Girl Meets Brazil

Surprise!

Posted by Elena B. , Sunday, October 10, 2010 11:36 PM

No, not the "Guess what? I made a last minute trip to Brazil!" kind of surprise, that's only in my dreams. But the kind of,  "Wow, I didn't expect this, but it's nice anyway" kind of surprise. Let me backtrack now.

So, before my last trip to Salvador, dear boyfriend informed me that he wouldn't be able to pick me up at the airport because he wouldn't be able to get out of work. I was slightly disappointed, mostly because I had been envisioning our reunion at the airport for months, but it really didn't phase me. I told him not to worry about it because I could just take the bus from the airport, something I had already done a couple times before. It wouldn't be complicated or annoying because there was a bus stop right in front of my hotel, I knew the route, and I would only have a small suitcase. He kept apologizing and saying how bad he felt that he wouldn't be there, but I insisted it really wasn't a problem and that I would be happy to see him later on the day of my arrival. Hey, at least then I'd have time to shower and freshen up after a long day of travel!

Now let's fastforward to my arrival in Salvador. I was exhausted after basically an entire day of travel, but luckily I didn't have to wait long at customs or for my bag to arrive. As I exited the baggage area to the area where friends and family awaited their loved ones and taxi drivers held up signs for business people, I glanced around without expecting Isaque to be there but figuring there was a chance he might. I didn't see him, so I continued walking towards the buses, carrying my rolling suitcase with the broken handle (now why didn't I notice that when I was packing?!), when I suddenly heard a female voice from behind me call my name. Surprised, I turned around to see a young woman about my age asking if I was Elena. I said yes, and she told me dear boyfriend had sent her to pick me up and that her parents were waiting outside in the car. I was a little confused and quite tired after my journey, but I said that it was nice of her to come and asked her name. That was when I realized that this was his sister whom I hadn't recognized! Oops, well if I wasn't already nervous enough about seeming stupid because of my portuguese, then this certainly didn't help! In my defense, I had never met her before, and I was tired, and I didn't expect her to be there. Then as we walked out the door, I realized that the parents that were waiting in the car, who were now standing right in front of me, were also dear boyfriend's parents! Yeah, it took me a minute to connect the dots there.  I was mostly in shock, because this was my first time meeting his family, and not only did they surprise me but I was meeting them without dear bf there!  But I gave them hugs and climbed in the car.

They turned out to be very sweet and took me to lunch at a great por kilo (buffet by weight) place, even taking into consideration that I was vegetarian in their choice of restaurant. We chatted about different things, mostly them asking me questions and me doing my best to understand and answer them. But it was nice, it didn't feel like an interrogation at all, and I figured out that dear boyfriend's habit of buying me food even when I haven't asked for it is certainly a family trait (I got a picole--popsicle out if it!). The restaurant was lovely, and although there were a few awkward silences, I felt really comfortable with his parents and with his sister, who is a real sweetheart. On the way to my hotel from the airport, she even told me lots of information about buildings I had passed before multiple times with dear boyfriend and he had never bothered to mention half the things she told me!

After lunch they were understanding enough to take me straight to my hotel so I could rest, and I finally saw dear boyfriend later that night after a luxuriously long nap and plenty of time to get myself cleaned up. Seeing him again after a whole year of being apart was just amazing! But I want people to actually read this blog, so I won't go into more detail...although maybe I would attract a new group of readers if I did ;)

The point is, despite being somewhat ambushed, I am so glad I met his family and got along with them so well. And in retrospect, I'm really glad they surprised me at the airport, because I was already nervous about meeting them, and if I had known ahead of time when I would meet them I would have worried even more. But this way,  didn't even get a chance to stress about it!

I also got to spend more time with them later in the week, this time with dear boyfriend. His mom even suggested going to an indoor feria after noticing how often I asked the names of the cray fruits and especially vegetables while eating. We went to the feria and I got to practice the produce names like sapoti, maxixi, and jilo while his mom bought me fruits I had never tried before.

I was not only surprised to meet dear boyfriend's family so suddenly, but I was surprised at how at ease I felt with them, and that is something that I'm definitely grateful for!

Just thought I'd share that story as something to update this blog since it's been *gasp* a month and a half since my last entry! I was waiting for dear boyfriend to send me photos that we took on his camera during my trip, but that seems to be a hopeless cause! So no photos of the fam just yet, but I'll work on it.

And a big thanks and shout-out to Tricia at Post Cards from Brasil for mentioning me in her "My Favorite Reads" list! If you haven't yet checked out her blog about living with her Brazilian husband in Rio (well, in both Rio and Cleveland), you really should because she's always sharing something interesting.

As a last side-note, I've seen that a surprising number of people visit this blog (way more than I ever expected) so if you're out there lurking and haven't yet left a comment, please feel free to do so :) I promise, I won't bite!