Flora and I rented a flat with a veranda that has a view of the Atlantic; there is a saying in Portuguese about house guests being like fish - after a few days, things are not so fresh. We are so thankful for my teacher's family's hospitality, yet we felt the need to give his teenage son his
bedroom back; we are having fun in our own place, shopping for local produce, cooking in our tiny kitchen, wearing fewer clothes :)... Flora set up an art studio which can migrate back and forth from the veranda to the breezy living room.

A block from our place, we saw and heard a Samba group playing on the ocean boardwalk, and we went down to check it out. It felt like we were among our people (freaks, that is). Many onlookers simply stood and watched. Flora and I danced uncontrolably, and the women dancers from the group pulled Flora into their circle where she held her own with confidence and ease. A few minutes later, they pulled me into the circle. This place, and its people, seem quite tolerant of 'estrangeiros' who want to stand and observe the culture. Those who want to dive in and participate are welcomed with enthusiasm.

I am still far from being fluent in Portuguese, but every day brings us both an increment closer. A free English class in my teacher's neighborhood starts this week, and we're looking for more ways to plug in and give something of ourselves.

Meanwhile, though this blog is not really the place to go on and on about my favorite pastime, here is a little clip of a "game" at a local gathering.

School of Life

It's hard to know where to start when each day seems to contain a similar amount of emotions, new information and learning typically experienced in a week. And, then there is the question of what to focus on: the macro picture of where we are and why (still in Joao Pessoa, still here for Lane to study with his teacher), the micro details (how the kids here make kites out of toilet paper and miraculously fly them in between a maze of electric wires, for example), or the emotions...oh the emotions! Perhaps I will start there as my emotions seem to be OVERLY present these days. And really, isn't it all (big picture, details, emotions) intimately interwoven anyway?

To be totally honest, I ,Flora, (right hand raised) have been struggling. And for those of you who know me, you know I tend to sort of sail through life with a somewhat magical amount of ease and serendipity. So, when the going gets tougher, I am quite out of my element, but certainly in the element of becoming stronger, learning (again) some fundamental life lessons, and one would hope, coming out a better person on the other side. Here's the deal: I hurt my back the night we left Portland by simply bending over in a somewhat twisted fashion. Yikes. This injury has kept me from doing yoga and/or dancing with the exception of Carnaval night (paid for it the next day). It was also kept me from carrying heavy bags (thank you Lane for all your schlepping the magority of our stuff), and from generally doing anything other than walking and sleeping for unusually long hours. So, this paired with my almost complete lack of understanding of the Portuguese language, has left me feeling, well, mute and still...clearly out of my comfort zone.

Feeling mute and still, we have been residing in the home of Lane's teacher for the past eight days. There are seven of us here: grandma, two teenagers, teacher, wife, and us...the gringos. Despite their generous hospitality, it has felt quite cramped, and well, awkward, considering I can't verbally communicate with them...lots of smiling, lots of "obrigadas" (thank yous). I feel a bit like a teenage foreign exchange student in her first week away from home, but thankfully I have my fiance with me this time around. However, my fiance has a very clear reason for being here involving many hours of classes everyday and amazing one-on-one time with his teacher. I, on the other hand, have been wandering around the house feeling a bit lost and with a little TOO much time on my hands...all very interesting considering how much I was looking forward to just "be-ing" here. How do you do that again?

So the lessons come everyday...how many times do I have to learn that what I focus on becomes greater? Feeling sad, homesick, cramped, overwhelmed, culture shocked, mute, still, isolated, etc...encourages more of the same. I have been drowning in these emotions at times over the past week, and it is only when I shift gears in my thinking (and doing) that everything feels lighter. And, thankfully, this shift is happening. I am meditating. I am learning how to play the guitar. I am reading, painting and writing. But more importantly, I am focusing on how lucky I am to be immersed so intimately in another culture. I am noticing things like Grandma's sparkling eyes and her deep contagious laughter. I am noticing the sweetness in how I was patiently taught all the names for cups (there are a lot by the way: coffee cups, wine glasses, beer mug...). And, so clearly, I am noticing how generous this family has been: sharing their meals as we all sit together three times a day, sharing their space as we have thoroughly taken over the teenage son's room, and sharing a glimpse into their everyday Brazilian lives: simple, loving, full of laughter. Really, the beauty of each day here (and everywhere?) is in the smallest moments and details, and in the loving kindness of people. So, what was I complaining about?? Wow, this is like a pep talk to myself!

