It’s been a while since I last posted anything new. That’s because I took some time off from work and headed down to my old stomping grounds… Brazil! It had been 5 years since I visited my friends and relatives and since I couldn’t make it to GUADEC and take my family on vacation at the same time, we hoped on a straight flight to Rio de Janeiro from Charlotte's international airport.
While waiting for my connection flight, I had the great pleasure of finally meeting in person my good friend KurtKraut, someone who I met online during my ‘buntu days and have kept in touch for the last 5 years. It was great to hang out with him and not have to chat via Skype or IRC! I definitely hope to one day host him here in North Carolina one of these days. :)
We spent some amazing 8 days (excluding days spent at airports and travelling by car to/from our final destination) enjoying some relatively mild days by the beach, even though it was Winter down there! Every day we’d be invited to eat lunch or dinner at someone’s place and at any given moment my dad’s house where we were staying, would be swarmed by an army of cousins, uncles, aunts and friends who wanted to say hi and meet my kids!
When we weren’t busy chatting, we were busy eating and drinking! I went overboard this time and eat a lot of everything that got in front of me! One funny thing about going back to the place where you grew up after so long is that you miss silly, little stupid things… such as the bubble gum you used to buy when you’re little… the candy, ice cream, bread, even soda that everyone who’s still living there takes for granted. I must have gained quite a few pounds with all the food, beer and caipirinhas consumed in this trip, but what the heck! I don’t get to visit Brazil very often, so it is worth it. :)
Now, next year will be the 20th anniversary that my parents came to the USA with 3 teenagers who couldn’t speak a single sentence in English, so my family is planning a big family reunion. Hopefully I will be able to sneak out a bit and get to meet some other friends from the South of Brazil… through the years I’ve received many invitations for dinners and BBQ Brazilian style! And who am I to disappoint my friends? :)