Londrina

I am still playing catch up! Okay, so there was Foz, and then the MST eco-farm school, and now, we are in Londrina, a modern city in the state of Parana. We are slowly making our way back east.

Tonight, we are celebrating the 50th birthday of a Caravaner with tickets to the Da Vinci Code. I haven`t seen an American film in ages and to be honest, am quietly pleased that I will hear my native tongue for a few hours. Don´t tell anyone.

Our time in Londrina has felt a bit disjointed. Part of my days have been spent in theatre and circus arts workshops. So lovely! There was a group of about 30 youth experimenting with acrobatics, juggling, the unicycle, the whole bit, as music from the French film Amelie played. One of those, `nowhere else on earth is this exact thing happening,` sort of revelations. Strange and absurd and beautiful.

I also accompanied a handful of Caravaners to a retaque, or a street fair and market. We arrived in colorful garb, with drums, juggling equipment, and empty wooden crates, for we were doing a bit of spontaneous street performance in exchange for fruits and vegetables. I juggled apples and oranges and did a bit of magic with some garlic cloves (the old standby of passing an object from the top of my head through my nose worked like a charm), and we left with our crates spilling over with bananas, papaya, watermelon, and other such goodies.

The disjointed part is in reference to the beauty of Brasilian bureaucracy and the hoops that I am jumping through to extend my visa. My ideal is to receive 90 more days, which is the maximum that I can stay in Brasil as a tourist. However, the immigration center is asking for additional requirements, which includes crossing the border into Argentina and entering the country again, and finding a Brasilian that can be responsible for me while I am in the country. And I just found out today that my plane ticket can only be extended for 30 more days. Blast it, anyhow. I feel stuck.

I don´t know. I am just just just beginning to contribute to the Caravan project, to finally understand what the heck is happening, and how everything functions (or doesn´t function). Beate and I are in the midst of creating a stronger emotional infrastructure for the Caravan--I feel really excited about facilitating concrete exercises that I learned while living at Lost Valley. My five ball routine is coming along. My responsibilities and work in the kitchen is growing. So is my heart for the Caravan.

I´m just not ready to leave yet...