Off and Rolling: Limbo in Brasilia

Limbo in Brasilia.

I started writing this blog entry about a month ago, and I have come back to it several times, but it has been a hard one to write. I think maybe it is because what is happening in our lives pales in comparison with what is going on in the world right now. It feels strange to put out anything right now, but my intention has been that this will be a record of our time down here, and so this is our life.

We find ourselves at the half way mark of our “summer”, such as it is, and it isn’t easy. Our glorious plans of family and friends coming to Brazil, and visits to Peru, have evaporated and we find ourselves, like so many others, facing an uncertain moment. When it was clear that we weren’t going to be having the summer we planned, we started working on the summer we didn’t plan, and part of that discussion was whether to return to the United States. We chose not to, which may sound weird if you are only catching the headlines about Brazil, but we are feeling good about our choice and are trying to make the best of it. Brasilia proper is still doing pretty well right now in managing Covid 19. We have space in our hospitals, lots of testing available, and a community that for the most part is taking precautions seriously and wearing masks and giving space. You can’t leave your home without a mask here, and many stores also take your temperature before you can walk in the door. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the outlying satellite cities around Brasilia. Like the US, we are facing a rise in cases in new areas, and no one is sure where things are headed. It is strange to watch masks be so political back home while living in a place, as localized as it is, where people generally accept and support them as a part of the greater good. To sum it up, we are healthy, we are feeling safe here, and we are just living in the global limbo like so many others.

The end of the school year is already a long time ago, and ending it without being together was hard for all of us. Our school did everything they could to make the end of year special for every student. Our graduating seniors had their ceremony at a drive in movie theatre with the videos of the speakers projected on the big screen. Hannah and the rest of the 8th graders got to do a car parade where they all lined up and drove laps though the drop off loop at the front of school with music, balloons, gifts, and lots of smiles and tears behind masks. Lila and the fifth graders had their own similar car parade the following day, and it definitely helped.

Lila has continued her maracuja (passion) project about running on into the summer, which is great for her, and me. We are running four times a week. Three short runs of different types and then one longer run on the weekends. She ran 12k on trails around Brasilia last weekend, her longest run ever, and ended with enough energy to consider doing a few more kilometers just for fun. Hannah has been doing everything she can do avoid running, but is doing just fine with online workouts, bike rides, and paddle boarding.

A fortunate part of making the best of it was two weeks house sitting for a family from school who did decide to go back to the US. We spent two weeks in their home in Brasilia, which includes a pool, a yard, amazing views, and great wildlife. We had families of marmosets using the fence line as a primate highway, toucans hanging out in the yard, leafcutter ants putting on a nightly show at the pool’s edge, and daily flights of blue and gold macaws overhead. The girls enjoyed all that, but not nearly as much as they did taking care of our friends’ puppy. Pepa is a snuggly, goofy, big eared, floppy, chew anything in sight, sleep on your pillow, snore like a grandpa, French Bulldog puppy. Not surprisingly, the girls couldn’t have picked a better way to spend two weeks.

We have also managed to find a little hidden gem of a natural area just outside Brasilia where we have spent at least one day a week for the last month hiking, swimming, and exploring. It is called Poco Azul, the Blue Well, and it has a reputation for being crowded and boring. Which it is, if you only hike to the single waterfall the area is named for. Brazilians, like Americans, tend to go the closest attraction they can and stop there, which is an interesting trait, but totally fine with us because that means a little more work can give you a waterfall to yourself. On our second trip to Poco Azul, there were forty or so people gathered at the main spot, and only four people at an equally gorgeous waterfall just ten minutes further down the trail. Granted, if you want to leave the “highway” you do have to do some route finding and the trails are rugged and not well marked, but it has been worth it. The girls potentially would disagree a little bit with that statement since our first attempt at exploring the area might have led to scrambling up some near vertical cliffs and possibly almost having to hike out in the dark, but really, who’s counting? The new system of hiking to a known waterfall, and sending me out to scout ahead before the next leg, has led to a much higher success rate, and we still have areas to go back to we have not seen yet.

We now have two paddle boards, and have ordered a third, so we can all spend time out on the lake looking for caiman and herds of capybara and enjoying a bathtub temperature swim on a hot day. Being on, around, or just in sight of water continues to work its magic for our family in every way.

So here we are. We have all had a quarantine birthday. No one has had a haircut. We are watching the news from the US with a mix of horror, shame, and sadness. We are having conversations as a family around class, race and privilege that we never have had before. We have more days of thriving than surviving as an isolated family unit. We hold out hope that real change is possible for the US. We worry more than normal about everything, and we also are thankful more than normal for what we have, knowing that even now we live such fortunate lives. We have a month of break left, and beyond that, we really don’t know what lies ahead.

Be safe, be happy, and be well,

Adam, Sara, Lila and Hannah

Yes, that is Hannah and Sara, and yes, Hannah is now taller. Don’t let Sara’s heels fool you.

Lila in her fancy graduation dress keeping some distance with a friend at her event.

This is Lila on her 12k run around the lake. This is the first of three groups of capybara we saw.
Don’t let the cute fool you, the biggest of those rodents can push two feet tall at the shoulders and go well over 100 pounds.