So I've returned to the U.S.
It's bittersweet.
There are so many things I didn't get to do in Brazil that I wanted to. I know I will be back one day, but I doubt it will be any time soon.
What I will most of all of course is the people, a few in particular. Unfortunately for me, I didn't start making closer friends until it was almost time to leave, but better late than never I guess.
I'll miss my students, always eager to learn and so happy just to have conversations in english. They motivated me to try harder and practice my Portuguese, caused me to work hard to research the sometimes incomprehensible english grammar rules, and made me feel appreciated... and cool :)
I'll miss making my hot cup of coffee in the morning, the old fashioned way- boiling the water and pouring it through the filter yourself and of course drinking brazilian coffee every morning... and mid-morning, and after lunch, and mid-afternoon, and evening and anytime you go to someone's house or a business, even the gas station...
I'll miss their enthusiasm for soccer. TV's in all the bars and all the restaurants because you can never miss a game. And how every time there is a game, everyone's eyes are glued to the screen, including the waiter while pouring your drink, and people passing by, who automatically stop and stare hypnotized at the screen, and usually stay standing there, so by the end of the game there is sometimes a small crowd of 10-25 people standing on the sidewalk watching the game, apparently not too worried about being on time to wherever it is they were headed.
I'll miss my nightly novela. So overly dramatic and unbelievable, but yet addicting, and somehow cast with all of the most beautiful people on earth. and "dancing" to the theme song, especially shaking my hips at the cuica sections. ------------>
the song
I'll miss not only the fruit, but also how much everyone there loves the fruit (if that makes any sense...) An example- On my way to Rio we were driving on the highway but had to stop for some construction. While stopped, I noticed a lot of people get out of there cars and walk over to the side of the road looking at the trees. I realized it was because the trees were Japanese plum trees. Everyone was getting out to look for fruit! Only in Brazil would half the people leave their cars and scour the trees for fruit to eat.
I'll miss how everyone has a nickname, or several. I loved hearing conversations talking about people referred to as "Macarrao" (pasta) or "jilo" (the vegetable). Jose becomes "zeze", Edmar becomes "dede", Robson becomes "robinho" and I became Daninha (little Dana)
....which reminds me, I'm going to miss how much Brazilians use diminutives. In portuguese, you add inho/inha or zinho/zinha to mean little or express endearment or even insignificance. "Would you like a cafezinho (small coffee)?" They exist in other languages, but I think no one in the world uses diminutives more than Brazilians. The result, in my opinion, is that everyone ends up sounding so cute all the time. In english it would just sound dumb, but it portuguese it works. They use diminutives on nouns, adjectives, even adverbs.
Tchauzinho! (little bye?)
Obrigadinho (little thanks?)
Anyways, since I didn't too good a job keeping up with my blog I've decided to write some more entries after the fact (I keep wanting to say posthumously but that's not correct). When I put up my pictures I'll write entries to go along with them.... if there is even anyone left still reading!
