In a Flurry

A year of grad school has gone by as fast as a flickering firefly on a hot summer night. I'm greatful for the past year... Where else could I have seen dance from Bali to Burkina Fasso, learned about topics from Voudoun ritual in Haiti to seances of remote regions of Indonesia, gotten to break dance on my back and blissful bang on giant Brazilian drums. Where else would I be told by 300 year old spirit that I was "blowing around like a fart in the wind" My mind has had quite the mental workout, and school is over for the moment... That is, until I get to Brazil where I will learn Portuguese. Fun?Research?Pleasure?Soul-Searching? School? Yes. For all of the above....

After spending my first and last free week in a flurry of wig-parties, chugging local coffee, soakin up some sun, getting shots in my arm, taking a few last spins on my skateboard, and embracing friends I might not see for a while, I am currently cramming a giant orange suitcase with a series of skimpy bathing suits and what i hope will be "Brazil-appropriate" clothing. I think fashion-obsessed artistic travelers have to have a little bit of masochism in them... How else could we endure the torturous process that is ridding ourselves of much of our self-expressive articles... Alas, I look forward to ridding myself temporarily of my overflowing closet, as well as my computer and ipod... Technology and choice has a tendency of smothering the soul.

Equipped with 3 notebooks of crisp blank pages, a Portuguese dictionary, a large orange suitcase and video camera clenched tightly, I will be heading out of LA tomorrow...

and while i already miss my new inspirational friends, old travel buddies, and my messy room, I looking forward to revealing more about my travels in Salvador da Bahia Brazil.