Life Trips

I know you...

2010-11-20T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ollie's First Halloween

2010-11-03T10:00:00.001-07:00

We've all grown up! Ollie's 5 months!

2010-10-21T21:17:00.001-07:00

2010-07-21T08:54:00.001-07:00

Motherhood is such a gift!

Super Oli

2010-07-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

My super baby Oli!

All Oli, all the time!

2010-07-03T20:22:00.001-07:00

Fatherly love!

2010-06-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Beautiful first weeks

2010-06-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

Getting a tan!

Oli and Grandma!

Oli's as big as the whale!

Taking a bath with dad!

Welcome Oliver Farfan-Santos

2010-05-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

He's here! My beautiful baby boy is finally in his new home. His name is Oliver and he was born by surprise on Sunday, May 23, at 11:53AM, 7lbs 14 ounces! He is so precious and loving and calm (except when he's hungry!) and well I cant describe all of the amazing things Ibraim and I are feeling. We're sort of in an Oliver spell these days. The labor went well--it was painful labor but it only lasted about 8 hours (only about 5 hours of hard labor) and then a beautiful baby that made me cry and laugh in disbelief. I don't think many women know how much they are really capable of accomplishing until they have a baby and they see what their body is capable of doing. Oliver was born 100% naturally without any medications or inductions or artificial anything. Ibraim was the best medicine I could hope for as was my mom, who after swearing she would not stay during labor, stayed and held my hand through every push. I am truly blessed to have had such a great labor experience with the people I love and now have a beautiful, healthy baby. Without further ado, here is baby Oli!

Induction?

2010-05-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Sup everyone. So, today was an important day because it was my last check-up before my due date. I went into the docs office with pain from contractions all night and tired from waking up to pee every hour on the dot--4: 11, 5:11, 6:11, 7:11--then I got up to eat! Anyway, I was hoping I would go in and the doctor would discover I was ready to have the baby but it didn't go down that way. My doctor is out of town so his very nice nurse practitioner did my check up. She told me that my doctor wants me to really consider getting induced next week on my due date. She said, he doesn't want me to go over my date. Well, even though I really don't want to go over my due date, I'm a little scared of induction. Inductions can be really simple and require very little Pitocin to get you on your way to a natural, vaginal delivery. But your body has to be ready, meaning your cervix should be soft and effaced. If your cervix is still hard and you're not dilated then your body is not ready and it can cause a failed induction and lead quickly to a c-section. Once you've been induced, the goal is to get the baby out whether your body progresses alone or not. Once you've been laboring for hours the doctors will fear that baby is stressed and call for a c-section. The point is that an induction is a coin toss. My docs nurse practitioner said that my cervix was soft and 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. If I get induced on May 27th there is still a chance that I could go into labor naturally which is what I am praying. I really don't know what to do. I have had such a beautifully healthy pregnancy for 9.5 months and I don't want to do any unnecessary procedures. It is perfectly normal for a woman, especially with the 1st baby to go over her due date by as much as 3 weeks if she has a normal, healthy pregnancy (no diabetes or high blood pressure). I'm praying I don;t have to make the decision. For once in my life I dont want to feel like my impatience got the best of me...

Moving on to 39 Weeks...

2010-05-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

So here I am just one week away from my due date and still waiting. This waiting game is pretty cruel, mostly because of all the discomfort and the lack of sleep. I know I've complained about not sleeping before but this is really bad. I think I sleep in 1 hour intervals and always wake up at 5 AM and then spend two hours trying to sleep more as my hips scream at me to get the hell up. Lately what's keeping me up are contractions. Yep, try sleeping through your abdomen tightening up like a cramping muscle, it's not easy. Besides the waiting, I've still been exercising a lot and working on some home projects like making a baby book. It's really beautiful--all hand painted. Still, I'm so anxious to meet my baby. I've been timing contractions like a madwoman but still no pattern. The doctor says that most women go into labor in the 39th week. I'll be 39 weeks on Tuesday. I'm crossing my fingers that this week will be THE week! Pray for me, please!

1st Mother's Day! May 9, 2010

2010-05-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Homemade lemon cake! It took me hours but it was delicious!
All the moms. A new generation!

9 Months 2 Weeks (2 weeks from due date!)

2010-05-09T22:43:00.000-07:00

Contractions are constant...it could be any day now!

9 Months!

2010-04-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

I am getting huge! I can barely carry myself around. At nine months, my baby is about 7 pounds and is getting bigger every week. I hope he comes out soon! The anxiety is killing me. I can't wait to meet my little baby!!!

