Despite Barry’s comparison of me to Imelda Marcos when it comes to boots, none of these are mine. My three boys have caught Havaiana Fever—and as of writing this post there are actually two more pairs to include in the current total!
Author: cantorblumenfeld
Happy Valentine’s Day!
One of our best days so far
This had to be one of the best days we’ve had here, and we’ve had some good ones. A really authentic experience. We went over to the house of our capoeira teacher, Deivid, to make our own berimbaus. A berimbau is the main instrument of capoeira. It has one string and a dried gourd. Video at end shows how it works/sounds.
I’ll post a full update soon, but I just had to share this day. We had such an amazing time.
Getting a ride from Deivid. (Dad, don’t let Mom see this picture.)
Deivid’s yard as he explains the set-up.
Deivid shows us the biribá tree that the Verga (bow) is made from.
Picking our verga.
Cutting it to the right length.
Clearing off the bark.
Opening the cabaça (gourd).
Inside the cabaça.
Sanding the inside of the cabaça.
Nice work on his cabaça.
Topping the verga with the head of an old drum.
Tire where the wire for the arame (string) comes from.
Attaching arame to verga.
Add the cabaça on and you’ve got a happy capoeirista.
Make that 3 happy capoeiristas.
Polish off the afternoon with lemon-verbana tea from the garden.
Welcome to Brazil! Episode 1
Welcome to Brazil!
with your host, Ezra.
Episode 1
In this episode Ezra shows us his home in Arraial D’ajuda.
The Comfort Zone
Did I say we needed to get out of our comfort zone? Next time I say that, please remind me that as a 40-something father of two I’m fine in the comfort zone.
Right before heading to the airport in front of our building.
Exhausting travels as we took an overnight flight to Sao Paulo and then a flight to Porto Seguro. As we took the ferry over the river between Porto Seguro to Arraial D’Ajuda the thought popped into my head, “What the hell have I done?!” I’m not remotely fluent in the language and I have no idea where anything is or what to do in an emergency. My extensive research and planning to have a cell phone working when I landed completely failed. In the days B.C. (before children), when I was immortal, this would be an exciting adventure, but now I am responsible for two more lives. I was on the verge of a panic attack. We managed to get into our home which felt very different, get dinner, and get a swim. By the end of the night I was a touch more comfortable,
On my first day I saw: A grown man moving his motorcycle in his underwear and t-shirt.
Day two we hit the supermercado, Cabui. The only one in town. For no reason I can think of this was the most harrowing grocery shopping trip of my life. In retrospect I can’t see what spooked me, but I was completely freaked out. I guess it had to do with the thought of feeding the family and things being different/uncomfortable- AND realizing this was for half a year. It took us 2½ hours to get through it. The kids were miserable and I was a wreck. Still, we got food and got home. Another swim, some ping-pong, dinner made at home. We were settling in.
On this day I saw: A grown man in his underwear grocery shopping.
On the reef. Our home is back on the beach behind us.
This is how to get comfortable.
Day three I finally got to snorkel with Sidney! So it turns out that there is a reef about a 100 yards off shore and when the tide goes out it is completely exposed. You can walk to the reef at low tide and see urchins, fish and sea stars (check Sidney’s post with pictures and his amazing drawings). It was a great adventure and just what we needed. We had dinner at the hotel next door, where the boys could use the trampoline and foosball table and the parents could get caipirinhas. Just when I think I’m finally comfortable, April and I sit down to plan the start of home school for the boys. Now I’m really freaked out. I knew my peers at Friends Seminary were amazing teachers. Now I REALLY know it.
On this day I saw: A grown man in just his underwear and a hat drinking a beer in the middle of the ferry.
Since then:
Ezra doing some science in school.
