the nervous tourist one American's adventures Salvadorin , Bahia, brazil bob gaulke The Nervous Tourist One American’s Adventures in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil Bob Gaulke Future tense Books 2004 The Nervous Tourist: One American’s Adventures in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil 2004 Bob Gaulke and Future Tense Books Cover design by Joseph Lappie, Peptic Robot Press Layout by Black Giraffe Map used courtesy o f basicalingua.com 1st Printing (January 2004) ISBN 1-892061-22-8 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher or author, with the exception of short excerpts in articles or reviews. Future Tense Books P.O. Box 42416 Portland, Oregon 97242 E-MAIL:
[email protected] WEBSITE: www.futuretensebooks.com This book was made possible by a publisher’s fellowship from Oregon Literary Arts, Inc. INTRODUCTION I had to get out. I felt like I had a mental rash or something. My surroundings felt less than real, my life felt short of satisfy ing. I had spent most of my life in cold northern cities after grow ing up in a house half-full of Middle Eastern culture. Maybe there was something in my past that told me there were other places in the world where emotions counted for more. I heard what I needed in Brazilian music. I started listening to it incessantly. Why did so much good stuff come out of Salva dor? The sound of Portuguese started driving me crazy. I think I had an erection the first time I heard my Portuguese professor’s voice on my answering machine.