WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
MOVING FORWARD
My goodness, I can't believe that it's been a month since I've posted an update. Desculpe me minha negligencia. I am in Rio now. I arrived 10 days ago, but have not had access to a high speed internet connection. For some reason the internet is not functioning properly in my apartment. The "internet man" has been there twice to fix it; both times he admitted defeat and left. It has something to do with a wiring problem in my building. I expect it will be resolved eventually.

I am here to make progress on the development of our new clinic in Morro Azul and to bid farewell to a loyal and dedicated worker. Beatriz, as I mentioned last month, is getting married next month...and she's moving to Germany.

All of a sudden I don't like her fiance nearly as much.

Of course, I don't mean that. Guna is a great guy. Interestingly, he speaks perfect, unaccented English. He also speaks perfect, unaccented Portuguese. Apparently the guy has a knack for languages.

Regardless, I'm happy for them and I wish them many years of happiness. We will miss Beatriz tremendously. She has been with me from the beginning; she is a dear friend. I owe a great deal to her.