Oi do Brasil

I made it safely to Brasil on sunday afternoon after 24 hours of flying.  I only missed one flight, not bad considering Chicago was having snowstorms.  Fabianna picked me up from the airport with her daughter and took me food shopping at Pelerini, an upscale, gourmet food store.  I tried panzhino, a Salvadoran specialty bread that has a creamed cheese filling.  It is very delicious.

I am living with (as in sharing a room with) a very nice elderly woman whose name I cannot spell and who I will now call my Brazilian grandmother.  She does not speak English and I have to try very hard to communicate, but its good fun.  My portuguese is getting better!

I started work on monday at 7am (Fabianna gets up early!). I work in the public hospital on the 7th floor (by stairs).  The hospital here is 100 years old and could use some renovations.  They do have an elevator which Fabianna warned me against using as there is always a line of 15 people for it (when 5 can reasonable fit) and it goes very slowly.

We just submitted the IRB to brazil today so it will be at least 4-6 weeks before I can start collecting data from the national hospital.  I started collecting records today from the stadual HIV center because it falls under Fabianna's IRB that was previously approved. 

Besides doing lots of work... I have also been going shopping with my grandmother and meeting all of her sisters and nieces.  So far I have met 3 sisters and at least 6 or 7 nieces.

I have been eating a lot of payaya, bananas and mangoes (yum!).  The fruit and climate both remind me a lot of home.  I seem to work best when its 85 degrees out (30) and humid!