Brasil 2014, part 1

I began my journey to Brasil (yes, I prefer to spell it with "s" as the Brasilians do). Here I am in the Miami airport in one of the random rocking chairs all over the place. Ready to board!

 

First meal in Salvador, Bahia- shrimp moqueca and some suco de abacaxi (pineapple juice)

View from the apartment in Barra

On the second day we went to the area of Salvador called Ribeiro. Here we went to this house. does it look like a stable sructure to enter? Just wait, there is beauty inside.

Tbis is Prentice. He paints tiles.

This is his depiction of the last supper, all on 3x3 tiles.

He also has a few paintings.

But this one was my favorite.

Prentice has painted tiles for like 50 years. He has orders around the world. He gets pictures with guests and has a book for guest to sign.

First trip selfie, then off to the ice cream place...

Yummy!

the ice cream place had some art work as well. I loved the brilliant colors on this one.

This is the Bom Fim Cathedral. It demonstrated how mixed the Candumble

These ribbons are the colors of "orixa", or spirits in the Candumble religion that worshipers will tie onto the the gates around the Cathedral as they pray for the help of the orixa and then go into mass.

Nice the ceiling- people bring wax or wooden body parts to represent people with illnesses. They also submit pictures and letters asking for prayers or to show thanks for miracles and blessing received. Kinda eery to walk under hundreds of hanging body parts, but I am certainly not one to judge those seeking miracles. I believe in miracles.

Eu sou capoeirista, tenho jinga. Learning to do caporeira was so much fun. Here is a video of me doing playing against our instructor.

 

It's rough being an international traveler...

A day in the life of two khalas (aunts)

 

  The day started with Raza getting a huge plate full of chocolate chip pancakes at the Original Pancake House. He has a few goofy khala's, but we sure tried to maximize the day. 

After I saw a patient for my new cool job doing Home Health, I met up with Dia Khala, Raza, and Sofia at the Thinkery, a children's museum. The kids painted and played in waterfalls.

Then we headed to the park across the street.  I bought the kiddos (even this big kid) ice cream. 

Then we played on the swings, the slide, the jungle gym,

  Nadia is posing nicely, I look like I am screaming in terror.

Funny, I don't remember it being this hard as a kid.

Thankfully Nadia had pita bread in her car so we were able to feed the ducks and turtles. 

We were pretty worn out after that. 

After recharging with some dinner at BJ's, we headed to go show off our bowling skills. 

Watch out world, these ladies are ready.

Sofia was so excited when her ball hit some pins. 

We had to do our bowling dance/jump. 

 Thanks to Tashi for sharing her kiddos with us, we sure missed having you with us. And thanks to Nadia for sharing the title of Khala with me. It was one fabulous day!

Identity

Last week I was in the pool with a patient and we were discussing genealogy DNA testing. She is an African-American woman in her 60's who for years has been unsure of who her father was. It was an interesting discussion because her DNA testing allowed for her to narrow down who she thought her father was, as well as tell her that a good 50% of her genetic makeup was Ashkenazi Jewish decent. I'd never heard of Ashkenazi before. It means she has much more European genetic make up then African. Her mother's DNA testing resulted in over 80% sub-Saharan African decent. This patient told me how her genealogy search is very important to her discovering her identity. I remember hearing my response coming out of my mouth and thinking it was very profound. I told her that I was the opposite of her. I have heard of my family history my entire life. I know personally all four of my  grandparents, living still to this day. I know my grandfather came over from Germany in the 1950's and his side of the family has a history of German and Polish descent. My paternal grandmother's mother immigrated to Canada from England in early 1900's in search of a cowboy. That cowboy has a mixture of French-Canadian and Mexican in his line ancestry. I have vivid personal memories of 3 out of the 8 of my great-grandparents, and seven of them were still alive when I was born. My identity is very much made up of the inheritance and legacy of knowing who my family is and was. I told my patient that although I cannot relate in not knowing who my father was, I can relate in understanding just how important your identity is in defining you as a person. Her perceived lack of identity defines her.

Last weekend I attended a conference where the speaker  was Steven Wheelwright, President of BYU-Hawaii. He re-told the story from Genesis of Joseph of Egypt. He pointed out that at each cross-roads in Joseph's life two things determined his ability to successfully overcome, 1.) knowing his identity and 2.) acting with integrity.

Joseph knew who he was, he knew the Living God, and he lived his religion. Joseph showed integrity in how hard he worked and was able to be the kind of person that God wanted him to be. In his captivity, time and time again people trusted him, from Potipher to the butler and baker, all the way up to the Pharaoh himself.

President Wheelwright also quoted Elder Bruce R. McConkie from his April 1981 address "Upon This Rock",

"Every person born in this world builds a house of some sort and puts it on a foundation of his own choosing. And every house built in this mortal sphere is subject to the storms and strifes of life. Our mortal probation is one in which the divine purpose calls for rain and wind and floods.

We live in the midst of a swirling storm of sin. The rains of evil and the winds of false doctrine and the floods of carnality beat upon every house.

It is within our power to build a house of faith, a house of righteousness, a house of salvation."

 I've been thinking about my identity. 

I am a daughter of God. Most importantly, I know I am a daughter of God. 

I am a covenant keeping woman. 

I am a daughter of Tonia and Orlando Kelm

I am a sister, sister-in-law, aunt, granddaughter, niece, and cousin

I am a listening friend

I am a compassionate Physical Therapist Assistant. 

I am a homemaker in my own home. 

I am a member of the Relief Society

I am a  member missionary

I am a painter, a blogger, a baker, a chef, an exercise enthusiast, and a creator of crafts

Knowing who I am defines how I see myself and how the world sees me. 

I like to think I am true to the title of this blog, "Blooming where she is planted". It's one of my personal motto's that helps define my approach to life. A friend this week posted this picture on facebook with me specifically in mind, and another posted the second picture. 

I am also an Austinite. Yesterday I ran a short loop around town lake. I love that trail. I also love that I ran into a field of my favorite Texas Wildflower, the Indian Blanket. Then I met my parents at Central Market to checkout the Passport of Italy displays and ate at Tacodeli on my way home. Yes, this weekend I was a true Austinite! 

Sometimes blooming where you are planted means that you change the conditions around you. A flower in a pot can't leave the pot easily, but the amount of sunlight and water you give it can change. I love the world of physical therapy that I am in, but I have decided that in order to blossom more beautifully, my conditions need to change and I am changing jobs from outpatient to home health starting in June. It is also a decision that was ultimately easy to make because I know my identity and I can confidently make choices. 

Are you blooming where you are planted? Do you know who you are? If not, refer back to Elder McConkie, you have the power to change.