We’re here and pretty happy. We like our little condo (you can take a tour with Ezra on his video) that is perfectly situated on a quiet beach with a cool breeze. Most days I start the day off with a few hours of school, we swim and/or snorkel, jump on the trampoline, play all kinds of games, go to capoeira class and shop in town. At night Arrial D’Ajuda town is one of the most charming places on Earth. Restaurants, shops and live music lining a winding cobblestone street. It’s magical! Of 
course I already found the best dessert in town. There’s a popsicle place called Super Paletas. The middle of these are filled with some kind of cream. April had passionfruit with a condensed milk center. It was superfresh. I had Belgian chocolate with a brigadeiro (condensed milk and chocolate) center. We WILL be trying more flavors.
Sidney and Gabriel playing foosball.
Sidney made his first Brazilian friend, Gabriel, who sadly left to go home to Minas Gerais (the downside of living on an idyllic beach that is inhabited by tourists). One of Sidney’s greatest fears about coming to Brazil was making friends, and he was the first one to do it. How? It started with a boy and his soccer ball. God bless futbol (pronounced futchee-bol in Portuguese). You can glimpse them playing in Ezra’s video on his blog.
Ezra in town at his favorite place to stop and get a coconut.
Ezra has made friends at capoeira and pretty much where ever he goes. He lives in shorts and flip-flops. No shirt. He couldn’t be happier.
I realize now that what has changed is that I’m comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s not easy for a know-it-all to not know, and here I don’t. I’m fine with that. The thing I’m most proud of is how April and I have managed ourselves with our Portuguese. No one speaks English here, but we have enough to get by, have basic conversations and take care of everything we need. We’re rockin’ the Portuguese! People are pretty friendly and will try to talk to us, even when we have no idea what they’re saying.
On Sunday I saw: A grown man in his underwear standing in front of his house checking his cell phone. Well, I didn’t see that exactly, because that man was me. I guess I’m in my comfort zone.
Note: These men mentioned were not in their underwear. They were wearing the Brazilian bathing suit called a “sunga.” It just looks like underwear, and it’s worth mentioning that it’s always guys with big round bellies wearing these. For the record, I was actually in my underwear, which does resemble a sanga.
In our back yard. Different surroundings than that first picture.
View from town.
The Kindness of Strangers
How does one thank the kindness of strangers? I shall recount the ways…
Celebrating free stuff!
The flight attendant on TAM (Brazil’s national airlines) for being patient with our Portuguese and letting us practice. Barry and I were thrilled to communicate successfully in our first conversation en Portugues. He was also very sweet with Ezra, who requested extra candy as he ate his brownie first when dinner was served. We had a great experience on TAM—clean, friendly service, professional staff, roomy seats with individual screens and extensive library of movies to select from; we were all ecstatic! Despite the fact that Ezra (and I) did not sleep well on the overnight flight we give TAM a thumbs up (Brazilian caramels upon seating goes a long way)!
Ezra finally fell asleep just as breakfast was served.
Teo the handyman from the hotel next door; who on our botched arrival to a rental house not ready for us ran out to buy us new phone cards and ordered water to be delivered to refill our empty dispenser. Apparently one cannot live without water, or a working cell phone.
The representative at the TIM phone store (Brazil’s equivalent to Verizon or AT&T) who sat with us for almost 2 hours trying to figure out which phones Barry pre-bought for our trip would work with which cards since nothing seemed to be working. Going 3 days without our own way of calling people for information or just plain connection was very disorienting. Can’t tell you what a relief it was to finally get a working phone (eventhough that meant buying yet another phone)—it’s amazing what a sense of security having a phone provided us.
Rose “hip-hop” Ribeiro, a lively woman we met in town while sipping fresh coconut water. She overheard we were looking for the Capoeira school and she freely volunteered to show us. On our walk there she pointed out important places along the way: bank, post office, florist, and basically gave us a quick tour of the town, out of the kindness of her heart—a kindred spirit in dance. She and Sidney played some Capoeira moves and she tried to get Ezra to dance Lambada with her. Few people in NYC stop in the middle of their city-routine to answer a question with a smile much less walk a few blocks to show someone exactly where a place is located. Rose was an angel and her kindness unlocked the “secret” of the town for us. After that we had a much better idea of what the town offered us.
