Ah, a momento of crisis

So, I've been in the lovely, mountain city of Belo Horizonte for about 10 days. My friend Ana Maria and her son Thomaz picked me up at the bus station and whisked me off to hear a friend's brother singing and playing guitar in a local café. For whatever reason, I basically liked the city from the start.
Belo Horizonte is in the mountains. It is the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Ouro Preto, one of Brazil's historic cities, is about an hour and a half from here. Ouro Preto was the gold rush capital of Brazil back in the day. Walking around in both places is sort of like trying to navigate a roller coaster because there are so many hills and they are soooo steep.
Radio Favela is located here. It's a community radio station in a favela that has a fabulous view of Belo Horizonte because it clings to the side of one of the mountains. (I mentioned those climbs, right?)
Given the title of this entry, I should probably explain. Yesterday I cried. I had gotten out of bed knowing that I was planning on heading to Sao Paulo to do some interviews for some radio pieces that I am working on, and I really just didn't feel like doing it. Really, the issue was that I was leaving without having anyplace to come back to, and, frankly, after almost 3 months on the road, I've had enough of that. I want to have some friends who I can see for a while and develop relationships with. Even renewing my tourist visa for another 3 months made me feel like my time here is limited, and pushed me to do something about that.
Most likely, after I take this trip to collect interviews for my stories, I'll come back to Belo Horizonte. Hopefully, Radio Favela will let me volunteer with them, and I can get a room somewhere and start to have a somewhat more normal life.