19 Days

Last night, Chris Brown began the journey back the the US, although he will be stopping to spend 6 days in Florianópolis on his way back. That leaves just Ben and I in Fortaleza, with Ben departing May 4, and I following on May 13. With so little time left, I thought I'd list a few of the things that I will miss about Fortaleza when I depart in less than three weeks...

1. Running by the Ocean... Almost every night, I have the privilege of going for a run along Avenida Beira Mar, with a view of the ocean and the sound of the waves crashing into the shore in the background. I love running on the hills of Charlottesville, but will miss running along Beira Mar with the ocean breeze and wonderful view when I leave Fortaleza.

2. The hammock... Many of you know that I have a hammock in my house which allows me to lay down in the evenings while reading or working or just relaxing, and look out the window at the ocean, listening to the tide coming in during the evening. I've never lived near the beach before, and the view from my hammock is something I will certainly miss...

3. Children in the community... For two of my projects, I have had the chance to head out to some communities near to our laboratory and spend some time working with the children in these communities, testing physical fitness and vision. Those have been some of my best days at work...

4. Friends... This year there have been so many Brazilian friends who have made the transition to living in another culture so much easier. From Neto who helped us settle in from the start to our other friends like Andressa, Ila, Jamilly, João, and so many others... they all have helped make this an incredible year.

5. Travel... I have had the chance to travel quite a bit this year, seeing some of the most incredible sights I have ever seen... from the grandiose Iguaçu Falls to the majestic Parque Nacional Lençóis Maranhenses to the sheer magnitude of the Amazon River, I have been blessed with great opportunities to see Brazil.

I'll probably post some more thoughts on things that I will miss about Brazil in the next two weeks... but even as I think of things that I will miss about Brazil, there are so many reasons that I am excited to be headed back to the U.S. And indeed, in just 19 days, I will arrive back in the US!