A few weeks ago, members of the EAB Leadership Team took our newest member, incoming LS Principal Beth Overby, on a hike to a series of waterfalls close to Brasilia called Indaia.  The weather looked sketchy throughout the drive and by the time we arrived, the rain had begun.  Our goal was to arrive at the largest waterfall on the trip. To do so, we had to traverse the river.  As you can see from the photo below, on our way out, the water was clear and moved slowly.

When we arrived at our destination and took photos of the waterfall and the required group selfie, the water remains clear.  Though we were wet, all was good.

At that point, things drastically changed. There must have been a torrential downpour upstream, but by the time we once again had to cross the river, things looked starkly different as the water was brown, significantly higher, and considerably faster.

Though the danger level increased a bit, as you can see from the smiles, we didn’t take the situation too seriously and laughed and enjoyed ourselves throughout the return.  

There’s probably a metaphor for leadership, education, or life in here somewhere but that’s not the point.  It was just a really fun day with a talented, hard-working, fun-loving group of people. 

I am grateful to work at EAB and live in Brasilia, where adventures like these happen with surprising regularity. It is a great place to be and a wonderful time to be here.

Welcome, Beth. I look forward to sharing many more days like this with you.