In the cartoon!

2010-04-27T19:53:00.000-07:00

Pictures by Ibraim Santos. =)

Chocolate party and pretty Carolina

2010-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Our Chocolatier!

After the party we all let go!

Baby Kicks

2010-04-06T21:27:00.001-07:00

Thought I would share this with you all. It's pretty neat. If you're patient you'll see the baby kicking!

8 Months and 1 Week!

2010-04-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my eight month belly folks! Isn't it huge! I can feel its hugeness too. I really do feel like I'm carrying a little creature around my waist; it's really crazy and neat.

These last few weeks have been really tense. I don't sleep much anymore but I am more exhausted than I have ever been in my whole life. I take naps all day like a baby. Sometimes I will wake up early and then go back to sleep an hour after breakfast. I'll get up at noon and stay up another four hours or so before passing out again for another couple of hours. Even when I wake up I just feel like going back to sleep. The only thing that gets me up is my shame. I got too much shame to sleep all day. I tell me myself to get my ass up and do some work or go for a a walk. It works but man it hurts!

These past few days I've been so excited about the baby's arrival that all I can think of doing is nesting. Ibraim and I set up the crib. I washed all the baby clothes and blankets, and I've even started packing our bags for the hospital! Oh, and we also installed the car seat!

The latest news of the week is that I'm having a ton of contractions. Sometimes it just feels like my uterus gets really tight (it literally contracts) and I get short of breath and my heart beats really hard. Other times the contractions are painful and closer to my vagina. They feel like really sharp cramps or stabs in my vaginal area--these are the worst and they make me stop and really have to focus on relaxing. The doctor says they are completely normal and that nothing indicates early labor. Who knows!

These last two weeks I gained 3 pounds. I officially weigh 161 pounds! I've gained around 33 pounds. The doctor says I have to watch my weight a little these next weeks, but I'm not worried at all because I eat healthy and I exercise. These weeks the baby is gaining lots of weight and fat so it's all necessary. Most women don't stay in the 25-35 range either; most gain around 40 pounds or a bit more. As long as I'm healthy, I'm happy!

My baby is now a little over 4 pounds and about 17 inches long. He's about the size of a pineapple!

Throughout the entire pregnancy I've wanted to swim. Now that the sun is out and it's nice and hot I can do it! Here I am playing in the water! Ibraim is there too but he's not pregnant so he didn't want to take pictures. =)

BABY SHOWER!!

2010-03-29T21:26:00.001-07:00

Scooping pins n' beans!
Welcome Baby Santos!
After measuring my belly everyone tied bows of toilet paper all over me!
at first it was soooo funny...
but in the end they regretted their invasion!

We had a monster theme and Ibraim made all of the monsters out of cardboard.

We haven't aged a day!

Presents!

Our apartment is smaller than our gifts! =)

GOOD NEWS

2010-03-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

I'M AN AUNT!!!!

BABY CAROLYNA WAS BORN THIS MORNING AT 9:30 AM AT ABOUT 6 POUNDS AND JUST PERFECTLY BEAUTIFUL.

New Baby

2010-03-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

GREAT NEWS! My sister-in-law is in labor! She is three weeks early but she has been in labor since yesterday! What happened? Well, it's a good example of how uncertain labor and birth can be. Apparently, during the final weeks of pregnancy women begin to naturally lose amniotic fluid in preparation for birth. While they usually lower, the levels of amniotic fluid mostly fluctuate, decreasing and increasing as you approach your due date. On Tuesday morning my sister-in-law went in for her routine check up. Her doctor measured her belly and noticed it had decreased significantly from her last visit. Worried that her amniotic fluid had decreased too much, she sent her to the hospital for observation. My sister-in-law spent a night in the hospital receiving IV fluids in the attempt to get her amniotic fluid back up. The next day not much had changed. My sister-in-law's doctor gave them a choice. Either they could induce the labor now (Wednesday) or the couple could go home. My sister in law has prepared for months for a natural birth so induction was the last thing she wanted to do. Having been research extensively, it has been proven that inductions quite often lead to cesarians because of the amount of stress put on a baby that is not naturally ready to come out. Even though induction was not ideal, the doctor also said that if they went home the likelihood of stressing the baby with low amniotic fluid would surely lead to a cesarian over the weekend. In fact, she told them that if they decided to leave she would go ahead and schedule them for a cesarian for the weekend. Now was their best chance at still having the baby naturally (or vaginally). So they chose the induction. Quite frankly, we can't be sure that waiting would have stressed the baby to the point of a c-section but once your doctor plants a seed of doubt in your head about the safety of your unborn baby, it's hard to consider any other options.

