I don’t owe you an explanation

I tend to explain everything, even things that I shouldn’t need to or want to. So, here it is “Why is Ian back in MN after only four and half months?”

Before I get in to the whole WHY, I’m going to update you on what I did while I was there. I spent my days looking for work. I would get up around 9am BRT and start on freelance sites and then move to craigslist and then I would hit up my network and see if anything had changed. A month went by and nothing looked even remotely life it was going to pan out. My pot of saving was starting to run out despite how judicious I was being in my spending. US dollars go a long way there but still not long enough.

Getting work in Brazil was a big fat no for two reasons. 1) The pay there was so low I would have had to work three jobs just to pay my rent. 2) Brazil just started in the biggest recession they have ever had. So after these things I learned real fast that my options were limited to US only.

By night I did attend as many free events as I could, this was a very large amount. There are always music and dancing and outdoor things to do without having to pay a dime. Others I did pay for as I felt the experience would be worth the small cost.

I got to spend some time at amazing and beautiful beaches! Feeling the sun on my face and hearing the waves rush to the shore was a brief relief from my inner stress of worrying about income.

I woke every morning feeling thankful for the opportunity to see where I came from, learn my heritage and hangout with the amazing people, that I now call friends!

I tried all foods that were offered to me and took every opportunity to eat something that I saw.

I watched people dance, I danced myself and I felt the music of the country.

I was unable to stay because I was not able to find more work and didn’t have the money to pay my bills. The decision to return to the US was not taken lightly, I fought with it for days and realized that I had gotten to spend the time I had there and now I had to return. When I set out on this adventure I didn’t have an end date because I didn’t know anything about what it was going to take to survive there. Could have I done things differently and stayed longer? Absolutely, but I didn’t but I am still grateful

My goal for going there was to do all these things and a little more. I feel like I got a lot accomplished and will accomplish more as I plan to continue to visit as much as possible. I don’t think I would live there as a permanent location but I would love to own a home there and visit several times a year.

Brazil will always be where I am from and a second home, always!

Obrigado, Brasil!