Life in Goiás Velho

After a month in Goiás Velho, we are finally settled in. We live in an old house in the historic center of Goiás Velho. The town is quite charming. The streets are made of old stones and date back hundreds of years. There is a river running through the center of town with old wooden bridges that traverse it. During the day, there are few cars and more than a couple of horses with carts. It often feels as if we have gone back in time. Except for, of course, I have my laptop and Internet connection!

The kids like here as well. They go to a wonderful school – Vila Esperança – that is on gorgeous grounds and is colorfully decorated with comfy cushions and rugs. Plus, it has a focus on dance, capoeira, and music that is great for the children. This was a very welcome break after that strict Catholic school in Santo Domingo.

I asked my nine year old daughter Tatiana what she liked best about our house in Goiás Velho, Brazil, and her response was “our pets.” Normally, we don’t have household animals, because we travel too often. However, in Goiás Velho, a friend agreed to lend us his puppy while we are here. We’ll have to give it back when we leave, so hopefully that will go over okay. My husband Nando also picked up a few ducks and chickens at the market. When we leave, I am sure we will not have any problem getting someone to take in some plump poultry. Their destiny as pets, however, will be short lived, I am sure.

Soraya – Tatiana’s twin sister’s – response to my question about her favorite thing was the garden. Behind our house, we have a large, messy yard. I wouldn’t exactly call it a garden, but it certainly provides space to run around. It also has a fantastic outdoor shower that is the perfect remedy for Goiás Velho’s hot afternoons. I asked Soraya what she liked about the garden, and she said the fact that the animals live in it. Tatiana and Soraya are real animal lovers.

When I asked Raymi, my six year old daughter, what her favorite thing was, she said “the hammock.” We have a lovely, huge, colorful hammock that the girls use to swing on. Recently, they realized that they also can swing and jump off of it onto the air mattress. They have a game where they swing each other and dump each other onto the air mattress.

Goiás Velho also has many interesting things for the kids outside the house. On many a hot afternoon, we walk a few blocks from our house to a small waterfall where the kids can take a dip in the river. The cool water is very refreshing after a long day. And, the waterfall is set in a verdant valley. It is a most relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Other afternoons, we go to the Plaza, where they have an ice cream stand in the middle. In addition, there are often plenty of children around with whom the children can play. Now that we have the dog – his name is Manchitas by the way – we can take him to the park. That way, even if there are no other kids, the girls can have fun playing with Manchitas.

As we are near to Holy Week, there is no shortage of processions in Goiás Velho. We live just a few doors down from Igreja do Rosario – a prominent historic church. So far, there have been two large processions that start there and go right by our house. And, they will continue for the rest of Holy Week. Tatiana in particular finds the processions fascinating. I imagine she will admire even more those later in the week – which will be even bigger and fancier.

Goiás Velho is a small town, so there is not much of a night life. However, there is one restaurant that serves snacks and beers on its patio on weekend nights that we like to go to. The advantage of this restaurant is that it is located right next to a playground. And, on weekend nights, a gentleman sets up a trampoline that the girls can jump on and hopefully burn off their energy. Last time we went, the girls were excited to have been out at night with us. Nando and I we were glad to have been able to have a beer in peace.

When we first arrived in Goiás, I had the impression that people were less friendly than in other parts of Brazil. When I said “hi” as we walked by, I got more than a couple of blank stares. However, now that we have been here for over a month, those same people smile broadly and say hello first as we walk by. It took less time than I thought for folks to open up.

Overall, Goiás Velho was a great choice as a family-friendly place to spend our three months in Goiás, Brazil.

A Sociologist on the Move: Fourteen Months, Four Countries, and Three Kids

On May 27, 2009, I began a long trip with my family. Over the next 14 months, we would be living in four countries, beginning with nearly three months in Kingston, Jamaica.

Our journey has not been easy all of the time, but it has never been dull, with one adventure after another. Thankfully, we have had the good fortune of meeting many people whose good will has made these fourteen months abroad much easier and more productive.

In Kingston, a Jamaican colleague, Prof. Sonjah Stanley, recommended I put my eight-year old twin daughters and my five year old daughter in Edna Manley School of the Arts Summer Camp. That turned out to be a fantastic suggestion, as it is a marvelous summer camp. My husband, Fernando, got involved in the Trenchtown Culture Yard, and I began my research with deportees. I also started a blog, http://tanyagolashboza.blogspot.com that chronicles this amazing year abroad with my family.

