In case you were wondering, I will be in Brazil for a total of 18 weeks. However, this was the last week my family was here with me, as they had to return to the US to start school next week. The last couple of weeks were spent trying to get everything done that we still wanted to do before they left. We had to see our last sunset, eat our favorite foods one last time, and much more. Some highlights include:
Learning to Boogie Board. I enjoyed boogie boarding growing up in California, so when we found an inexpensive board in Praia do Forte a couple weeks ago, we had to get one. The boys and I spent some time over their last few days at the beach learning how to ride it and catching waves. I have forgotten a lot, and I was never an expert, but I knew enough to get them going. I was not very good at catching them (it has been way too long), but Hyrum is a natural. He catches the waves after they break, as he likes to stay shallow, but he had a blast doing it. Unfortunately, Christian caught the front of the board in the sand riding in, and the board broke in two on their last day here. We couldn't fit the board in our bags anyway, so it was a funny end to a fun activity.
Going to a Vitoria Soccer Game. There are two soccer teams in Salvador, and the rivalry between the two is intense. We live closer to the stadium for the team Bahia, but we could never get tickets, so we decided to at least take the kids to the other team across town, Vitoria. I mentioned it to my host, and he reached out to a friend of his who is a huge fan of the team. Before we knew it, they had arranged for a man named Marzinho to take us, sit with us, and bring us home. I was a little nervous, as he was only a friend of a friend, but in the end, we went for it. He was an awesome host. He picked us up, got us to the game, helped us navigate the parking and the stadium, introduced us to all of his friends that he cheers with, helped us get food, explained what was happening, everything. He is also loud and passionate as he cheered his team, which made it even more fun. Despite intermittent rain, we had a great time, and Vitoria won 2-0!
Lunch with Emilio and Fernanda. My hosts at UFBA have been a wonderful help not only to me but also to my family. We had planned to get together a couple times before with my whole family, but it never worked out. Finally, we decided to go out to lunch together. They recommended a great restaurant called Donana, which makes classic Baihano dishes. We got a moqueca, perhaps the best one I have eaten here, and tapioca-covered shrimp skewers. Everybody, even the kids, loved those skewers. Too bad we waited until the end to discover them!
Unfortunately, it did all have to come to an end. I took my family to the airport Wednesday morning. Early on during their stay, we found a taxi driver named Edson with a car that fits five passengers (most only fit four), so I had gotten his number, and we called him any time we wanted to go somewhere as a family. He drove us to church and back every Sunday, and he drove us to Praia do Forte and back when we took our big trip a while back. We have become good friends over the last few months. We decided it was only fitting to have him take us to the airport. Edson and I decided his car couldn't fit all of us and our luggage, so he got a friend to drive a second car. He even offered to wait for me and drive me back home afterward. It was so nice of him. We got to the airport and got them off--their bags full of souvenirs and their favorite Brazilian foods and their minds and hearts full of the memories and friendships they have made here. I was sad to see them go, but I think they were excited to get home to their own beds and normal routines.
Now, my Fulbright Scholarship is entering its final stage. We still have not completely sequenced the fire sponge genome (my latest run estimates that we have successfully assembled about 5-10% of it), so we are going to try to put all of the lessons we have learned this summer into practice and push to get the other 90%. I will also give one or two talks at UFBA before I go. Regardless of how the research ends up, it has been a wonderful experience for me and my family, and I hope to be able to build on this time to establish long-term research and personal relationships.
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