In the beginning, we tried to find out where everything was located on our own, trying to be very self-sufficient. But that method can only get you so far. Eventually we had to open ourselves up to ask for help. Showing vulnerability was an uncomfortable place to be, but once we surrendered to it our boundaries became less of an armor and more of an open door.
Obrigada por tudo meus novos amigos!
My First Four Days in Brazil
Day 3
This day was one of our best days. On this day the same thing happened, but after breakfast and watching TV my dad and I went out to snorkel to the reef. When the tide gets low a long stretch of reef pops out of the water not too far from the shore
. We saw a lot of cool creatures while going to the reef and at the reef. We were looking around for any creatures in the water when my dad spotted a redfish. When we got to
the reef we had to step around some sea urchins. When we got past all the sea urchins. We had to walk up a slanted rock that led us to the top of the reef. My dad and I saw another starfish, but this starfish looked more like a spider. I thought that it was probably slimy, but it was actually than I expected. We got a picture of a big crab in a crack in the reef. We saw a lot of beautiful fish. I snorkeled all the way back to the shore. I didn’t see much stuff but coral and algae. It was still amazing! If there was one lesson I learned it would be…. NEVER EVER GIVE UP!
Day 4
I wa
s playing foosball with my brother when a boy wanted to play with us, then probably his little brother wanted to play too
. They wanted to play two on two foosball. My little brother (Ezra) didn’t want another player on his team because he thought that “Tom” didn’t know how to play, but I knew he did. Ezra tried to push “Tom” off the foosball table. So Ezra pulled me away from them. He said they were mean even though they aren’t. At night time when we were walking back from the hotel I noticed something in the dark. It was moving! It kind of looked like a hamster, but it was moving sideways. I still didn’t know what it was so I showed my dad. He said it was a crab. In fact it was a crab so we took some photos of this crab. It was big. It was cool. It was fast. It even lives in our backyard!
Where’s the panic button?
I can’t believe we’re about to depart for our six-month adventure to Brazil. It’s been two years in the making.
It all started with an article I read in Mothering magazine reviewing books on experiences of families living abroad. It struck a chord with me as I had been wishing to “shake things up” in our family and get us all out of our comfort zone. Watching my boys growing up so fast I saw their childhood slipping away and I wished to carve out more time to really soak them in before they start not wanting parents around. I thought living in another country for an extended period of time would not only satisfy our passion for travel, but it would also give my boys an experience of how life could be lived outside the US—that without the excesses of such a privileged nation their eyes would be open to more resourceful, creative and compassionate ways of being.
So when my husband, Barry, was awarded a sabbatical from his school to learn Capoeira in Brazil realization of our dreams started to take shape.
The past year has been packed with Portuguese lessons, investigation of Brazilian culture, researching places to visit and apartments to rent, preparing our home for renters and figuring out what to take and what to leave. Once we deduced that private American school in Brazil was too expensive we committed to home schooling our kids during our travels. This would afford us flexibility in moving from place to place, and that quality time with the kids I was seeking (maybe a little too much, but we’ll see!) Thankfully the teachers and the school have been super supportive in helping us gather all the materials and curriculum needed to keep our kids on track. I’m already envisioning a little “learning corner” in our apartment where we’ll set up our home-school and meet 2-3 hours each day. I’ll write more on that once we find our stride.
It goes without saying that in the flurry of preparations and after all the last minute home repairs, scrambling to get our travel vaccines and making time to see friends we hit a wall one morning when Barry woke up early with a panic attack. Heart racing, head spinning and a deep-pit feeling in the gut. It took some time to calm down and recollect. I realized I too had it hit me the day before. All the worries and fears about taking two young children to a foreign country where we had no relatives or friends or a regular doctor began to surface. As a parent you start running through all the worst-case scenarios and it’s just plain scary. It’s the nightmare you never want to have but you know you have to prepare for.
