roach motel...

I was sitting on my couch playing with stamps and crayons (teaching pre-school is a fun time) when my roommate Christine started screaming and sitting up on the top of the couch pointing to the floor, where a huge cockroach was scittering across the floor.  Ewwww, I joined in her screaming and our other roommate Claryssa chased it with a flip flop while our other roommate Jean came to find out what all the fuss was about.  Jean then ran to get the bug spray while the cockroach ran under the couch (and I promptly jumped off, leapt off, bounded off, got as far away from the couch as was physically possible as fast as was physically possible)...the spray killed him off and he was carried to his final resting place in the garbage can, but I still felt like things were crawling on me and I pulled my bed away from all the walls and slept with my desk lamp on (because cockroaches don't like light, right...right?).  Anyhow, it made me feel better.  I have since also learned that termites are feasting on my wooden bathroom door, leaving little piles of sawdust on the tile.  Neat.

Today, I decided to drive for the first time in Brazil.  It was raining after school when we set out for the mall (the one place I've been to enough that I felt comfortable finding it on my own, though one of my roommates was an excellent navigator).  I thought about copping out because it was raining, but it rains on a regular basis (every day) here, so I decided not to be a baby.  I was a little nervous because all the school cars are stick shifts and there are a LOT of hills around here, steep hills that I was not looking forward to rolling backwards on (since sometimes other cars are behind you on roads and other cars and their drivers don't necessarily like to be rolled into).  I stopped at the first stop sign outside of the school and was promptly honked at and passed on the left.  My Brazilian roommate informed me that stop signs are more of a suggestion.  Good to know.  I'll stop when I feel like it.  They also like to control speed around here with huge, poorly marked speed bumps.  These speed bumps all have street signs accompanying them and yellow stripes on the road to warn of their existence, but many of the stripes are faded and I'm not accustomed to noticing this sign, so some of the speed bumps did not accomplish their purpose in slowing my speed because I didn't know they were there until I'd sped (careened, launched the car) over them.  I also was a bit nervous about changing lanes because people and motorcycles zip in and out without signals or warning, so I decided when there was an opening to move to the right lane where I would eventually need to turn that I should move over, never mind that it was behind a bus.  Except...I was a good half mile from my turn and at least three bus stops as well, I made three bus stops too, because suddenly there were cars everywhere and nowhere to move, so I stayed and stopped behind the bus.  Good times.  When I finally made my turn, it was up a giant hill where there is a stop light at the top that happened to turn red while I was stilI on the hill.  I was ready to gun it when the light turned green, but my sandal got stuck on the brake, so roll, roll, roll, backwards went the car.  Fortunately, the car behind me wasn't too close, so I got unstuck and made it up the hill, but I will not be wearing those shoes again when I drive. I don't know that I'll volunteer to drive on a regular basis, but it's good to know I can do it without too much incident and that I can get places without requiring someone to chauffeur me (though my family knows I do enjoy being chauffeured).