promptly invited us. So, tomorrow will mainly consist of preparations and birthday celebrations. We didn't visit our workplace today after all - there was once again a problem, but I wasn't given any further information :D However, I've slowly gotten used to the fact that time works differently here and plans are often thrown overboard in just a few seconds. And that's it for today. Adeus!