So here I am, in the Montreal airport, with 50 minutes to go until take-off.

I think I will begin this blog with a brief introduction of the history and culture of the area. So if you are purely interested in my day to day experiences and perspectives on the Brazilian culture, don't read this entry.

On second thought, Wikipedia can probably give a much better description then I can, so just click on the link if you're interested in details.

Salvador, Bahia

This isn't my first trip to Salvador, it will be my third. The first was during a Rotary Youth Exchange after high school. I spent eleven months going to a Brazilian high school and living with four different Brazilian host families. During that year, I truly felt as if my heart was Brazilian. I fell in love with the culture, the people and their way of life. I remember thinking, how I have never felt so much that I belonged somewhere, and that I had found my place in Brazil. I'm not the only person that this has happened to. I met many different people during my exchange year that had visited or worked in Brazil for a short period of time, and who had decided on moving there shortly afterwards.

A few people may have felt a bit frustrated after hearing me go on and on about how great it is there, as if it were the best place on earth. Now, five years have passed since that first trip. I wish I could say that with my new found maturity I have learned to move on, but instead I find myself returning back to the very same place I first set foot on after leaving home.