Acabei de Chagar!!

Oi people,

For those not familiar with Brazilian geography I've posted the map for you to refer to... see Fortaleza? That's my new home! After flying to New York, Sao Paulo and Natal...27 hours total in transit... I am here and so far so good!
It's late and I have a busy day tomorrow involving Latin American sun, sand and shamanic rituals (!) so I'll keep this short, might even use sub headings to keep from rambling...
Safety
Upon entry into Sao Paulo I was greeted by a guard holding what appeared to be a large gun slung around his shoulder. There was some commotion happening at the front of the line at baggage check-in and climaxed with a man running away with half a ripped backpack. I was glad to leave the airport safely with my suitcases and body parts in tact.
Money
Banks are not user friendly here. They have revolving doors that lock on you if you have anything metal on your person. I could not figure this out and managed to get stuck with my bags (filled with metal objects) inside the door blocking access in and out of one of the banks in the busiest airport in Brasil. This made me extremely popular with the locals.
My September Home...
Is paradise. I have my own room, with internet and private bathroom. My family is fantastic and incredibly welcoming. I had a feeling that Brazilians were friendly and they have been fantastic and even threw me a welcome fiesta. Brazilians throw parties for absolutely everything; they even throw parties to plan parties.
Apparently there is a chameleon that chills out in the back yard at night; I am super excited for our first encounter...

Must get to sleep. Yes, tomorrow I am going to the beach, but it's not all about relaxing...I'm going to meet Fachina, the local shaman to learn about aboriginal spirituality...after I get some sun. ;)