last 3 months of 2007: quick sticks retrospective

happy new year! well i didnt make any formal new year resolutions but one thing i want to do more in 2008 is to share more of what is happening here and keep in touch more with friends and family. i also realised that in 2007 i spent too much time thinking about doing stuff and not enough time DOING stuff - so my blog that i have neglected for 3 months seems like a good place to start!

actually heaps of wonderful things happened in the last three months of last year (not including the bacterial stomach infection - also known as My Month on the Loo)!

community, children, culture, connections and criation in Chapadas Diamantina

in september i spent a week in this breathtakingly beautiful area about 6 hours drive east from salvador in the north-east of brazil, where there is a much stronger african influence . the trip was organized by a wonderful NGO called Projeto Bagagem that aims to develop networks of economic solidarity through community-based tourism that benefits the local population. with our small group we got to know the great work of a local NGO in lençóis, called Grãos de Luz e Griô, that offers development opportunities to local young people, that in turn connected us to local songs, dances, traditions and beliefs, elders (including a traditional mid-wife, ex-diamond miner, accordion player, community leader, candomblé priest) and children. most of the time we stayed in the houses of the local people and they shared with us their food, ways of life and happy spirits.

this is a photo of me at the famous Pai Inácio in the national park of chapadas diamantina and our great group of community-based travellers.

here you can see photos from the NGO, Grãos de Luz e Griô

here you can see photos from the community of Remanso - the flour mill and florest
here you can see photos from our canoe trip in Remanso
here you can see photos from capivara where we stayed at a house of Jaré (african religion)here you can see more photos from our wonderful time in Remanso
here you can see photos from lençóis
here you can see photos of the spectacular chapadas diamantina national park at sunset

meeting a wonderful guy - Luccas =)

didnt really feel like going out that saturday night in late september, but now i am happy that triinu convinced me to go with her to the bar, bom motivo (good reason), cos that is where i met luccas - the sweetest, kindest, spunkiest boyfriend ever!! we have only been together for a few months but judging by the number of our great moments together it feels like we have known each other for a lot longer! whether we are having dinner on the 41st floor of the edifício italia or japanese take away at home, drinking mojitos or coffee, accidentally discovering great french movies or watching classic aussie dvds, going to bars as ourselves or as barbara weiss and rubens nighogossian, sunbaking in the rain at the beach or touring an eco-village in the rain, volunteering cleaning computers at the bank or buying christmas presents for kids we never met - we always have a wonderful time. initially we started chatting because he lived 7 months in australia a couple of years ago, but we are discovering so many more things in common. looking forward to many more wonderful moments together =)

finishing my biopsychology course
through out the year i did an amazing course at the serenely beautiful Visão Futuro eco-park, about 2 hours out of São Paulo. in november i did the final, 8th module of the course, which focuses on a holistic approach to physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. the course creates a bridge between the eastern approach of chakras and the modern western medicine and uses art, theatre, music and dance to engage you in a truly creative and inspiring way. i learnt a lot about myself through out the year at the park which helped to give me strength and daily practices that i had been looking for, like meditation, yoga and mantras. in our final module we went on the search for the holy grail and completed challenges to experience the determination, surrender and balance that we need on the next steps in our journey.

fiona and ernie's wedding in argentina
buenos aires may seem like an unlikely location for an aussie reunion but that is where i got to meet up with a bunch of old aussie and international friends at ernie and fiona's wedding. as my sister said when she saw a video of the wedding "wow! people are having so much fun it looks like argentina won the world cup or something!". even though unfortunately i was not able to sample any of the great argentinian wine or the daquiris it was an awesome party - and i think the crazy hats that appeared around 4am had a large role in that. highly recommend them for any wedding reception. thanks fi and ernie for a great experience in such a cool city.

triinu's birthday
there was much vodka drunk and good times had at triinu's birthday celebration. was great to celebrate the birthday of my wonderful estonian house mate. am very happy that she wowed them at natura and will be in brazil for another two years =)

xmas party in são paulo

since i spent christmas and new years in australia i threw a little party at our place to celebrate the festive season with my friends in são paulo. lots of wine was drunk, cheese was eaten and funny photos taken with this silly santa hat =)

pioneers of change and art of hosting
i have really enjoyed being involved in during the second half of 2007 with the pioneers of change network here in são paulo and helping to organise and host an Art of Hosting Meaningful and Strategic Conversations. through both of these groups i have been able to reconnect with other people who have similar visions and values and practice my hosting and facilitation which i really enjoying doing and am trying to do more of at my paid work also. it was such a great opportunity to be a part of the hosting team for the art of hosting, especially in these challenging times when something the world needs more and more of is meaningful conversation. thanks to thomas, valentine, tamara, christel and toke for all your support and encouragement. I AM TREE. I AM ME =)

christmas and new years in australia
despite an unscheduled hospital stay due to a kidney infection, i had an amazing time in australia over christmas and new years. unfortunately i had to miss out on the "andrew almost got married wine tour" in adelaide due to my hospitalization, but i managed to catch up with a lot of old friends (and lots of new babies!!) and for the first time in nearly 6 years, the Fitzgerald Family was all together!! my brother, sean, came up from melbourne with his girlfriend, michele, and we all spent countless hours together talking, drinking, eating, laughing, discussing and eating and drinking some more. (my sister also announced her upcoming wedding so i also spent several hours trying on bridesmaid dresses, but i think we found THE one. very exciting ;) it was awesome to see everyone with their partners, so grown up!! it was also interesting to see a much higher general environmental consciousness in australia than i previously remember. despite the constant rain during my whole trip (including our camping at the woodford music festival - so proud of leah surviving her first ever camping trip in the mud and rain) there are pretty strict water restrictions in place. but i took it as a fun challenge to beat the 4 minute timer that is in my parents' shower (btw i managed to wash my hair, shave my legs and wash myself in less than 4 minutes!!). was great to see my grandpa again after a long time, who managed to leave his rural property despite the current floods. was also nice to hang out with my country cuz, nichole, who also spent new years eve with us. i even learnt some new aussie slangs during the trip - will have to do some hard core training with luccas before he goes there for the wedding in october!!!

all in all 2007 was a great year, filled with lots of blessings and much to be grateful for. and now i am back in são paulo. ready for a fabulous 2008 which i will try to share!!! wishing you all peace, love and health.