Where Have Two Months Gone

I just looked at my blog and realized it has been 2 months since I lasted posted. Ooops. Let us just say that the last two months have been completely fulfilling, rewarding and BUSY. I completed my Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training course on March 5th. The course was one of the best experiences of my life and I hope to continue sharing everything I learned there.


From the course I joined a few of my fellow yoga teachers in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival. We stayed together at our friend Paula´s beautiful home, teaching each other yoga classes in the morning and then celebrating Carnival into the wee hours of the night.

I have to admit that Rio made a good impression on me, though I think the good company and lovely home had a lot to do with it!

Straight from Rio I flew to Rhode Island to help prepare for and attend my sister Lindsay´s wedding. I must confess that I love me a good wedding. I love watching two people in love commit their lives to one another, I love sharing that experience with family and friends, and I love celebrating. So my sister´s wedding felt like a particularly beautiful occassion.


Then after a few days of wedding recovery (along with some more grant writing) I made my way to my new home in Lençois, Bahia, Brazil. Due to airport fires, canceled flights, and missed flights it took me 38 hours to arrive in Lencois. I arrived in town at 11-30pm on March 26th and I do not have plans to leave again for a good, long while.

It has been a wonderful 17 days since I arrived. My friends from Arizona Viviana and Alex were here to greet me in Lençois when I arrived. They came out of their way to visit me as part of their epic South America backpacking trip. I loved showing old friends around my new home and introducing them to my friends here. It was a great way to get resettled in and remind myself why I love it here.


Their departure was almost immediately followed by the arrival of a new friend from my yoga teacher training- Emily. I also had an amazing time showing Emily around, visiting some of my favorite local swimming holes, mountain tops and waterfalls was awesome. I really don´t think Lençois knew what hit them when blond haired blue eyed Emily came into town.=)


Since Emily´s departure a week ago my life has reached some sort of routine. Until June I am staying at my friend´s inn in exchange for teaching English lessons to the receptionists about 2 hours a day. I am teaching yoga and enjoying the challenge of teaching in Portuguese, as well as sharing yoga with people who have never practiced before. I also fill in here and there at the inn and at my friend´s tour agency to learn as much as I can about how things work in Lençois.


I have begun my research, taking little baby steps into it with household surveys. I have discovered that I vastly underestimated the length of time these surveys would take because women here are more than willing to talk to me, so even when I think I am asking a quantitative yes or no question, I still get a story. My response to this is now to carry my interview forms around and a tape recorder and start doing spontaneous interviews. Im not sure if this is very scientific of me, but it will do for now. I find that my role as yoga teacher, friend and community members is taking equal footing to my role as an anthropologist and that actually is suiting me well.

What else can I say. The sun shines strong every day, but the river water is cool and refreshing. The friends I made in the past are still here, and I have made some news friends who share my taste for yoga and pizza (though not together necessarily). I let myself have the luxery of quiet nights with a novel in hand, and I am sleeping enough to make up for all those sleepless nights of my last year in Arizona. Sometimes I feel nervous that I´ve worked so hard to get here, and now I am here and that´s that. But then I remind myself to just enjoy it and make the most of just letting life happen.

At the Enchanted Mountain.......

After spending 10 nights here at the Montana Encantada yoga center all I can say is it’s amazing how time seems to be flying, and yet when I think of all I’ve learned in the last 10 days it seems impossible that it has only been 10 days. Montana Encantada is located on the southern coast of Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina. It’s nestled in some of the greenest mountains I’ve ever seen and the beach is about a 15 minute drive away (only an hour bike ride if I had my bike with me!). The area is lush and alive with vegetation and water. It has down poured rain every day we’ve been here, with the sun making very brief appearances once and awhile (thankfully for our one beach day off). Although my desert self has been loving the rain, I do feel bad for the folks who were expecting to get a nice sunny break from winter at home (Europe and North America). In any case at least the rain nourishes the beauty around us and I think for that everyone is grateful.

There are 30 of us in the group- 5 from the United States, 2 from Canada, 6 from Brazil, 1 from France, and the rest are from England, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, 24 women and 6 men. Our ages range from 20-60 years old and the variety of experiences we are bringing to the group definitely makes things interesting. My roommate is French and we get along perfectly; I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful roommate. I am learning a lot from her and she takes good care of me (giving me massages, rubbing my bug bites with cream, and giving me good yogic advice).

