deixe-me dizer-lhe

so i'm back in the EUA. fun. or, weird is more like it. or normal way too fast. something like that.

my last days in brazil:
after i frantically interviewed sílvia for my isp and scrambled to get my stuff back from angélica, i had one last night in pelo with chill people in salvador. then, we were back in fortaleza, writingwritingwriting until the isp was due. writing and not much else.
the last week after the isp was turned in was spent in this retreat location 2 hours outside fortaleza. expect pictures... eventually. this place was idyllic. standing on the beach and looking left or right, it appeared as if i was in some ad for club med or chique chique travel shit. just sand and shore and our little brick retreat buildings. spoiled. we went through several days of presentations of isps and discussion. people did some incredible projects. or their projects where okay, whatever, but the organizations or people they met were incredible.
one girl spent time with this org banco palmas which works with "at risk" communities to reduce poverty by creating a system of economy that is affordable and accessible by all members of the community, despite the disparate realities.
other people worked with dance groups, sex worker orgs, domestic worker orgs, studied migrant communities, and on and on. i learned a lot, to say so little.
and then it was over. we shook the sand out our sheets and said goodbye to our host families and spent hours in the fortaleza airport.
and then we were gone.

i've seen so many brasils now, seen some really hard-working organizations, and had some great experiences handed to me on a platter, mais ou menos. i'm home and empty. do i have any regrets? i try not to count those. but, i gotta go back. don't know when or how or why, but one day.
(i think it'd be fun to go with a dance troupe or something. not that that's really feasible for me.)

so much things to say, so much things i saw in me and the world. don't know where i am sometimes. hope you're well.
lovelovelove

liberdade!

soooo, guess who just finished her 31-pages-with-acknowledgements indie study project?
i'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

ahoy, lovies! estou em fortaleza de novo, com sua como sempre, mas terminada ao fim!

the last days before the Last Day of salvador were stressful and wasteful, until the Last Day, which was like a best of. i finally got my stuff back from angélica that she had had for 10 days, saw her cool friends again (não fica). gazed at the beautiful av. oceanica which gets a hat over the e or the a, can't remember. got *something* (tune in next semester!), took care of some business, bought the book i wanted to buy, chilled with chill people in pelourinho, a little dancey, a little drinky, and tchau. the next morning we were gone. it was a good send off, we will be com saudade de salvador, but we needed to get back. did you know? i'll be home in one short week.

it was nice to see the host fam again, but little time to enjoy it given my ISP field journal and write up had to happen in a weekend. if this semester ends the same way the last few previous semesters have with major stress and despair and then bowing out with a sweet grade, i have bested myself. if not, well, it was time for it, anyway.

anyway, you probably want to hear about my project some more or being back in fortaleza or i don't know what. but the thing is, i don't know what. i've been terribly terribly spoiled. study abroad is pretty much a joke in terms of hardhitting realities that will change the world as i know it. what else is new?

we're about to shove off for the wrapping-shit-up excursion on a beach that i won't be able to fully enjoy. got another eeensy weensy paper to do, but it's not biggie after the baby behemoth. i wish i was clever.

just know that i'm doing well, spoiled as ever, miss you tons, and am super psyched for next semester (although i'll probably be begging to graduate with this years seniors by the end of january).
amor e paz.

oh and pinochet died? hm.