My reaction was to make an Emergency Action Plan: list of all the contacts we did know in the country. Numbers, addresses. Location of the closest clinics or hospitals. Barry had ID bracelets made for the kids. And a plan of where to meet if we got separated or who to go to for help. I wanted to make sure the kids knew the plan too so they would have the tools necessary to help themselves if the event arose. Putting it all down on paper was helpful. At least it helped my mind to feel as if there was a plan.
Fear of the unknown can be terrifying and debilitating. I felt my heart closing. But then I remembered the purpose of our trip, the support and love from the community of friends and family, and most importantly I was reminded by FAITH and TRUST.
My Filipino-Catholic parents instilled in me the value of gratitude and humility. That there’s a greater force at work—and whether you call it God or the Universe or any other name that suits you, that force is there to support you, to see you succeed.
Then there were 2 things that happened post-panic: My friend, who is a brother of the Jesuit order, reminded me that if I am a person of faith I believe in a divine plan—that experiences come to us to enrich our spirit, that whatever experience we have it is for our own spiritual growth and evolution. Trust in that journey.
And at synagogue services the next day, our rabbi called our family up to the bimah (altar) and before the congregation thanked us for being a special part of their community and gave a blessing over all of us for safe travels and wonderful adventure and a safe return back home. All my fears melted and tears of gratitude welled up in my eyes. I sighed a breath of relief that only Faith and Trust could inspire. Yes, we were on the right track.
Step one of our journey begins.
What’s Going on Here
Let passion be your guide, service your gift, family your home and the world your school.
After reading Bruce Feiler’s book, The Secrets of Happy Families, our family created the “mission statement” above. We added some other beliefs that defined us and my amazing graphic artist brother-in-law, Paul, turned it into this wonderful work of art. Now when we lose our way, we literally have a map that leads us back to ourselves.
The map was also a reminder for April and me of how much we value traveling and the importance of experiencing other cultures. We were also reminded of this when a friend of ours talked about taking her family to live abroad for a year. That comment reignited something in April, and she passed that spark on to me. I had no idea how we were going to make this happen, but I knew we had to find a way. Then, last fall, in a conversation with my department chair, Derek, I mentioned that I’d like to see more non-western movement added to our curriculum, such as African dance and capoeira.
If you don’t know what capoiera is, it’s a Brazilian martial art/dance form that was created by slaves to disguise their training to fight and free themselves. It generally involves two capoeristas “playing” in a circle as others sing and play music. It looks like this.
Derek asked me about teaching capoeira, and I responded that it would take several years if I started now as I could only go to one or two classes a week with my schedule. That’s when Derek suggested applying for the sabbatical my school awards one faculty member per year to go to Brazil and study it intensely. Some ideas popped into my head immediately.
Oh yeah, and this, too.
That’s me, on my head!
South America wasn’t even on our radar as potential place to live for awhile, but it seemed like it was meant to be. In the fall of last year I decided to take a capoeira class with Capoeira Brooklyn to see if I would like it. The movement was fun, but it was when Mestre Foca handed me an agogo (a percussion instrument) to play along that I was sold. The chance to move in new ways AND play music- I was IN! I quit Aikido- the Japanese martial art I had been practicing for the past 4 years- the next week and started training in capoeira immediately. Sidney started training, too. I applied and received the sabbatical in December. Just like that it was all set in motion.
Sidney is going to be so much better than me.
So now we are flying to Brazil on January 20th for six months. April and I have studied Portuguese for the past year, got our visas, spent way more money on immunizations than expected and are preparing to home-school our children while I do an intensive study of capoeira. Though we are a bit nervous about leaving what is familiar, it’s time for an adventure!
The whole family will be blogging while there. You can find out how we’re doing and where we are on this site, as well as how to get in touch with us.
We’ll be living in a 2-bedroom condo with a pool on the beach in the tiny beach town of Arraial D’Ajuda in southern Bahia until the the end of February. After that we’ll see where my training takes us. Plans include Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Recife, but you know what they say about the best laid plans.
Wish us boa sorte e boa viagem!
Let Passion Be Your Guide 
