Back in the US of A

Well, I'm back safe and sound in the U.S. It's still kinda weird. I expect people to address me in Portuguese and I'm still tempted to reply in Portuguese as well. I suppose it will take a bit to adjust. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't happy to be home. (God, how I missed my bed, my shower, air-conditioning, driving my car, my family/friends, etc.) Living in a gigantic city has certainly taught me a lot. I feel confident that when/if I ever live in one in the U.S., I'm prepared. It's amazing the sense of peace I have being back in a small town. I didn't realize how stressed out the city makes you. You have to worry about: catching the right bus/subway, finding your destination without getting horridly lost, checking the clock every few minutes to not be late, and watching all the people around you in case they want to rob you, hassle you for money or just slam a shoulder into you because you're in the way. Not to mention the noise and the smell. Thousands of cars, bums, strong designer perfumes, food vendors and trash cans makes for quite an interesting mixture of aromas. At the same time, it was a really exhilarating experience. There are endless things to do at all hours of the day and night and the people and places can be quite glamorous.

Brazil as a country, aside from the city aspect, was wonderful. It's a beautiful place (as you've seen from the endless pictures we snapped) and I must say the people are extremely nice. Being a lost little foreigner with a Spanish (not American) accent did not seem to impede people from talking with me. Though they apologetically said, "What?" at least 5 times during every conversation, communication was successful. People have certain ideas about Latin America, if not Brazil, in general. Some of them are true but most of them are not. The public services sector in Brazil (waiters, store clerks, bus drivers, etc.) are SO incredibly friendly and helpful it was amazing to me. They were always willing (in fact, wanting) to chat and almost always went out of their way to do whatever I needed. Brazil really put America to shame in that way. More than anything, being in Brazil made me motivated to know more. Seeing all the things that needed improvement or help and were so close to being wonderful made me very sad at times, though. I could tell lots of sob stories about poverty and violence but that's not what I want people to think of when they imagine Brazil because, in all fairness, those things exist here as well.

I guess I'm just really pensive right now. The flight back was stressful (we missed our connecting flight to Pittsburgh and had to take a later one) and ridiculously delayed so, I had a lot of time to think. I miss Brazil and I regret not doing more, seeing more, talking more but I suppose people always feel that way when they return from a trip. I has changed me, I think, for the better. Traveling and seeing more of the world (REALLY seeing, not just getting a stamp in your passport) is a very valuable experience and I look forward to doing it again. (Felipe and I have been eyeing up Peru.) I'm ready to move on with my life. I look forward to teaching and taking classes this year, graduating and starting my PhD wherever destiny takes me. This will be my last blog entry. I don't believe my life to be so interesting anymore to warrant publishing it online. I will continue writing, in the more traditional, hard-copy sense, about this trip but my voyeuristic period has ended. I leave with a song (Bob Dylan) that sums it up well....
The Times They Are A-Changin'