Circles within Circles

A magical experience in Brasilia. 

The taxi driver on the way to the airport was both kind and curious.  With a little difficulty, we shared a conversation about how beautiful, green, and spacious Brasilia is.  He asked me where I was from and was excited to tell me that he has relatives in Detroit.  I said that Detroit is cold.  He agreed. 

He showed me pictures on his phone of his wife and grandson (the son of his son), who he loves very much and a pretty flower he has in his house (it looked like a hibiscus). 

We shared some music, which was cheery and fun, by Ze Rrama.  Then he gave me the CD so I could have it and listen to it when I went home.  J  This is typical of the people I have met in Brazil…they are generous and loving even to travelers. 

Then he turned on the radio and the first song to come on was  Price Tag by Jessie J.  Really?  Really.  I am marveling about the circles within circles.  This is the song that I worked on translating with Liberato and his students in his after school music hour over two days.  We sang it together and pieced the meaning together.  It is a catchy song…and one that stays with you.  So when I sang it with him, Adam (the taxi driver), he was overjoyed! 

He wished me a good trip and said he hoped that I returned to Brazil someday.  I am left to ponder about the global power of music and the human capacity for sharing. 

I am pretty proud of myself that I can communicate (if not converse) in Portuguese.  Two weeks is not enough time to learn more than the basics…but my good friends in Uruaçu were so patient with me that I think I learned more than anyone expected, myself included!