First things first (perhaps)

In which I introduce myself (sorta), to try and set the tone for what's to come

I’m Juliana and I’ve been a doctor for over a year now.

This summer, I made my way back to Rio, the city where I was born and raised and that I still call “home” even though New York is also “home.” (Insert here one of those “the magic about living abroad” quotes.) It was my first time back since January 1st, 2020, and it was a strangely revitalizing month. It was a month of a lot of good food, and good company, and a lot of perusing bookstores after titles I can’t find in the US without paying exorbitant prices, if at all. It was a month of remembering how hot the winter gets in the tropics, how addicted to iced mate I am, and how many good words (and curses) Brazilian Portuguese has.

The plane tickets titled me “PhD” and I looked at them often, and giddily, because I still can’t believe I have written a thesis and graduated last spring.

The truth is, for the first in a long time, I have no clue what comes next, so I’m still trying to celebrate what I’ve achieved in getting here. And that’s my Dr. title, a one-year fellowship in a department of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, a lot of information about how French queens died and were buried (seriously, ask me about it one day), and an ever-growing collection of books shared with my Life Associate.

This is where I’m at now. Where these little missives will come from. The word cronista in Portuguese means someone who writes crônicas. Crônicas are everywhere in Brazilian press. They are short, informal pieces of writing, about daily observations and topics, and they were also the topic of my first ever (and so far only) published text. It felt only right that, in this moment of looking around after a much-needed reconnection with my native tongue, I drew some inspiration for this genre.

So, while I try to figure out my way forward, let me introduce myself as I’ll be here: Juliana, cronista.

(and a photo of the beach in Rio in August as a little treat for those of you who made it to the end:)