I just got home from a 5-day road trip with my 2nd host parents and their poodle. Spending 5 hours in a car with my host parents (or anyone for that matter) can really bring you together. Of course, most of the conversations consist of them pointed at signs, trucks, animals and products growing in the fields and I would translate it into English. They would attempt at repeating it and we would laugh and laugh. My relationship with my 2nd host parents is a lot stronger than what I had with my last host parents. I think it is because I am an only child now and my last family I had two older sisters. I miss my first Brazilian family because I was just getting comfortable and close to my sisters. Now, I feel like I’m really getting a Brazilian experience. My new host parents don’t know any English. I can feel my Portuguese increasing every second. The two family experiences are very different so I’m glad I get to experience both of them.
On our road trip, we traveled to Fransisco Beltrao to meet all the relatives and extended family. Every day, I met at least 4 new family members. I now have 7 new cousins, 5 new aunts and uncles and 6 new grandparents. My immediate family in the US is very small, so it’s crazy to think my Brazilian family is twice as big. This past vacation I connected with people in a way that I would never have imagined. Whether it was comparing English words to Portuguese or sharing pictures of my town, family, friends, housing, foods… I think the most mind blowing thing about my culture was I come from somewhere that is majority cold, snowy and mountains taller than their tallest building. I think the hardest question to answer is “Do you miss United States food?” I don’t typically eat “American food” because my mom is Pescatarian, Vegan, and Gluten free so I don’t normally have hamburgers, chicken wings, or any red meat on a daily basis. Don’t get me wrong, I got opportunities to eat meat back in the US. Mostly at special occasions, eating out or when staying at a friend’s house. But here in Brazil, I eat meat at least once a day, every day I can’t remember the last time I had fish.
Saturday was probably the busiest craziest day of the road trip. My dad’s sister, his nephew, and his other niece all have the same birthday, so all day Saturday we went to birthday parties. It was his nephew’s 1-year-old birthday and his sister was turning 35. After his nephews birthday party, my cousins took me driving around the city so I got to see more about it. Fransisco Beltrao was where my host dad is from. Fransisco Beltrao is a city famous for rotary clubs and they have a copy of Christ the Redeemer in Rio Janiero. My cousins and I got to know each other through the music we shared in common. 
Their favorite thing to do with their friends is finding a spot at a park and spend time playing cards and drinking traditional ice tea in the shade. Fransisco also continues to stay super hot throughout the year so many of the houses normally have pools. If they aren’t at the park they enjoy pool parties. Later, we showed up at his aunt’s house to hang out with the adults and eat more food. We didn’t get much time to spend at his aunt’s house because seconds later we were driving my host dad’s mother to the emergency room. We were all enjoying the food and having conversations out on the patio when all of a sudden their grandma walked right into the glass sliding door. She hit the glass door so hard her glasses cracked the glass and cut her eyebrow. As she was losing balance my cousin and I raced over to catch her, while we slowly walked her to the car I thought to myself. This day was so ironic, I met them this morning and here I am almost midnight and on my way to the emergency room. When my cousin and his grandma gave me the option to come with them to the emergency room I was shocked and honored. Out of all the other family members, she’s clearly known longer? It made me feel accepted and a part of the family.
It’s crazy to think I only spent 36 hours this family but when I had to say goodbye I started to miss all one of them. They opened this door into their world and welcomed me in with open arms. I really connected with them in such a short period of time. Meeting new people will always have an effect on you, but realizing that I may never get to see them again was kind of depressing. Of course, people say as long as you stay in touch, your feelings for those people will stay the same… until we meet again. Luckily they want to come visit U.S. I would be more than happy to welcome them into my little house in Colorado in the future, but as I walked away from that visit I really reflected on how much I hate saying goodbyes…
