It’s hard to believe we are back. I’m sorry for not posting but once we returned “home” to Arraial D’ajuda in late May we slipped into a normal routine of capoeira, beach, pool and home school. June did bring friends from home. This was an amazing adventure that I never thought I would have in my life. We are so lucky we had this chance.

Below are pictures from our last month in Brazil, which included a trip to Chapada Diamantina, the Grand Canyon of Brazil. But first:

Top 10 Things I Won’t Miss About Brazil

10. Stairs- I never saw a stairwell that had same-sized steps. Not to mention, there were random steps everywhere that we stubbed our toes on.

9. The Rainy Season- We did get caught in Bahia’s wet season. With no clothes dryers it’s an extra bummer.

8. They Don’t Like to Say No- This can lead to some weird responses. Once we ordered french fries and instead of saying no, they said “We’ll go buy some potatoes right now.”

7. Roads- Infrastructure sucks . I drove the crazy loops of Brasilia, hours on dirt roads in Bahia and even the stop-and-go of Rio de Janeiro. It all sucked.

6. Pedestrians- I can say the same for NYC, though

5. Things Manufactured in Brazil- we just found stuff to be poorly made. This does not apply to hand-made things.

4. Bats (and monkeys) in the Belfry- In two of our homes we had these critters living between our roof and ceiling. They do not make for a good night sleep considering they are nocturnal.

3. Dinner taking forever. No such thing as “turn and burn” here. G-d forbid you come to a restaurant hungry.

2. Finish what you start- Not really a priority in Bahia.

1. Lack of Foresight- The biggest flaw we could find in Brazilian culture was a lack of foresight. It was evident everywhere. Classic example: We asked a friend why all bathrooms seem to be a step up from the floor they were on. He said it was to make room for the pipes for plumbing. I replied that we build the plumbing into the building in the U.S. His response was, “Oh, here they don’t plan for plumbing when building.”

Top 10 Things I will Miss About Life Brazil

10. Speaking Portuguese- Though I have a limited vocabulary and probably only comprehended 30% of what I heard, I really enjoyed the challenge and success of communicating in another language. By the end I could even be funny!

9. In most restaurants everything was made fresh. We ate so little processed food. Specific foods that will be missed:

• Super Paletas- The best filled-ice cream pops in the world
• Quejo Coalho- Our favorite beach food. Cheese stick heated over coals with oregano and molasses.
• Coconut Water and Açai- Two great ways to cool off and recharge
• Fresh Juice- It’s cheap and plentiful in so many flavors. Watermelon, Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Lime, Pineapple, Orange and fruits that you’ve never heard from.

8. Letting my kids go outside to play unsupervised. The only time in my life I’ve had that luxury since we live in NYC. Not to mention that with less T.V. my kids were SO MUCH more creative. They made most of their toys. They also became more brave and adventurous.

7. Laid-back Bahia- I got used to not being rushed and trusting everything will happen in time.

6. Living on the Beach- Do I have to explain?

5. Taking walks in town at night down charming cobblestone streets with my loved ones.

4. Samba in Rio- I fell in love with the music. Samba especially, but good Forro and Bossa Nova are always welcome.

3. Being together as a family. We rode some big ups and downs, but we are so much closer. One day the kids will not want to be seen in public with us so when that happens we’ll fondly remember this time.

2. Brazilians- Almost everyone is so friendly and helpful. Brazilians can be such generous people. They welcomed us into their homes, made us food, gave us things we needed, stopped to help call a motorcycle to drive up a hiking trail to get April who broke her toe. We made some wonderful friends (although that included Italians and Australians).

1. Wearing a Sunga- I get it now. It’s so comfortable.

In June we had a visit from the Hays family.

Sidney turned 10.

Then the Sadovniks visited us for our last two weeks. We went to Chapada Diamantina together.

Paul (my brother-in-law) and his fiancee, Vicky, came for a week to visit us. They wanted some beach time so we heard that Buzios, just a few hours from Rio was a great place to go. Turns out it’s sort of the Hamptons for cariocas (people from Rio).

Our favorite spot was Praia Ferradurinha (little horseshoe)

The highlight was finding sea turtles there. Paul took the boys way out on the SUP.

Found them!

https://youtu.be/HwC9WkrH7Bc

Took a little boat tour.

And some surfing.

Then off to Rio.

April and I love the neighborhood of Santa Thersa. The art, the restaurants and the friends we made at the place we stayed (Casalegre).

You can get a walk around with Ezra in Episode 4.

We just had 2 wonderful weeks in Itacaré, Bahia. Why did we ever leave Bahia?

We visited a cacau farm/chocolate factory

Had a great Passover. Couldn’t find matzah, so we did it ourselves.

And Easter.

And capoeira

Sidney in the roda with the Mestre Cabello:

https://youtu.be/0W0byD1f18Y

As our school back home was taking their spring break we took one, too. OK, technically it’s more like a summer break. Well, all right, we’re pretty much on summer break for most of the year, so let’s just say we took a break from our routine…vacation. The break was initiated by the arrival of my in-laws, Flora and Ramon. We were all so happy to have them visit and for the chance to share some Brazilian experiences. We spent a week enjoying life in and around Arraial (You can see our visit with them to the Pataxó reserve on Sidney’s blog)

Then we took a road trip together to Caraiva. More like a dirt road trip, ¾ of the ride is on a rough dirt road,

Then we made our way back to Trancoso, the once sleepy, hippie town that is now a playground for the rich and famous AND the hippies.

