One of my favorite things (and possibly one of Gustavo’s least favorite) is comparing our favorite movies together. I’ve always been a bit of a film buff. When I was growing up, my dad had a video rental store, so I always had access to all kinds of movies. It didn’t hit me until later that my love for the movies was probably closely tied to being surrounded by them so often. Continue reading Brazil through the Movies
More than Samba: Brazilian Music to Check Out
Before going to Brazil, my impression of Brazilian music was, primarily, “The Girl from Ipanema.” I knew that samba existed and bossa nova was a type of music, but that’s about it. Continue reading More than Samba: Brazilian Music to Check Out
Reading Latin America: The House of Spirits
For something a little bit different than the norm, I just finished reading my first Isabel Allende book: The House of the Spirits.
I love Gabriel Garcia Márquez and, subsequently, quite like magical realism. Over the past year or so, I noticed a dearth of both fiction books and female authors in my roster of books to read. I picked up The House of the Spirits in paperback form in LA, at some point, and then purged it on one of my cleaning frenzies after never having read it. Continue reading Reading Latin America: The House of Spirits
Come Closer: Family Life in Brazil
As I start nearly every blog post on here, “I always thought…” my family was close and affectionate. Until I went to Brazil. Continue reading Come Closer: Family Life in Brazil
Back to Long-Distance
Well, last Saturday, we packed Gustavo’s bags into an Uber and watched him take off towards the Lincoln Tunnel. (We love each other enough to accept that I’m never driving him to JFK again.) Continue reading Back to Long-Distance
Happy new year!
We did it. We spent our first New Year’s Eve in the US! Continue reading Happy new year!
Differences: Hope and Community
I’ve been on a Bob Dylan kick lately. Two weeks ago, I took a meditation teacher training down the shore and on the hour-long ride, I was listening to some old rock/folk music when “Positively 4th Street” came on. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with Dylan’s snark. Talk about salty! Continue reading Differences: Hope and Community
A Series of Firsts
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