Capoeira at Mestre Kbeça's academy.

Matching capoeira shoes.

After a great class and roda at ACDA!

Visiting Mestre Ronnie's academy. Awesome class and roda!!

Music with Mestre Kbeça

Buscapé learning samba de roda

Superação has arrived in Brasil!

In São Paulo waiting for connection to Salvador.

A motley crew

Arriving in Salvador. Just an hour and a half from our final destination in Feira de Santana, Bahia's second largest city.

Bahia 2016

So this Sunday I will be heading to Bahia, Brazil with three of my students for an intensive ten day capoeira cultural experience. We will spend four days in Feira de Santana with my good friends Mestre Kbeça and Janaína where we will experience the hospitality of Bahia's second largest city and frontier of the sertão. We will then spend three days on Itaparica Island participating in Seminario International Capoeira Angola Palmares with the grand mestre Nô. I first met Mestre Nô in 2005 and he is one of my heroes of capoeira. We will complete the trip by spending 4 days in the historic Bahiacafé Hotel in Pelourinho where we will experience the rhythms of the drumming group Olodum, train with the grand mestre Bamba in the original academy of capoeira regional and shop at the famous Mercado Modelo. I will post photos and videos of our experience here. Let the adventure begin. Axe Bahia!

Fast Forward

photo credit: Bliss Photography (coloring by moi)

So a lot has happened since I last updated this blog. I hope to add more details later, but suffice it to say I have made a slow but steady return to physical health. In March after a week of tests and one unfounded scare, the doctors determined that there is absolutely no evidence that the cancer has returned. Although I'm not statistically "out of the water" yet, this is probably the most important benchmark as aggressive cancers such as the one I had often return quickly. Right now I am focused on the next phase of my life and dedicating it to those I love and what I love. I still am experiencing colon problems (the new normal) and have lingering nerve damage in my feet and toes from the chemo, but even those are improving with time. Here is a visual showing my physical with the first three months being chemotherapy.