Earlier this week, Gustavo came to visit for the holidays this year. I’ve never much liked the winter holidays. I’m not one for “Christmas cheer” and I hate New Jersey winters with a passion. Continue reading A Series of Firsts
Crossfit Olympic Weightlifting Level 1
When you start at Crossfit, there are a few movements that are super challenging to wrap your head around. When it comes to the bar and weights, none compare to the snatch.
For me, in Crossfit, I always found the Olympic Weightlifting movements a lot easier to understand and improve than any others.
Finally, when I joined Koutí and had classes with Rodrigo on the subject, I saw how much I had to learn to understand the why’s and how’s of the clean & jerk and snatch.
Our First Trip to Europe Together
The first time I visited Europe, I was 16 and desperate to see Paris. I’d been studying French for years and I was beyond thrilled to be able to use it in the wild. Plus, I was enamored with so many French artists and writers – I wanted to see this romantic city that seemed to have inspired all of them. Continue reading Our First Trip to Europe Together
To Make-Up or Not to Make-Up
Make-up has always seemed like a functional endeavor to me. I was never very interested in raising my own make-up skills to that of an artistic level. It always did a nice job of making me look more awake – and my skin less greasy – on a daily basis. Besides that, I couldn’t much be bothered. Continue reading To Make-Up or Not to Make-Up
Crossfit Gymnastics Level 1
When I initially joined my first Crossfit class, it included a few Pull-ups and of course there were a few members doing what I at the time felt like was a very unsafe variation of the movement, in my head I felt like I would never try those because it seemed super risky for your shoulders and spine.
Jersey Strong: Training at Home
My face lit up as I read my coach’s message on WhatsApp. “Your progress is impressing me a lot. Imagine you in January!” Continue reading Jersey Strong: Training at Home
Why I Learned Portuguese
It’s not uncommon for Gustavo and I to have the following conversation when I speak Portuguese in the wild.
“Okay, I definitely said that right. Why did s/he talk to you after I obviously indicated that I understand Portuguese? We even had a full conversation in Portuguese before I said I was American!”
After a heavy sigh from Gustavo, he usually explains something along the lines of, “I know, but people just aren’t used to foreigners speaking Portuguese.”
Continue reading Why I Learned Portuguese
Huehuehue: Weird Brazilian Slang
When I first met Gustavo, it was via Skype. My coworker and I were talking with him, confirming some plans for our upcoming trip to Brazil. Invariably, at some point, he typed something I’d never seen before:
We Have to Talk About Pizza
Sometimes I joke with Gustavo that our favorite hobby is collecting passports. Between the two of us, we have three, in addition to a vast collection of visas and passport stamps. Continue reading We Have to Talk About Pizza
Prepping to Go Home
Ela vai voltar pelos Estados Unidos em algumas semanas, Gustavo has been explaining to friends lately. They laugh as they look over at me to see me doing my little “I’m going home” dance. It’s not just going home, it’s going back to the home I prefer, the one I’ve actively (finally) chosen, the one I’m lucky enough to belong to, to have been born into. Continue reading Prepping to Go Home