December 15th-30th, 1990
We had talked about myself coming to Brazil, Murilo and I, and I always knew if I did not follow up on the idea soon it would never happen. I was very excited all the way up to the time I was to leave when I developed a heavy pit in my stomach. It was just something out of my control. I had not one second thought about going and was a little perplexed at my sudden reaction but there was the real me coming out from the inside. I was scared.
Recently I uncovered my aborted attempt to document my adventure. It is fascinating because it does bring up memories I had forgotten.
Apparently I left Michigan on a Saturday, December 15, 1990. To start things off and add to my already gloomy feeling, there was fog. It was so bad the airport was shut down and my flight delayed three hours.
First stop was in New York City where I met a person named Charles. His destination was Paris but he had missed his connecting flight because of the fog delay in Detroit. (I was more fortunate because the delay did not affect me. I do remember it was initially a long three hour wait, however!)
My flight would take me into Sunday when on board I remember now listening to more Portuguese language tapes and had a good sleep. I was lucky because I had a whole row of seats I could stretch out on. So what was a long trip to São Paulo became a short trip. My neighbor passenger, I wrote "has a destination to Buenos Aires."
My arrival in São Paulo was good. The police were easy to deal with and Customs, although a long wait went well. It was Murilo and his sister Maria (whom everyone called 'Bebé') that collected me at the airport and "Bebé" drove us to their home in São Bernardo where Murilo, Rose, Mirela and all the family lived. (Note: Within two years there would arrive another member of the family, Danilo Viola Moretti. I had the pleasure of not too long ago chatting with Danilo on Facebook. Although I have not yet met Danilo in person, he told me he knew of stories about his "Uncle John's" visit. How wonderful!)
I wrote: Bebé knows some english but is shy. Same for Rose (Murilo's wife). Rose believes that she can not speak english but I understand her very well. (Note: I really wanted to make the effort to speak Portuguese. I failed, yet sometimes I would say something in Portuguese and at least make the attempt to try, which I learned was very much appreciated. One rare moment I actually understood a conversation that was going on which had something to do with a worker's strike happening somewhere and I responded with some Brazilian words which took everyone by surprise. I was so proud!)
"My good man will have to work and extra day to make up this time. All this for me," I wrote.
Rose made lunch which was very good. It was rice with another dish of potatoes and beef in layers. I also had Mango for the first time.
Murilo had to take the afternoon to explain to the government why he did not participate in the last election. I'm not certain I recorded the story correctly but I believe he was out-of-town on business at the time. The office we went to together had a staff of very nice people who were all curious about me.
That afternoon Rose took me shopping and, of course, I bought a few things. I think I picked up some jewelry for my mother that looked very Brazilian to me.
In front is Rose's father. Behind him is Mirela, Murilo & myself. Behind us are Rose and her sister Regina and their mother. In the back left is Regina's husband Igor holding their child Caio Andrew Viola Pires and on the right, Rosana and Marcelo holding their child Fabricio Armelin Moretti.
The one that did turn out well can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/7p6oper
Rosana (background) was very friendly and so was Marcelo (foreground) but like a lot of people I would met they did not quite know how to react to meeting an Americano.
I felt dirty. My hair was greasy and although I had arrived well rested I soon began to get tired.
Rosana made some coffee for us. It was really cute because it seemed the thing to do. Like all Brazilian coffee I would have it was served in a small 'tea cup' but, of course, very strong. (No one said the word "espresso".) I liked it and in fact all the food I had in Brazil I liked.
The joke about the coffee is that although it is so connected to the country I didn't meet one Brazilian while I was there that really liked the stuff!
Marcelo said he liked the Beatles very much (knowing as he must have learned from Murilo how much I liked them) and later that night coincidentally we watched on television a "Tribute to John Lennon" most likely remembering the then 10th anniversary of his murder.
Murilo, I wrote, told me he believed most artists attending the event were in it more for self promotion than as a tribute. I agreed.
Rose then made a wonderful dinner for us that evening of "rice, peas and other vegetables. A creamed vegetable of some sort and (salty) fish."
We began to joke about myself possibly getting a job in Brazil selling fruit. I could just see myself yelling, "Mango! Mango! Cocoanut! Banana!" It was a good laugh. Hey, maybe someday...(!)
Rose made breakfast with watermelon, hot cocoa, cheese and crackers with strawberry jam and two other types of melon.
While we were out we went to an establishment where I learned a new idea in bartending. It concerned the waiter continually bringing you more beer even if you haven't finished what you are currently drinking. This wouldn't stop until you put a coaster on top of your glass.
We had a great joke together with the confusion of words in different languages. There was confusion between the phrase "two ways" and the word "towards". If a person is driving down a 'one-way' street, for example, one could say they are heading "towards" their one destination; but if you are on a 'two-way' street how can that be when you have "two-wards" now instead of one?
It was a good laugh and Murilo tried to explain. I couldn't by that time!
I met a lot of people at Autolatina. One lady, who spoke english very well, talked a lot with me. She was so kind she asked if I could come to her home town after Christmas.
The people were so friendly. They were just so much more intimate in presence than I'd ever seen in the United States.
I would talk with two more people and we discussed the Ford Motor CAD/CAM department where I worked. One person was of Japanese descent and it seemed so striking to me to hear him speak such strong Brazilian Portuguese. He spoke english very well also, but did not know any Japanese!
Murilo did want me to maximize my trip, however, and did what he could to secure an itinerary for me. It didn't work out though as for some reason all 'structured' trips were canceled. Plane travel would be unreliable and he worried for my safety if I decided to drive there by myself.
I did pass through Rio on my way back to the States. It was a stop my flight made and waiting in the airport for my next destination was as close as I got to seeing the city. That was fine for me as I'd been overwhelmed already with the best most loving people I could know. To this day I'm so very grateful to everyone in Murilo's family for making me so welcome. That was the best.
Brazil became home to me and the people there my family.
Thanks to everyone from my home in Brazil.
A special thanks to Rosemeire Viola Moretti & Flavia Moretti for supplying myself with names of folks I did not have!
...
