Monteiro Monologues: World cup and São João! Festa, Festa, Festa!!!

Well folks, my time is sadly nearing the end. Although I can't wait to see my friends and family back home, I am obviously quite attached to the people here, and I don't want to think about the reality that I will soon be leaving them for who knows how long. I have become deeply attached to so many wonderful folks here, and I am sure I will return to see them, as well as stay in contact through email and letters.
This month is kind of a good one to be wrapping up in, because it is full of festas! This is a nice distraction from thinking about goodbyes, and instead, just spending quality time with the people I love and experiencing the best of the culture here. June is the month of São João, a traditional music and dance and corn festival in the interior of NE Brasil. There are quadrilias every night for a couple weeks, which is essentially a type of dance very similar to square dancing. All the girls get decked out in frilly dresses with fake freckles and pigtail braids, and the men wear jeans, plaid shirts, and straw hats. It is all kinds of fun to watch. It is also time for tons of music festivals, including pretty big bands in NE Brasil. Monteiro is the city of forró, which is a certain style of music and dance, and so the music festivals here are a pretty big deal, and people come from far and wide to fill up the city's lowly hostels and hotels and frequent the local restaurants. Needless to say, the city is taking this festival business very seriously, and is getting super decked out for the upcoming events. The town plaza has an awesome canopy made of little tiny flags. It's kinda like a big mosaic, and the little flags make an awesome rustling sound in the breeze. Yesterday, I was able to go to the square to watch my little sister's quadrilia along with zillions of other school kids. It was quite something to be apart of.
And on top of the festivals, of course, there is the world cup going on. I am hoping they will show the games later on in the town square so everybody can watch together, but as of now, people watch in their houses, and everything in town is completely dead. Then as soon as the game was over on Tuesday, everyone burst from their houses to celebrate together in the streets. I imagine things will get quite more animated as the games progress...
Oh, and as for my work, I am currently finishing up banheiro seco (dry latrine) number 5. I hope to complete a total of 8 before my time is up. People are lining up for dry latrines in the communities where I have already started. It seems to be catching on quickly which will be great for the next SALTer.