To make a long story short, my sister in law has been in labor since 1PM Wednesday, March 23. We expect her to give birth any time now. We are all here waiting anxiously outside her hospital door. GOOD LUCK 'DREA!

Belly Pics: 7 months 3 wks! OMG!

2010-03-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Third Trimester: 7Months 3weeks!!!

2010-03-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

My baby is the size of a head of cabbage! That's why I've been feeling so heavy! So. I'm well into my third trimester. I'm officially 30 weeks and have about 10 weeks to go! It seems like so little time. I am really freaking out. Not just that but my body has been abducted and replaced by a balloon. I feel crappy all day and night. Extreme fatigue, nausea, headaches, weakness, muscle pains, hip pain (like an old lady), pelvic pain, etc etc are jsut a few things I'm suffering from. Oh and don't forget ZERO SLEEP too. I can't sleep because of all the weight bearing down on my hips and the headaches. Anyway, I don't want to complain too much but it's tough. It all just changed from one day to the next, literally! I went from feeling good and pretty to feeling crappy and just plain big.

I am very excited though. It's true what they say about feeling like nesting in these last months. I wish I had a room to prepare for the baby. It makes me so anxious to have all this baby stuff and no where to set it out nice and organized. Plus, just getting things ready for the baby would help me feel less anxious about how close it is until he's here. I have my baby shower coming up next week. I can't wait! I can barely stand the wait! It's going to be so much fun and I'll get to see lots of friends I haven't seen in a long time!

The baby's moves and kicks have tripled. The strangest feeling is when he shifts positions. It moves my whole belly and it's so weird. The worst is when he shoves his feet into my rib cage! He does that most. The baby responds a lot to his dad too. Sometimes he'll be still all day and then when Ibraim gets home he'll move like crazy. Could be a coincidence or not! The baby website says that my baby can see light now and respond to changes in light. I haven't tried putting a flash light to my belly but I hear he could respond to it. I was also reading that the baby can remember stuff now- certain noises and touches--he can recall as safe or soothing or vise versa. Very interesting.

My Bradley Classes ended last week. I'm so glad I took them. They the were the best thing in the world for calming my fears of pain and hospital procedure. Knowledge really is power and I learned that one of the things that soothes my anxiety is having knowledge about how things work. Not knowing is what creates unnecessary fear. Either way I'm not worried. I know my body is ready. I've been exercising and eating right and relaxing. I wrote up a birth plan that I will be discussing with my doctor next week. So I feel good and confident.

I'll take some new picture of my growing belly tonight and post them later. Thanks for checking in guys!

Pregnant Poses

2010-02-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

I realized I hadn't taken any pictures of myself pregnant besides headless belly pics. So here are some random poses to document my beautiful pregnancy! =)

Growing!

2010-02-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

I'm growing! I am six months now. Here is my 6 month belly! My baby is about 13 inches long from head to feet and weighs just about 2 pounds! So little but so active! He punches and kicks and moves all over the place. It's amazing!

It's been so long!

2010-01-21T21:42:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

It's been so long since my last post. First and foremost, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So, in the nearly three month void since I last wrote, a whole lot has happened. We returned from Brazil and are now residing in Houston with our family (hence the blog name change ;) ) The biggest bit of news however is that Ibraim and I are pregnant! Most of you know this already but some don't, so SURPRISE! I am officially 5.5 months along. My belly grew over night and is continuing to sprout as I write. I am doing and feeling absolutely wonderful. Better than I have ever felt in my life actually! Ibraim and I are very happy to be living in Houston, and we just moved in to our own apartment at the beginning of the month. I'll post some pictures soon of our happy home. It's my first time living in an apartment in my home town!

So this is a quick update but it's also an introduction into the next segment of this blog which is about all of the places life is taking us these days and in the future. Our small family is a traveling family! We're always uprooting and going on adventures here and there, and this is our way of keeping all of you filled in! Mostly through pictures, but that's the best part anyway!

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My 4 Month belly. It's a whole lot bigger now. It really just popped over night!
The first ultrasound at about 2 months. He's like a miniature baby! He's sprouted a lot since

Nice day on a calm beach, again...

2009-09-19T19:24:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday so we went to the beach for a calm swim. Don't you wish you were here?

