Brazil in a nutshell
I’m writing this first entry from Ribeirao Preto, a city I’m almost positive no one outside of Brazil has ever heard of. It’s the tiniest little university town, about 200 miles away from Sao Paulo. I’ve spent the past two weeks here, working with a professor at the university here. It’s actually been a pretty good experience. Not only did I get the kick start I needed for research, I also got my first South American experience. I’m currently sitting at the Ribeirao Preto airport, waiting for my flight to Rio de Janeiro to arrive. It was supposed to leave at 8:15 am, then 8:40, then 9:00 then 9:30, then 10:30 and then…you get the point. It’s 11:45 am and I’m still here. So, I figured I’ll pen down some thoughts. My first thought when I arrived in Brazil was that it’s a lot like India. It’s difficult to explain in words but the behavior and demeanor of people is a lot less formal than in the US. It’s a lot more…”raw” (that’s the best adjective I can think of to describe it). Her