Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Brazil: Campinas
Campinas Campinas was a place that would become larger than life for me, though nothing about it announced that at first glance. On the surface, it was simply a prosperous inland Brazilian city—warm, sprawling, modern in some places and worn in others, with jacaranda trees spilling purple blossoms onto wide avenues, and a rhythm that felt both industrious and relaxed. It was a university town, a tech hub, an agricultural center, and a place where people lingered over coffee as if time were elastic. I arrived expecting an assignment. I left with a story. The flight from Los Angeles to São Paulo was uneventful in the best possible way—comfortable, quiet, and long enough to settle into the strange suspension of international travel. I was in the middle cabin, up front, exit row, aisle seat B, with more legroom than I deserved. In seat A, by the window, was a gentle, pleasant conversationalist who introduced himself as Eduardo Pereira. The hours gave us time to talk, and Eduardo—soft...