Scariest Day Yet

I know it sounds a little dramatic but getting my first haircut in a foreign country was a daunting task for me. I tried to wait as long as I could and even tried to convince myself "Oh, it looks good like this" but I knew deep down that it looked like a clown wig.

I looked up on Google translate and found out what to say for "Don't cut it very short" and told my barber. He made a motion around my ears and I nodded not really knowing what would happen. He then throws a Playboy magazine in my lap to read while I'm getting my hair cut. I smiled and told him that I didn't need it. He looked a little confused and finally put it back on the table. He probably doesn't get that much.

I have to give it to my Carioca friend, he did a bang up job. It actually looks good. I even gave him a tip and saw him a couple of times throughout the day because their shop is right around the corner from where I live. Every time I passed by I gave him the thumbs up, universal for "Good haircut Dude."

Well, my schedule is filled up. I have all the students I want now and it pays the bills. I picked up two more private students and have a few with a couple of schools as well. I met with one of the private students tonight. It's a married couple from Bolivia but the husband's job brought them here. They used to take lessons from a guy who went to the same school I finished with. His Mom got sick and he had to go home but he gave the couple my info. I already got another student from him. They are really nice and I talked to them for another 20 minutes after class. They said they liked it. It only took me an hour to get back home. I found the right bus that took me straight to my street. I told the guy who takes the money on the bus which street I needed in Flamengo and he told me he would let me know when to get up. That was the best bus experience by far.

Oh, I gotta tell you this story from tonight. Okay, I was walking to my students apartment. I got there early because a nice girl who spoke English helped me out. I was trying to waste time by just walking around and realized I didn't have the apartment room number. I see a hedge and I put my notebook on it with all my notes, info on all my students, and passport picture so can dig around and find the number. Well, I soon realized that the hedge was covering up a fence for an apartment. The fences for apartments completely surround them. Its not like I can just walk around the fence and grab it.

No sooner did put the notebook on the hedge that it slipped over the fence. I was in a panic. I walked around to the entrance of the apartment and the guard was sitting there with the fence open. He had seen the whole thing. Hallelujah! God helps me even when I do stupid stuff. Note to self: don't ever put anything on a hedge for safe keeping...Ever. He guard said something but it seemed to me that he was saying "Its a good thing I was here" and started laughing. I started laughing and gave him the thumbs up.

My other private student came from a referral that a guy I know from church. He had given a colleague my info and the guy contacted me last Friday and had a trial run class that afternoon. He said he liked the class so we'll continue next week. This week everyone is off Thursday and Friday. Thursday is a national holiday that happened to fall on Easter week and off for Good Friday.

Things are starting to feel more normal to me. I move in to my apartment next week and that will give me a feeling of stability, having my own place. I will miss the meals and help with laundry that I have now. I was in college for 6 years so I know how to survive with small meals.

I'm so glad I made this move. This past Sunday I was looking at the moon as the sun was setting and looking at Sugarloaf Mtn and the other mountains and thinking "I'm really here. This is so cool. I couldn't have made a better decision." I wish everyone who reads this could see what I am seeing. It's so beautiful that I want to share it with everyone.