Born again Brazilian

I am back from a 50 day visit to USA.

We did the stardard family thing. Orlando, Mall of America in Minnesota,
and family, cousins, and old neighbor visits. I also managed to visit a few clients along
the way.

It was good for me to get back to the states. It seems like when we spend too
much time in any local, we tend to develope fish bowl tendencies. We get so
caught up in our own little worlds that we cannot see the fish from the sharks.
In recent years, I have found myself becoming more cynical about Brazil.
It is easy to do. Inflation, hospitals, education, cost of living(Custo Brasil), government,
restrictions on foreign ownership of land, currency manipulation, among
many other things make it easy to criticize. Shame on me. I promise to do
better and try and find a positive at the end of any event or situation.

As I got back to Brasilia, I found myself wanting to kiss the ground.
I was delighted to back to Brazil.

I am a Born again Brasilian;. albeit falsificado, I do love it here.

This may sound silly, but I had forgotten what wind was like.

We are having a very strange weather in Northwest Minnesota this season.
It has been cool, rainy and windy. Small grain crops love it. Corn and soy
are suffering. They need heat.

In Brazil, at least in the Cerrado, we do not have wind. In NW MN, a 30 mph
wind in March or October is normal. But a NW wind in July, that is some strange
polar vortex voodoo happening.

I think I had forgotten why I had fell in love with Brazil in the first place.

Climate, girls, carinhoso(caring bunch of people), and a general sense of
belonging(you are welcome here).......

Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed visiting with family, cousins and neighbors.
The cold rainy weather was actually a gift for me to spend some quality time
with many. If it was 85 deg and sunny, no one would have had time for us.
With 45 degree July mornings, everyone had time !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brazil has many positives about her. I will try and focus more on those
items in the future.

My wife was very impressed with airports, malls, public restrooms
wherever we went. She was facinated at how the toilets flushed themselves.
She was impressed with the high technology.

Food, car rentals, clothes, and Wallmart souviners are rediculously
cheap in USA. It is hard not to lose control. 10 dollar Levi pants
at Sears compared to R$ 200 for same jeans at shopping mall
in Brazil. It makes it hard to square the circle.

I went to USA with the idea that I would bring back two I-phone 5´s
for myself and my son. It seems like every Brazilian teenager has an
I-phone 5 for R$ 2500 per. I looked at them for US$ 690 dollars with
tax and said I am not worth that much. I do not need it and a new
bill in the mail each month for data and nano chip account.
I can wait.

My son agreed. A new I-pad mini for him and a Mac Book Pro
Retina for Papai. We can be productive with this.

Thank you to all those who helped with our trip´s logisitics.
It is greatly appreciated.

My son just got his first taste of international travel at 11 years old.
From here, all things are now possible. We do not need to fear
those people over there. It is a small world.