Thu, 12 Jan 2006 15:26:27 -0800 (PST)
6 days in Florianopilis

It hasn´t been long since I have sent out an update about my travels, but a few things that I find interesting have happened over the past few days (as they always do when you are travelling).

On sunday night, a bulgarian girl "elika" who lives in the US arrived to stay at the homestay that I was staying in. I got home in the evening of monday night, and she was in the kitchen with a bag of ice on her head, and was complaining about feeling nautious as well as having stomach problems. She had been at the beach all day, and so I told her it was probably just heat stroke. She wanted to know if I had drank the same water that she had (in the house), and I told her yeah, and that I didn´t have any problems. I asked her if there was anything I could do to help, and she said no. So, I went to bed, and heard the rest of the story the next morning.

Apparently around 12:30, this girl got the organizer of the school to come pick her up and take her to the hospital because she was feeling so bad. When she got there she was aparently freaking out about them using a needle to put an IV in her, and repeatedly asking the doctor if he was sure about giving her fluid, and things like that. Apparently they did some tests to try to figure out what was wrong with her .... ..... .... it turned out that she is 2 month pregnant!

Tuesday I moved into my new apartment, but actually ended up not taking the one that I put a deposit down on (lost $100 because of it!). I moved into different place that will cost me about $1700 (CAD) to stay until the end of March. I am renting the first floor of a building with two levels and two self-contained apartments. The owners are upstairs, and the most anoying thing is there two little yappy poodles. When I first moved in, one of them actually snuck up behind me in my apartment and gave a little nip at my heels. Later on, I went out, and left the door to my apartment open which I figured would be OK, since I always leave all the windows were open anyway. I came home, and one of the little bastard dogs had shit in my laundry room ... fucker!

I also attempted to buy a bicycle, but the company couldnt read my credit card. I told them I would come back the next day with cash to buy it, and the price had magically been raised by about 20%. The guy told me that the price that I saw was yesterdays price. I said thanks, and turned around and walked out without another word.

I finally got my mobile phone working, after 6 days. Apparently there was a lightning strike in Sao Paulo, and obviously they didn´t have many backup provisions.

I went out for more kiteboard lessons today, and my instructor sat on the beach, and smoked pot the entire time.

Alex