Our days are intensely full but in a way so different from my life in the U.S. that I can’t complain at all. What we are learning fulfills me and stimulates my mind as much as my anthropological studies have, and I am beginning to see that yoga and anthropology go together quite nicely in ways I’ll explain sometime soon. Here’s an idea of my daily schedule:

6:45am: Alarm goes off, get dressed stumble in the rain to our practice room overlooking the mountains.

7:15-9:30am: I am on my mat for an intense yoga practice lead by my teacher David.

9:30am-9:45am: I work on my concentration (dharana) and mediation (dhyana) after our practice- so hard!

10ish: Yummy breakfast of oatmeal, papaya, toast with guava jam, and Brazilian coffee. =)

10:30am: We start our next session with a dance party. Each day someone different picks a song for us to dance to. I had yesterday and picked Michael Franti’s “Say Hey.” I love this part of the day! Then we sit to learn about one of many fascinating topics such as: yoga philosophy, anatomy, how to break down and teach poses, practice teaching, prenatal yoga, acroyoga, Thai massage, etc. etc. I have been LOVING learning this all, although some of it is challenging (like anatomy!).

1:00pm: Lunch (yumminess) and afternoon break until 4:30pm. During our breaks I’ve been enjoying getting to know people, working on some new poses, helping others work on their poses, playing some AcroYoga, sleeping, swimming in the fresh water pool, etc. etc. Sometimes during these breaks I feel a little lonely, which is strange because I’m surrounded by wonderful people, but I wish I could have close friends and family sharing in these experiences instead of starting all over again and again. But, I realize I wouldn’t have the amazing friends I do have all over the world if I didn’t open myself to starting anew, and so that’s what I have to remember. I can already see that I am going to develop amazing friendships with some people here; I just have to give it time and patience.

4:30pm: Another class session like the 10:30am one.

7:00pm: Dinner: More vegetarian Yumminess

8:30pm-10:00pm: “Wisdom Circle.” Here we close the day by singing mantras and having a group discussion. My teacher plays the guitar and some other trainees play the drums and guitar. I’m starting to get more used to singing the mantras especially when they are supported by really beautiful music playing. Wisdom Circle is the hardest session for me because by that time of the day I am ready for some non-group time- not necessarily alone time, but not formal activity time. But I know it’s important, and even therapeutic some days to sing your heart out, so I always go with a smile on my face. Plus listening to people play beautiful music always makes me happy!

This is our schedule 6 days a week. Pretty crazy but the information is so interesting that I am soaking it up like a sponge. My emotions range from being blissed out, to content, to incredibly challenged with everything I’m thinking about myself, my relationship to others, etc. , but the for the majority of the time I feel very happy and VERY lucky to be here. Saturdays are our day off and last week we went to a beautiful beach with great surfing (or surfing watching), played some AcroYoga and capoeira and watched and danced to live music playing at a restaurant on the beach in the late afternoon….[insert blissful sigh here].

I have so much more to share with you all about what I have been learning here, but I am out of time and will save that for my next post. Ate mais…… [Oh and I added photos to my previous post so scroll down to check them out].

Montana Encantada- Dining Hall, Lounge, Etc.

Beautiful Meditation Temple

View #1 from the Balcony of the Practice Room (you can almost see the ocean on the horizon in this photo)

View #2

My little home for the month.....

Fresh water pool for swimming...

