A story and sketch from Brazil

These are sketches from my journal that I kept while I was living at Washington's house in Brazil.

My first day at Washington's house is a blurry patchwork of intense emotions and snippets of memories that now feel like a dream. I can't even describe the state of delirium and happiness I was feeling. I had traveled almost 48 hours with little to no sleep and I was meeting Washington's beloved family for the first time.

That one day...in those 24 hours... I experienced and felt  life  more deeply than I ever have before. I saw things and felt things I'd only though existed in movies and imaginations.

One of the moments I'll never forget is this.

The kitchen that was bubbling over with excitement and energy and curiosity. His Mother, father, brothers, sisters, and an old wizard (a later story), all speaking a strange language asking us questions, the cat is meowing and pushing at my ankles and the dog is begging at the door and his mom is asking me if I like sugar in my coffee but I have no idea what she means, and smoke is billowing out of the stove and winding it's soft path around all of us...

To my relief, Washington took my hand and gently pulled me out the kitchen backdoor when the conversation and smoke flowed away from us. I loved him so much for pulling me out. I was drowning in the intensity of the new situation. I breathed in the fresh air and looked around the land with him, swinging hand in hand. He lead me down a dirt path and stopped me suddenly, pulling my hand back. He said "Look up". 
I looked up to see a tree dripping with bees. Literally, bees completely encapsulating the tree from the middle of the trunk to the highest branch. Their buzz hummed through the air around us. Knowing me, you'll be surprised to find out, I truthfully wasn't even scared. At that point in my life I had never even been stung by a bee before, and was sure I was allergic. 

And there we were, standing under a cloud of bees without fear or anxiety. 


This is one of the most beautiful and surreal moments I've ever witnessed in my life.