We said “Até Logo” to Bahia and headed to Rio. It’s like New York and Miami, mixed together with some amazing little mountains. It is as beautiful as people say and just plain cool. We saw the sights and had a good time.

Back to America we went. Oh, I mean on to Brasilia, the capital. Filled with malls and food courts (Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Subway and more) and air conditioning. We were very fortunate to have our friends, Priscilla and Rafael to pick us up and let us stay with them for the first weekend. They showed us the town and, of course, a mall. Called “shopping” here. It’s a noun in Portuguese. Rafael did a great job of constantly explaining how the streets flow and the addresses work. I was extremely grateful once I was on my own with the car for the week. In Brasilia, it takes 3 rights or ¾ of a circle to make a left. That led to lots of confusion, but the addresses are laid out on a grid that is very clear. I was able to navigate the city without a map often. Luckily I’m a NYC driver so I could handle the aggressive drivers on the road.

Brasilia is filled with the architecture of Oscar Niemeyer and so many amazing buildings.

The highlight for Sidney and I was the capoeira training. We were in the hometown of our school, Raizes do Brasil, and from the moment we walked in to class we were welcome with open arms. Everyone was friendly and introduced themselves. The mestres and professors, all who are friends of Mestre Foca (our mestre in NY) were so generous with us. Mestre Railil, the Grand Mestre, who is usually very busy, was so kind to teach a class while we were there.

The kids in Sidney’s class quickly befriended him, and once they saw him play they all wanted to get in the roda with him. Mestre Cara, who taught the kids classes, took an immediate liking to Sidney, and once he saw how good Sidney was (and man, he is so good), he took him under his wing. Sidney couldn’t get enough capoeira. He went to the kids classes and then took the adult ones with me, sometimes. He actually preferred those as he is so hungry for training.

http://youtu.be/pAS8t_01Y8I

http://youtu.be/3psapNFpEUY

For me, it was great to be reminded of the style I originally learned, that involves much more twisting and bending. It’s a bit more on the dance-y side. Sul da Bahia- where the training was excellent- tends to be a bit more straight forward. Also, we got a lot more time playing in the roda in Brasilia than we did in Arraial.

http://youtu.be/lmCnXxKQ5aI

That being said, as much as we enjoyed our travels, we really missed our life in Bahia. Living on the beach, no malls, significantly less screen time for the kids (which means significantly more creativity in their play). As I post this we are now in Itacare, a surf town in Bahia and back to our ideal beach life again. I’m studying the other style of capoeira, Angola. More on that in the next post.

Tchau!

We’ve been here in Arraial for over 6 weeks now, and I think we’ve been lucky to have what I think are authentic Brazilian experiences. Carnaval. The big-party-all-night-carnaval in Porto Seguro (the neighboring “big” town) has major music acts filling the streets from 11pm to sunrise. We tried to go but the boys just couldn’t stay up that late, but we could hear the music pretty loudly in our home miles away. All night. The carnaval in Arraial D’Ajuda, was a little more tame with just a few blocos (groups of people dancing with some kind of music) marching through town each night. The capoeira school is connected to the Afro Bloco, so our family joined in and bought costumes and African-danced down the street in front of a cadre and women drummers. (You can see a bit of video of this on Ezra’s video- Episode 3).  For April and I both, this was one of the highlights of our time here. The energy, the drumming, the movement, the town filling the sidewalks to enjoy it all. This felt like one of the most genuine Brazilian experiences we’ve had thus far.

As for my training, in the capoeira classes people smile at me and chat with me now. There are many regular students that are happy to partner up with me. A big difference from my first few weeks here. I also feel like I’ve had a “Karate Kid” turn in my training. After practicing regularly and feeling like nothing was changing drastically, all of the sudden my playing in the roda is completely different. I have much more vocabulary and I feel like I am reacting more to the other person playing. I still have so much to learn, though, but I’m having so much more fun now. Recently, when the Mestre subbed in for his wife in the morning classes, he put me in the front row and had me start the roda.

Other real-Brazilian experiences:

• Our kids are only in school a few hours a day, like the Brazilian kids who go to school from 1-5pm.
• When we walk through town in the evening we get to stop many times to say “Oi!” and chat with friends.
• Fresh agua de coco (coconut water) after capoeira class. 
• We have a fairly busy social life. Our Brazilian friends Maira and Diego made us a wonderful vegetarian-version of acarajé. A fried bean fritter (a Brazilian falafel) that usually involves shrimp. Maira made it with a side of ocra and veggies for us.

• My accent must not be too bad. I’m regularly mistaken for a Spanish-speaking South American and get the occasional, “Gracias!” That could just be because there are almost no Americans here, though.
• Driving a stick car for an hour on a dirt road. Not the most enjoyable of experiences.

• Ezra hasn’t worn a shirt in over a month. Really. I’m not exaggerating.

• Our most Brazilian moment thus far: We made a nice dinner for some Brazilian friends who were coming over for dinner at 7pm. They texted to cancel at 7:45pm.

• Proof of the transformation: I walked down the block in just my sungha and havaianas to buy eggs at the convenience store. Yes, I’m that guy now. (No, no picture for you to make fun of me. Just use your imagination.)

Photo highlights:

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.