Praia da Rosa

AcroYoga

My new friend Karuna and I

5 Brazilians, 1 Cape Verdian, and a Gringa after a day at the beach

Floripa, Brazil: A City on a Tropical Island

It is hard to believe that it was a week ago today that I flew out of NYC. It is even harder to believe that only two days ago I was in the tropical city of Florianapololis, Brazil. The last week has been rich with new experiences, emotions and lots of small adventures. I arrived in Floripa in the late afternoon of Wednesday the 2^nd and immediately as I stepped off the plane and down the stairs onto the runway I was welcomed by incredibly green mountains and humid air that my thirsty desert skin readily soaked up. My first small adventure was getting to the address I had written on a little scrap piece of paper. After two days of travel I opted out of exploring the local bus system with my backpack (my how things have changed since my old backpacking days), and instead took a taxi. Even though the taxi driver actually didn’t know exactly where the address was he managed to deliver me to the door without a problem. My hostess in Floripa was Guigui (pronounced not like Gigi but Geegee), a beautiful young Cape Verdian woman studying at the local university. Guigui and I became fast friends and I was very grateful to have a home to stay in since inn prices in Floripa (a big tourist destination due to its endless beaches) are quite high. Thursday morning I met Vatu, another Cape Verdian and fellow yoga teacher training student, who after exchanging several emails invited me to stay at Guigui’s. Soon Guigui, Vatu and I became a little troupe making trips around the university neighborhood to the local grocery store and shopping mall, around the center of town and taking long afternoon naps on the couches. I couldn’t believe how tired I was after my travels. On Friday I had my second adventure of getting to the Federal Police station to register myself as a temporary resident of Brazil. This time I opted for the bus and inevitably got lost. The bus driver left me in front of the Civil Police instead of the Federal Police and it took some walking, and three sets of asking directions before I made it to the right place. But it was all part of the fun. Considering that it took four hours before I was even able to get in and see someone at the police station to process my paperwork I could have gotten lost a few times more and still been okay [smile]. After the paperwork was taken care of (woohoo) I somehow managed to find my way to the bus stop to take the bus back home and then Guigui, Vatu and I hopped on a different bus to a popular beach neighborhood that ended up being a stunning tour of the island. In the neighborhood, walking along the water with a strong wind blowing through my hair and the still humid air nourishing my skin, I felt like I had finally arrived in Brazil. Saturday contained much of the same feeling of euphoria with more small adventures with my new friends trying to get to another remote beach to see Ben Harper play, followed by being on that beach in a crowd of Brazilians, in the rain, only barely able to hear Ben Harper. Somehow it was still a good time, aided by the beauty of the beach, although after 2 hours in the rain we headed home. On Sunday I woke up with the anticipation that I would finally be heading to the yoga teacher training center, meeting the rest of the trainees, and settling into a new home for a month. It had been only 11 days since I passed my comprehensive exams, said goodbye to my friends in Tucson, headed to NYC, said bye to my family and friends there, and then spent four nights in Floripa, but I it felt like I had been living out of my backpack for long enough (something else that has changed from my backpacking days) and the idea of being settled somewhere, and a beautiful place at that for a month was a welcome change. Add to that that the month would be devoted to yoga and I was extremely excited to get there! Although almost two days have passed since we arrived at the Enchanted Mountain yoga center and I have so much to express that I could burst, I am going to hold off on writing for now. But I promise to share with you my experiences here very soon!

Floripa- A city on a tropical island...


Floripa City Center




Guigui, Vatou and I


Lovely Lagoa.....


Praia de Rio Tavares

Back in Brazil

On February 1, 2011 as a winter storm raged through a large part of the United States, I wondered if I would actually be getting on a 5:30pm flight to Brazil. After a slushy walk through the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a large pack on my back and slippery borrowed boots on my feet, I knew it was time for me to say goodbye to the Northeast, USA. Of course Brooklyn has its charms (close friends being the biggest ones). I walked by a number of restaurants I’m pretty sure I’d be happy to eat at every day, and down in the lower levels of the subway a bluegrass trio entertained me as I waited for the train to Far Rockaway and JFK International Airport. Yet all the conveniences and charms of this city were not enough to combat what has been a miserable winter for New Yorkers and a sloshy five day visit for me.

Once I was checked in for my flight at the airport I noticed that 75% of the international flights had been canceled, although mine was not even delayed. Very lucky. Waiting in the boarding area for my flight to Sao Paulo I noticed that I was surrounded by people who look like me. I don’t ever feel like people in the USA don’t look like me, but that’s different than being surrounded by people who strikingly resemble you. It’s a little disconcerting. Anyway, it wasn’t until I passed through the gates and started onto the jet way, overhearing someone in accented English call out, “Goodbye New York,” that I felt a surge of excitement race through me. I’m going to Brazil. I’m MOVING to Brazil. Wow. It’s been such a long hard road to get there (literally and figuratively) that once I was at the airport I had forgotten to be excited. But hearing those words woke my system up and reminded me of the adventure I was starting.

Writing this blog post from the international airport in Sao Paulo where I have a 9 hour layover (after a 10 hour flight where I mercifully slept the whole way) I am taking pleasure in drinking a cafesinho (little coffee) and pastry. I’ve already been reminded that to tell a waitress I can’t eat frango (chicken) or carne (meat), doesn’t mean she won’t bring me a croissant with ham in it. But soon I will get the knack of ordering meatless dishes in a country that adores its meat products and work on adapting all my funny little habits to Brazilian life. Though I still feel like I left home behind to be here, I ‘m also excited to call Brazil home again soon.