Nice water, huh?

Even green peace was at the beach. They were cleaning up the beach.

And we got sign and draw on their poster!

The end to a perfect day, a nice sunset!

At the beach with Ibraim's Bro.

2009-09-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we went out to the beach with Ibraim's brother from São Paulo. Do you see any family resemblance?

Meet Ibraim's brother from São Paulo: Daecio

His daughter, Diane

He almost got carried away by the rising tide!

Brother love.

Sand castles

In our castle, at last!

More Adventures: Morro de São Paulo & Valença!

2009-09-18T05:05:00.000-07:00

It's almost been a month since I posted any new pictures. Maybe some of you thought we were dead or carried away into the forest by monkeys. It's the end of September and our time here is ending fast. So we're out taking care of business.

Last weekend we went to visit my brother-in-law, Peco and his partner on the beautifual island of Valença. Valença is surrounded by other beautiful islands, including Morro de São Paulo, a true paradise.

Valença has a river running right through it. We took a boat to Morro de São Paulo Saturday morning.

Bye bye Valença

Notice how the water changes as we move from river to ocean...?

We're here! And it only took an hour and a half, ugh.

But it was sooo worth it!

The boardwalk!

There were so many beautiful views.

This beach had natural pools where we could see all kinds of families of exotic fish!

We went up the mountain to get a better view.

A lot to do...

2009-08-31T10:25:00.001-07:00

Hello friends,

As you all know, our time in Brazil is ending fast. I'm very conflicted these days because all I want to do is pack up and go home, but it's not that easy. I still have a lot of work to do and it cannot be rushed! A few weeks ago I spent a much needed week living in a quilombo. It was very important for me to live with this community because I was able to answer a lot of unanswered questions about the whole quilombo situation. I saw the way people live, how hard they work, and most importantly, how much time "quilombo issues" take out of their daily struggle. Besides working in fields, forests, mangues, and rivers, quilombolas still have to dedicate a lot of time to meetings! Meetings in the community with every government organization imaginable, Fundação Palmares, INCRA, SEPPIR, CPP, AATR, etc.; they meet with NGOs; they meet with researchers (like me); and they meet many times outside the community, in Salvador, Cachoeira, Brasilia, and in other quilombos. In just 5 days, at least 4 quilombo leaders had one meeting in Salvador with INCRA and another in the community also with INCRA. The whole community had 3 meetings in those 5 days. It made me tired just seeing it all. The communtiy recieved me very well, which was very lucky for me. I will be going back a few more times before my project ends to do filmed interviews about what it means to be a quilombola and other more personal questions. The next time I go back I will be arriving by canoe! I can't wait. I heard the trip by canoe is GORGEOUS! This time I'm taking my trusty husband because I need his help with filming. He's also going because he got so jealous of all the great things I did the first time I went so he wants to see a little for himself. =)

Well, these next few weeks I have quite a bit on my plate. I still have 3 more interviews I must do with the superintendent of SEPROMI, a coordinator of the NGO: CPP, and the director of the State office of Healthcare (SESAB). I have been trying to interview these people for the last three weeks with no luck, but I have to keep trying. That's how anthropology works. We have to keep knocking on doors until someone opens! I sound like a Jehovah's Witness! hahaha. Just kidding; but really though. I also have to do some interviews with some members of the black movement in Brazil. This is very important because I still have to answer the question of how the black movement works with the quilombola movement, and what they think about the quilombola issue. This is important because I found out at a conference that the black movement of São Paulo is actually against and at odds with the quilombolas! Very strange, but that is why I have to see how it works in Bahia because so far I have seen the opposite here.

Finally, I have a mountain of transcribing of both voice and film recordings to do! It's a lot of work so I have to do a little as I go so it doesn't build up. I'm doing good about staying on top of everything as it comes in but it is exhausting. Last but not least I have to edit a short film for the quilombolas. I promised them I would edit the footage they filmed during the month I lent them my camera. It is very important for them to have these images before I leave because they need those images to show in their meetings and manifestations.

Last of all, before we leave Brazil, Ibraim and I are planning adventures for every weekend leading up to our last day. We want to enjoy as much as we can before we have to hit the cement jungle again, and be chained down by work and traffic. Here's what we have planned so far. Last Saturday we spent the day swimming in the pristine beach of Praia do Forte. This weekend we are going to Valença, city of beautiful beaches and historical city of Dendê (Palm oil)! We're also planning a trip to São Paulo but that may not be until October.

