One of those, "UGH!" days

Yesterday was one of "those" days. We haven't been back from furlough but a couple of weeks but yesterday was my first day to get into REAL traffic. I was on my way to Mackenzie. Normally, it may take me an hour max by car, 2 hours by subway. Yesterday it took me almost 2 hours by car. I was getting frustrated. Cars zooming in and out. Taxis owning the road. Motorcyclists thinking their invincible. I got so tired of hearing Memphians tell me how bad traffic is on Germantown Parkway. Please. Come to Sao Paulo and let me show you traffic.

I get on campus and the first thing one of the students says to me is, "Chris! Voce engordou!"or, "Chris! You got fat!" Brasilians are nortorius for being truthful. That's kinda ironic because as Americans, we'd never say that. But you know you'd want to hear the truth. I knew I had gained 10 pounds. Anyway, he wasn't being mean. It was just a fact, and that's the way Brasilians can be.

Then, I met with Felipe, Joao and Erika. We're there for lunch. It's the first time I've met Erika. She looks at me and says in Portuguese, "Wow, 12 years in Brasil and you STILL have an accent. Wow." Ever wanna just slap someone? I didn't but I sure felt like it. Great meeting though, in spite of being fat with an accent.

Then, it was back in traffic. It took me 90" to get home. I wasn't mentally ready to take the plunge yesterday. Didn't give a second thought. I've driven in this city for over 4 years. I thought it'd be like riding a bicycle. It's more like running everyday for months, taking a break and then trying to pick up where you left off. Takes time to get back into it.

Speaking of running, that's where I'm going now. I'm fat but I won't speak to anyone along the way!