Back in the U.S. of A

I did it. I got on the plane and left Brazil.  After 24 hours of travel I have arrived in Tucson, Arizona.  I am already grateful to my friends in the US- phone conversations and gchats already today have made me excited to see everyone and have made my return easier.  Tomorrow I depart for Portland, Oregan for a wedding of an old friend, then off to Seattle and Yosemite to end my summer with some of the most beautiful places in the US.  It is hard to believe that the semester will begin in two and a half weeks, but perhaps it is better not to dwell on that.  I will keep writing in this blog until the semester starts and then…well we will have to see if I have anything blog worthy to say during the semester.  Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.  

Saying Goodbye to Brazil...Again

Cachoeira de Sossego

Poco Azul (Sunlight reflecting on the water in the cave makes that color)

Cachaca at Fazendinha with Cica and Maysa

A beach in Salvador

Itana & I at the beach drinking agua de coco

My nine last days in Brazil were full and memorable.  If anything I was reminded that I have a life here, which means that leaving Brazil is not just leaving a place that I enjoy visiting, but it’s leaving that life behind.  Yes, I am quite aware that I have a life waiting for me in Tucson, Arizona: wonderful friends, family a short flight away, and oh yes a PhD program to complete.  But when I think of how I spend my days in Brazil, it is hard to not long for one life over the other:  Early morning capoeira classes filled with laughter (and a little bit of pain); hours spent at the farmer’s market, drinking juice and coffee and chatting with friends long after I’ve purchased my vegetables; almost daily baths in the river and the conversations with people I run into there; hearing music I love everywhere I turn; spending time with old friends and new friends, working on my research and drawing strength from the women with whom I speak; dancing; running; being outside 90% of my hours awake; day hikes to magnificently beautiful places; discovering new things about people and places everyday; feeling completely like myself even without understanding why that happens here; having people rely on me and relying on people in return. 

My last week and a half in Brazil was a celebration of my life here and left me wanting more.  I was able to spend time with my friends, hike to a waterfall I’ve always wanted to visit, dance forro in Lençois and samba beachside in Salvador, and eat in abundance all my favorite Brazilin dishes.  I spent six nights in a row out with different groups of friends sending me off.  Saying goodbye to some people was very difficult.  My closest friend Katia is seven months pregnant and having a difficult pregnancy on top of a very stressful life, or because of the stressful life.  She has grown to depend on me for emotional support and I foresee many skype phone calls to Brazil in my future until this baby is born safe and sound.  Saying goodbye to she and her family I once again had the sensation that I was leaving a little piece of my heart behind with them, just like I leave a little piece when I say goodbye to my family in the United States, just like I left a little piece in Senegal years ago.  When I described this sensation to a Portuguese friend she said this, “Your heart grows every time you take these people into your life and so you have pieces to spare; it will grow again.”  I liked that idea and will carry that imagery with me as I return to the United States.

I created a little prayer for myself my last day at the river and I hope to use it to ground myself when I am in the depths of graduate school madness: May the peace and happiness I feel here [the river] remain with me always.  I wish the same for everyone in my life and like to think that we can be each other’s “rivers” as well.  Getting on the plane will be harder than I’d like it to be, but I will carry Brazil back with me to the states, try to incorporate a little more of my Brazilian life into my American one, and make the most of being a continent closer to my family and friends.

 

Wrapping Up My Research...But Just For Now

I just completed my 19th and final interview of the summer, although the informal conversations and discussions will continue. I feel content with the "data" I have collected and have some definite themes to focus on in my thesis. However, I feel like I am still just skimming the surface. I am certain that I will be returning here to do my disseration research and with it beginning to develop programs with a couple of the community organizations with whom I have been speaking. I feel like I am very settled here and have everything in place to start my dissertation research and work with these organizations....so leaving in one week is really disapointing. I just have to be confidant that the foundation I have created in the last seven weeks and over the last three years will be here to some extent when I return. I also know when to say "when," and I´ve decided to spend my last week here not running around trying to get a few more interviews, but instead visiting with friends, going on some of my favorite hikes that I haven´t had time to do, and reflecting on everything I´ve learned this summer about my research and about myself. Somehow I know that these reflections will bring far more questions than answers. But who needs answers anyway. I have so much to say about my research that I want to share...but I am going to hold off on discussing it here until I have processed it a little more.