Background Hi. For reference on everything that comes after, here is a brief summary of everything that came before: Big Bang, etc. 1978: I was born into an average middle class family in the Midwestern United States. First 23 years: Social and spiritual psychosis of suburban boredom ensues. Computer programming skills are somehow acquired along the way. 2001 - 2007: A successful and rewarding career in IT is sculpted, culminating in 2.5 years living and working in Madrid, Spain. The Spanish language is learned and reasonably mastered. 2008: Said career is summarily flushed down the toilet (European low-flow model) in order to do some traveling. And so I came here, Northeastern Brazil, where I've spent the past 8 months or so learning Portuguese and doing a little freelance work. And although my Portuguese is not nearly ... read more