Equipped

“I know that there are those who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on climate change.”

-President Barack Obama

Oh man, I LOVE that man. Climate change skeptics are so funny. They’re all like “Dude, I know every single person in the subject of climate science says it’s anthropomorphic, but I know better cause I wanna drive my hummer.” Lame wads.

I have been learning a lot about the western attitudes on deforestation and its effect on the people of the Brazilian Amazon. It’s funny how the developed world thinks they can do a better job of conservation than the people who have independently discovered sustainable practices in different parts of the world. I could not put a qualitative description on how happy I am to be able to learn all of this. Of course, there is the guilt that by simply going to the Amazon I am proliferating its very destruction. Some may think it is completely unjustified to go, but I do justify it by promising I will use all of my experience to change the world.

Speaking of American views on nature, I went on a shopping spree:

I bought my first rucksack. It’s a beautiful piece of equipment that the good folks at Midwest Moutaineering (www.midwestmtn.com) custom fitted to my small stature. I also bought my first pocketknife. It’s silly to get excited about all this, but I have never had anything like these before. The good fortune that came with this trip has finally allowed me to go all out and by real, hearty camping gear. I wish I didn’t need it, but that’s the way it is. The fact that I don’t have to worry too much about cost is the sweetest thing. My mother tells me it’s because my path is blessed, and this adventured was meant to be. Maktub.

If you can’t tell, I am really, very happy. I have my concerns and my frustrations about what I am learning, but I can’t remember a time of bigger contentment. Thank you all for helping me get here.

Today’s mission: Make a decision that will positively affect the environment. This could be as simple as finally buying that reusable water bottle.

BAM!

I GOT MA VISA!

Seems the good people of Brazil have invited me into their country. This comes after a lengthy application process, which included a police report from my local precinct.

After picking up my passport this morning, mom and I went to the best bakery near our house. Check out Adelita's Panaderia on 44th and Central if you get a chance.

It all seems to be coming together.

All my books are in and I've been reading them non-stop for about a week. Here they are, with Merlin perusing the titles, picking out the important passages for me:

The subjects range from ecology to communications, making this semester the most multi-disciplinary in my college career. I'm learning a lot. Most of it's making me angry, but what are you going to do?

Merlin's head is heading toward a box on a chair. That box holds my dad's first laptop. I helped him buy it this morning. He had bought three laptops before, but none of them were meant for him, they all went to his two daughters. I'm really excited for him. I've been teaching him a little, but he's got a long way to go. Wish him luck for me in his technological pursuits.

Be good to each other.

Today's mission: Encourage someone in your life to go after their goals.

I have a question.

If the world could go back to having all of its forests intact, 100%, would you give up all that came with deforestation and "progress"?

O Segredo da Felicidade

"Certo mercador enviou seu filho para aprender o Segredo da Felicidade com o mais sábios de todos os homens. O rapaz andou durante quarenta dias pelo deserto até chegar um belo castelo, no alto de uma montanha. Lá vivia o Sábio que o rapaz buscava.

Ao invés de encontrar um homem santo, porém, o nosso herói entrou numa sala e viu uma atividade imensa; mercadores entravam e saíam, pessoas conversaravam pelos cantos, uma pequena orquestra tocava melodias suaves, e havia uma farta mesa com os mais deliciosos pratos daquela região do mundo. O Sábio conversava com todos, e o rapaz teve de esperar duas horas até chegar sua vez de ser atendido.

O Sábio ouviu atentamente o motivo da visita do rapaz, mas disse-lhe que naquele momento não tinha tempo pare explicar-lhe o Segredo da Felicidade. Sugeriu que o rapaz desse um passeio por seu palácio e voltasse dali a duas horas.

-Entretanto, quero lhe pedir um favor - completou o Sábio, entregando o rapaz uma colher de chá, onde pingou duas gotas de óleo. -Enquanto você estiver caminhando carregue esta colher sem deixar que o óleo seja derramado.

O rapaz começoua subir e descer as escadarias do palácio, mantendo sempre os olhos fixos na colher. Ao final de duas horas, retornou á presença do Sábio.

-Então - Preguntou o Sábio - você viu as tapeçarias da Pérsia que estão na minha sala? zviu o jardim que o Mestre dos Jarduneiros demorou dez anos para criar? Reparou nos belos pergaminhos de minha biblioteca?

O rapaz, envergonhado, confessou que não havia visto nada. Sua única preocupação era não derramar as gotas de óleo que o Sábio lhe havia confiado.

-Pois então volte e conheça as maravilhas do meu mundo - disse o Sábio. - Você não pode confiar num homem se não conhece sua casa.

Já mais tranquïlo, o rapaz pegou a colher e voltou a pasear pelo palácio, desta vez reperando em todas as obras de arte que pediam do teto e das paredes. Viu os jardins, as montanhas ao redor, a delicadeza das flores, o requinte com cada obra de arte estava colocada em seu lugar. De volta á presença do Sábio, relatou pormenorizadamente tudo que havia visto.

-Mas onde estão as duas gotas de óleo que lhe confiei? - perguntou o Sábio.

Olhando para colher, o rapaz percebeu que as havia derramado.

-Pois este é o único conselho que eu tenho para lhe dar- disse o mais Sábios dos Sábios. - O segredo da felicidade está em olhar todas as marvilhas do mundo, e nunca se esquecer das duas gotas de óleo na colher."

~O Velho Rei

It has been a year since I began studying Brazilian Portuguese. Now I can read the language almost as easily as English. What helped the most was being able to visit Brazil during summer vacation last year, as shown by the picture of me enjoying the River Onda in my mother's hometown. I went alone and stayed with my family there. None of them speak English, and I was heard but not understood. Towards the end I gained enough Portuguese to handle day-to-day life, but I still have trouble expressing myself.

I was a foreigner. Although I never fit in during grade school because of my parents' recent arrivals, there was nothing like being in another country with and having no tongue and no way of proving your intelligence. Anyone who shuns another simply for not speaking their language has obviously never had to struggle with learning a foreign tongue. The attitude of "This is America, learn English or get out" is archaic, and an affront to social progress. Being on the receiving end of the sentiment, I can tell you that there a fewer things more isolating than not being able to communicate with the sea of people around you. All you want to do is go home and speak to someone who can understand you.

The passage above is from the first book a read in another language. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a favorite of mine, and because I took on the challenge of learning Portuguese, I can read it in its original language. Here, an old man is telling a young man a story about the "Secret of Happiness." I won't translate the entire passage for you, but I will give you this: the last lines are "Well, this is the only counsel I can give you," said the wisest of men. "The Secret of Happiness is in looking at all the marvels of the world and never forgetting about the two drop of oil in the spoon."

Take it to heart.

And when you want something...

It is about a month until a leave for the ancestral home of my mothers and I thought I should write my first post.

There are few words, especially in English, that can describe the anxiety, the roaring excitement and the unadulterated joy that I am feeling at this moment right now. It has been for so long that I have become accustomed to living in my head. Now that I am finally going to Brazil I don't know what to make of it.

Those who have been closer to me in the past year know that I will be spending the next semester learning about the Amazon in the rain forest itself. The ticket is booked, the texts have arrived, and the scholarships have been accepted. Here I am, 20 years of age, and the world has answered my prayers of giving me my own personal legend.

My journey starts in the capital city of the state of Pará, Belém. I will study Portuguese and ecology at this site as other college students do. After about three weeks, I begin journeying into rural areas of northern Brazil where I will meet, feel, and see the people of the largest rain forest in the world.

It goes to show you that "When you want something, the whole universe conspires so that you realize your dream." -Paolo Coelho, The Alchemist