As 2013 draws to a close I cannot help but be in a reflective mood. It has been a year of transitions. The biggest transition for me was my retirement. The other big and wonderful transition was welcoming our daughter-in-law into our family following our son’s wedding last year. There were other transitions of course but these two were big and important. They are good transitions. But while welcoming our new daughter-in-law is wonderful, my retirement is a major shift from a lifetime of working.
Excepting three years in the mid-eighties when my husband
and I and our two very young children lived back and forth between Brasil and
Seattle, I worked my whole adult life – almost forty years. That meant that with the exception of
vacations, I went to an office and worked as a water resources engineer more
than eight hours a day, five days a week for years.
Now I don’t have an office to go to. My job is at home. I am the boss! This is a rather nice situation but then
again, what is my job? I like to have a
job or what I like to call a program.
Here is my program: writing; taking time to reflect and understand what
is important in my life and in the world around me; connecting with family, old
friends and new friends; learning Portuguese; staying healthy; cooking
delicious food (and making sure I get enough exercise to maintain a healthy
weight); and figuring out how to give back to the world. I am adapting to retirement.
One of the things I realized about myself recently is that I
don’t believe in hiding feelings. I am a
ridiculously sentimental person but I am not apologizing. On the contrary I think deep feelings,
feelings of love and forgiveness are crucial.
It seems that the older I get, the more important it is to simply say
what it is that I feel – sometimes speaking up might be interpreted as being a
bit in your face – too much information – my young relatives call it.
But, as we age and loved ones die from natural and unnatural
causes, life becomes short. It is
important to tell the people you love just that. Just say I love you. Be clear about how you feel. If something matters to you, let others
know. In all likelihood they might share
your feeling. The worst thing that will
happen is that the other person or persons won’t feel the same way. But if that happens you are no worse off than
before and at least you have been honest.
I don’t mean to be corny. I’m sure I could be accused of that. Over the past few years both I and many
people I care about have lost parents, spouses and even children due to
accidents, illnesses and old age. Once
someone dies there is no time left to say what you feel. So now is a good time. It is in the spirit of the holiday
season. Speaking up is not only about
affection. It is about forgiveness
too. Often we have misunderstandings
with people we love. Sometimes someone who
is important to you does something that hurts you or just doesn’t feel good. Tell them why the action makes you unhappy,
talk it through, but then forgive them and move on. The recent death of Nelson Mandela is a
reminder to all of us what incredible power forgiveness holds.
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| Catedral de VItória |
This week Jeff and I visited the city of Vitória where Jeff
has a project. It is located on the northeastern
coast of Brazil north of Rio de Janeiro.
Vitória is the capital city of the state of Espírito Santo. Vitória and the surrounding metropolitan
region have a population of about one million people. The city is physically beautiful – set on green
hills that fall to the Atlantic Ocean among a series of natural bays and
harbors. It is an old city with many
historical buildings. The Portuguese
developed the area starting in 1535.
The state of Espírito Santo is small and mountainous but
quite prosperous. Its economy depends heavily
on industrial development including offshore petroleum, manufacture of iron and
steel as well as forestry and agricultural products. The agriculture and forestry industries
thrive in the rich soil and humid climate – Espírito Santo produces coffee, many
fruit (including the sweetest pineapples I have ever tasted), milk, eggs,
eucalyptus trees for pulp and many other important agricultural products that
feed Brazil and, via export, other nations.
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| Moqueca Capixaba with traditional side dishes |
People from Espírito Santo are called capixabas… literally
people with hair the color of corn silk.
The word derives from a native Indian language and began in response to
the blond hair of the original Portuguese settlers. Now the population is diverse and includes many
people of Italian descent and descendants of African slaves. As a seaport, Vitória boasts excellent
seafood. It is famous for its moqueca
capixaba – a delicious seafood stew that, unlike its counterpart in
Northeastern Brasil, does not use coconut milk.
It is cooked traditionally in a special clay pot that keeps its hot on
the table and imparts a unique wonderful taste.