OK, so in the midst of writing this blog entry, we actually went into town and rented our very own apartment, allowing my nagging American self and it's desire for my own personal space and some air conditioning to shut up. We move in tomorrow: the beginning of a new chapter...and with an ocean view to boot.

Here are some pics and a video.



Did I mention the orchid garden in the back yard or the movement studio attached to the house?
























Lane doing his homework.

Home...for awhile at least

Greetings again from Joao Pessoa, "where the sun rises first in S. America"...it`s true that we are near the eastern most point of the continent and have often been enjoying those early sunrises....beautiful.

A highlight of our trip thus far (hard to believe we have only been here for ONE week!) was a day spent on a fairly remote farm outside of Joao Pessoa. We travelled there with Lane`s teacher and his wife and spent the day roaming around pineapple fields, picking cashew fruit (which we later drank...who knew?), sampling strange and delicious Brazillian fruit, and standing in awe of the towering avocado, mango, and papaya trees. I wondered if these people realize they are living the dream of so many idealistic sustainablity loving American hippies? Most likely, no. Most likely, they have been living this way for a long time. Well, we loved it and felt honored to be guests in such a special place. More soon!
this is a cashew fruit !


pineapple fields forever:)

Oi Everybody,

We have been in Joao Pessoa since Friday, and we´re loving it. Even though those of you who have travelled here commented on how nobody speaks English, nothing really prepares you for the potential isolation. Joao Pessoa (pop. about 600k people) is not a big tourist spot anyway, except for those in Paraiba (state), and many have expressed a real curiosity about our origins. Having a base in the language is super helpful in asking questions and striking up conversations, but they talk pretty fast, and we´re often asking them to speak ´mais devagar, por favor´(more slowly, please). There are lots of smiles, lots of sun, and lots of fun.

Time is kind of tight at the moment, as we´re moving out of our beach-front digs ($$$!) and moving in the home of a wonderful teacher whom I´ve gotten to know over the past few years on NY trips. We spent the day with him and his family yesterday, and we´ll post some pics soon.

Meanwhile, here are some pics from Olinda:
Hangin` out in Olinda and making friends!












And here is a little video from the streets of Olinda on the last night of Carnaval. Hopefully, you get a sense of the experience.

Ate logo,
Lane

It's Summer Here!!!!

Well folks, we made it! After quite a long journey from Portland to New York City (revisting the same flight we met on...ahhhh) to Sao Paulo to Recife, we are now rested, warm, and covered in a thin layer of salt water (we went for our first dip in the beautiful Atlantic tonight at sunset).

We arrived in Olinda, the cultural outpost to the bigger city of Recife, two days ago which just happen to be the last night of Brazillian Carnaval. This was quite the perfect way to enter Brazillian culture. Because there was no other option, we headed out into the streets that first night and took in the celebration...a whirlwind of music, people, dancing, and general happy chaos. It felt like we had arrived at the South American version of Burning Man, so needless to say, we were happy. After wandering around the packed cobble stone streets, eating chicken on sticks and drinking three coconuts, we came upon a real live Samba band. Whahoo! Needless to say, we danced....

Thankfully, Lane has been doing an awesome job communicating in Portuguese, as I stand at his side nodding and smiling:) I am quite inspired to learn this beautiful and currently elusive language, but for now, we are certainly getting by. Today, we went on our version of a "bus tour" which involved getting on a random city bus and, um, riding it around. It stopped at one point very far from where we started, so we got off and drank a Fanta, of course. Happily we got on the next bus that started up where the first one stopped, and off we went back to where we started....a cheap and great way to see a city, indeed.

Yes, yes, life is goooood! We feel incredibly lucky to be on this trip, to be with eachother, AND to have the blessed life we have back home. We would love to hear from you and hope everyone is great.

Tchau amigos!

Flora and Lane

ps. Sorry for the lack of pictures. This was an unexpected stop at an internet place on our walk back from the ocean, but stay tuned for some sweet visuals.