In awe of the world

I am surrounded with creativity. Everything is inspiration. I am intoxicated with imagination. Everything I see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel brings into being a passion for life. All my sense are utilized and alive. Everyday I learn something new about me, about Brazil, about life in general. Invention cannot be stopped. I am in awe of the world. I relish in the graffiti on the walls, in the dirt of the slums. I drink in the smell of jasmine and honeysuckle. I am consumed with emotion and the need to express it. So I write.
Can you hear me in my writing?
Can you hear my voice as I tell you these stories?
Can you hear my laugh through the words on the page?
Can you hear my sense of humor and my inflection as I write these sentences?
I wan you to image with your entire body.
Can you smell the salt and garlic in the air?
Can you taste the orange color of the moqueca, warm, with fish and shrimp?
Can you hear me in my writing?
Can you see what I see?
Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
As you let your lids drop and your eyelashes kiss your cheeks, imagine yourself sitting by the ocean with your feet in the sand.
Dig your big toe in and feel the moisture, cool and damp.
Listen to the sound of the waves licking the sand by your side.
Feel the breeze as it tousles your hair.
Can you hear me in my writing?
Can you see what I see?
Let’s take a walk.
Grab your bikini and one Real and I’ll take you through my neighborhood.
As we head out the door, it is cloudy but by the time we reach the beach it will be sunny and we will go swimming.
Under your feet you will find cobble stone streets.
Granite bits line the sidewalks and scale the side of the buildings.
You can hear the children as they play across the street.
See the coconut venders with bags overflowing with green coconut shells.
Let’s buy one!
“Um coco por favor.”
Taste the juice, sweet and creamy.
As we head towards the beach, we dodge cars as they whiz by and always look twice before crossing the street, you can never be too careful.
We pass the dress store with flashy jewelry and glitzy glam.
We pass the bakery with a delicious smell wafting from inside. They sell pizzas and sweats and the bread in town.
We pass the post office where they don’t speak any English, but somehow I still managed to send postcards!
And finally, we are at the beach.
Warm sand and bronzed bodies everywhere. Some people laying on the sand and others playing valley ball.
The light, the dark, no one cares just as long as you’re in you swim suit!
I’ll race you to the water.
Ready, set, go!