Made it!

Well I made it. Yay me! So here is what I've done since I last posted:

Friday: My first day in Brazil... um, I mean Washington DC.

I knew the chances of my 4 connecting flights going smoothly were quite small, and I was right. Due to weather/mechanical problems my flight out of NYC was cancelled and all the other flights delayed. As a result, I got to DC 5 minutes after my connection to São Paulo left. The only flight of the day. So…. I got to spend 24 hrs in DC.

United was nice enough to put me up in the Landsdowne Resort; pretty posh place! I got to know a great lady from Denver who stuck in DC too (thanks for the company Jennifer!). And my cousin picked me up at noon and we spend a great afternoon at the zoo and had a couple beers (thanks Brian!). It was a fun little vacation! Caught my connection to Brazil Friday night, and lucky me, due to some problem with my initial seat assignment I got bumped to business class. It made the flight so much more comfortable, I’m going to miss that on the way home.

Saturday: Really my first day in Brazil.

I arrived early in São Paulo, but unfortunately my checked bag didn’t. It decided to take a later flight from Washington, but I should be getting it today. Then after a few more delays I caught my flight to Ribeirão Preto. My new roommates Vanessa and Juliana, and my new lab-mate Marcela all came to the airport to pick me up. They are all very nice and are very patient with my non-existent Portuguese, but I am trying to force myself to try to speak a little. They all speak English very well, so it is easy to slip into the habit of just speaking English.

Sunday: Seeing important things around Ribeirão

A fun day filled with at walk around the University of São Paulo (USP), a concert and a Chopp (draft beer) at a famous bar here in Ribeirão called Penguim. Chopp is very good; it is very light and very cold, as well as very tasty and refreshing!

Today: My First day at USP

I was a little nervous about my first day, but everyone is being so nice, so I have relaxed quite a bit. I try to ask how to say things in Portuguese whenever I can and am attempting to write things down so I can practice at home. Rose and Zeki, my hosts, welcomed me and have been showing me around. I'm planning on starting experiments very soon. I guess that is all for now. It feels like I've done a lot in just a few days, but I'm looking forward to all that is yet to come.

I'd love to hear from any of you either here or via email!

Tchau! (good bye)