The gringo is no longer in Belo Horizonte, nor in Brazil, but I'm still here.  I won't go into detail about my absence, except to say that I had a falling out with a friend in Belo.  She feels I treated her poorly, and I don't agree.  I feel she did several things wrong to me and treated me badly.  I don't think she would agree.  I think the reason she feels I mistreated her was a bad understanding.  Maybe the same is true of the things I feel she did.

Either way, it doesn't matter.  She was there for me when I really needed it, and I know I was there to listen to her and help when she really wanted it.  The friendship didn't survive.  I hope some day, the friendship will be rekindled, but I don't know how that will happen.  But, at the very least - I have regrets and miss this friend, but I'm no longer angry.  She is a good person, and I hope she is well.  Particularly with the protests happening in Brazil, I pray that she, along with all the people I am still friends with, is safe.

What has happened since I came back to Canada?  I went back to a job that I really hated.  The reasons that I hated the job were still there - lies, manipulation, micromanagement, and general all around bad business practices.  I was there for over a year, saving up money to go back to Brazil.  And then I, along many other people, was laid off.

Since then, I have been trying to build a business as a freelance translator.  It's very slow, and my monthly income isn't great because I don't have very many clients.  My hourly income has vastly improved though.  Even charging half what the market rate is supposed to be, I have made as much as double my hourly rate at my old job.  It has made me realize just how badly underpaid I was for some of my services.

I still plan to go back to Brazil.  The family of a friend has invited me to stay with them in Goiania.  I thought about renaming my blog - but Belo Horizonte is where it all began!  I'm not ready to go back to Belo quite yet, but I miss it a lot, and it has a special place in my heart.  I still have friends there, and some time, I will go back there to see them.  I may not be IN Belo Horizonte, but I will ALWAYS be "a gringo in Belo Horizonte".

It might be awhile before I post more, but I won't stay away for as long this time.

Pra meus amigos brasileiros - sinto falta de voces!  Seu pais esta mudando agora - espero que vai melhorar mais, mas ficam seguros!!!!!  Voces sao meu povo adotado!

Abracos!