Getting Ready to Go Back

I'm packing our suitcases to go back home tomorrow night. I wish I could have blogged more while here in Brazil, but I spent a lot of time traveling around and during two weeks -- the first and the last -- of the four I stayed here, I didn't have internet access where I was staying.

I want to post more photos, particularly of Curitiba, the first place I visited and where many members of my extended family live, and of Caldas Novas, where we spent last week. And I want to tell you of a big scare we had two weeks ago, but I'll have to wait until I'm back home.

Things I wanted to write about and that I probably won't get around to doing:

- I had forgotten how lovely Winter is here in Brazil. The sun is low in the sky, but it is still warm when it's sunny (cloudy and rainy days are quite chilly, sometimes really cold). The sun's slanted light and its soft, muted warmth bring me back to my childhood spent here:

This is a view of the boarding academy where I lived from 8-13 years old. I've wanted to write about this place for a long time now and I hope I can do it soon.

- I'm sorry I didn't get to see most of my friends because I traveled around so much and only went to the city of São Paulo (where I lived for 12 years before moving to the U.S.) for a day.

- I wanted to write about the academic conferences and some of the differences between conferences I have attended in the U.S. and those here.

- I spent some time today scanning old photos and documents of my grandparents and their families. I'll definitely share those with you sometime.

- I felt differently about Brazil during this trip. I didn't have any conflicting feelings of whether we should come back or not. Basically I can go back and forth effortlessly now. I don't feel like coming back, though.

- I wish I could have read more blogs during the past month, but my unreliable internet access coupled with how busy I was during the academic conferences prevented me from reading and commenting on many blogs I used to read regularly. I don't even know if many people are still reading because I kind of disappeared from their blogs... Blogging is hard sometimes. At the same time that it makes us feel connected to people it brings this feeling of utter emptiness and wonder whether people read or what. I enjoyed having "new" commenters to my photos of Rio, particularly Dawn, who's always an inspiration to me.

Well, I have to go now and help my mom finish packing (right now she's helping me downstairs).

Just a quick list of things about Brazil that I could write about: Brazilian television, particularly the most prominent network, Globo; electric showerheads; Brazilian beaches (versus American ones); Brazilian food and small sizes of packages of chips; Brazilian flora -- trees, grasses, flowers, etc...

I hope to "see" you soon, probably from home, a home that won't be ours anymore in only 20 days.