Arrival in Brazil

My welcome party at Rodrigo’s House I’ve finally made it back to Brazil after nearly two years. I’ve only been here for a few days, but the return to this culture was wasn’t without a few surprises. Rodrigo picked me up at the airport on Sunday with Carol (Kah-Role); they have been together since my last trip here and say they met because of me, which always makes me smile. One thing is certain, my friendship with Rodrigo has definitely changed the path of both of our lives, and I don’t think either of us have seen the end of that change yet. It’s good to see him and his family again. A couple quick notes. When picking up my chip for my cell phone at the local mall, they gave me a “promotion” where if I buy one chip, I get two more for free. Each chip has a separate phone number. It doesn’t make much sense to me, but apparently people spread these to friends and the company grows its subscriber base. Because of its expense, many people only have phones because they get accounts like this, and will only ever receive calls (which is free, as opposed to making a call). Today (New Years Eve) when running, a bus passed me with loud music and everyone yelling and dancing. People waved, shouted and gave me a thumbs up. The fervor for life here is as unmatched as the pace of life in New York is unique. Yesterday I met up with Emanuela, who I first met through Filipe during my last trip to NYC. She’s brazilian, and at home visiting family for the holidays. In the restaurant where we first had a drink, there was a sign that said “It’s Prohibited to Sing, Dance, Beat on the Table, or Make Noise With Other Instruments.” Apparently, Brazilians can break out into song and dance at any moment, and there needs to be signage to prevent an unruly environment. (No doubt after watching a soccer game, etc.) It was awesome to see Emanuela here, to speak with her in Portuguese, and meet her family Rodrigo, Diego and Carol. Rodrigo and Carol (my friends, same names, separate people) eventually came out too, and everyone got along famously.