I'm the happiest I have ever been.
It's not like life is perfect here. It is hard. Things that I took for granted every day back at home, like having a simple conversation with a friend, are seemingly impossible here. Every time my host brother speaks to me I momentarily freeze up with fear. But every single moment that I manage to understand someone or speak with someone in Portuguese is amazing.
Last night my host sister Carolina took me out to her friend's house to watch a horror movie. I forced myself to come with her, even though I knew what was coming. I was surrounded on all sides by girls who gossipped and told elaborate stories in very fast Portuguese. Daunting is an understatment. At first we did not understand each other at all and they tried to speak English to me, but Carolina said, "Ela prefere falar portugues." By the end of the night we were eating popcorn and brigadeiro (it's similar to homemade hot fudge) and trying to figure out what to wear to a friend's party. The theme was fantasy characters from a movie, and they were talking about Disney villains so I suggested Ursula. Everybody got quiet. One of the girls explained to me (in portuguese of course) that the girl who was having a party's name was Ursula. Lol!
We went home at 2 in the morning and I gave everyone goodnight kisses on their cheeks. Before heading back home, I looked to the sky. All was pitch black except Christo, who shone brightly and looked suspended in the sky. (Did I mention that I live really really close to Christo, one of the new 7 wonders of the world? The other day I found the street that goes all the way up to him, that is how close I live to it.) It was one of the most beautiful things I have seen here in Larangeiras (my neighborhood) and I pointed it out and we all gazed at it together.
I got home and said goodnight to my sister and thanked her for taking me.
"Minhas amigas gostam muito de voce." She said, and said that they wanted to see me again.
And so, just mastering the basics like being able to understand a new friend when she gossips about her friend who is dating a manwhore but doesn't know it, is extremely, extremely rewarding.
Well, I am going to go meet my sister at the beach now!
Love,
Madi
No comments:
Post a Comment