Feliz Ano Novo! Roses, Reggae, and New Beginnings

After months of anticipation, my journey has finally begun. Post-undergrad life has been interesting so far to say the least. It already seems like ages ago when my roommates and I were screaming "Vincimus!" at graduation, finally basking in the moment instead of thinking about the inevitable question of what comes next. I've had plenty of time to think hard about this question though since that moment, and I've decided to dedicate a year to this endeavor. At such a crucial moment in life, many people take maybe a day, a week, a month to choose their next step. Of course, there are those people who have known what they wanted since they were little and just continue to follow the twenty-year plan they've laid out. Then there are those who remain unsure but move on to graduate school or to make money while they try to figure things out. Then there are those people like me who just don't know. And I finally feel really comfortable not knowing. I know the basics of course - I'm interested in public health and human rights issues; I love history and literature; I enjoy traveling and hearing different music and culture from around the world. But the question is how do I bring these together into a life for myself that is always fulfilling, despite any of the challenges that might lie ahead. Eliot House blessed me with the opportunity to take a break from the fast track and get some perspective on where I've arrived at this point in my life and where I'm going next. So this year will be a year of thoughts, grounded in new experiences, new places, and new friendships. I decided to make my way through Latin America and focus on Afro-Latin music and culture, a long-held interest, to center myself. The first stop is, of course, Brazil...

Brazil is one of those rare places that immediately lives up to the hype. People rave about it. Honestly, have you ever heard anyone say anything negative about this place? Even the people I know who got jumped while they were here kind of had fun getting mugged. Anyway, as the plane touched down in Salvador, I marveled at how heavenly the place looks. It was beautiful to see people from Salvador on the plane just marveling at their home. I couldn't imagine such beauty ever getting old. My host mom picked me up from the airport. She just has a wonderful spirit and that was apparent the moment I saw her. The food she cooks is amazing as well. My Portuguese is so rough that we communicate mainly through smiles and simple sentences. Although each day gets better (listening to that John Legend song now actually) and as I recall what I learned in my one semester and I learn new phrases and use them successfully, I do a little victory dance. The apartment where I'm staying is wonderful and there's a great view. A huge mall and the beach is right nearby, so I'm pretty much set. From my room I can see the favelas across the street, which constantly remind me not to simply get caught up in the beauty of this place and live here while ignoring the realities of poverty and discrimination that exist in every society (except Norway of course).

Things were pretty calm until New Year's Eve though; my favorite New Years ever actually. I was a little nervous at first because my mom kept signaling to me how insane the lady was who I was going to this beach party with. Turns out she's not crazier than any other crazy person. We went to the beach in Rio Vermelho and sat with this beautiful black family who had tons of food and drinks. They were such great people. At midnight there was a brilliant fireworks show and they all brought out different colored roses. We approached the beach and everyone, dressed in white, started throwing their roses to the ocean. Roses remind me of my mom and sister; every now and then I'll buy them a rose just to remind them that I love them. My friend explained to me that it was a tradition in Candomble to throw roses to the ocean, I think as a kind of gesture to the orixas, so I made a little wish and threw my rose. It didn't wash back up on the shore and something about that made me happy. We moved on to the giant dance floor where there was a big screen playing American music videos but there was no sound coming from it. I guess they just wanted the images and not the music, which I can understand, because their DJs were amazing. They played Reggae, hip hop, and samba for hours. Everyone knew the words to every song. A funny moment happened when a group of girls I met asked me to show them an American dance. I immediately thought of grinding - because thats really all it seems like people my age know how to do. But I thought that would be weird since the beat definitely didn't call for it, so I tried something else...I think they were impressed! At least there was no laughter - only cheers. The crowd was so cool, too. It was the most diverse group of people I've ever seen. Pretty soon, this big old dark-skinned guy came out with his band, his name turned to be Lazzo Matumbi. He thought he was the sexiest thing on that beach, winking at everyone and giving all the screaming older women these sensual looks, which was funny. He was an amazing singer though, and this lady came out who looked like Chili from TLC (exactly like her, for real!), and sang some songs with him. She was awesome too. Before I knew it, it was 3:30AM and I started saying my goodbyes to everyone. But then this DJ from Senegal came out of nowhere. And he started playing all the West African tunes I know from the hundreds of Nigerian parties I've been to. Of course, I had to stay and break it down for them. Before I knew it, the sun started coming up, and I made my way home, thinking about the great night of music and tradition, and very excited for what 2009 has to offer.

As I open this new chapter, I feel such hope, such excitement, such curiosity. Right now I'm reading about Candomble and eating feijoa com arroz, listening to the breeze flow in and out of my window, and ready for the year ahead...