I'm here! 29 hours door to door. The house staff was happy to see me. The ladies all showered me with hugs and immediately wanted to know if I had learned some more Portuguese since I was here last. I replied (in Portuguese) that I was studying and that I still didn't speak very well, but if they spoke slowly I might understand them. They cheered and applauded that I managed all that.
It was a tiring trip, but I met some interesting people along the way-a fundamentalist Baptist missionary and his teenage daughters who were originally from Chico but have lived down the Amazon from Manaus for 12 years translating the Bible into their native dialects. After a recent show I saw on PBS it seemed to me they need healthcare. He was describing the different tribes and I intended to ask about healthcare, but our line split and he went a different way. he gave me his email, so I may still ask.
On the long flight to Sao Paulo, I sat next to a Brazilian psychiatrist who was returning from a conference in DC. He initially mistook me for Brazilian until I started talking. He even said I looked Brazilian, which I took as a compliment. He taught me new words, pronunciations, expounded on the paradoxical Brazilian mind and drew intricate diagrams of his favorite places I should visit. We also had an animated discussion on US and Brazilian politics and trade policies, immigration and world affairs. He was much more knowledgeable on all topics so I mostly listened.
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