Pictures of a Transition

Here are some random observations from the past 10 days of transition from Belém/South America to Austin:

I spent 5 months in one of the least developed parts of Brazil and don't remember any illness. I've been sick with a bitch of a sore throat for more than a week now that I'm back in the U.S. of A.

Pineapples here (1) suck and (2) are expensive. I saw some mooshy pineapples for sale at HEB for $3. Why would they want to get rid of those? And a decent looking (but probably unripe) pineapple at Whole Foods was $6. Belém? < US$1.

Getting run over is not at the top of my list of concerns as I cross the street. I have yet to see a bus run a red light. And I am now a champion jaywalker.

Where is the milky gray gutter water with bits of trash that I so often stepped over?

My Mexican food / meal ratio stands at 9/35 since my return on Thursday Jan. 12.

Sometimes I talk to myself in Portuguese. But I did that before I went to Belém, so that isn't much of an observation.