Brazil: Two Months – Do More, Live Long

There is a theory that suggests that time seems much longer when it is accentuated by more new or meaningful experiences. This theory fits the phenomenon of time seeming to pass us by much more quickly as we grow older. As things become familiar to us in our environment, they start to fade into the background, ceasing to create time-marking events worth noting on our personal timelines.

As babies, everything we see is a first: our first piece of fruit, the first time we see a flower, our first word, our first piece of chocolate, and our first brussell sprout.

As teenagers, we\’ve figured out foods and flowers, and our vocabulary isn\’t growing as fast anymore (in some cases, as a teacher, I feel certain that it actually shrinks).

Then as adults, new experiences are harder to find. We\’ve already seen trees, flowers, fire, the ocean, and all kinds of weather. We drive all the time – what was once an exciting new skill has now become kind of a pain in the arse. We\’ve kissed people – and even got down and dirty a few times if we\’re lucky – so the lustre has dulled even on this golden experience. All of that stuff becomes white noise in the background and doesn\’t demand as much attention as it used to. And so we often find ourselves saying things like…

\”Oh shit. What\’s that pine-tree doing in the middle of the street? Is it Christmas already?!\”

A little over two months have passed since landing in Brazil in September – and only as I sit down to write this post am I realising that quite a bit of progress has been made since first landing. It feels like I\’ve been here for six months already. Here\’s why.