Toto, I don't think we are in Kansas anymore...

It has been years since I have been able to say that I want to go to work… I have gone, taught classes, and gradually become more and more unsettled... but here @ UFOP...  I am happier than I ever have been, and I cannot wait to go to work… WTF happened? 

Today, after a very nice brisk walk with Milton & Silvia, I showered and off we went… mind you I am not teaching yet.  We arrived too late, and all courses were taken / filled… write now we are translating work of ours in prep for a book to be used by the students related to modelagem, ethnomathematics and ethnomodeling… I am being charged with working on my math trail, and working with the secondary math  teachers in the project… after lunch we had our first college meeting… CEAD (Centro de Educação Aberta e a Distância) is an unusual program, we have no departments... we all work for CEAD.  There will be no horrid meetings unless we need them… today’s was designed to welcome us and the other faculty… no one talked about how broke we are, or how are we going to restructure, or how CTC is going to evaluate us, or how we are losing enrollment… the topics were… we have so much opportunity, whatever you want to do, you can! (HUH… pinch me… did I understand correctly?) we have more and more students, our enrollment matches that of the campus itself… and will only grow.  Then each of us had to say something (gulp)… luckily I wasn’t first… when I it was my turn I made a joke about my accent… that having a foreigner professor was a sign that the program was mature… that it was “Xique no úrtimo”… everyone laughed… I feel great here! 

As hard as it was to leave Sacramento, it is all worth it…

After work, took the bus, home, dropped off my bag, and went down to the new apartment to give Dona Celia money for the dresser we bought.  They are installing the internet t and having the walls removed… we decided to go for a large open loft like space… to go with our really large table and benches we are hunting for…they insisted I stay for café and we chatted for awhile… they are really a sweet retired couple, he retired in 1991 from ALCAN and she a bit later from the public schools.  They are going to be great landlords… they live in the house on the first floor, our apartment is below them…

Then I went over to Rafael’s house (below Silvia & João’s house) to welcome him home, his mother passed away, so he has been gone for a few weeks.. there were a few guys there, and we had a good time catching up… came home and Milton had dinner ready.

Once again, the sensation that  we woke from a bad dream is strong... that what was in Sacramento was a dream, and that we awoke to reality, is so strong...  damn, we are lucky to live here!