Closing the Circle

Sorry for the three-week silent interlude, I think I may have left folks hanging. Brazil was (still is) really enjoyable, supporting my theory that visiting a country is always better the second time around. I did manage to finangle a student flight back to LA in the end (avoiding the ten-day multiple bus ride home), which is where I am now, awaiting re-entry shock. They say the culture shock is almost always worse on the way back, and I did indeed have some minor panic on the way back (I had a classic "I've made a huge mistake" moment on the plane, leading to me nearly leave the airport in Costa Rica.) Other than that, it's good to be home, and I'm looking forward to a few more adventures before adopting a more normal lifestyle.

As soon as I arrived in Salvador, my host family from my last visit to Brazil demanded that I stay with them, pointing out that I was their "Filho Branco," the White Son. Faced with such logic, I greedily accepted - this is one special family, and I never pass up such wonderful opportunity. My Mae, some 75 years old, has the heart of a child, and her exuberant joy infects all of her nine children and countless grandchildren. Those grandchildren, generally named "Meninos", scurry about her home, looking for food, sending messages, running errands, etc. I like to call them Menino Messengers. One of Mae's sons, Roque, provides a really special window into Brazil for me. He is one of those people that everybody wants to know. His charisma lights people up, and I have come to believe that he may have a shaman-like ability to see and touch peoples souls. Coupled with a knowledge about all things cultural, including our own US of A, any day with him is interesting and exciting.

My timing in Brazil was fantastic, as I managed to blow through at least four or five different festivals. That left me with a lot of pictures to pile through, so I'll try to do that and post some winners later. Salvador is clearly a place I will be coming back to many times.


P.S. Noah and Zan have started their tour, which I mentioned in a previous post, here's their latest update. It looks like they could use some more donations, so go buy a t-shirt.