Last day of Work in Brazil

Well... it has finally come to a close. I arrived Jan 9th and have spent the majority of the past 6 months in Brazil, experiencing as much as I could. I have no regrets and I'm looking forward to getting back home. I miss my family and friends and I am excited about pursuing new ideas when I return.

Nicole came to Rio and visited me for all of last week. It was amazing and fun. I really enjoyed having her to spend time with and talk with. We did the usual tourist site-seeing and eating out, but we also got to go Hang-gliding which was spectacular. I'm glad she came came towards the end of my rotation here - my Portuguese has come a long way and I was much more familiar with Rio. It was hard when she left, but the feeling of loneliness was rechanneled toward preparations for the near future.

My time here has spanned the gambit - from emotional highs to literally life threatening. I've learned a lot and seen much. Its impossible to not come away changed.

I'll be moving back to Houston TX for at least the next 6 months. It is the start of my third and final rotation in the Engineering Development Program (EDP) and I'll be working in a manufacturing facility on 'Global Standards'.

Rapid Posting.

Ok, I have 30 minutes before I leave the Exterran office in Natal in the Northeast of Brazil to return to Rio to meet up with friends for the night. First off, the Northeast is the Brazil I was looking for. It’s so beautiful, rural, and above all, the people are amazing. I’ve spent the last 2 weeks up here and traveled over 4100km (2500+ mi) up and down the coast. Those miles are hard earned when our average speed was around 35-40 mph on the traffic filled, rough one lane roads. I got the chance to go scuba diving, eat at the home of my Brazilian counterpart, and generally enjoy what the day-to-day of being Brasilio. I aslo saw the world's largest cashew tree, fed a monkey, stepped on a sea urchin, and went net fishing by moonlight. Amazing.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the company I work for. We went through a round of layoffs that I luckily dodged, but I lost a lot of friends in the process. I’m pleased to have the opportunities that I do, but the waiting and lack of control of the whole situation is unnerving. I’m working on other forms of income so I don’t have to go through this again.

Moving forward, my plans for the next couple of weeks include: Hangliding, getting a tattoo, my girlfriend come visit for a week, and then returning to the good ole’ USofA June 26. Tchau!!!