Everyone knows English
It turns out everyone in the world knows English 🙂 or at least pretends to- and that has made my experience here way easier than it could have been. This week I am thankful to live in a world where…
Category Stories
Mzungu Mkasi Nzuri mbaya na mbaya
The White Guy with scissors. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly The following poem can be read with or without the accompanying theme music. The Ballad of Mzungu Mkasi From the west of the west cold steel at his…
Cidade Maravilhosa
There is a reason they refer to Rio de Janeiro as “Cidade Maravilhosa” (Marvelous City). In fact its many reasons. Everything from the nature surrounding you, we say that the best architect in the world could not have designed the city…
Hissing isn’t rude, it’s useful
Apparently hissing at others to get their attention isn’t rude, it’s useful. It’s still hard for me to recognize it as not being rude (it’s the cultural norm), but it certainly is effective at grabbing peoples’ attention. I have to…
R is a silent letter
A short Twi lesson: Korkormu is pronounced “kakum” Kokrobite is pronounced “coco-bit-uh” A written r is a silent r! Why do they still write r’s if Twi is mostly spoken? I wish I knew. I’d like to make a special…
Ate Proxima
And just like that, I’m back in Nashville. My last week in Rio flew by with less than a blink of an eye and before I knew it I found myself packing my bags, saying goodbyes to the amazing people…
Karibu mtoto
“A sunlit walk in Africa” A Poem by: John Gossen Dimming light brings the shadows of night and relief from the African heat. A spectrum from the sunset splashes across  pavement and among the many palm trees. It is here…
It’s February ??
I can’t say that my time here (so far) flew by, but when did it become the last week of January already?! This is crazy. Those of you back at school might not feel the same way because the crisp, cold days…
Week Twenty Three
As I sit down to write this post I can’t help but mention the weight on my head and my heart from my upcoming departure from Rio. As the end of January approaches, my time in Rio begins to come…
Vans can hold 20 people if you try hard enough
This week has been a whirlwind to say the least. You think you’re settled in (do you ever settle into a third world country??) and then life presents some reminders that you are not from here. In the almost three…