It's the Small Moments....

So although I'm really tired, I feel I need to blog about this small moment before it passes me by. It happened in samba class tonight. I was busy practicing my samba steps, listening to the instructor speak in Portuguese and watch her steps to figure out what to do...then suddenly a small table was brought into the room with many delicious treats...candles were lit....it was time to celebrate a birthday! (These Brazilians love to celebrate birthdays!) So we stopped dancing, turned the music on and sang happy birthday to her. We all clapped and cheered as she blew out the candles. Then the music changed and one of the dance instructors led her to the middle of the room. We all made a circle around them and they began to samba....each guy in the room then took a turn dancing with her....I looked around the room thinking...wow...that's right...I LIVE in BRAZIL! I couldn't stop smiling and thinking I love this place and all these friendly people. :) I wanted to be a complete gringa and start taking pictures to document this event, but decided to just enjoy the moment. It's an hour later and as I'm writing this I'm still smiling...okay okay...going to bed now as I have to be very productive at school tomorrow. Conferences are at the end of the week and I have a lot to do before then.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday Beach Day!

Image
I was in the mood to see something new so I ventured to another beach on the island. This beach is called Balangan Beach and it is a beautiful white sand beach that is well-known as a surf spot. It's about 25 km from my house and took about an hour in the taxi. Well worth it!  When I first arrived it was low tide.... I found a nice spot on the sand to relax, read my book, and watch some surfers. There were a few shack-like restaurants set up with some chairs and umbrellas. It was so nice to get away from the busy hotels, music, and tons of people. :) By the time I was getting ready to leave the tide was rolling in and more surfers were heading out. I'll definitely be back! 
Read more

First Scuba Diving Trip! (Bunaken Island)

Image
About a month ago I took the PADI open water course and received my open water diving certification. It was a whirlwind busy 3 days filled with videos to build my knowledge, quizes, training in the pool and then 4 dives. Luckily I had an amazing instructor who really took the time to ensure I thoroughly understood all the knowledge and theory behind diving.  Since Ted already has his diving certification, I was super excited to have mine so we could plan a trip to go diving together. Before moving to Bali, diving had never been on my list of things to do. But after moving here, I began talking to people who dive and learned that this area has some of the most beautiful dive spots in the world. I felt like I had to capitalize on this wonderful opportunity.  Our trip to Bunaken Island.... Bunaken island is a small island that's about 8 square km and is part of the Bunaken National Marine Park. You may be thinking...where in the world is this island? I was wondering the s...
Read more

New Zealand in a Camper Van with a Teething 6 Month Old - December 2019

Image
  With each short trip around Bali, our confidence in traveling with our infant daughter steadily grew. So when the Christmas break approached, we felt ready for something bigger — it was time to leave the island. After some back-and-forth, we landed on the South Island of New Zealand: safe, stunningly beautiful, and heading into summer — perfect for hiking and spending time outdoors… or so we thought.  That trip came with its fair share of lessons: splurge on the bigger camper van, pack the breast pump even if you think you won’t need it, and always, always bring more layers and rain gear — just in case. In theory, the camper van was the perfect travel solution. It offered freedom, flexibility, fewer hotel costs, and more time to explore at our own pace.  What we didn’t factor in was that our 6-month-old decided this was the perfect time to start teething. Every night, like clockwork, she’d wake up screaming. And getting her back to sleep? Let’s just say it was not a sw...
Read more