Living in Brazil: As a Peace Corps Volunteer and Businessman

H. Lynn Beck had no clue what to do after finishing his master's degree in Vermont, so he applied to join the Peace Corps.

Eventually, he was invited to work in Brazil, and he agreed to work in education in the state of Mato Grosso. He began counting down the days to the start of training.

While his Portuguese consisted of ninety-five percent Spanish and five percent Portuguese, he managed to communicate. Working in the geographic center of South America, he felt as if he'd been dumped in...