Category: Reflections

I was reflecting a bit on where I was 10 years ago – the beginning of 2000. I was 15, a year and a half away from graduating high …

Adeus adeus, Bahia, minha terra adotada. I may have adopted Brazil, but Brazil hasn’t adopted me. I’m still just another estrangeira, now not allowed to go back for half …

I love the way capoeira undoes everything that a desk job does to my body. Arriving at class, my back is stiff, my muscles atrophied, my eyes strained, my …

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your …

…but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Deut. 8:3 The hardest part about fasting is not hunger, but habit. For me, the easiest way …

Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a …

A dobrão is the thick coin used to play the berimbau, and mine had gone missing after our July 26 street roda. I had others at home… but for …

I love going home. For some reason I still call it “home” even though I’m living completely on my own. I can’t quite bring myself to say “my parents’ …

The saudade hits at unexpected times and in unforeseen situations: tasting a bit of cheiro verde in a salad, hearing a smattering of Portuguese on the streets, seeing a …

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned from capoeira is how to modify my rolê when life switches up directions on its rabo-de-arraia. Or in other words: sometimes …