This time I'm not talking about the temperature in Bahia, I'm talking about the ever-present undercurrent of sex here; I've never seen or felt an environment like this in my whole life . . . like ever.  I knew that Brazil was known to be a pretty hot place and I was aware of all of the stereotypes about sex, but I didn't really stop to think about what that meant in terms of day-to-day life.  Let's just say I arrived here with a mentality that's too naive to even attempt to explain.  I feel like American fresh meat dropped into a tank of opportunistic Don Juan sharks.  It's out of control.  You've seen Eat, Pray, Love, right?  Picture the movie's archetypical Brazilian machista lover x 100.  Before I go on, let me just say that Sean has nothing to worry about and that I'm managing, but that I've just had to head back into the locker room at half-time and change my game plan.  Drastically.

The first words in Portuguese that I heard once I landed in Ilhéus, Bahia were from my shirtless and barefoot landlord who took one look at me and said the equivalent of, "What, this one's married? Well, don't worry, the ring will wash off in the sand here sooner or later" and everybody laughed, except me.  Later that weekend my capoeira instructor picked us up on our way to the beach and suggested that I "leave my ring at home."  At first I thought these were just isolated events, but I have quickly realized that this casual attitude toward sex and marriage is a normal part of the culture here.

The strong Bahian traditions of intimacy and affection can be seen in daily situations like the quantity and style of dancing, the very physical greetings/goodbyes and the frequency and normalcy of one-night encounters.  The language of Portuguese has its own set of words for the various levels of relationships that are practically impossible to translate into English. In addition, the attitude about sex in the community of Bahia is one of openness, tolerance, and liberty.  It's talked about, desired and pursued with obvious and impressive diligence.

In short, I've realized that Bahians only care about one thing: enjoying life.  They don't live to work, they don't stress or complain and they don't worry about tomorrow.  They focus on the next party, who's going dancing and when, the quality of the feijoada, and the beauty of the people.  Sex fits into this equation of the good life along with a strong shot of sugary-sweet coffee in the morning and a cold caiparinha at night.  If you're not fully immersed in the Bahian lifestyle and enjoying the whole package, no pun intended, then people start to worry and wonder about you, married or not.

My boss asked me at our last Fulbright meeting in a very concerned tone, "How are you managing to do without? Don't you feel sick?" The fact that he feels appropriate asking me this question in a professional environment should clue you in to what things are like here.  I told him that while I don't feel sick, I do feel like a freak.  In my opinion, August can't come soon enough.  And by that time I should have an even more impressive ring tan than I do now.

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