Thanks for reading! Back to work.

Boa Morte 2009

2009-08-22T08:08:00.001-07:00

The festival of Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte (Our Lady of Good Death) is a celebration that occurs once a year in mid August in Cachoeira, Bahia. It is conducted by the Sisterhood of Our lady of Good Death. The only living cult of all black women that combines candomble (Afro-Brazilian religion) with catholicism. The whole festival celebrates the death and resurrection of Our Lady and is a mix of Catholic and Candomble traditions.. Every year the sisterhood is visited by thousands of tourists around the world, especially Africans and African-Americans interested in seeing this living piece of history. The sisterhood was even visited by Coretta Scott King in the 70's. The sisterhood has become a symbol of black resistance around the world."Rebel against racism"
Some friends I found in Cachoeira during the festival.
This is the 3rd and last day of the festival; the day Our Lady resurrects and is celebrated. There is a church service in the early afternoon and then a procession.

She has resurrected!

This is actually the 2nd day of the festival. The day Our Lady dies and is mourned. The sisterhood of good death is leaving their house to go to a church service.

Church service for our lady of good death.

Filming!
Mourning procession.

ME!
Procession.
Our Lady of Good Death

Me and Iba!

Field Work in Sao Francisco do Paraguaçu

2009-08-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

I only have a few months left in Brazil so I've been working very hard these days. Last week, I spent a week living in a quilombo called São Francisco do Paraguaçu (SFP). It's located about 2 hours outside of Salvador and 1 hour outside of Cachoeira. While I was living with these wonderful people, I got to see how they live and work each day. It was an experience I will never forget. It was a field experience like nothing I had ever lived before. The people of SFP are involved in a messy land conflict that threatens to take away their land and livelihood. I hope that my work will help their cause. Here are nice pictures to enjoy. Look out for my upcoming documentary on the community and the battle of becoming and being a quilombola in Brazil.Sao Francisco do Paraguaçu.
Going into the small farms.

Wood stove.
The girls...
Every night there is a capoeira class for kids in the community. It's so beautiful to see these little ones doing capoeira.

The casa de farinha.
Dona Maria processing the manioc roots. More on this below.
A rooster for fighting.
Seu Osorio and I.
Getting water to shower.
Joelma going to work on her small farm.
Anna, my host.
I went to one of the water fountains to wash clothes while Marcela washed her daughters' hair. I loved these two girls!

When they were done washing they had to sit in the sun to dry their hair!

Then you put it through this massive processor.
For anyone wondering how farinha (flour made from manioc root, a type of yucca) is made. Here it is. First you peel the manioc roots.

You wash it. I don't have a picture up but after you process and wash the manioc mush, you dry it for a day and then toast it on a big stove top like the one's below. That's how you make farinha!

This is banana leaf beiju. It's a tapioca food. Tapioca is made from the goma of the farinha. It's what gets left over in the water when the manioc is washed.
This is also beiju. It is delicious!
Sumido (far right) had a large selection of hats he wanted to show off in each picture. What a character. The other two men are Rabicor (far left) and Seu Osorio. Rabicor was my host for the week.
We stopped by Sumido's (far left) small farm, had some coconut water, sugar cane, and took some pictures, of course!
The trip into the forest took a couple of hours and on the way back, I ate some berries.
These pictures are of my trip into the forest (mata atlantica) of Bahia. It was an amazing walk into a forest with no trails. I went to see how the men cut piaçava, a type of bark used to make brooms and other crafts. We also went to one of the many hidden waterfalls in the forest. It was a very tough walk, in which I fell many times, but it was worth every fall.

Drinking pure water!!!
The whole walk was like a big, natural stair master!
Cheap shot! haha.
This is Sumido. He also loves pictures. Here he is carrying a fishing basket.
This guy alays chased me around for pictures. Proud quilombola!
On my last day in the community, there was a very important meeting between the quilombolas and the minister of the federal organ that promotes racial equality in Brazil, SEPPIR (Secretaria Especial de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial). The guy flew in by helicopter from Brasilia! Here we are going to receive him.
Quilombolas!! Quilombolas!!
Even the kids joined in.
A sign welcoming visitors.
Making Farinha

Negro Fujido! (Black Fugitive )

2009-08-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is a festival/performance/"brincadeira" (fun passtime) that tells the story of slaves that fled from their masters and were caught by the forest captains (capitão do Mato, slaves that worked as police for the masters). They all paint their faces black. The slaves are the young men wearing white capris and the forest captains wear big skirts made out of dried palm tree leaves and carry rifles. They capture a slave and then make him go door to door begging for money to pay for his freedom. If he doesn't get any money he dies (not really, of course.). It's a very interesting event but very difficult to watch for an American used to the taboo of slavery. For Brazilians the history of slavery is much more fresh and not something they like to hide. Hence, Negro Fujido... This is taking place in Acupe, Bahia. A small town about 1 hour outside Salvador, the capital.

