Farewell

I suppose it's only right that I make my last post on my last night here in Brasil, ending things where they started in the great (and still ugly) city of Sao Paulo.

The past few weeks, though filled with the same fun and debauchery (those stories will have to told at some other juncture) have also been marked by a strange feeling that did not present itself with such force in the previous months. It is a feeling that fights against itself; the simultaneous joy of returning home, back to friends, family, and the sadness of leaving a place that has changed all of us in profound and irreversible ways. It is the feeling of truly looking forward to getting home to all that is familiar, and yet realizing that home won't exactly be the same because we're not the same. This explanation is no doubt dramatic (and perhaps overly so), though it is hard for me to escape the importance of it all, at least for me. The friends and experiences of this journey have been ones that have shaped all of us, though this shaping has not necessarily been the same for all. For some, it has meant unleashing the beast within, and becoming, as I'd like to say, a true champion. For others, it has meant learning the meaning of endurance, and though we sometimes find failure in our attempts (and have to pay 70 reais for it), success always finds true winners who never give up (especially when they get great advice from late night tv shows in Brasil). And for others still, it meant learning the importance of sometimes going against your established principles and taking a leap of faith, unsure of where you will land. Though most will not fully comprehend these aforementioned lessons, the point is--and i think that I can speak on the behalf of my comrades--that Brasil will always hold a special place in our hearts for our respective lifetimes.

Finally, though I would not like to, I must concede that I, Tudo Bem, lost the bet--who would be robbed first in Brasil--and lost it several times over at that. To give a proper account of the damage done I will record of the following, thanks to MasterCard:

1 Pair of Havianas Sandels: 14 reais (about $7)
1 Ipod: $300
1 Old-ass raincoat: I don't even know.
1 Dell Laptop: $2000
1 Digital Camera: $200
1 Digital Voice Recorder: $100
Making it out of Brasil alive with a couple of my best friends: Priceless

If you want more details...that's tough cuz i've got shit to say about it.

And thus, more eloquently, I bid farewell to my compratriots, O Chefao and O Atrevido, who I thank for seeing me through some of my toughest times, and to all of you, who have been interested enough in our wellbeing to check out the blog from time to time (and probably accidently typed in www.bahiaboys.com and found some gay porn...hopefully you weren't in the library) and leave a ridiculous comment or two. Stay up and stay safe.

~TUDO BEM