A little background...

      Today starts the count down for my new life. In a month I'll be going back, moving back in fact, to my hometown in Brazil, to my parents house, to make matters worse! No, that's an exaggeration, since I'm going on my own will and I actually am looking forward to this.

       But before I go on about my last days on Uncle Sam soil (that kind of sound eerie), I should say, the last days anticipating my moving, let me tell you a little bit about my life here, and my decision to go back.

       In 2001, I was 19 years old, at the prime of my party years, living in my hometown in Brazil, called Vila Velha in the state of Espirito Santo (a little state right above Rio, for those that don't have a clue, and you can always Google map it, or not). Anyways, I had this mediocre job as administrative assistant/secretary/do-it-all, in this small office. The hours weren't so bad, I only worked 6 hours a day, weekends off, but the salary however, was not enough to supply my education needs, or clothing needs, or party needs. I could help with the phone bill at home, and buy some lunch, but that's about it. My dad (step dad) still had to lend me money to go out with my friends, which to this day, I still have not paid him a penny back... So, then that was pretty much my life, work during the week, go out the weekends, that's all there was to it. I really wanted to go to College, but never put myself to study hard so I could get on the Federal University system (which in Brazil the Federal Government Universities are the best there is, and it's free, but really hard to get in, I mean, REALLY hard), and also, I couldn't afford to pay for a private College. With that said, I was a loser. Don't get me wrong, I was having more fun that most kids my age, but I had little to none life perspective. I could probably try to get a better job, once I had more experience, but it would still be a bad salary for someone that had just finished high school. Until one day, when I was talking to my cousin on the phone. She had been living in the US for almost 3 years, and she suggested I could go and live with her for a while. I could go to school there, she said, and I could work to pay for it. Enough said. She had me at "Hello"! So then I went, or better, came to live in the "promised land", to live my "Brazilian dream", and here I am, still, 9 years later.

       But why is this interesting? You, whoever you are reading this, might be asking. It's not. My life it's not interesting whatsoever, and I will tell you why, if you're interested. I just wanted to blog about it, since right at this moment in my life, I feel like I'm starting all over again, except I'm not nineteen anymore, and I don't have the same energy, or the same dreams. I guess I just want to share this experience, or maybe just my thoughts, to whoever is out there and can relate, or perhaps are scared of taking a chance in their life.

       So, I'll fill you in as days go buy, on this adventurous journey I'm about to go to, my old new life, and what it has in store for me...

       L