Across the Horizon

People….I am super excited. You know how, sometimes in life, good things just drop out of the sky. Like, you are walking down a road, silently thinking to yourself, “I could really use a new harmonica”, or “I need a new boyfriend”, or “Wouldn’t it be cool to…” and suddenly that person, place, or thing just plops right down in front of you. It almost feels meant to be, as if you knew it was coming, and it was just a matter of time.

Well…plop…lookee what I have here.

I am now the new course instructor for the Where There Be Dragons Sustainable Future Course in Brazil. I’m heading to the states, off to California, and will be traveling for six weeks through Bahia, Chapada, and the Amazon!

Holy Jiminy Crickets Batman! How did this come to be?

Well, two years ago before heading off to Brazil, I happened to run across this travel company while I was living in Boulder, Colorado. The Latin American program director hopped into my Capoeira class, full of stories of far away places, and adventures traveling through the wild. At the time, I was studying heritage tourism and was searching for a way to combine my love for travel, Brazil, and education. When I finally got a chance to sit the director down, I was more than impressed by the companies mission—its focus on experiential education, third world programs, and creating superbly whole human beings. At the time, there were whispers of creating a Brazil program and I really wanted to be involved, but due to a lack of funds, interest, personnel, etc., nothing came of it, and I returned to my normal job and life.

Fast forward two years. Last week, out of the blue, I get a phone call from the Latin American director, enthusiastically telling me that they had created a Brazil program, that it would launch in a few weeks, and that they needed a male guide to help lead the expedition. Well, having just lost my job at the travel agency, and with free time until the spring semester, the call couldn’t have come at a better time. I interviewed, wrote an eight page application, interviewed, interviewed, and interviewed some more, and silently waited to see if I stood out above the competition.

The answer came today and I’m officially in. In the next few months, there will be lots of planning to do. The course needs to be polished and curriculum developed. In June, Dragon’s is flying me for a 10 day training program in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, “marked by community-building, engaging trainings and workshops, decadent international meals, late night hot spring dips, and play in the glistening peaks and gorgeous high desert of the Sierras.” I’m hopping to leave in early June to maybe see the folks before heading to L.A. After that it’s back to Salvador, where our group will start the journey.

Sometimes life is like that, it drops shiny objects from the sky. Funny, if the call had come one month earlier, I would probably have refused because of my job. If it had come six months earlier, I would have refused thinking my Portuguese wasn’t up to speed. If it had come two years earlier, I wouldn’t be able to assume the role of guide that living a year and a half here in Brazil has made possible.

Yes, fortuitous indeed. For the next leg of the journey, I hope you stay tuned.