Malas
Its not the ideal way to spend the last moments of a trip, but alas it is necessary. I have spent the majority of today repacking my "malas" or suitcases.  Tomorrow around one I will take an hour and a half plane rise from Campinas to Florianopolis on the well-known Brazilian airline Azul. I never really unpacked my things in the two weeks I was here.  I figure anything less than 2 weeks stays in the suitcase and anything more than two weeks comes out. Because of this experience I learned a lesson that I hope to remember the next time I travel; put dryer sheets in the suitcase.

Lesson Learned
Last night I went to my host sister's (Ju) friend's birthday party.  I met Ju's high school friends and the birthday girls family friends. I arrived at the party and Ju introduced me as her American friend. As usual there was somebody who assumed I didn't speak Portuguese and decided to give his English skills a workout. My initial reaction is always silent frustration and inward focused anger. I looked at the guy who was speaking English to me and I wanted to slap him.  But I remained silent and let him practice.  Upon encountering him later that night he again spoke to me in English and I decided to respond in Portuguese. He spoke then in Portuguese.  We ended up having an interesting conversation about business between US and Brazil. I felt bad for having angry emotions towards him. I learned from this experience the etiquette that I want to have in this situation from now on. Respond first in English in a charming way and then speak in Portuguese:)

Brazil 101:
-Decent nail polish is significantly less expensive in Brazil than in US.  Price ranges from 1-2 US dollars.