No news is bad news. Or, We’re not in Asia anymore, Toto.

In Buenos Aires we had the great pleasure of staying in the San Telmo ‘Ghetto Mansion’ with two of the loveliest boys – our friends Andrew and Trey from Pt. Reyes – who have been living in BA for two years. They showed us around and we basked in the luxury of their home, of Andy’s cooking and friendly relations with the local shopkeepers, and Trey’s extensive knowledge of local politics, history and geography. We got a lot of sun by their rooftop mini-pool (the ‘doggy bowl’), we explored the city, and we had eight flavors of incredible ice cream delivered to the house on multiple occasions (Andrew is my ice cream soul mate).



We had only been in Buenos Aires a few days when the deadline to hear from my most interesting job prospect came and went with no word. I knew what it meant that day, a Friday, but tried to wait until Monday evening to be sure. And there it was: no news is bad news. There are, of course, two possible understandings of this phrase: 1) there is no news that is all bad, and 2) not receiving any word means that it must be bad. I have been trying to understand it as the former. As many in my incredible support network have said to me since then: maybe not getting a job this time around (and this type of job) is a blessing in disguise – maybe it leaves me available for other possibilities to come. I like to think this is the case.




It has been fascinating to note the sense of familiarity (socially, culturally, politically) I feel in Costa Rica, Buenos Aires and Brazil, as opposed to in South and Southeast Asia. Beyond language, which is a major difference (I speak Spanish and Portuguese), both Sage and I have noticed how much easier it is for us to understand what is happening around us and the interactions we have with people on a daily basis. We are not nearly as lost in the fog of wonderment that overcomes so many travelers (Why is she doing that? What does that shrine there mean? Why is the tiller so very long? Why is it called that I wonder? Etc…). Brazil, much more so than Costa Rica and BA even, offers me a sense of home and of belonging. I am so happy to be here using the language I worked so hard to learn and in the place that I have come to love so much over the years.



So, we continue our journey. Now we are in the outskirts of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, staying with one of my best friends in the world. Soon we leave for Salvador da Bahia for three weeks in an apartment by the sea. Then, after a few days in the gigantic city of São Paulo, we are off to South Africa. I lived in BH for a summer and then a year in 2001 and 2002-3. One of the things I remember most about living in this city is that it lives up to its namesake – the skyline, the clouds and the sunsets are magnificent nearly every single day. Staying outside the city, we are surrounded by a landscape that is not what people think of when they imagine Brazil, I think. There are rolling green hills, waterfalls, crazy electrical storms and sharp rock formations jutting out of the hillsides. It has been food for the soul to be here with Sage and Luciana as I finish grieving for the end of the academic job search for this year.



Visiting our friends in BA, and then here in BH has definitely inspired us to look with open hearts to the possibilities awaiting us at the end of this trip. One thing we do know now is that I will be returning to India in June to direct and teach the study abroad program for the UW in the Himalayas. Sage is weighing her many options. And then, in August, we hope to land somewhere lovely!