Traveling to Brazil

It takes quite sometime to get to Brazil from San Francisco and it's hard to get anywhere in the country without flying through Sao Paulo. I flew from SFO to Miami to Sao Paulo to Salvador- almost a 24 hour journey. I don't recommend flying through Miami during hurricane season if there are other options. I do like being at the Miami Aiport though, because it feels like you're already in another country. I had a long layover in Miami and was one of the first people at the gate. As I was waiting, more and more Brazilians came and it got louder and louder. Brazilians are a talkative and expressive bunch. It was also funny to see, after the orderly way people board planes at SFO, how people showed no regard for American Airlines' attempt at organized boarding. As soon as they called group one, everyone was in line regardless of their group number.

It was an uncomfortable flight... I was in the middle of the row of five and had some guy sleeping on my shoulder the whole time. It had also set in that it was first time I was traveling to a foriegn country completely by myself and I had absolutely no idea who I would be living with and working with and what I was getting myself into. I'm glad I was so busy getting my visa and packing in the time leading up to it that I didn't have time to worry. I didn't second guess myself until I was actually on the plane and by that time, it was irreversible. I think it's a good idea to go into certain experiences with a clean slate and no expectations. When we landed in Sao Paulo the real excitement and nervousness began.