By the time 5:00 a.m had rolled around, each of us was awake putting finishing touches on getting our things together and placing our luggage by the door.
It hadn’t really hit me that we would really be leaving until I saw those four huge suitcases resting by the door and a formerly messy room now empty.
Seeing and greeting my host family that morning set the tone for what the rest of the day would be like. Each morning Sarah and I would be warmly greeted with a “Bom Dia” and an embracing hug and affectionate kiss on the cheek by our host father, Luiz. Although this morning was the same lovely routine, there was something different about it. It was that when I hugged him that morning, I never wanted to let go.
This feeling in my heart would occur time and time again throughout that morning and each time it got harder and harder to bring myself to actually let go. That last morning with our host families was the hardest and most painfully sad days of the trip. Who would have thought that after only knowing these families and players for a week that we would get so attached to them?
Sarah, Bruna, Mãe, Pai and I all drove to Minas Tênis Clube where we would meet the other girls to say our last goodbyes and catch our bus that would take us to the airport.
The car ride was painfully silent as I reflected on my amazing stay and experience with my wonderful new family. I kept repeating over and over to myself in my head, “I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to leave”. By the time I steadied my emotions enough to repeat it out loud, my voice became shaky. The heartbreaking look on Luiz’s face in the rear view mirror just about pushed me over the edge. My host family had done so much for me and been so welcoming and loving towards two complete strangers (Sarah and I) that the thought of leaving was unbearable. By the time we made it to Minas it really hit home that it was time to go. At that point almost everyone was in tears. These girls and their families meant so much to all of us, it broke our hearts to have to say goodbye. I think I hugged my family members about twenty times in those last ten minutes, buying myself even just a little more time to be close to them.
Luiz, Patricia, Manuel, Luiza, and Bruna mean the world to me and I will never ever forget them. They have a special place in my heart. It was still dark out by the time we boarded the bus finally giving into reality that we had a plane to catch. Not even the exciting thought of laying out on a beach in Rio could lift our spirits or brush away the tears still flowing down our cheeks from thoughts of leaving our wonderful host families. By this time in our trip no one wanted to get on another plane. Luckily, it was a short flight to our next destination, Rio de Janiero!
We met up with one of Dave’s friends, Leticia, who would be our tour guide for the day. We rode an intensely cold bus with air conditioning blaring the entire time. We traveled as far as we could go up the mountain before we had to switch to a train. The train would then take us to the Christ the Redeemer statue. If this trip has taught me anything, it’s that you take sleep whenever you can get it. Even if that means sleeping for 10 minutes on a train climbing uphill to the top of a mountain...
After a bazillion steps we reached the statue! Oh my, what a view it was! We were incredibly high up, you could see forever! The vista from the train ride was impressive but by the time we made it all the way to the top of the mountain and looked out, it was the most magnificent sight I have ever witnessed!
Unfortunately, it was hazy and overcast clouds were rolling in. And might I add that it was extremely cold and a tad windy way up there…But, nonetheless, the sight was breathtaking. After countless pictures from every angle and shortened photography lessons from Andrew, it was time to make our way back down the mountain. By this time, it had begun to rain. We haven’t had much luck with weather. I mean really, if we wanted rain and clouds we would have just stayed in Seattle...
The train ride back down became opportunity to catch up on some lost sleep as I believe some of the girls pulled all-nighters the night before and others only got a couple hours of sleep trying to enjoy every last second of their families’ company. Plus, the train stopped multiple times due to what I will call technical difficulties. I’m not really 100 percent positive on what actually went wrong because I was asleep.
Once we made it safely down the mountain in the train we switched over to our freezing cold bus, once again, and embarked on our drive to go find a Brazilian steakhouse! The meat was sooooooo good. After everyone had tried a little of everything and became stuffed to the brim, we headed out to go find one of our favorite deserts, frozen yogurt! Mmmm it was so yummy! After everyone had finished their frozen yogurt and were finished reciting lines from the YouTube video, “Can I have your number?”, we set off to the beach.
The sand was so fine and felt so good to walk on. But, of course, the weather wasn’t cooperating with us which made the tanning part a little bit harder than expected... Instead of catching some rays we admired the view and laughed at the wipe outs and feared for the surfers’ lives in the HUGE white crested waves. And yes, we are volleyball players and yes we were on a beach, so put two and two together...We played some beach volleyball!
Not the best games of our lives as half of us were so tired we couldn’t walk straight and the others were so tired we were delirious and laughing at just about everything. I’m pretty sure I fit into both categories. But, we still had a fun time goofing off. After relaxing on the beach in lounge chairs and bartering with vendors it was time to head out to the airport for our final leg of the trip, heading home.
Now, not only does each and every one of us miss our families in Brazil, we miss our families back in Washington. I think Rio was a nice transition that prepared everyone for the trip back home. We made it through security safe and sound but we did manage to temporarily lose Dave for a while. We had a few search parties set out for him and luckily he showed up a little before we started boarding. When we arrived in Seattle, everyone was so anxious to shower, eat, and sleep in their own bathrooms, houses, and beds respectively.
In reflection of our trip I need to touch on a very important day. During our stay we spent a day at a special project school for poor children, the Curimim Project.
This day turned out to be a very meaningful day to not just the kids at the orphanage but to all of us girls. It was heartbreaking to learn that most of those children weren’t orphans, but instead, had parents who have gotten themselves in trouble with the law, drugs, dealing, and/or alcohol. It’s such a hard thing to hear about because we know these sweet little six or seven year olds don’t deserve to live this way.
All these children want is to love and be loved. One of the most touching events about this experience is that these children will come up to you as complete strangers and cling themselves to you. Hug you. Hold you. Touch you. Smile at you. We didn’t speak much Portuguese and they didn’t speak any English. But even with that language barrier we were able to communicate. Communicate through love. Multiple little girls came up to me and fastened themselves to my hand and wrapped their arms around my legs.
And all I wanted to do was take them all in my arms and tell them how beautiful and sweet they were. I wanted to take them all home with me. These children serve as a wonderful example for all of us to follow.
We were all strangers to them but it didn’t matter. They shared joy, love, and kindness with us. They are in some of the toughest situations and yet they find happiness in everyday activities and in each other. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that leaving the orphanage at the end of the day was very, very tough. Saying goodbye is never easy but I will never forget the impact those children made on our hearts.
All the aspects of Brazil that we took part in were wonderful experiences and we all shared some everlasting memories. Thank you to everyone who played a role in making this trip one of the most truly amazing experiences I’ve ever been lucky enough to be a part of. Until next year, