Brasil meu Brasil Brasileiro

"Dadinho e um caralho meu nome agora e Ze Pequeno POOOOOOORRRA!!!" (cidade de deus)

This is a little out of order but it is what it is when it is supposed to be. I am currently home but I wanted to share my thoughts on what it was like to go back to my country of origin after 14 years of being away.

The first thing was the Portuguese rushing back into my head as we started to enter the country from the south and travel from Chui up to Florianopolis. Since I have been living in the US I did not get a chance to practice my Portuguese because my family is entirely from Chile and so at home we spoke CHILENO and out of the house we spoke ... English. I was having this entire identity crisis because in some way I feel like I am Brasilian and could connect with Brasilians in their jokes and the way they play futbol :) but at the same time my entire family is Chilena and ive been in US for sooo long that im almost entirely a gringo now. wow! if you understood any of that more power to you.

Brasil like the US is such a big country that it should really be several countries. There are the different regions such as the south, the northeast, the north, that are all quite different from each other. The people are different and yet they are all still Brasileiros. But one thing that they all have in common is that they are all quite happy when carnaval comes around and all are dancing and coming together to dance and party days away.

But how can I generalize and begin to talk about a country when Nick and I only stayed there a few weeks. The only thing that I can say for sure is that I loved every moment that I was there. I would love to live in Brasil some day where things happen and people know how to enjoy themselves.

Now I am back home trying to piece my life back together. Not that it was entirely well put when I left but now being back to the place where I once lived seems like such a foreign place right now. It is a strange feeling but I hope to learn from this as well.

Un beso a todos, this will be my last entry as I move on with my life, digest everything we seen and did, and well look for a job cuz im BROKE!

-ric