In the months leading up to this weekend, our first weekend in Brazil before we get to work, Whitney and I have spent countless hours in preparation. Despite this, we are still very much guests in Brazil. Reaching Level 53 in Duolingo did not make me ready for conversational Portuguese without Google Translate, but it did get me to a point that says “I’m trying, thank you for talking to me at all.” Even though we spent two weeks working full time on medical prototypes from Rice, preparing our technologies for presentation to hospital staff, we realized there is no space in our first week’s agenda for that presentation. I’ll get better at Portuguese, and we’ll ask for a time to present some Rice 360˚ devices, but these are some of the initial challenges we face. Unlike most challenges, where my first focus would be on eliminating them and moving on to the next as quickly as possible, these challenges serve as reminders that we are guests visiting Barretos on the terms of our gracious hosts.

In all our time preparing, I knew I would come as a guest, but I don’t think I really understood what that meant. I did not realize how many every day tasks would contain an added element of difficulty. For example, finding and shopping at a supermarket. Here’s a picture of Whitney after our successful trip this morning. It took two attempts.

I definitely did not realize how many people would serve as our hosts. Our host first and foremost is the Hospital de Amor, coordinated specifically by the lovely Ms. Carolina, but our host is also Brazil. In these two days, Whitney and I have said “obrigada,” Portuguese for “thank you,” more than any other word. We thanked the men at the São Paulo airport who walked us through the protocol for excess checked baggage, the driver who safely took us to the Barretos apartment, and especially our roommate, a doctor from Brasilia who walked with us on our first attempt at finding a grocery store, helping me practice Portuguese along the way. At the end of our trek, in which we found our dinner, I told her, “Você é nosso salvadora,” (you are our savior). She laughed, but I meant it.

Besides these wonderful people, there have already been many others who have patiently listened and tried to understand my broken Portuguese and earned an “obrigada” or two. I expect there will be many more throughout our stay, especially once we get to work on Monday. So obrigada Brazil, e boa noite.