Friday, February 10, 2012

State of ME

I’m back. Yes, it is great to be back. My sister has an amazing house in an amazing neighborhood and we haven’t run out of things to do yet. The kids are thriving and this gives me peace. Actually we have even been finding it hard to catch up on the time difference. Look here it is 6:30am and I am awake… still 10 days later. We have also had a tough time adjusting to the dryness however it’s a blessing for my skin. The weather in Arizona is warm and cool at night. It is a brisk cool because of how dry it is here. I am just happy that I didn’t just get off the plane in the Colorado winter…that would have been too much.

America was just as I had left her however it is sure that I have changed. Amazingly the first time in 1 year and 2 ½ months, I could hear all of the conversations around me and you know what? I actually didn’t miss that at all. When I began to speak at first I would start to translate, then think no one will understand me anyway but only to realize that I could talk and whatever I was about to say, they understood me. And now… you wouldn’t believe it…I have nothing to say. At first it felt like a struggle even to pick up the phone.

But then my friend K-10 from Alaska drove in to see me last week. She was visiting her mom in Palm Springs and drove to Phoenix. We had a blast, I talked so much the first day that my throat was sore from the dryness. It was so good to catch up and to share on a deep level my experiences in Brasil and still she wanted to know more.

What is it like being home? When I stepped off the plane in the U.S. it was in the morning. This is the time when the business men are traveling. Everyone was equipped with an I pad or laptop, dressed in suits and they all seemed big, tall & important. The smell of cologne and breakfast food was the America that I remember. I am sitting in the land of the best. Where everyone is in a race for the best of everything. It really makes me realize how far Brazil can go and how much money there is to be made in that country. Imagine if America is always maxing it out. When there is a coffee shop on one corner… just give it time and a better one is soon to be on the next. If you have an idea it is done and having ideas are as nerve racking as running the business because time is always of the essence. No matter the state of the economy, America is still the land of opportunity and where “Luck” has only a small factor in your personal destination. Living in Brasil, I was sure that it was all based on luck.

As I said there is not tons of space economically like Brasil, but I can see that the innovation is still alive. Now Brasil, assuming you can get the people to change and be open to new things…the sky is the limit. Everyone who gets into the Brazilian market at the bottom could be on top of the “Pyramid” and only if they begin to let themselves. I don’t mean to compare as if I am not grateful for the mind blowing personal experience and adventure that I have been given, but I do feel at home for the first time in Months. I am more patient, more accepting and have an unusual feeling of personal responsibility. What does that mean? I have no clue, I have always had personal responsibility but in the past I felt it more on the outside and now I feel it inside.

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