I was able to take this trip as I had been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Award to conduct research on the re-integration experiences of deportees in Jamaica, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. My Fulbright-Hays Award didn’t officially start until August 14, 2009, but I got a head start with internal funding from the University of Kansas to do some pilot research in Kingston, Jamaica. In each country, my research consisted in interviewing 30 deportees, government officials responsible for deportees, and researching the migration histories of each country.

The summer in Kingston went fairly well, with only the occasional break-down where Tatiana, one of my 8-year old twins, would cry and fuss that she wanted to go back to Kansas. My pilot research was more successful than I expected. A colleague in Kingston – Prof. Bernard Headley – introduced me to a couple of key informants, who greatly facilitated my research. Fernando completed a project teaching the folks at Trenchtown Culture Yard how to make pan flutes out of bamboo. Before we knew it, it was time to pack up and go to Guatemala City.

Before traveling to Guatemala City, I contacted Prof. Miguel Ugalde and introduced myself via email. He helped me find a furnished apartment in Guatemala City for our three month stay, and invited the family over for a churrasco our first Sunday in the city. My first week in Guatemala City, Miguel took me to the airport where deportees arrive and I was able to witness the processing of over 100 deportees into Guatemala. I couldn’t believe my luck and how quickly I was able to get my research underway. Finding 30 deportees to interview turned out to be a bit tricky. However, with a few creative strategies, I found them and left Guatemala with 35 interviews completed. My research in Guatemala was remarkably successful, even though we never were able to get the children in school. The school year had begun in January, and the schools were finishing up as we arrived. There are “American” schools that begin in September, but the $6,000 enrollment fee per child was prohibitively expensive. That’s when we decided to home school.

Fortunately, our school district has a virtual school where you can enroll your children in a highly structured program. Admittedly, it is a tremendous amount of work to home school three children. At first, we contracted an English-speaking teacher. But, that did not work out, as the children were not advancing in terms of their lessons. Eventually, I had to take over, as Fernando’s limited English skills prevented him from being in charge of home schooling. Things got a bit hectic when I had to home school in the mornings, write after lunch, and conduct interviews in the evenings. But, we managed, especially knowing that the situation was temporary.

In the Dominican Republic, our next stop, the schools are on the same calendar as those in the US, so we were able to enroll the children in a local Catholic school. I was relieved to have the children in school again. The curriculum looked similar to their curriculum in Kansas, so I kept up the home schooling, part time. In the afternoons and on weekends, I gave the children key lessons from the Kansas curriculum.

Settling into Santo Domingo and getting my research off the ground was a lot easier than I anticipated – largely because of the help of a couple of generous individuals. Mari, the sister of the friend of a friend was an angel with us, despite our weak ties to her. When she heard we were coming, she offered to pick us up from the airport, lent us an apartment while we got settled, and found a school for us! We could not believe her generosity. Once we found our own apartment, also with Mari’s help, I got started with my research. I called a few contacts in the US, one of whom gave me the contact information for Rene Vicioso, who works with deportees in the Dominican Republic. When I spoke with Rene, he was very accommodating and agreed to meet with me the next day.

When we met, Rene assured me there would be no problem finding 30 deportees. He also introduced me to several key government officials, and my research project was soon up and running. In Santo Domingo, I had no problem finding deportees to interview, and ended up completing 50 interviews. Soon enough, however, our three months were up, and it was time to travel to Brazil.

In Brazil, my research was focused on Goiás – the state that receives the most deportees. Luckily, I have a wonderful colleague in Goiania, the capital of Goiás, Izabel Missagia. Izabel picked us up at the airport, and took us to her house, where we stayed until we were able to find a place of our own. As of this writing, I am in Cidade Goiás, a lovely town that Izabel recommended to us, especially because of a fantastic, alternative school in Cidade Goiás. The children are in a school called Vila Esperança that focuses on music, dance, and capoeira. After three months in Catholic school in the DR, this is a very welcome change. The school calendar year just began, so the twins are starting the third grade again here, and my youngest is starting the first grade early. However, we decided that, in Brazil, their primary goal will be to learn Portuguese, and I will finish up the home schooling over the summer. My children already speak English and Spanish, so learning Portuguese should not be too challenging for them.

As of this writing, we are in Brazil. Like in Guatemala, it has not been easy finding interviewees here, and I have already begun using creative strategies to locate deportees to interview. This past weekend, I traveled to a small town in Goiás where I was able to find three deportees by asking around.

