You're Moving WHERE???#$^%&*???!!!?!??!?

You get a wide range of reactions when you tell people you are moving your family to Rio, but the news generally provokes two distinct faces: a furrowed brow w/subtle frown or a wide smile and dancing eyes. One person came to me, held her hand in mine, looked into my eyes and said, "I'm so sorry to hear your news,'' as if we'd had a death in the family. Maybe she meant it as a sadness for HER that we were leaving, I don't know.

Other people, especially people who have been to Brazil, immediately shout: "Ah, I'm so jealous!"

There are also persistent rumors about Brazil that are very outdated and silly. Alfredo used to joke that Americans believe that snakes slither along the streets of Rio and that pedestrians live in mortal danger of being attacked by jungle Orangutans every time they go out for a walk. Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who said it would be a big adjustment for the girls to move from "an advanced country" to a place that is somewhat less than that.

Sure, Brazil's big cities grew largely without any urban planning. And the favelas are an ever present issue since the quality of life in them is so much lower than it is in, say, South Orange County. But they do have the Internet over there, I've heard. People live in apartment buildings and houses, like here. And the employment rate is 6 percent. So, which is more advanced?