2011-10-25
I plunge my dirty rag into the bucket of soapy water in front of me, holding back a wince as the soap suds and lye find their way into all my cuts and scratches. My hands are raw from scrubbing, and my left eye is red and weepy from my unwise attempt to rub it...
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2011-10-25
After 13 years of schooling, nothing could have prepared me for my arrival in my new community, Morro do Chapéu, for six-months. Brain-melting quantitative physics tests, school-wide performances of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and freezing cross-country meets have prepared me to meet the challenges of academics, art, and athletics. I could complete practice problems, practice in...
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2011-10-21
Everyday when I am walking down the streets of Bonfim in the lower city of Salvador, Bahian people mistake me for African. Why that is I do not know, but I am eager to find out. People of African-descent throughout the diaspora need to dialogue with one another, so I asked aloud “why do you...
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2011-10-19
While in Atacapi, my community, I have discovered many things. There is one that really made me think. This was the river. I never knew all the things that a river can be. Most of you know I have a passion for white-water kayaking. I am constantly watching the river levels to see when I...
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2011-10-18
The second week with my Napo host family has begun. My family consists of parents, Irene and Juan, and two younger siblings: one boy, Kambic, age nine, and one girl, Nina, age three. They are both rather adorable if I do say so myself. Kambic acted comfortably towards me from the first day, but I had...
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2011-10-17
It’s 5 a.m. and the cacophony has started. I hear the thump of music in the neighbor’s house, dogs barking, a mother hen ushering her chickens around like a drill sergeant, my younger brothers laughing as they get ready for school, and the insistent honk of the first bus leaving for Archidona. My first response...
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2011-10-14
Among the deluge of advice I got before departing for Brazil, one common piece was to beware of the Brazilian men. I brushed it off along with “strap your passport to your body at all times!” but I realize now that the first piece of advice is more relevant than I ever could have anticipated....
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