Obama and The World: Recognition and Re-cognition

I decided to slow down a bit over the past few days because I need to start being a bit more frugal with my money if I'm trying to hit all the countries on my list. I started Portuguese classes this past week at the university here.  It's an interesting group of people.  There's a woman who speaks Spanish who asks questions literally every 2 minutes. She smiles a lot so it's okay.  There's an old professor from the US who speaks realllllly slow. When he talks it's like the world is in slow motion.  There's this British guy who is so confused by everything and this look of horror stays on his face; he occasionally bursts into random laughter leaving everyone confused.  And there's this girl my age who sits in the corner, with crazy snake tattoos running down both arms, who never smiles - she's a bit scary.  It's a small class and my teacher is real cool, so hopefully this will help me learn Portuguese much faster! I also went to this cool street celebration for Lavagem do Bonfim, an annual ritual attached to the church here.  Since people here love to party, that seemingly religious tradition has given way to literally thousands of people walking the streets, dancing to bands playing atop trucks and on the sides of the road.  There were small performances coming from everywhere, and I marveled at everyone's elation. We mostly just walked around, stopping to dance every now and then if a good song found us.  Other than that, I've been doing a lot of reading over the past few days, mostly regarding the long, storied history between Brazil and Africa.  For example, the 19th century freed, educated slaves traveling back and forth between Brazil and Lagos, asserting their membership in a diaspora, or a nation, of black people in Africa and the Americas is just such interesting history that certainly transforms the archaic discourse regarding aspects of "primitive" African culture retained in the "New World." It puts so much, especially Candomble and Afro-Brazilian identity here, in a fresh perspective.

Anyway, I read an interesting journal article the other day dealing with the anthropological notion of "recognition and re-cognition." This idea basically deals with being able to recognize familiarity in something, someone, or some place foreign by using the cognitive power of memory to make the foreign feel familiar. I've been engaged in this constantly since I've been here in Salvador. I've enjoyed the food so far because the common dishes like fried plantain and acaraje remind me of Nigeria. I can't help but dance to the music and feel like I know some of the songs because the West African rhythms are undeniable.  I've made some good friends so far because they remind me of the little things I appreciate about my friends back home. In essence, this place feels like home because I recognize a lot of qualities attached to what I consider to be "home."  This made me think of Barack and his inauguration on Tuesday. 

For my peers and I, he will not only be the first black president, but he will be the first competent president.  I realized that for as long as I can remember in my life, the presidency has been either mired in sexual misconduct (constant stories about berets and blue dresses) or sullied by brazen incompetence and stupidity (unsubtantiated wars and a whole lot of made-up words). Clinton, despite his recovered favor with the American public, and Bush didn't inspire anything in people my age, other than rage at times. But Obama is different, and his inauguration in DC is one of the ONLY reasons that I'm jealous I'm here in sunny Brazil and not the cold wintery US capitol. 

When I've traveled before, people have always made some comment about Bush when they realized I was from the US; it was always negative.  And I've even at times been in arguments defending the US government with people I've met abroad.  Yet with one historical election, things are already changing. I've been in multiple conversations here with people about Obama. People ask questions about how I think this will change things for African Americans, for the Middle East. Most people just say "americano! Obama!" and point to their skin, referencing the fact that he's black. He has caused many people here in Salvador to remember what the United States once symbolized before the past decade or so (at times), and more importantly, what it's supposed to symbolize.  In other words, many strangers here have recognized me through thinking about Obama and the freedom, civil rights triumphs, and black pride they have achieved and they hope for in their own communities - recognition and re-cognition. Beyond this though, what makes me so proud for Tuesday is the fact that Obama has managed to be so much more than the first black president for us who supported his campaign (while this achievement in itself in ground-breaking). He's the manifestation of the call to ensure that our country, in the tradition of greats like Douglass and King, is living up to its stated ideals.  He's the reminder that our government is by the people and for the people. He's changing the way we engage in government and reconceptualizing politics as public service. And this is sometimes overlooked, but he's just a great guy...