Did I mention I got internet-connected today?
... which is the reason that this is my 4th (I think) post of the day. I have wireless internet (which I'm paying for, sigh ...) until I'm out of this place around the 18th, at which point I'll either get a semi-temporary apartment or move into a cheaper pousada (like the one one of my classmates is at, more on that later).
So check THIS out: the kid who set up the wireless here (he was working at the front desk today) not only set it up with WEP encryption, which for your average not-technical person is relatively impressive, but he even uploaded a pirated version of the firmware to his access point. The firmware was hacked (presumably by someone else) to give more features, including something which changes the WEP key every 30 minutes (and no, it's not WPA). Very, very impressive. He said he taught himself this stuff. And English, too. I told him I could juggle.
I had my first day of Portuguese class, which was awesome, mostly because I felt like I was in college again. If I'd only brought my torn flannel shirts, overworn upside down u-shaped baseball caps and Chuck Taylors, it would have been complete. There are 2 other students in the class. One is a woman my age from London who is on leave from BBC radio, and has done what I want to do, i.e., traveled from Central America on down to here over the course of a number of months. The other is a man younger than me (mid-20s maybe) from Switzerland, who speaks German, French, Swiss, and English, and likes to play guitar. The woman speaks Spanish. I speak English. Also my instructor's name is Maria, from Itabuna, with an Arabic last name and who is middle-aged. There's also a student teacher who sits in the back of the room and doesn't say anything but takes lots of notes. She's from Bahia (Salvador, I assume).
The class was just plain awesome. I can't say exactly why. Maybe because it feels like I'm doing something like a mix of extended vacation and/or going back to college, all in a tropical setting. I'm 100 yards from the beach and from Farol Sol, a lighthouse which is a central part of the Carnival festivities. Of course I probably won't be in this exact spot for that, but I hope to be here for at least part of it.
If things continue as they've gone for the first few days I've been here, I'm going to be just fine :).
So check THIS out: the kid who set up the wireless here (he was working at the front desk today) not only set it up with WEP encryption, which for your average not-technical person is relatively impressive, but he even uploaded a pirated version of the firmware to his access point. The firmware was hacked (presumably by someone else) to give more features, including something which changes the WEP key every 30 minutes (and no, it's not WPA). Very, very impressive. He said he taught himself this stuff. And English, too. I told him I could juggle.
I had my first day of Portuguese class, which was awesome, mostly because I felt like I was in college again. If I'd only brought my torn flannel shirts, overworn upside down u-shaped baseball caps and Chuck Taylors, it would have been complete. There are 2 other students in the class. One is a woman my age from London who is on leave from BBC radio, and has done what I want to do, i.e., traveled from Central America on down to here over the course of a number of months. The other is a man younger than me (mid-20s maybe) from Switzerland, who speaks German, French, Swiss, and English, and likes to play guitar. The woman speaks Spanish. I speak English. Also my instructor's name is Maria, from Itabuna, with an Arabic last name and who is middle-aged. There's also a student teacher who sits in the back of the room and doesn't say anything but takes lots of notes. She's from Bahia (Salvador, I assume).
The class was just plain awesome. I can't say exactly why. Maybe because it feels like I'm doing something like a mix of extended vacation and/or going back to college, all in a tropical setting. I'm 100 yards from the beach and from Farol Sol, a lighthouse which is a central part of the Carnival festivities. Of course I probably won't be in this exact spot for that, but I hope to be here for at least part of it.
If things continue as they've gone for the first few days I've been here, I'm going to be just fine :).
posted by n10471 at 7:36 PM
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