Good news...and bad news

Well, hello everyone! I hope this finds you well. Everything here in Bahia is going fine. I have been studying a lot, ans I cannot believe that 3 weeks have already passed by. So, some interesting things that have been going on here: I went to see this play called "Balet Folclorico." That was pretty amazing! It was a dance that described the culture of the slaves in Brazil, specifically Bahia. The performers were so talented! The first scene was a depiction of the different gods/spirits of Candomblé. They are called orixás. There used to be hundreds of them but when the religion was transfered from Africa to Brazil, some of the lesser important orixás were forgotten. So now there are only about 27 orixás remembered and celebrated in the Candomblé ceremonies. Well, throughout the rest of the show, the dancers displayed scenes from everyday life, for example, fishing in the ocean with nets and the common practice of capoeira. All in all, the presentation of spectacular!!
I have not really been going out at night because I truthfully just don´t enjoy it too much. It is just a little bit scary at times, especially when you bump into a drunk person. But oh well.
The other day I went to this arket called the Mercado Modelo. It is this huge two-story building that only sells hand-crafted art and accessories. It was amazing!! I bought a traditional Bahian outfit that many women wear here. It is all white and usually the women wear petticaots underneath the skirts to make them poof but I decided that wasn´t for me. But it is still beautiful!!!
Well, I need to let everyone know that my family (in America) is going through some hard times right now. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. My little sister, the one we just got guardianship of is going back to Brazil because her biological mother wants her back. The story is really long and complicated; I don~t have time or the strength to write about it. But please pray that Elishani has strength because all of this is really confusing her...and us as well. I have to go to capoeira class right now, so hope everyone is having a great summer!! Tchau!!

sincerely,
Esther