An Open Letter to the People of Brazil:
In just a week here in your beautiful country, I have learned much. What you have taught me in your various ways will stay with me forever – and I believe the only way to thank you is to tell everybody I know about you.

To the children of Rio, you have shown me what hope looks like. I saw it in the eyes of every student tucked into a school uniform, as you sat attentively at your school desk, books and minds open to all that is possible with an education. I remember one young girl about 15 dutifully poring over her list of questions she wanted to ask – of course in English, silently practicing and practicing. Such pride!

To the working class of Rio, you have shown me what hard work looks like. You come and go on the Metro, the buses, the sidewalks – always with a purpose, whether it be to serve the public in restaurants and supermarkets, to provide the transportation that keeps this city moving at such a brisk pace or to repair the roads under a blistering sun. I remember one street worker, sweating profusely as he laid asphalt, who had cut a piece of cardboard to create a brim to his hard-hat. Such ingenuity!

To the heart-breakingly poor of the favelas, you have shown me what persistence looks like. Never before have I been in neighborhoods where the basics of human existence are so scarce. You live in utter poverty, where there is danger around every corner, and yet you trudge along, hope forever fighting to spring from your weary souls. I remember the young mother, not even pausing in her conversation with a friend even as a phalanx of gun-toting policemen rushed by, their automatic weapons aimed, chambered and ready to kill. Such resilience!

And finally, to whoever up there created this awesomely beautiful land – with its white sand beaches, lush tropical growth and massive, drenching thunderstorms like you have never experienced in your lifetime – you have shown me what paradise looks like.

I shall return. Until we meet again, obrigado and ciao!