RIP

Over the past six months, we have indeed experiencied some significant casualties. But don't worry. I'm not going to bore you with sob stories and statistics. We traveled to the developing world and had a great time. The few (thousand) dollars we lost in electronics and merchandise is a slight afterthought. I consider it a tourism tax.

But truthfully, some much more significant things are being left behind in Brazil. Their value cannot be measured in dollars, reais, yen, or euros. We suffered casualties in the most serious of senses. The Bahiaboys left New York on January 12 with wide-eyes, open imaginations, and extremely pale skin. We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, and unfortunately, two of them aren't coming back.

The Tudo Bem I once knew is gone. The savagery that used to put me in awe has vanished. His heart has been tamed in Bahia, and I'm not sure if his wild ways will ever return. Is it simply a timeout for the former champ...or has he really went into retirement. I have my own suspicions, but no one knows for sure. The loss of an all-star is always tough for the team, but perhaps it's for the best. Maybe that solid role player will step his game up and become the superstar. Perhaps an all new era has begun. But whatever the future holds, the legend of Tudo Bem will never be forgotten.

O Atrevido no longer exists. I simply hope that the study abroad student formerly known as O Atrevido, and the potential that has been unleashed over the past few months, can be channelled in ways and means that will keep the general public out of danger. The young man you once knew, the one you thought would be perfect to take home to momma, has turned over a new leaf. But I wouldn't call him a savage. He now exists beyond the realms of savagery. Brazil has turned this man into a barbarian, someone whose desires can't be denied and ambition cannot be contained.

I will miss the two young men with whom I embarked on this adventure who are staying behind in Latin America. Fortunately, I am coming back with two people that I now consider brothers. Secrets are something that doesn't exist between us, and I have shared with these gentlemen something that I consider, the most significant experience of my life. For what may be my last post to this blog, I want to track the highlights of Salvador 2k6 from my perspective. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

But please note: Please pardon the inside jokes, ambiguity, and other feature that may make much of this incomprehensible to the average reader. Understand that I may actually have to get a job one day, and if I were to describe some of the things I did in Salvador in straight-forward language, un-coded language...I think you get the picture.

so...

great in flight movies
being chased by a rabid dog in Villa Magdalena
Chas + open legs + soccer ball + silky smooth move = devastating embarassment
Paraty, beaches, bonding
witnessing in person the invincibility of Carlitos Teves
Carnaval.
cutting my night with Filhos de Gandhy short to help a friend in need
trying to break down the Ice Queen
brutalcrushings.com.br
going to sleep in the wrong room after a long night
foot injuries in general
weird relationship triangles
new revelations in Praia de Forte
96 hour 21st bday party
easy money AKA basketball in Ondina
H Davidson, sliggitay, and frodo Baggins = the trifecta AKA winning
Porto Seguro
bigger and better things
only going to one capoeira class
trying to become Clive Owen
becoming an Academic gangster in a new language
too many nights in the Pelourinho
actually feeling proud of my country after the Italy game
3 months of work culminating in one sweet 75 reais taxi ride
the most devastating game of bowling I have ever experienced
bidding my family in Salvador adeiu
sharing Brazil with my real mom and dad
finally being a champion
realizing that blood may or may not be thicker than water
some time left to reflect in Rio

If I left something out, or if you have any questions, comments, or concerns - get at me. And if you don't know my email, leave a comment.

beijos,

O Chefao

Farewell

I suppose it's only right that I make my last post on my last night here in Brasil, ending things where they started in the great (and still ugly) city of Sao Paulo.

The past few weeks, though filled with the same fun and debauchery (those stories will have to told at some other juncture) have also been marked by a strange feeling that did not present itself with such force in the previous months. It is a feeling that fights against itself; the simultaneous joy of returning home, back to friends, family, and the sadness of leaving a place that has changed all of us in profound and irreversible ways. It is the feeling of truly looking forward to getting home to all that is familiar, and yet realizing that home won't exactly be the same because we're not the same. This explanation is no doubt dramatic (and perhaps overly so), though it is hard for me to escape the importance of it all, at least for me. The friends and experiences of this journey have been ones that have shaped all of us, though this shaping has not necessarily been the same for all. For some, it has meant unleashing the beast within, and becoming, as I'd like to say, a true champion. For others, it has meant learning the meaning of endurance, and though we sometimes find failure in our attempts (and have to pay 70 reais for it), success always finds true winners who never give up (especially when they get great advice from late night tv shows in Brasil). And for others still, it meant learning the importance of sometimes going against your established principles and taking a leap of faith, unsure of where you will land. Though most will not fully comprehend these aforementioned lessons, the point is--and i think that I can speak on the behalf of my comrades--that Brasil will always hold a special place in our hearts for our respective lifetimes.

Finally, though I would not like to, I must concede that I, Tudo Bem, lost the bet--who would be robbed first in Brasil--and lost it several times over at that. To give a proper account of the damage done I will record of the following, thanks to MasterCard:

1 Pair of Havianas Sandels: 14 reais (about $7)
1 Ipod: $300
1 Old-ass raincoat: I don't even know.
1 Dell Laptop: $2000
1 Digital Camera: $200
1 Digital Voice Recorder: $100
Making it out of Brasil alive with a couple of my best friends: Priceless

If you want more details...that's tough cuz i've got shit to say about it.

And thus, more eloquently, I bid farewell to my compratriots, O Chefao and O Atrevido, who I thank for seeing me through some of my toughest times, and to all of you, who have been interested enough in our wellbeing to check out the blog from time to time (and probably accidently typed in www.bahiaboys.com and found some gay porn...hopefully you weren't in the library) and leave a ridiculous comment or two. Stay up and stay safe.

~TUDO BEM