These were the words April said to me as we entered Cambui, the grocery store (of all places! See my blog post about my grocery panic attack there on our second day here). We had come in one entrance, but usually enter the other way. She was remarking how we had our shopping rhythm down when we start on the other side of Cambui. (You can get a peek inside Cambui with Ezra on Episode 2 on his blog).

Having played the drums since I was 7 years old, I truly experience life as rhythm and beats. When I hear a song, I hear the drums first and the melody second. If I was destined to be a dancer, it’s no surprise I ended up a tap dancer.

Living in Arraial D’ajuda for a few weeks now, I think I have found the rhythm of this place. There is the rhythm of the Estrada da Balsa outside our home, which has no traffic, but once the balsa (ferry) arrives a mile down the street there is the briefest wave of traffic. While waiting for a bus or van we know that’s when we can expect a ride; thus we are tied to rhythm of the balsa.

There is the rhythm of our weeks. Capoeira in the mornings on Monday and Wednesday for the boys (add in Thursday and a couple of nights for me), which means school in the afternoons. There are school mornings on the other days and we end each day with swimming in some fashion. Trips to town at night a few times a week and the boys constantly inventing new games to play with each other.

For me, the biggest success has been that I now feel in rhythm with Sul da Bahia, the capoeira school where I am studying while in Arraial. I take classes from three different teachers who have their own grooves- as I can tell by the music they choose to start their classes. Professora Luciana, the wife of the Mestre, is sensitive to who is in the class and what’s present. Her class is the friendliest of the three and so it’s no surprise that she uses popular Brazilian music. She even let the boys come play in the roda in class.

http://youtu.be/H-RREiQhj7o

http://youtu.be/3waOcS-axrQ

Deivid, is laid back and even-keeled, just like the samba/dance groove covers of Bob Marley songs he plays. He’s a natural teacher and his movement combinations are fun and creative. He’s been the one person thus far from Sul da Bahia that we have spent time with outside of classes.

Mestre Railson is like a brick truck with no brakes. His class is intense and non-stop. There are guys doing push-ups and sit-ups in-between the exhausting exercises! His music choice is the most interesting as he likes to start class with “Somewhere over the Rainbow,” sung by Iz, the great Hawaiian singer. I can see that the Mestre is strong on the outside, but like his capoeira, it is combined with flexibility and warmth. This is what I read in the song choice.

The rhythm of the roda in his class is so different than Raizes do Brazil’s. In Brooklyn, capoeiristas of all levels would freely flow in and out of the roda, but this school- with no less than a dozen insanely amazing capoeiristas on any given night- has a hierarchy. These are just a few of the guys from class.

http://youtu.be/a2leCouq2Ac

The great players take the roda and play long games. It’s very hard for the less advanced to find a place. That being said, the other night when there was a roda on the street which is more like a performance, the Mestre picked someone to play with me and let me take a turn. I see I am slowly earning a place in the community here.

Most importantly for us all, we are in the rhythm of friendship. Last week, while in the pool next door at the hotel, Rafael started to chat with me. That conversation lasted for 2 ½ hours- all in Portuguese! It was the start of our first real friendship with some Brazilians. Both he and his wife Priscilla were incredibly patient with us and so we spent a lot of time with them talking about almost everything. They live in Brasilia, where we are headed next, so we get to keep this one going.

I have my best capoeira buddy, an Aussie named Marianne. She has been coming here for the past 5 years and has been a great resource for us. I know it’s “cheating” to have an English speaking friend, but she’s a really good one.

Half-cheating, we made friends with Rick, an American ex-pat from North Miami (of all places!) and his Brazilian wife, Andrea. Rick has it figured out. He has a, cliff-side home (with good wifi!) overlooking the beach and manages to work just a few months a year in the states to maintain is idyllic life.

I think the kids and our new friends are happy that I have time to get my baking “groove” on, too. My “biscoitos Americanos” are a hit here.

As April says, sometimes it takes a taste of home to make a new place feel like home.

PS- Just to prove my point, these guys just got off the ferry for Porto Seguro around 5pm for Carnaval. Carnaval there doesn’t start until 11pm and goes until the sun goes up.