I’ve been keeping journal entries of my Brazil trip which start at the bottom of this post. If it’s your first time peeping it, scroll down and work your way up chronologically . . .

Day Ten, December 7, 2008: No More Acai . . .

Kids at the Ile Aiye Samba Center hitting up a cypher complete with beatboxers and off the top of the head MCs.

So it’s over. No more daily trips to get fresh Acai (a native Brazilian fruit) smoothies with bananas and granola. No more waking up to a view of the water outside my window echoing centuries of spirit and warmth. This is a trip I’ll never forget. I said goodbye by hitting up a record shop for one quick hour before heading to the airport. The owner stopped everything he was doing to help me sift through rare Samba 7″s, then he charged me a ridiculously low 50 cents for each one I bought! That’s the vibe that’s been here throughout. One of my highlights, among the plenty that I’ve written about, was meeting this beggar in Pelourinho. He was 11 years old. He had a beautiful smile with spaces between each tooth from which he spoke chopped English, and made us laugh but of course he was on his hustle. Everyone had told me that unfortunately you can’t give kids your change, cuz then others will swarm and make it impossible for you to move on, much less become a target for a vick. We were about to break out though, and the kid then changed his tone. “I’m not asking for change . . . If you can just by me something to eat . . .” Read More »