While in Vitória I attended a Feira do Verde or Green
Festival put on by the state to celebrate and educate citizens about
environmental protection and sustainability. I felt right at home due to past work. The state of Espírito Santo is very
progressive in protecting and managing its water and land resources. The keynote speech was all about using
biosolids (a by-product of sewage treatment) as fertilizer for forest and
agricultural products. I chatted with
many folks who had the same commitment to managing the natural resources that
my colleagues in Seattle and King County have.
One highlight for me was listening to the Coral das Águas sing Christmas
carols. The choir is a group of talented
men and women who work for the regional water utility – this is one thing King
County doesn’t have!
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| Yemanjá |
We stayed on Camburi beach – a perfect half moon bordered by
yellow sandy beaches. Palm trees line
the boardwalk that runs along the coast.
The water is very clean – clean enough to swim in and see your feet –
due to the advanced water and industrial treatment required. At one end of the beach, a pier extends out
into the bay. It is lined with broad
leaf trees and ends in a citadel adorned with a statue of Yemanjá. Yemanjá is an Afro-Brasileira deity for
Candomblé worshippers. Yemanjá is both
the patron saint of fishermen, deciding the fate of those who enter the sea and
a sort of Brazilian Aphrodite – the goddess of love. I walked its length and saw, appropriately
enough lovers sitting on the benches and rocks as well as fishermen. The
boulevard that borders the beach is lined with bright Christmas decorations –
yellow and white stars that light the night sky.
On Sunday afternoon, Jeff and I ate lunch at one of the kiosks along the
beach. A resident samba band started playing
soon after we arrived and kept the whole crowd enthralled. They wore matching t-shirts and fedora hats! The t-shirts said, in Portuguese, in rough
translation “Anyone who doesn’t like samba, don’t go there.”
These people had serious jeito. Jeito is another word that doesn’t really
have an exact English translation. A
laid back manner might be the closest.
But jeito is much more than style.
It speaks to the full feeling and mode of being that is the coolness of
playing amazing music on the beach on a Sunday afternoon while the audience
eats fresh shrimp and drinks icy cold beer.
That was Jeff and me.
Midway through the show, the leader, who was a vivacious man
and a versatile singer, told everyone that it was the birthday of an older lady
who was sitting at a nearby table. With
that introduction and after her family saluted this lady – who, I may say,
bowed to all of us graciously – the band broke into the most extraordinary
version of Happy Birthday that I have every heard. While the tune was traditional, the musicians
riffed on the classic and played a samba version that went on for close to
twenty minutes.
At times the whole restaurant sang along and at other times
the drummer, or one of the other musicians just took off into a samba riff. At the end everyone clapped and cheered. The birthday lady stood, grinning broadly and
took another gracious bow. I have no
idea if the musicians are retired or still working their day jobs – some,
including the leader, looked about my age but who knows. Either way they were a group of people who
were seriously enjoying making music on the beach.
At the end of the 2-hour set, friends of the band welcomed
the musicians to a feast of homemade empadinhas (little savory pies), pasteis
(fried turnovers) and other delicacies.
I told the banjo player it was the most amazing rendition of Happy
Birthday that I had ever heard in my life.
He laughed and in true Brazilian fashion immediately hugged me! As I have said, I am an effusive person and
also very demonstrative in my affection.
I hugged him right back. Maybe this
is why I love living in Brasil!
We greatly enjoyed the rest of our 4-day
visit to Vitória. The town is very
accessible and friendly. It has a bike
path that runs along most of the beaches.
We found a great gym that our hotel gave us vouchers for. We went there twice and survived a dynamic
hour-long spinning class and two intense weight training and abdominal (core
strengthening) sessions. As part of our
commitment to healthy aging, Jeff and I try to do some sort of aerobic,
flexibility and strength training exercises four to five times a week. This is a major and time consuming commitment
but well worth the effort.
On Camburi beach one afternoon I enjoyed watching kite
surfers race across the water. One of
the surfers did a 360 aerial turn right in front of me. I saw fishermen and fishing boats painted in
bright colors. I watched teenagers skate
board on the boardwalk and play soccer (futebol) in the sand. I sunbathed on the beach and swam in the
ocean. The weather was hot and the clear
water was deliciously cooling.
Next week, although I am not ready to leave Brasil, I look
forward to our return to the Pacific Northwest and seeing our family and
friends for the holidays.
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| Fishing Boats in Vitória, ES, Brasil |
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