Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?

I live in northeastern Brazil, slightly below the Equator. I have lived here for most of my life, but I was actually born in the USA to a Swiss father and a Brazilian mother of native descent.

What language(s) do you speak?

I speak English, Portuguese, French, and a little Spanish.

When did you first become a mother?

When I first became pregnant I was 24 years old. It was not planned but turned out to be the best gift ever. My son is now going to turn 7, and I also have a four-month old daughter.

Are you a stay-at-home mom or do you work?

I am a stay-at-home working mom! 🙂 I am presently working on my doctoral thesis in environmental international policy, and I also do some technical translating on the side.

Why do you blog/write?

I LOVE to write! My plan is to someday become a fulltime writer (or at least part time mom/part time writer! J).

How would you say that you are different from other mothers?

I’m certainly not the typical mom. For one thing, I never wanted to be a mom, but in the end this seemed to have a positive twist. When I see other women that are somewhat disappointed with motherhood despite having dreamed of it their entire lives, I realize that what helped me fall in love with motherhood was not having that many expectations. Thus, being a mother is something I work on daily, sometimes with painstaking awareness of the process, yet never ignoring my intuition. I’m also interested in many things that are not considered very “mainstream”: raw foodism, Waldorf education, attachment parenting, extended nursing, reiki…

What do you view as the challenges of raising a child in today’s world?

I think there are several challenges to raising a child in today’s world. Stopping to live a quieter, simpler, and more peaceful life in the midst of so much rushing. Recognizing our connection with nature and being a living example of that connection to our children. Showing them that the world is good, beautiful, and true (as you would say within a Waldorf perspective), despite everything else.

How did you find World Moms Blog?

I found the World Moms Blog while reading another blog (“The Parenting Passageway” I think, but I don’t remember for sure).

Do you have any questions for EcoZiva? 

This is an original post to World Moms Blog by EcoZiva from Brazil. 

Photo credit to the author. 

Ecoziva (Brazil)

Eco, from the greek oikos means home; Ziva has many meanings and roots, including Hebrew (brilliance, light), Slovenian (goddess of life) and Sanskrit (blessing). In Brazil, where EcoZiva has lived for most of her life, giving birth is often termed “giving the light”; thus, she thought, a mother is “home to light” during the nine months of pregnancy, and so the penname EcoZiva came to be for World Moms Blog. Born in the USA in a multi-ethnic extended family, EcoZiva is married and the mother of two boys (aged 12 and three) and a five-year-old girl and a three yearboy. She is trained as a biologist and presently an university researcher/professor, but also a volunteer at the local environmental movement.

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