I was fortunate to have my parents (de Estados Unidos) come and visit me during December. I may have cried a bit when they arrived in the airport, but I think that was also because of the “amendoim doce ” or, “sweet peanuts” we bought afterwards. They were delicious.
We toured through the neighboring city, Florianopolis, for one day then drove to Garopaba. During the hour and half drive I filled them in all the important topics of Brazil, including the acai dishes, guarana, (the soda of Brazil), Churrascarias, and finally politics.
I was elated to finally have both of my families in one place but, my only preoccupation was the inevitable awkward first encounter. The clash of the languages. My worry mostly surrounded my self consciousness about my Portugues skills. I now know I shouldn’t have been so worried, my translation skills were sufficient, and I was able to pass jokes across the tables.
We had lunch together at my house in, Costa Macacu. It was wonderful, my host mom made a full Brazilian course for my parents. While my host brother, Vinny, and I translated the conversation that pinged back and forth.
I am lucky to have two families that although come from completely different places were sharing a lunch together, telling stories, and learning about each other. My parents gave my new family some hats, shirts, and chocolates from my home town and they received a Garopaba themed clock. However during lunch, I did learn that occasionally my mind couldn’t switch back to english or portuguese fast enough, when in one situation I turned to my english speaking parents and translated to them in Portuguese.
All in all I would highly recommend extending your family to international territories. 10/10 experience for us.