I feel very lucky to be in a profession that allows my family to have such amazing experiences. I traveled extensively before becoming a sociologist, but knew that, eventually, I wanted to settle down and have a career and a family. Who knew that traveling the world would become part of my career and still possible with a family! Admittedly, dragging our three children from one country to the next has its challenges. However, for me, it would be even more challenging not only to be apart from them, but also to deny them this fantastic experience that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Written for “World on the Move” – the Newsletter of the International Migration Section of the American Sociological Association.

One adventure after another with the family in rural Brazil: Milking the cows, Feeding the chickens, and a Waterfall

Our weekend trip to Fatima's farm outside of Itapuranga in Goias, Brazil turned out to be one adventure after another. This time, I took the whole family to the farm – Tatiana and Soraya had had been asking all week when we would be able to go.

We arrived around 6pm Friday evening. The girls were excited to see the calves and chickens. The first thing they tried to do was to pet the calves. That turned out to be more difficult than it looked. Tatiana, Soraya and Raymi got in the corral with the calves. But, each time they got close to a calf, it would run away. Finally, all of the calves had run out of the corral, and no one got to pet one.

Next up were the chickens. After many attempts, Soraya managed to catch a hen, and the girls took turns holding it. When they let it free, Raymi showed the girls where the corn on the cob was, and they de-grained a couple of cobs for the chickens.

Meanwhile, it was getting dark, and Fernando decided to start a campfire. Fernando and Braulio, Fatima's son, busied themselves bringing and cutting wood, and the girls helped by adding dry corn husks to the fire. By the time the fire was ready, it was time to eat dinner.

Dinner consisted of rice, beans, a little bit of free-range chicken, and inhame – a tuber vegetable. Tatiana and Soraya served themselves at least three plates of rice and beans. The food was hearty and tasty. After dinner, we had a little rapadura – concentrated sugar cane - and went outside by the campfire where Nando was playing his flute.

We relaxed by the fire for a while, but soon the girls wanted to play again. This time, Evandro had the idea of them playing with the wheelbarrow. Braulio gave the girls several turns each in the wheelbarrow before it was time to go to bed.

I woke up on Saturday morning at 6am, and the girls were already up and about. When I got out of bed, I found all three girls in the cattle pen, helping Braulio and Sebastiao milk the cows. Braulio showed them how to pull on the cows' udders to make the milk come out. They were able to do it, but not nearly as fast as Braulio. After milking the cows, Raymi and I went into town with Evandro to buy bread and some meat for lunch. Afterwards, we took the milk from the cows to the depository where they sell the milk each day.

After breakfast, Tatiana and Soraya finally got what they wanted most – to ride the horse. Evandro got the horse saddled up for them, and they took turns riding it around and around the house until finally it was time to let the horse eat some grass.

While the girls were riding the horse, Evandro took Raymi and me out behind the house where he cut a piece of sugar cane and squeezed the juice out of it with a small metal mill. We strained the juice and drank it. It tasted even better with limes from the tree – all natural lemonade.

After our morning adventures on the farm, it was time for a bit more adventure. Evandro drove us to Dominique's farm, which is about a 30 minute drive down a dirt road through several other small farms. Dominique's farm is more of a hacienda than a farm. She has several lakes where she raises fish, many pineapple and papaya trees, and a herd of goats for milk and cheese.

Dominique's hacienda also has a magnificent waterfall on the premises. The main purpose of our visit was to jump in the waterfall. Unfortunately, just as we got there, it began to downpour heavily. We waited the rain out at one of the small farmhouses where several men were cleaning fish to take to the market. Seeing all of the fish and lakes, the girls asked if they could also fish.

One of the workers gave them two fishing poles, and Tatiana and Soraya went down to the lake to fish. Soraya managed to catch a big fish. But, it was a little too big and she ended up falling backwards into the lake trying to get it out. Fortunately, the lake was not deep at all. But, she was full of mud and had to be rinsed off in the shower.

After their fishing adventure, we walked over to the waterfall. It was about a 15-minute walk down a muddy trail overgrown with vegetation. Each of us fell in the mud a few times, but managed to make it to the waterfall. It was beautiful. As usual, I was scared of slipping on the rocks, and, of course, I fell – right on my behind. So did everyone, but we managed to make it to one of the pools where we cooled off and cleaned up. The sun had come out enough to dry off the big rocks, and I relaxed on one of the boulders while the girls continued to swim and splash around. It was getting late, however, so we didn't stay too long.

When we got back to Dominique's farmhouse, the men had finished cleaning the fish and were taking them to market. We bought a large – two kilo – fish from them and took it home to cook. Evandro picked a few coconuts from Dominique's farm to make coconut milk to cook the fish. Evandro made coconut milk by taking the white meat out of the coconut and putting it in the blender. I added this delectable mixture to the muqueca de peixe that I made. The fish stew was delicious with the large, meaty, fresh pintado.

