Where is Nico Now?

The Friday before Christmas, coach Ron asked me how long I was going to be in town for this time... As if I didn't live there! As if I wasn't there almost everyday (albeit not at the same times as him)! I looked at him frustrated. No one ever knows where I am, in fact, despite living in America for over a year, people still tell me they thought I was just in Brazil at least twice a week...

Ron was right though, I was leaving again. On Sunday I would be headed down to the Florida Keys to spend Christmas with my mom.

Five years ago, around the same time I decided to move to Brazil, my mother got rid of her house and moved into a RV with her boyfriend. She works in IT, so three days a week she is up at the crack of dawn working, but the rest of the week she is free to spend her time and her money wantonly. Her boyfriend works odd jobs at random campsites in whatever random part of the United States they may find themselves visiting.

My mother never questioned my decision to move to Brazil. She's always supportive when I'm trying to do rash things like spend my last dollars on a tattoo that I don't necessarily need in a 3rd world country when I know damn well that I am week and a half into a fight camp.

"You have enough food right?"
"Yeah, I'm cutting weight I can't eat a lot."
"Well get the tattoo, wrap it up and go train then. Should be fine"

Does she give the best. Hell no! Clearly she gives some crazy advice sometimes... You should never get a tattoo in the middle of a fight camp, but she understands. There is maybe two in a million people that understand and don't question me about when I'm going to get a real job or find a real place to live. Instead for Christmas, she got me a bunch of black and white composition books (because thats what I always write in), a binder to keep my business stuff, and a ticket down to visit her because the way the both of us come and go through state to state and from country to country it's hard to find time to be still and enjoy family.

This time next week I will be working at the 2018 Europeans! 

We have one athlete from Terere Kid's Project that will be joining me. 

We have one athlete from Terere Kid's Project who was unable to secure a flight in time so for the second year they will miss the tournament and we will lose the registration money. 

I have one athlete from Gordo Jiu Jitsu who I am expecting to end up without a place to stay and may need to sleep on my floor! 

Fiesta Keys RV Resort