Roundabout way to Fortaleza
17.06.2016
I left rosivaldo in the morning. He wanted to go camping with me but I told him I didn't want to go. I was tired of his ideas about women and his general flirty manner.
Sometimes he said things that were inappropriate. He doesn't believe women have personal autonomy and he also has a bit of a temper. Keeping in mind we all make mistakes and say awkward things, when we're couchsurfing we should try to be extra careful about it.
The first thing that bothered me is that he told me he uses prostitutes. I do not judge, but this is not appropriate conversation for couchsurfing.
Later he expressed to me that he thought I was very sexy and he told me that I shouldn't trust him with alcohol because he might lose control and touch my body in a non consensual way.
I tried to laugh these things off, but it got worse.
Another time he told me that he thinks most women don't know what they want and men need to tell them what to do. To me this is very offensive. He told me I must have babies even though I don't want to. He criticized other lifestyle choices that I make as well, and I think this is wrong.
These were the three times I felt very uncomfortable. Eventually I became very angry and told him I would leave Olinda early. I woke up to at least four texts he sent during the night, begging for forgiveness and yadda yadda yadda.
This morning, I wanted to do the dishes for his very hospitable and friendly mother. He grabbed my wrist and yelled at me not to do them and told me that I should just pack and go. At this point I left the dishes in the sink, afraid for my safety and left the house immediately.
I took the bus and metro all the way back to the bus station and tried to buy a ticket to Fortaleza leaving as soon as possible. There were none until 7 pm. I'd have to go to the next state over and try in Natal. That bus left at 2 pm.
With a massive headache from the stress of the morning, and no wifi, (gasp) I camped out on the floor and just waited as patiently as possible.
I got to natal at about 6 pm and it was much cleaner and more pleasant than Recife. I bought another ticket for one of the last buses out to Fortaleza and had to wait again. It didn't matter because it was still better than being in Recife. I had developed a fever and took some Tylenol for it.
I saw a nice German man with a big bag so I went over and we spoke English for a while. We were both going to the same place so we decided to stick together.