After dinner, Nando sang just a couple of songs by the campfire as we were all tired and full. The next morning, however, as promised, Nando made a bamboo flute for Braulio. They have some bamboo trees on the farm, and Nando and Evandro cut one down and fashioned a flute for Braulio. That way, they will have something to remember us by until our next visit.

Another Way of Life: A Weekend on a Farm in Rural Brazil with Raymi

I spent last weekend in Itapuranga with Raymi, my six-year old daughter, while Nando went to Pirenopolis with the twins. When we met up in Goias Velho on Monday, Raymi regaled her older sisters with stories about the farm – how she had fed the chickens, rode the horse, and watched Braulio milk the cows. The twins were jealous, and wanted to go to the farm immediately. I told them they had to wait until Friday, as we would be going to school all this week. They were disappointed, but, slowly, the days have passed, and now Friday is here and we will go back to the farm this afternoon.

When we first got to the farm last Friday, Raymi didn’t like it. However, after two days there, she grew quite used to it. On Sunday morning, she woke up at the crack of dawn and went straight to the chicken coop. She found the Portuguese words to ask Fatima if she could feed the chickens. When Fatima said she could, she got a cob of corn out of storage and de-grained it for the chickens. Then, she took pictures as Braulio milked the cows.

On Sunday, we didn’t stay at the farm for breakfast, as we had promised Rosmery that we would have breakfast at her house in Itapuranga. After breakfast with Rosmery, we made our way to the Feira da Cachaça. It is a farmer’s market with people selling vegetables, milk, eggs, live chickens, meat, fruit, and a few plastic items. And, true to its name, it has a bar with cachaça in case anyone want to get their Sunday morning drink on. There were a few tipsy folks around the bar, but they were harmless.

Raymi was disappointed with the Feira da Cachaça; it was not nearly as nice as the Friday evening Feira da Lua, which has kids’ games and toys and grilled skewers. At the Feira da Lua, everyone dresses up and looks nice; not so much at the Feira da Cachaça. After the Feira, we went back to Rosmery’s house, and hung out with her for most of the day. In the evening, Evandro took us back to Fatima’s house, where we would spend our last night before moving to our new home in Goias Velho.

During our weekend at the farm, Raymi was able to see many things she hadn’t seen before. She saw Braulio milk the cows and take the milk to the depository where he sells it. She saw Fatima pick herbs from the garden to cook with. She saw people come to buy several bushes of dry corn from Fatima. She saw many trees with fruits – papayas, bananas, limes, and coconuts. She saw where the hens lay eggs and the pigs take mud baths. Seeing all of this, she will have a better idea of where food comes from, and of how people in the countryside make a living.

She also will have an idea of another way of life. At the farm, they have a television, but they don’t have computers or Internet or a DVD player. They also eat pretty much the same thing each day – rice, beans, eggs, and potatoes. For breakfast, they have coffee with milk straight from the cows. They rarely leave the farm.

Their general lack of mobility and lack of variety in their food also had me thinking. We eat different dishes every day. And, if I am missing an ingredient, I am apt to run to the supermarket and get it. In contrast, Fatima has everything she needs at the farm. Her husband goes to Itapuranga once a week on his motorcycle and buys oil, sugar, margarine, and some other things they like. But, if they run out of something, they do without.

I can stay in the house for a day or two relaxing or working, but I can’t imagine living on the farm and never leaving. A whole week might pass by at the farm, and Fatima won’t leave the farm or have visitors. She doesn’t seem to mind at all. They seemed quite happy to have us as visitors, and insisted we return. But, I am sure they would be fine if we didn’t.

Spending the weekend on a farm in rural Brazil, so far from everything and everyone, served as a moment of reflection for me, and a learning experience for Raymi and me.

Just Raymi and Me on the Farm

This weekend, it was just Raymi and me. My husband took the twins to Pirenopolis, and I went to Itapuranga with Raymi. I had the opportunity to travel to Itapuranga, my research site, with Evandro, who is from Itapuranga. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to be personally introduced to people in my research site. And, my husband, Nando, wanted to travel to Pirenopolis. So, we decided that I would go with Raymi and Nando would take the twins. This would be the first time that Raymi, who is six, would be separated from her eight-year old sisters, as least for as long as she can remember.

