i went sandboarding!

it was probably the most exciting thing ive done yet in brazil, though i was also really scared i was going to kill myself. im a skier, the whole sideways thing never worked too well for me, and i heard that sandboarding is a lot more dangerous than it looks (don't worry mom, i didnt even fall!) i pretty much handled it like a pro:) the dunes are huge, and there was a big bowl that we just kept climbing up and going down, luckily it was cloudy, otherwise it wouldve been scorching. only one other guy wanted to try it with me, he crashed and burned a few times, but in the end it was super fun and i would definitely do it again. and ive got some hilarious videos. and it really made me want to try snowboarding again, but i guess that will depend on getting me away from the beach and back to the mountains when its winter time..
a few days ago we (the canadian girls and the english guy and i) took a "lovely" boatride out on the lake to a little village about half an hour along the shore. it was sooooo beautiful, and for the first time since ive been here, i really really missed lake tahoe (people in tahoe dont be offended, im talking about the actual lake) and im sad about not living there this summer, even though i know bozeman will be awesome. i love the ocean, but theres just something about lakes that will always get me. theyre so peaceful, and the houses along the shoreline all make me want to live in them. we ate some awesome seafood and walked to a little waterfall, it was a really nice afternoon. its crazy having the lake near the ocean, its literally the best of both worlds in one place. if only there were high mountains with snow:)...
it was good to have some excitement, because this week has actually been pretty stressful for me, planning my route to amanda, aka la paz, bolivia, by the morning of the 18th. and i know some of you at home think that travel is all sun and fun, but unfortunately, its not, and youd never believe the extent of planning and exhaustive researching ive been doing these last few days just to see if la paz is even possible. in the end, it looks like it will be, though expensive, possible. my plans just keep changing by no fault of my own, and since i was supposed to set off on this 6 day adventure tomorrow, and still didnt know what i was going to do, it was tough. today i received more news that completely changed my plans yet again, but apparently this was better, because i think i finally know what im doing. im going to stay with the canadians for a few days and then bus it to sao paulo where i can catch a flight to santa cruz, bolivia. this means im avoiding "the death train" so mom you can rest easier. ill have a few days in santa cruz to figure out getting to la paz, which will be much much easier once im actually there. then itll only be a couple days till i meet amanda and we start our exciting two weeks to copacabana, lake titicaca, and on to cuzco and machu picchu, yay! after that i might just find a beach and stay there for another month, i like this lifestyle.
on the homefront, were having a goodbye dinner for me at my house tonight, just some of the closer friends ive made, were going to make moqueca, a brazilian seafood dish, some typical crab appetizer of some sort, and tapioca for dessert (no its not pudding), which i made all by myself! pretty much. ill be bringing home some great recipes, and some really great memories. its crazy how one month flies by, but at the same time it feels like ive been here for a long time. im speaking conversational portuguese which was my main goal, picked up samba and forro enough to know that ill forever be a salsa dancer, and added a bunch of new friends to my worldwide collection. so i would say it was a success.
the next few days hopefully ill be stress-free on the beach, then be able to muster up all my energy to take on bolivia. for those of you who have actually called me, i leave brazil on the night of the 15th, so no more phone after that, but i might get a chip in peru too. who knows. bom fim de semana para todos.. ate bolivia!