BACKPACKERS IN SOUTH AMERICA
the long waited blog about the trip
(at the Recife airport)
( Listening to:"Vagabundo Não È Facil" by Os Novos Baianos )
R e f l e c t i o n s . . .
I would have liked to have written a blog entry for each city I have traveled to in Brazil, but unfortunately the internet was not always on my side. Even in my parents lovely little summer home in Gravatà, I am not sure I will get this entry uploaded successfully.
This trip has marked a very special time in my life: a transitional phase between my life in Toronto & my life-to-be in my home land. Excitement and nervousness twist & turn inside me, as I know this year is going to be the most self-reflecting time of my life! A spontaneous return from four years in Canada, the place I so confidently called my new home. I am torn between these two beautiful lands: one where I confidently walk the streets with out a care in the world, enjoy a hot drink in a coffee shop in the winter, a romantic hide-away from the city slush... & the other, where the thrill of the night comes from every risky turn I take, the heat of the city over my shoulders all year round & I can enjoy drinking coconut water in a hammock. Both places so alive with music, art & energy, yet I have to choose between them.
Thank god for art & music to keep me company in the last couple months & this year to come. I need you two more than ever- even more so than in the last four years of my arts education, to stay beside me and keep me sane, keep me level-headed, to save me from perhaps becoming too sane? I say this because even after merely a few weeks away from my home in Toronto, where I am constantly around artists, I have felt deprived of that poetic atmosphere, that vibrance within people which helps them express themselves. Rationality is something I lacked from the start, which is why moving back to Brazil is such a necessary part of my growing up- facing the reality of my past, my future, my background, etc. Yet, too much rationality starves me of the free-mindedness of the true artist within, the one that yearns to portray herself through color, imagery, symbolism, poetry & wild irrational spontaneity...
It has been a long 41 days, a quick month & a half, of traveling with my dear friend & lover, Luiz Folgado, showing him my past and my roots. From Paraty, to Rio de Janeiro, to Brasilia, Recife & ending with Gravatà. This time of the year is winter in South America, yet I have a nasty sunburn to take back with me, but the tingly pain brings back a certain comfort that I had been nostalgic of. I know that I will return to Brazil sooner than I can imagine, with only 10 days left in August before my study permit expires. It will be an exciting and terrifying transitional phase that will teach me more about myself than I have ever known. All I can do now is go on the ride & see where it takes me, following my most passionate instincts & striving for my deepest desires.
That is all for now. Here's a bit of what we saw during the trip, & for more, check out our panoramics in "Adventuras Com Luiz Folgado" ...