After fourteen hours of air travel, including a layover spent entirely in Charlotte's security checkpoint, I finally arrived in Philadelphia Sunday morning. There really is no place like home, even if you have to travel through customs, immigration, and security to get there.
I truly enjoyed my six months in Brazil. It wasn't always easy to adapt to the culture or to take care of things at home while abroad, but with every challenge, I grew wiser, more resourceful, and usually more flexible. Six months was just the right amount of time to complete a fair bit of my dissertation research, delve into the Portuguese language, and begin to understand Brazilian culture.
Now it is time for me to finish my dissertation in Pittsburgh. I will miss all the friends I made during my stay in Rio, but I know that many of us will stay in touch. I will also miss walking to the beach, taste-testing all the different tropical fruits, and of course, I will miss the tropical sun. (Pittsburgh could use some of that sun!) I will not miss Rio's public transit, or lack thereof, nor the 4am street-sweepers or 10pm trash-collectors. It all balances out in the end.
This blog is now finished. You can page through old entries by clicking the "Older Posts" link at the bottom of the screen. You can also view my photos from Brazil (and other trips I've taken) on my Picasa homepage. Feel free to leave comments on both sites.
Thank you all for joining me along this journey.
Até a próxima vez. Until next time.
Briana
