The First Post

I'm not sure five days in a new country gives me much to share beyond the excitement of immersion and the initial shock of discovery. Yes, I can get by in Portuguese. No, it's not graceful. Yes, my class is interesting. No, I haven't partied myself stupid. Yes, Christ has busied his immense stone body with redeeming me through distant, cloud-filtered light. No, I have not gone to him. Yes, there are many beggars. No, I don't shoo them away. Yes, I have made friends (with people other than the beggars). No, I have not been robbed. Yes, coconut water is refreshing. No, I haven't seen many stinging insects. Yes, I like the food, always based on beans and rice and meat, with vegetables often given only enough thought to result in some lettuce and tomatoes as a bed for the meat. No, I'm probably not getting enough fiber. Yes, I have been here long enough to be regular. No, I haven't yet had a good conversation about prunes in Portuguese. Yes, I am continually amazed that I am here. No, I have no idea what "here" means yet.

Even if I don't fully grasp what it means to be "here," I'm much more familiar with what it means to not be "there," in the U.S. There's an unseen vest of cultural knowledge that I left at home--I knew how things worked, from toilets (don't flush toilet paper here) to grocery store lines ("that one's just for old people") to coffee drinking (only a small portion, maybe a shot or two, at a time) to eating pot roast ("I pour the olive oil on the meat?"). These are mere trifles--nothing that can't be learned quickly. But, they must be learned, through observation, repeated practice, and, in the case of the toilet, a heavy workout with the plunger. However small the subject, the lack of knowledge coerces a spirit of openness from me. Learning is now my job. And you all know there is little I like better than learning.

Always learning, I get to play, to tinker, to find what works. And, unlike a child, I know that I am doing it and know that it is special. I am studying to be a lawyer, but for now at least, I get to be an engineer.