Close encounters.

OK, why is it that as soon as I sit down at the computer and log into my Blogspot account, I forget everything that I was going to post about? It´s kind of like when I walk into Target -- a feeling of being overwhelmed covers me and I get lost and forget my official, original purpose for being there. So it happens again.
I will start with my last night in Sao Joao del Rei. Lilianne made me try her one-of-a-kind ravioli stuffed with pork sausage and provolone, which was very tasty. The sauce would have made any Italian proud. Diogo -- her friend and employee who I´ve been hanging out with as well for the past few nights in SJ del Rei, has been trying to learn the kitchen so that when she opens her bigger restaurant by July she will have help -- made me the molten lava cake. It was a little overcooked but I devoured it anyway. He also mixed the best caipirinha I´ve ever had. Who´d he learn it from? Lilly. And the additional secret ingredient? Mint! Note to self: Add mint. I can hear all the purists chiding me right now...
We were at the restaurant for a few hours, talking and gossiping like old friends. There~s really nothing like being in the kitchen of a chef and trying everything in his or her fridge. They had heard I was at the cybercafe earlier in the day and asked why was I there. I responded with a question instead: How the hell does word get around so fast in that town? I asked them how they knew I had stopped by the cafe; they said the mom of Camilo, the owner, ran into them during the day sometime and said something about it. But I had never met Camilo´s mother before that day so god knows how she knew I was friends with Lilly and Diogo. Kind of a scary thought, right, that everyone always knows your whereabouts and what you´re doing? This will come up later; I´ll explain in a sec.
I told Lilly and Diogo about a strange message that was handed to me at my hotel when I returned from sightseeing all day. It was written in Spanish and said something like ´´Please call this number about the book.´´ I was puzzled. Yea, I had been looking for a Portuguese-English dictionary in all the shops, but this was really weird. For 10 minutes I was baffled. Then it hit me. The girl I had been talking to the other night, the lesbian, she had wanted to give me a book written by a Chinese-American girl about her American identity but Asian heritage. OK, no big deal. But I had to meet Lilly at the restaurant and I was late, so I didnt call the number. Lilly and Diogo tsk-tsk´d when I shared the tale and said this girl was in love with me. Diogo, who is gay, said her dropping by the hotel was too much and both of them were similarly spooked by the whole thing.
Fast forward to 10:30 pm, when Diogo, Lilly and I went to teh cybercafe for drinks and for me to pick up some more MP3s Camilo had prepared for me. Guess who shows up? The girl, whose name is Paola. Diogo and Lilly started whispering and I told them to shut up and not be rude. They didnt like her because I had been ´´monopolized´´ or ´´manipulated´´ (i couldnt understand what word they were using) into talking her the entire night the other day. Paola and I said hello and she said she had dropped off another note at my hotel that she couldnt get the book back from her friend and then heard I was at the cybercafe. Christ, so who the hell else knew I was at the cafe this time? Geez louise. Anyway, the night went on and through the haze and drinking we did she tried to engross me in deep conversation but really, since it was my last night in the town, I wanted to talk to Diogo and Lilly. I hope I wasnt too rude. But in the end, I felt like an asshole anyway because I dont know if this girl was being sincere about wanting to speak English with an American or if she wanted more. I would have felt the same way if it were a guy, so sexual preference has nothing to do with it obviously. So yea, I feel like a dick for thinking this, but if even Diogo and Lilly thought it was too much as well, then my gut must be somewhat correct.
I retired to my hotel and said a long goodbye to Lilly and Diogo. We promised to meet again but when traveling it is just so hard to know if this will ever happen. Hanging out with them was great but again, made me miss my friends at home. Diogo and I already have half-joked about a more permanent solution in the case I want to ever become legal in Brazil, if I decide to move here, if you catch my drift, and Lilly could also hire me to work in her restaurant -- I am not beyond cleaning toilets -- for a legal permit.
The next morning I took the bus to Ouro Preto, but on the way managed to attract every single weirdo -- mental, really -- between SJ del Rei and Ouro Preto. On the bus a crazy old lady sat next to me and kept talking to herself or me, I couldnt figure it out, in Portuguese even though she knew I dont speak a word of the language. She took out some flowers and I almost died from an allergy attack, which I dont really get often. Thank god when the bus ride was over.
Ouro Preto is a gorgeous town. It was originally a gold mining town mostly inhabited by slaves a long time ago, and there are at least 7 churches here done in a baroque/rococco style. All the roads are cobblestone and steep, so I have been getting a workout. Also had to pay a few times to get into some churches, so there I go again, breaking my rule of giving money to a religious entity. After this I was planning to go north to Diamantina, which has buildings similar in architecture to what I have been seeing the past week in all the cities I´ve visited, but I think I´ve had my share of neo-colonial for a while. So I´m heading to Ilha Grande instead tomorrow evening on an overnight bus. Ilha Grande is supposed to be like Ilha do Mel -- all tropical and beach and remote and quiet during the week. I am looking forward to a few days laying under the sun. I just hope the mosquitoes aren´t going to be bad again... need to go pick up some stronger repellent anyway because my 30% Deet is doing jack!
So you wont hear from me for awhile, probably until I get back into Sao Paulo next week sometime (havent decided when, but Skolbeats is next Saturday).