Brazil email 1

So, starting with the Emails I've sent this trip, which I suppose should have been written on this blog...

Sent March 18, 2008

Hello all,
I realize that for some of you it has been a long time since we've corresponded. So you may be surprised to hear that I'm now officially in Brazil. Or you may be surprised to hear that it has taken me sooooo long.

Originally I planned on getting to Brazil to conduct my Fulbright research on sharks and sting rays in the middle of January. January became late February, which became early March, which became mid-March. Then I finally flew out to Houston on Sunday, only to get stuck in Houston overnight! Apparently the plane we were supposed to take had been hit by lightning (while on the ground?), so hundreds of people were without a place to stay. We were sent to the Sheraton (nothin' wrong with a free comfy bed once in a while), and while I was witty and quick to get a room, other stayed in line for hours and probably not everybody even got a room. Well, instead of traveling overnight, I left in the morning and arrived in Sāo Paulo at 11pm. Turns out, NONE of our luggage was on the plane! Here's where I'm really lucky because I have a home to stay at (host parents from my last trip to Brazil), where the luggage will be delivered. But some people didn't have a hotel address, didn't speak Portuguese, didn't pack any toiletries or changes of clothing.

I got to my Paulistano parents' house last night at about 12:30 am. I feel incredibly lucky to be here, with a nice bed, a shower, and wireless internet. Boy do connections ever pay off. But I'll only be here for a couple days. I'm waiting for the professor with whom I will be conducting research to contact me here. Then I'll be traveling by bus to meet with him and discuss our plans. Then I'll fly to Porto Seguro, Bahia and take a bus to Caravelas, where I will be living. But that feels like forever from now.

So, for now, I'm taking it easy until my baggage arrives. Sāo Paulo is a huge city and I don't have much to do here. So I'll just go back to sleep.