Chapter 160

Up at 6:20, half an hour of yoga with the dog poking me with his triangle face. I rode the short distance to work and went to the eleventh-grade classroom I was supposed to babysit. The students were not there, so I went to the math teachers office next door and asked them if they know anything. The students were at a meeting in the auditorium apparently, so I stuck around a bit chatting with my Ugandan coworker. Uganda was my favorite country of the 7-week trip I took to East Africa in 2013, maybe because of its intrinsic great qualities or because it was the last one so I was used to how things work in that part of the world, either way I have fond memories of my time there and often talk about Uganda with him.

Then I got to the office and finished the 6-hour, 20-band grindcore festival. It was great, ending strongly with three back-to-back Brazilian bands, but my brain was fried and saturated after that so I looked for something a bit more mellow to rinse my ears with. I settled on an album by a French DJ who goes by Degiheugi, some nice groovy hip-hop-inspired electronic music, that’s the kind of music to listen to in summertime with a large fruity cocktail in hand.

Just before lunch, I had a call from one of my good friends, he’s been stuck stateside since the beginning of the covid outbreak and is hopefully coming back to China soon. He’s the guy who got me in capoeira back in the day, the leader of our group, and now he told me some pretty disturbing news about the world surrounding this Brazilian martial arts we all love. Some #metoo-style reports emerged in Brazil about instructors and high-level mestres abusing their position and doing some pretty heinous pedo shit, the whole thing is under investigation and will likely splash the small niche world of capoeira with all sorts of negative coverage, even people who are clean as morning snow. He told me to keep that in mind for when I go to the annual batizado in Beijing a few weeks from now, the Chinese authorities are unlikely to put us under higher scrutiny but people might be on edge and one should watch his mouth and not make comments that could stir the pot. Not as if I’m known for dark humor and awkward comments, but as much as I will joke about pretty much anything, pedo stuff is not something I find funny the slightest. Still, it’s good to know, and also the whole situation is fucked up and saddening.

I had a shortened lunch break so I didn’t have time to do the calisthenics routine, I just banged a few sets of chin-ups and ate whatever was in the kitchen: a cream cheese plain bagel, a chicken soft taco, and the rest of the watermelon. Then I rode back to school and invigilated the first part of an exam.

In the afternoon I listened to the Lotus Eaters podcast and wrote letters of recommendation. I have fifteen more to do, it’s extremely boring but I want to finish it before the end of the week.

I went home and took the dog out for a little circuit, then took a nap before heading to BJJ practice. It was stupid hot, and my thick gi was soaked with sweat. I rolled with one of the newly minted blue belts, a stocky Chinese guy who usually smashes me, but he was so exhausted from his previous rounds that he couldn’t mount much of an offense and I got him with a kimura from guard, there’s no way I’d have tapped him if he was fresh, even if I’m getting a bit better.

Afterwards I didn’t go home, I went straight to a bar for a little get together with coworkers, the Croatian physics teacher is moving to another city soon so he invited us for a going away party of sorts. The bar has a wide selection of craft beers, I picked a Great White from Lost Coast that I downed quickly, thirsty as I was, and then a thick and boozy imperial stout from Reservoir Dogs brewery in Slovenia. I also ordered some fried chicken and it hit the spot.

We stayed there till about 11 PM and then I rode home, took a cold shower and crawled into bed.