Brazil Trip #1

   Gabe and I had the amazing experience of going to Brazil. My work would not allow for me to go before Christmas but we were able to go just after. I will admit that I was very scared. I had never been to Brazil and had no idea what to expect. Gabe's mother, step-dad, brother, and Grandma Lima were able to attend the wedding but nobody else was able to. Here I was going to this foreign country that I had never been to, did not speak the language, and was meeting new family members. It was all just a little overwhelming as one can imagine. Gabe continued to reassure me that everything was going to be just fine. He would protect me, translate everything, and his family was going to love me. In the meantime my mother was freaking out. Several years ago my mother read and watched a  story written by Danielle Steel, Not without my daughter. This was a true story about a woman that had married a man from Iran and had a daughter that lived here in America. They had decided to go visit his family in Iran for a few weeks. When arriving there her husband took their passports away and held his wife and daughter in captivity. The story is based on how this woman tries to escape from her husbands wrath. Her husband allows for her to leave but tells her that she must leave their daughter. It continues to tell of her struggle of not leaving without her daughter and her success in returning to the U.S. So of course my mother is afraid that somehow the same will happen to me and that I was going to get stuck in Brazil!
   My parents drove us to the airport the day after Christmas. After Gabe had reassured my mother time and time again that he would bring me back, she let us go. We boarded the plane and started our journey to New York. Once in New York, we had a bite to eat, stretched and prepared for our long flight ahead. The longest that I have been on a plane at one given time was 6 hours, and for me that was enough. We flew through the night and finally reached Sao Paulo. Unfortunately out trip did not end there. We had to board another plane and fly for another 2 hours before we reached Gabe's home town. In Sao Paulo we had to go through immigration and customs which was a complete night mere. We had a 3 hour lay over in Sao Paulo and it took us the entire time to get through customs. We boarded the plane once again and two hours later we had finally made it to Porto Alegre.

   We were greeted by Gabe's family, we went back to the house where lunch was provided for us. It was so nice to be there. It was really warm but had 70% humidity. We met Grandpa Neves who is 91. He is such a sweetheart. I fell in love with him the moment I saw. He reminded me a lot of my own Grandpa Maybury. We met Gabe's Uncle Fernando, Aunt Andrea, and their daughter Ana Clara who is 2 such a doll. We went to the beach, shopping, and ate tons of amazing food. The following week we went to this lil town called Germado. It is a cute lil town just 2 hours out of Gabe's hometown. There we were able to meet Aunt Marta, Uncle Mark ( who is from Germany), and their daughter Marina who is 8. The language was the most difficult part. I had no idea what the heck anyone was saying and at times I felt left out. Gabe kept his promise and translated what he could.

   It was a great experience and we had a lot of fun. The plane ride home seemed to take longer because I think that I just wanted to get home. It is a great thing to be home and to be back in my own home. Needless to say my mother was very grateful to Gabe for bringing me home and saving her a trip to Brazil to come get me. We are planning our next trip back soon and I have to learn Portuguese.