Caricaturas Brasileñas!

2009-07-14T18:57:00.000-07:00

Funny Funny!

2009-07-05T18:22:00.001-07:00

En Rio de Janeiro??

Besando una tortuguita para ver si sale un principe!
Ibraim en las aguas tranquilas de Bahia...ayyee...
.....
Que emoción!
Hey!

Farfans en Brasil! Salvador!

2009-06-30T18:39:00.001-07:00

LLEGARON!!!!

Primera noche! Pizza Brasileira!

Pelourinho!

Elevador Lacerda!

Igreja do Bomfim!

Forte...
Fogo de Chão!!!!!!!

Rio Vermelho

Praia do Forte!
Projeto Tamar! Turtle reserve.

Playa Stella Maris

Lagoa de Abaete!

Bahia Noche! Show doe Candomble e Capoeira.

Comprando puros
Vamos a las islas!!!!

Ilha dos Frades
Iglesia antigua de Guadalupe.

En el barco!
ILHA DE ITAPARICA!
Cargaron abuelita!

Farfans en Brasil! Cachoeira!

2009-06-30T16:40:00.000-07:00

Pre-São João!

2009-06-07T09:38:00.001-07:00

El puestesito de licor del hermano de Ibraim. Mmmm. Licor de Cachoeira!
Preparando!

Concurso de Quadrilhas!

Tenemos nuevas tarjetas de negocios hechas por Ibraim!

2009-04-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

The chase. Watch, watch!

2009-04-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

Easter!

2009-04-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

In Brazil we get huge chocolate eggs for Easter. It's fantastic. Ibraim got me a dark chocolate egg. Mmmm.

Meet my dark chocolate delight.
Starting the chase!
Jesus resurrected.
You have to run or you'll miss it.
Jesus arrives. He's back home and poses for our pictures.

Good Friday!

2009-04-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay friends. We've been busy working and no fun pictures to post. We had a break this weekend for Easter and had lots of fun. Enjoy!Sister-n-law, Nina, and her baby girl Beatriz (Bia) eating Muqueca de Siri catado! Mmmm...
Before diving into Good Friday lunch!
From the left, Ibraim's mom, Jackie sister, Luis Claudio brother, Jeane sister, Eliza sister, Dario brother, Nina sister.
.
Lay and huge wine jar.
Nice to meet you huge wine jar.

Something like a chicken pot pie but so much better.
Food.

2009-03-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Quilombo de Sao Francisco

2009-03-10T19:43:00.001-07:00

We went to visit a very polemic quilombola community in Cachoeira.
Tons of houses had signs that read: "Não Somos Quilombolas" We are Not Quilombolas (Descendants of fugitive slaves). The 'O' of Quilombolas was a smiley face sticking out it's tongue in disgust!

19th century Franciscan church in São Francisco de Paraguaçu. National patrimony of Brazil.

My sister-in-law, Jackie, and I.
Nael, Iba, and Jackie.

Cachoeira

2009-03-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

International Women's Day (Dia Internacional da Mulher)! Que marido bom!

Falling theatre in Cachoeira.

Sunset in Cachoeira!
Church in Cachoeira.

Carnaval in Recife! Day 1!

2009-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Leaving Salvador.
When we stepped foot in the Recife airport, we were greeted by Carnaval!

The best airport ever.

First days of Carnaval in Recife.

2009-03-01T13:10:00.000-08:00

The famous Midnight Rooster "O Galo da Madrugada". This rooster inaugurates Carnaval every year in Recife.

Costumes for sale all over the place.

The whole city was decorated for Carnaval.

Do we fit in?

We sort of dressed up. Ibraim is some kind of gypsy-Brazilian guy..
This is just a re-enactment but really this is a picture of the metro in Recife. It was so insane. People were so anxious to get down-town for the party that they were literally cramming in like sardines. It was horrible. We were nearly crushed!

We drank lots of coconut water..mmm..

Carnaval in Olinda!

2009-03-01T12:52:00.000-08:00

These costumes are creepy!

