And So It Ends...

Knowledge can be gained everywhere.  (And I don’t even have a Smart Phone!)  While on the plane from Rio -> Tampa, I found out some very interesting data:

• My flight flew at 38,000 feet.  (7.2 miles high)
• Temperature outside the plane @ 7+ miles high:  -65 F
• Distance from Rio -> Miami:   4,179 miles  //    6,714 km
• Flying Time:  8 hours 40 minutes
• Number of meals served:  2  (Dinner at approx. 11:30PM BST  &  Breakfast at approx. 5AM EDT)

On Sunday, 10/6 when I arrived in Miami, I had to hustle because the Miami -> Tampa flight was leaving in less than 2 hours from my arrival.  In Miami, I had to clear customs, pick up my bags, hand off my bags to the attendant to get them on the plane to Tampa, walk about 20 – 30 minutes to the American Airlines terminal, and then take an elevated train to my terminal.  Fortunately, everything went smoothly.  I told the Customs Agent that I was very happy to be in a country where I could speak the language.  (I found Portuguese difficult to pick up while I was in Brazil.)  He proceeded to tell me bom dia (good day) & muito obrigado (thank you very much).  That was his attempt at humor.  Now I know how my family feels when I attempt to be “punny” or funny.  : - )

Interesting Fish Art Work on Display in the Miami AA Terminal:

   

            

Arriving at the AA gate, with about 10 minutes to spare (before boarding), was the best I could do.  I was just glad that I didn’t miss the “last call” time.  (This brought back visions of my Thursday, 9/5 debacle.)

The last leg of my journey only required 1 hour; short & sweet.  With 3 bags and 1 backpack in hand, I went to curbside pickup.  Niurka, my wife, was there to greet me and after a long embrace, it was time to head to my U.S. home in Tampa, FL.  As I shared many details about my journey with Niurka, I knew that my time in Brazil was long and culturally rich enough to call it “home” if / when I return. 

And so, my CSC assignment officially ended.  On Monday, 10/7, I was back in the Tampa, FL office and got right back into my "normal routine".   Sigh...

#ibmcsc brazil