And so it begins.... Sorta.

Alright y'all. I am no longer in the comforts of my apartment, do not really have a home, and no longer have a job for the school year in San Francisco- Officially in adventure zone. Yep, that's right, from this point on my mind will be in the moment, more or less, and I am so freakin' excited!

I am officially living in the Mission. I mother f'in love it, and only wish I'd done it sooner. My days seem twice as long, since I've cut out all of my commuting time. I can walk to rehearsal. WALK. in 5 minutes. Seriously. Its Amazing. And its sunny. And I can see the Bay Bridge from my window. And, someone drove by blasting Selena from their car. Finally, I feel like I'm home. After my daddy helped me move in, we sat on my stoop and ate some elote and mango (from the man with the fruit cart, ofcourse) and I felt comfortable.

**Richmond district, you we're good to me for five years, provided me lots of safety and Russian bakeries, access to the beach on those rare days, and peace and quiet. But, I regret to inform you that I have found my spot and I will not be coming back. I will occasionally peak my head in the fog to say hello to dear friends and a Tommy's Margarita, but my presence will not exceed a few hours. I hope you understand.

Sincerely yours,
Vanessa

That being said, I have become a bike riding sun dweller in only one week, and love it so much. Its crazy to think that in less than 2 months, I will again be saying good bye to another area, and see ya later to SF (where my heart is) to venture out into a foreign. I love my life.

In simialar news, I have been dancing as much as I can as of late. I am so sad to think of leaving my Brazilian and haitian dance worlds for a bit. But, I know my dance adventures in Mexico will be as exciting as ever (and difficult, I gotta learn some spanish, yo!).

Last Week, in Tania's afro-brazilian class, we did Maculele. I Loooove Maculele. You can see me doing a bit here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEqbGlHrR-k

Just look for the red shirt, and big hair. For the record, I had nothing to do with the video or song.

Maculele is a dance of Afro-Brazilian decent, done usually (nowadays) at Capoeria presentations and within folkloric dance groups. Traditionally, performers beat sticks together to the rhythms of the atabaques. Some say it has afro-indigenous roots, some say it originated in carnavals of the 18th century, I say its is awesome traditional form of movement way and absolutely love it. Something about the rhythm of the drums, the intensity of the accents in movement and music, the songs sung with the drums.... whatever it is, I wanna jump higher and turn faster... then do it all over again.

Now, off to a some spanish studying and dinner with my lady loves.