Olinda is famous for the these huge dancing puppets during Carnaval. For us it was kinda like seeing Mikey Mouse in Disney Land for the first time!
This puppet is the most famous.

In Recife, the traditional music and dance is FREVO. Frevo is danced with colorful umbrellas. Recife was colonized for a long period of time by the Dutch so a lot of they're customs are both Brazilian and Dutch.

Awesome costumes.

Maracatu.
This dress is made completely of plastic bottles, using bottle caps for the skirt and the bottle bottoms for the top.

Taking a break from Carnaval to swim with the sharks-literally.

2009-03-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

Carnaval in Recife!

2009-03-01T12:13:00.000-08:00

Obama is all over Brazil!

These are African dance groups called "Maracatu"s.
Want some milk?

This was in another part of Recife called "Old Recife".

Carnaval here was a lot more colorful and traditional.

Famous singers in Brazil and internationally known: Elba Ramalho and Maria Rita!

Ha. Carnaval is a time to be anyone or anything you want to be!

Traditional charaters of Carnaval in Recife. These guys were everywhere.
So many people. It was great! This was in downtown Recife called Point Zero.

Scary. Any one seen "The Orphanage" ? creepy huh..
Of course, Ibraim was very excited to see these guys...
But, who would have thought we'd find these two in Brazil!
Recife is surrounded by water so there are tons of beautiful bridges...
and during Carnaval all of these bridges are packed with people celebrating!

This doll was at the artisan market and she is a doll of a Brazilian character named "Nega Maluca" translated, "Crazy black woman". Brazilians have a different relationship with race than Americans.

Carnaval in Recife! Last day

2009-03-01T12:08:00.001-08:00

Buying some souvenirs at the artisan market.

Napping after a long week of Carnaval!

Carnaval in Recife! last day.

2009-03-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

Cool graffiti. "Beto"!

The best airport ever! Even when we were leaving we still partied! ha.
Leaving Recife. Bye bye!

Out to lunch at the chicken house

2009-02-18T21:08:00.000-08:00

No smoking chickens =)

Brazilian Avocados & Brazilian Sangria

2009-02-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

Coffee with avocados... weird.

HUGE!

Mmmm...sangria!

Close-ups from my window on a rainy day

2009-02-18T20:54:00.001-08:00

Valentines Day in Brazil

2009-02-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

After the mall, we went out for pizza.
In Brazil, they put ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard on their pizza. I only put ketchup on mine! mmm..
Tuna pizza. Mmm.

For V-Day, we went for a stroll in the mall. The first thing we saw was El Chavo. In Brazil his name is "Chaves" =)
We saw an awesome exhibition of photos from the African Folkloric Dance Group of Bahia. These were letter written and drawn by children expressing what they thought about the dance team's performances.
These three were written in English. I don't know why.

A traditional performance from the North East.
An African Goddess.

A Mexican Goddess. (Just kidding).

Hahahaha.
Do we fit in?
The photos were beautiful.

Washing clothes to stay clean!

2009-02-16T19:20:00.001-08:00

Well, those who know me can remember that I don't really love doing laundry. For being lazy at home I'm being punished in Brazil where I have to wash all my clothes by hand! Just these small shirts took me all morning. I wish I had a picture of me sitting on the bathroom floor in front of two buckets: one to soak the clothes in soapy water and the other with clean soapy water to scrub... Worse than washing clothes by hand is washing clothes by hand in a tiny, studio apartment where there is no where to wash clothes! Oh, but don't get too happy about my new favorite hobby. I don't wash everything! Jeans, towels, linens, and all of Ibraim's clothes gets sent out to be washed by a lovely women who makes part of her living washing clothes. Her name is Mariele. Yay for Mariele! Not many people in Brazil have washing machines and those that do don't usually have dryers. It's very common for people to send their clothes out to be washed. Some women make a living washing clothes and others do it for extra cash. Most of the women (they're all women) who wash clothes for money live in the favelas or shantytowns surrounding the city. They benefit from the fact that most people live in cramped, high-rise apartment buildings without washing machines or a yard to wash clothes. Mariele charges 1.50 Reis per item; that's less than 1 dollar per article of clothing, linen, or towel. Any article is the same price. Can you imagine washing a comforter or jeans for less than a dollar! Not me. Now, I suggest you all walk over to your personal laundromats and give thanks to your washing machines and dryers for existing. Oh yeah, then give thanks to God (or what ever you believe in) for having the money to have a house with a personal washing machine and dryer!

