A note on the title of my blog

I won't lie. I didn't really know what debauchery meant when i decided to call this blog Rachism: Traveling and Debauchery. I thought it sounded nice and that debauchery was a synonym for craziness. So I was obviously a little surprised to read this definition on dictionary.com

Debauchery

De*bauch"er*y\, n.; pl. Debaucheries. 1. Corruption of fidelity; seduction from virtue, duty, or allegiance. 2. Excessive indulgence of the appetites; especially, excessive indulgence of lust; intemperance; sensuality; habitual lewdness.

Wow! If I had to chose one word to define my experience in Brazil, it would most definitely NOT be "debauchery". Ha! However, when thinking about my experiences and Bahia more, I can see how I must have chosen debauchery subconsciously.

For one "excessive indulgence of the appetites" is really excessive indulgence in my appetite... all the time. (See post on Traveling 101 for fat asses) And if being American can be considered a relationship between me and the US, then there is definitely some "corruption of fidelity" going on. I am constantly telling people I'm Haitian and conveniently forgetting to mention how I've lived most of my life in the US. I actually think it was the fear of being conned and robbed all the time that encouraged me to speak portuguese like a Brazilian. And as I become more fluent and speak with less of an accent, I completely deny any allegiance to the US and let people assume that I am (gasp!) a Bahiana!

And as for lust... well, sweaty, brown, Brazilian bodies vibrating samba rhythms, twisting, dropping, flirting, smiling.... enough said. You can stop drop drooling now.

Axe: Rachel