Gettin' ink done

Tattoos are one of our favorite parts of Brazilian culture. All kind of people have them, including the teachers at our school, folks on billboards, and the occasional newscaster. We love ogling the amazing art and gorgeously tattooed bodies that seem to be everywhere. The idea that Brazilians are heavily tattooed got under our skin to the point that we 'when in Rome-ed' and picked up a few ourselves. Funny thing about confirmation bias is that you see what you expect to see and the truth be damned. We spent almost a year noticing the tattooed people and not noticing the untattooed people and perpetuated our own fake news about Brazilians and their tattoos. I looked the facts up to write about it and discovered that our belief was based on self-fulfilling mind tricks and that, proportionally, way more Americans than Brazilians have tattoos. It's certainly true that people around here show more skin than they do in Utah and and it's probably true that there is less of a stigma about tattoos, but Carol and I were in keeping with our American identities when we decided to ink up. 

I ate the Nutella

 

My lover loves me especially because of my faults. It's a sweetness between us. I love her especially because her delicate body is no match for her indefatigable soul and she loves me because my taurus strength is powerless against binge snacking. For example, in the past three weeks I ate two jars of Nutella. As a result, there wasn't any Nutella left, not even the spare jar, when she got a hankering. "But you love me especially because, right?" I said. "Even though" she responded. Today is, our 10 year and 8 month anniversary so we will endure but I really should be more considerate when it comes to our snacks. 

Water to drink

We aren't sure what the situation is with the tap water here but people generally don't drink it so we don't either. One place we lived had a filter on the tap but mostly we use refillable 20 liter bottles. Sometimes, like now, we live far from the road and getting the water to the house can be a hassle. To address the issue, I brought a backpacking filter back from the US and enjoyed mindlessly pumping our water 10 minutes every day until a plastic piece broke off and ended that. Today, I stopped to get our 20 liter bottle refilled and the lady told me the bottle was too old and she wouldn't take it. That was strange because no one ever looked for a date before but there was nothing I could do so I headed to a self-service place nearby. The machine wouldn't take my 50 cent coins so I went to a store to exchange my change. The guy told me they didn't have enough change to change my change and I was out of options. I got five gallons for now and will drive to town tomorrow to try and fill the 20 liter bottle. I'm also going find out why it is that we don't just drink the tap water. 

Normal for the spider (chaos for the fly)

 

Living in a place similar to a nature preserve has us getting acquainted with the wildlife. Most recently, we've been watching dozens of gigantic spiders sitting in golden webs that started to show up about a month ago. It's a type of spider that can be found from the southeast US all the down to Argentina so it isn't rare, but I've never see anything like it. Enormous females with long striped legs sit patiently in middle of their golden webs. The ladies have bodies four to five times larger and100 times heavier than the skinny brown males who hang around in the webs up and away  a little bit. These spiders live in colonies, sharing web infrastructure to form 3-dimensional nightmares up to six webs deep. We have a a few colonies nearby that we keep an eye on. Today, one of the bigger females seemed to be dead in her web with all eight legs hanging down like pale yellow roots. A male nervously moved around her body while a ghostly white spider, with an evil looking red spot, lurked above them. I went to find Carol to give her the news, trying to imagine what had happened. When we returned, the formerly-dead female was pale and moist but up and moving and the male spider was trying to get her in a family way. The ghostly white spider swung above them in the breeze, the way an exoskeleton does when it is left behind after molting.

Not appropriate for children

 

I read a children's book recently that was written by a renowned Brazilian author. I was surprised that the book described a dog being killed by other dogs. It felt graphic and sad and I asked my teacher about the violence and wondered what it meant about violence in the culture. Then I reread "Call of the Wild." A book that captivated my imagination when it was assigned reading in my forth grade. A grand tale that inspired my interest in wild places and nurtured my own wildness. Well surprise, surprise, that book I loved as a child was filled with dogs being viciously killed and violently abused. It is telling that I was so quick to connect a dead dog in a Brazilian book to violence in the culture but forgot all about the dead dogs (and people) in a beloved book from my country. It's one more reminder not to judge, just to learn with humility and to grow.

Calling for help

 

It's probably best if we stay out of the help giving/getting business until we better grasp on things.  At one point I saw a man struggling in some rocks at the edge of a beach. I wanted to be a hero and help but am glad I didn't because it was a person with a physical disability just trying to enjoy his day. Then we were tempted to help when we saw a seal caught in some fishing nets. I was in the act of sending a message to summons help we realized that the seal was not caught in the nets but was stealing fish out of them. A call for help may have ended with angry fishermen and a dead seal. Similarly, a person calling for help can't really count on us either. We had been here about six months when our teacher used the word "socorro" in class. We looked confused. Sooth? I guessed. Some kind of juice? Carol offered. He said it again with emphasis, arms flailing, kind of yelling "Socorro!" --Cheers! We said together, clinking imaginary cups. Nope, Socorro! is the call for help and it is a good thing nobody has needed us to provide any.

Everything old is new again

 

One of the greatest things about this adventure is the constant sense of newness. Even the old stuff has been reincarnated into a Brazilian version of what we used to know. I first noticed it with reading. I loved books as a young person but somewhere during grad school I lost the love. I would read on planes or if I had to but I stopped reading for fun. Now, I'm reading books in Portuguese and they transport me to new places and inspire fresh thoughts and, just like when I was a kid, I want to read them all. Similarly with sports. I love snowboarding. Back in the day, I never wanted to miss a minute but 30 years in, some of the stoke has faded and I often take long lunches or arrive late or leave early. Here, I'm learning to ride a different kind of board and the stoke is back, I fight for every minute in the water and even if the riding is crap, it still leaves me wanting more. The learning curves are sharp and being a perpetual neophyte is humbling but feeling brand new in everything is priceless.

Carnival coming

 

We read a book where the animal characters were excited for Carnival. As they scrambled to get ready they could hear it coming, panquititapam, panquitititapam. It was a cute book but we weren't sold. We went to Carnival in Rio once. The parade was surreal and the whole thing was a scene that was absolutely worth experiencing. Still, we were thinking we might escape to the mountains and skip Carnival this year. Turns out we didn't get any plans made so it looks like we going to stay. It's exciting. It's still a week away but the island is staring to swell with activity. The beaches and restaurants are packed. In the evenings, people dressed in white send their flowery gifts out to the sea and the singing and drumming lasts into the night. Sambas are heard in the bars and and faces are starting to glitter in that streets. From our little house we can hear it coming, panquititipam panquititipam. Carnival is on it's way.

Cozy spaces

We've lived in four different places since we moved to this island and they've all come with unique advantages and disadvantages. Two of the places, including our current abode, have been pretty small. The current place is 350 square foot-ish with a couch, and a table and a bed. Only one of us fits in the kitchen at a time and we have to figure out who will wear the headphones when we have meetings --but it's our home, it has what we need and I kind of love it. It reminds me of backpacking. Our in-home activities include looking out the window and cuddling with the dog. We talk more and have fewer distraction. It's cozy. Roomier houses are probably preferable in countless ways but there is something to be said for an unembellished life and in having only the essentials we come to appreciate what is essential.