Do a lot with little

Today we went to a Festa de Junina at the center where we are volunteering. CCJ is part of a network of groups that have different activities to help the community. One of these groups helps children from homes that have domestic problems and where they don't have a place to stay during the day. To celebrate the Festas de Junina there is a dance called a quadrilha, which is like a square-line dance that usually has a central story of a marriage. There are two of the dancers dressed up like the bride and groom and others as the priest and godfathers, etc. These children did a quadrilha that was simple but you could tell they had practiced a lot. It was interesting to see how much pride they had in what they did.

The Wedding Couple

One thing that grabbed my attention was their interpretation of the marriage. I was standing by Vanessa  and she told us that it wasn't a traditional explanation. Their version of the marriage was that it was a shotgun wedding and the priest that arrived was a drunk. Now we could go into possible symbolism and analysis of maybe that is how they view their world, but that even with two things that would be perceived as embarrassing or discouraging the story went on and everyone was all smiles. Now, I'm not advocating either of those two events or situations, but at the same time, things don't turn out the way we want in all of our lives, but we can go on and we can be happy. I'll be honest. I'm not feeling so well. My body is not readjusting gracefully to the Braz but even with all of that discomfort and frustration, I'm still happy and still doing my best to participate. I believe that is one lesson that Brazil and it's people always teach me, is that life goes on and it can be good, even when it isn't what you imagined or wanted. I'm grateful for it.