Meanwhile, in Porto Alegre

Studying with Cipote
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

I am following doctor's orders, convalescing at home and hoping that if I'm good about healing, this pneumonia will never return. The anxious part of me that is calculating internship hours has me reading about academic conceptions of Brazilian youth for a portion of every day.

Luckily, Cipote is here to keep me company through all of this.

Actually, I'm convinced that he's at least 1/3 cat the way he'll just twist himself around so that we can both fit on the couch. Also, like a cat, he'll often just plop himself right down on the notebook that I happen to be writing in.

In his own way, I think he's monitoring both myself and Samosa, making sure we don't study too hard. Or at least that we don't get so engrossed in our thoughts that we don't take a break to give him some love and affection.

However, at the end of the day, it's obvious who his true love is.

His ears begin to perk when he knows it's around the time that she'll be coming home. He gets just a little on edge, unable to fully get comfortable. Usually around this time, he'll also start patrolling the city from the top of the orange couch of this seventh floor apartment, peering down at the rooftops, barking a little when necessary to keep the calm. And when he hears A's keys turning in the lock, he becomes a happy dog indeed.