Since I had two medical appointments last week that consumed my writing time, I did not plan to publish a post today. I began writing this article in bed today at 7:11 a.m. As I stay up late on Saturday evenings for what I call my Movie Night, I usually sleep in until 9 o’clock on Sundays. Today, I woke up early and stayed in bed reflecting on life here in my adopted homeland. In my state of half-awake consciousness, I allowed my thoughts to flow freely. Incidents across space and time—spanning my life in Guyana, Brazil, and here in the United States—came and went.

I recalled shocking a group of black American businesswomen during a networking event held by the Black Business Association (BBA) in Los Angeles, of which I had been invited to become a member. At the time, I had just started my home-based, sole-proprietor business, promoting trade with Brazil. It was the year 2007. Not yet having lost my Brazilian jeito de ser or way of being, I was sharing with them the Brazilian way of doing business. I don’t recall what I said that day, but I remember well one of the women saying, with disdain in her voice: Are you trying to shock us?