The library, the bazaar, and my last day at the circus

Hello all—

Today was my last day at my project—I can't believe my six weeks there are over! It was a challenging, wonderful experience and I learned so much. I'm going to miss my circus kids and my fellow coaches. I'll see them down the road :)

I continue to be pretty busy, and it's hard to remember what I've done this past week! On Tuesday after project I baked an apple crisp for my friends at the hostel, just for fun. I've enjoyed having the chance to cook here.

On Wednesday I FINALLY got a tour of the National Library. It was beautiful, but not as nice as the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura. I also visited the fine arts museum, which is conveniently right next to the library. I tried to take a tour of the National Theater, but couldn't find the entrance for the tours (it turns out you can't just walk in the front doors where they have the "guided tours" sign). Frustrating yet comical, especially as I am the daughter of a travel writer who makes his living helping smooth out the bumps and obstacles for tourists.

Yesterday (Friday) I spent part of the afternoon giving a new volunteer (from France) a preliminary tour of the center of Rio and making a visit to the exchange office. Next, an American friend and I walked to Saara, an area of town that looks quite similar to traditional middle eastern bazaars (except it's full of brazilian products). I bought a few souvenirs, and mostly enjoyed the bazaar atmosphere. Afterwards, we tried again to get a tour of the national theater, but this time it was sold out!

Last night we had a group dinner at my pousada (hostel), which was fun. It's always nice to get all the volunteers together for dinner. I made a giant M & M cookie (to be cut into bars), but not for my fellow volunteers...

As you may be able to guess, the cookie was devoured by my circus kids today—it was a sort of going-away present. I thought it might be good to bring something typically american to my last circus class.

One interesting incident did happen at the end of class—after most of the kids had left, I was helping put some unicycles away and managed to gash my head on a metal window shutter. It wasn't serious, but I did start bleeding everywhere until one of the other coaches could run and grab some paper towels. Grand finale?

Today it's dreary outside, so I'll be working on packing and preparing for my mini-vacation this week. Next stop, Paraty!