You know you are having a strange day when you have to explain in Portuguese to a bewildered airline worker that the third flight on your reservation you are checking in for is a return flight. The confusion is understandable when you are flying from Brazil to Miami and back in 36 hours.
So let me see where to pick up. Last time I posted, I had turned fifty and Brazil was in the dumpster as far as their Covid response is concerned. Fast forward three weeks and not much has changed. I am older, but that is actually a good thing because it means I am still alive and kicking. Our state the Federal District has somehow maintained both incredibly high levels of new Covid cases and incredibly low levels of available beds to treat folks. A one-two punch of suckiness. It has gotten so bad that we are now only one degree separated from people who have died recently, and it feels like it won’t be long until we lose someone we know. And yes, we are still in school in person, and no, it has not spread on campus yet. We continue to play this most dangerous of games. Oddly, our life day to day has not changed that much. Outside of school, we socialize with just a few people, and only outside when we do. We even decided to still go on our long weekend to Rio. It was a strange decision to make in some ways, but it was also a cost/benefit decision. We felt like the risk was worth it. One major factor was that Rio has Covid much more under control than the Federal District. And a year into doing it, we know how to travel as safely as possible. Plus when your weekend is outside 90% of the time, it is easy to choose your exposure. Rio was also on lockdown, which was probably a disappointment if you are into the nightlife and crowded social scene, but for us, it worked out great. Bars and restaurants closed at 10:00. No commercial operations were allowed on the beach, and parks and attractions were open at half capacity. Basically, for Rio, it was empty, and awesome. It has taken us almost to the end of our two years here to make it to Rio, but we might even try to go back before we leave. It is just that incredible. It is this massive city tucked into a coastal mountain range. Nature is everywhere. You can be at the most popular tourist attraction where millions of people come each year, well almost each year, and there are legitimate warnings to not step out into the jungle and off a cliff and to watch out for venomous snakes. The jungle is as much a part of the city as the buildings and people are. Like much of Brazil, it is hard to describe, but difficult to forget. Yes, put it on your list of places to visit. Pictures never do it justice, but I will try.
As wonderful as it was to get away, it was hard to every really disconnect from Covid. When teachers will get vaccinated is the big topic of daily discussion, and although we will qualify as resident teachers, there is no definite start date. And it has been interesting because all of the Embassy staff has been vaccinated, but the State Department has refused to provide vaccines for the American teachers who teach the children of those families every day. We were told to wait in the Brazilian line or fly home.
So for the last week and throughout our trip to Rio, my dad has been helping us work on options for returning to the US to get vaccinated. And as of Monday morning, we finally had a plan. I would fly to Miami on Wednesday, get a J&J shot on Thursday, fly back on Thursday night and be home on Friday morning. Then Sara would repeat the same itinerary leaving Sunday night and getting back Tuesday morning. Easy peasy. Sara and I going at the same time really wasn’t an option unless we dragged the whole family. Lila was convinced she and Hannah would be fine for a few days on their own if we left them some money, but Sara thought leaving them alone in a foreign country as we fly to another country might be too much. And you can’t exactly have them stay with friends. Who wants my children and all their potential Covid exposure for the weekend? So I scheduled my appointment, bought my tickets Monday morning, and was ready to roll. Sara would buy her ticket when she got an appointment scheduled, which she could only do five days out. Fast forward to Tuesday and all J&J shots are paused. Damn. What now? Well, after spending too much time researching options and looking at efficacy rates of getting just one dose of a two shot regimen, and weighing all the plusses and minuses, I find myself at the airport waiting on flight number two to Miami. Sara may not be able to follow me next week, but we decided having one of us vaccinated was better than having neither of us vaccinated. Should we get exposed, it will at least give one of us a chance to get less sick. And clearly I am the dainty little flower in the family. Or I am just more willing to take back to back red eyes and drive six hours between red eyes. Either way, we felt like we could use all the protection we can get. There have been too many horror stories down here of both parents being in the intensive care while their children are with god knows who. So, here I am, now sitting in the international terminal in Sao Paolo awaiting takeoff for Miami. It is going to be an interesting couple of days.
Hopefully the next blog will be the boring story of how everything worked out smoothly and I am now vaccinated and back in Brasilia, but I’m not holding my breath.
Be safe, be well, and be happy,
International Adam