I figured I would use the weekend with Raymi as a chance to spend some alone time with her. And, Nando would have the time to be just with the twins – who often complain that he favors their younger sister. Without her around, their complaints would be moot. The twins seemed happy about the prospect of not having Raymi around.

Raymi and I set out Friday morning with Evandro for Itapuranga. To my surprise, Raymi consistently asked about her sisters during the two hour car ride – the same sisters she always fights with. Overall, the car ride went well, with Raymi quite calm in the back seat and Evandro and I chatting about the local and regional economy of Goias. We saw several Movimento Sem Terra (Landless Movement) settlements on the road on the way, and Evandro explained to me that they were settled there waiting until the government authorized their takeover of part of a hacienda.

Our first stop in Itapuranga was Evandro’s sister’s house. Fatima lives in a rustic house about 12 kilometers outside of Itapuranga – in the country. When we got to Fatima’s house, Raymi’s first question was why everything was so dirty. There were quite a few flies in the dining area; the floor was full of red dirt; and the table cloth was stained. I took a deep breath and explained to Raymi that we were at a farmer’s house, and that they had lots of things she would like.

We had seen a horse when we first walked in and I asked Raymi if she wanted to see the horse. She did, and Evandro offered to let her ride the horse. Raymi was a bit scared, but got on the horse with Evandro, and held on tight. Then, it was my turn to give her a ride on the horse, and we took a short ride to a nearby stream. Raymi seemed to be happier about being on the farm.

After our horse ride, it was time for lunch. Everything for lunch was from the farm – rice, beans, potatoes, and eggs. We both liked our lunch and cleaned our plates. During lunch, we found out we would be sleeping at the farm. Raymi was disappointed, but when she saw our room – which was nice and clean with a big bed – she cheered up.

Raymi had fun taking photos of the animals on the farm and showing pictures to our hosts. She took pictures of all of the farm animals she could find – the horse, chickens, cats, dogs, and the cows.

When we left the farm to go to Itapuranga, Raymi had lots of questions about how our hosts lived. I told her the food we were eating came from the farm, and she asked if the rice also came from the farm. I told her it did. She also wanted to know how they earned money to live. I explained that they sell milk and eggs from the farm and sometimes sell the cows. She seemed a bit appalled that they would sell a baby cow.

Now that we have spent two nights at the farm, Raymi has gotten used to farm life. On Sunday morning, she got up and went to watch Fatima’s son, Braulio, milk the cows. Then, she got some corn and de-grained it to feed the chickens. They dry out the corn and store it for the rest of the year to use as chicken feed. Braulio showed Raymi how to de-grain the corn. From there, she went to help Fatima with the wood stove. She also had fun petting the calves who were watching their mothers being milked.

It has been a different dynamic with just Raymi and me. She gets a lot more of my attention and we don’t have to negotiate her wants and needs with those of her sisters. I also find that I am buying her more things she wants – soda, ice cream, and sausages. It seems less extravagant when it’s just one kid.

The Impossible Trinity: School, Research, and Housing

As our first week in Brazil is coming to a close, I am anxious to get started with my research. However, getting settled is taking time.

We arrived on Thursday evening, so I spent Friday recovering from the long flights and layovers. Over the weekend, I researched possible places for us to live and do research. For now, we are at a friend’s house. We are very lucky to have someone willing to take in all five of us.

My husband, Fernando, traveled to Perinopolis on Saturday. He loved the city, but it doesn’t seem as if the schools there will be the best options for the kids. Really, we need three things to coincide – my research site, the kids’ school and reasonable temporary housing.

One of my best options for research seems to be the city of Itapurangu. On Sunday, I met Evarando, who is from Itapurangu. He explained to me that there is a lot of emigration from Itapurangu, and that there are at least 200 deportees in that city. So, that seems like a great option for a research site. The problem is that, like Perinopolis, the options for schools are limited.

Here in Brazil, I’d like for the children to have the best experience possible. It is going to be difficult for them in school, as they don’t speak Portuguese. My friend told me about an alternative school in Cidade de Goias, called Vila Esperanca. It is a marvelous school, focused on ethnic diversity, dance therapy, music, and art. They have already said that the girls can enroll them in the school with no problem.

Cidade Goias seems like a great option for us. It has the alternative school, and is an hour away from Itapurangu. Finding temporary housing there, however, seems like it will be a challenge. A friend of ours looked for housing there and was unable to find anything. Nevertheless, Fernando went to Goias yesterday to see what he could find. With luck, Fernando will find a place for us to stay in Cidade Goias.

With a place to stay, a school from the kids and a ready research site, we will be able to get down to business in Brazil. I am looking forward to that.