Maps

2009-02-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

I've been doing a little bit of work. Here are some maps I found, one is an 18th century map of the community I'm working in and the other is a map of all the quilombos in Brazil. Just a little work...

New Hair!

2009-02-10T09:01:00.001-08:00

I got a great new haircut. It's so hot here I couldn't handle the long hair!

FEBRUARY 2: DIA DE IEMANJA

2009-02-04T05:21:00.000-08:00

FAMILY IN CACHOEIRA

2009-02-04T04:25:00.000-08:00

A New Life in Brazil: Settling In

2009-02-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Brazil a week before Christmas. The past weeks have been hectic and exciting all in one. I'd never experienced Christmas or New Years anywhere other than at home with my family so spending the holidays in the small city of Cachoeira, Bahia with Ibraim's family was different. Christmas isn't one of the big holidays in Brazil like it might be for the Christian world in the US--it pales next to Carnival and the June festivals for Saint John. Christmas is a quite day that almost passes like a whisper. People go to church early and then cook all day for midnight supper. At Ibraim's house the cooking ended pretty early and after cooking folks sat around chatting and then took naps. The day and night passed by slowly and right before midnight we opened some presents, took lots of pictures and then ate. The evening was quieter than I'm used to but not so different from home. Without presents and pictures to fill the night, New Years was even calmer. For New Years, almost the whole city goes out of town to greet the new year at the beach (Brazilian style). Those who didn't make arrangements back in November had to stay put because by December every beach house, hostel, and hotel are booked or extremely expensive. Before midnight we cooked, got our hair done, Ibraim got new braids that day as you'll see, and chatted until midnight. Right before the turn of the hour, Ibraim and I packed our bags, clothes, toothbrushes, shoes, and money, and took off to circle the city church once. We did this to guarantee that 2009 would be a year filled with lots of travel and growth for us.

We spent half of January in Cachoeira before moving our boat out to the big city of Salvador. The rest of January would be a stressful adventure of finding an apartment, furnishing an apartment, getting cell phones, and internet. Let me say now that one serious theme of this blog will be BUREAUCRACY. The difficult and frustrating bureaucracy of Brazil.

We were lucky to find an apartment in the same building as Ibraim's sister. We live two floors above her. After living far away from both our families for so long, it's nice to share our lives with a sister, a great friend, and crazy character. You'll see a lot of her in the pictures.

Before you jump to all sorts of conclusions and think we haven't been working let me cut to that chase right quick. In the middle of the settling in saga, Ibraim and I have visited our field site, met with our Brazlian mentor, João Reis, done some archival work, and set up a meeting with the Brazilian institute of historical and artistic patrimony (IPHAN). There is a very nice archeologist working at IPHAN who is helping us by giving us all the contacts and information IPHAN has on the community we're researching- Buraco do Tatu (BT). We're meeting with her tomorrow. The archival work we did was exciting because what we did was take a digital picture of an old map, drawn by a Portuguese woman in 1938, of BT. Reis suggested that the community might appreciate it if we gave them a blown-up copy of this map for their records. It's a stupendous idea! Ibraim is going to enhance the picture in photoshop and we're going to take it on our first official trip.

The final order of work is that Ibraim signed up for three courses; two in graphic design and digital editing and one in English. He starts after Carnaval. That's another thing--for those of you out there who don't know how things role out here in Brazil, let me tell you that anyone who can say they've been working during the weeks prior to Carnaval is extremely dedicated. Because after New Years, the only thing going on in Brazil is the beach and preparations for Carnaval in February--this year it's February 20-25. We're trying to make our own preparations for the big pagan fest but it's not easy and it won't be cheap. Oh no. Since we've both seen the festival in Salvador we want to go to Pernambuco. Pernambuco is one of the only places left in Brazil where Carnaval is still celebrated traditionally. People dress up and the city builds hugs puppets that dance around in the squares; these are called the Bunecos de Olinda (The dolls of Olinda--Olinda is a neighborhood in Recife (capital of Pernambuco.) More on this in the new post.

The last thing you'll see in this post is our trip to pay homage to Iemanja. Brazil celebrated the African goddess on her day, February 2. People from all over the world met all along the beaches of Salvador to pay homage to this goddess of the ocean, of beauty, and of femininity. I'll let you see how people pay homage.

Until the next post. Tchau!

Nuevas Aventuras

2008-12-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

Hola amigos,

Sigan nuestros viajes por Tejas y Brasil!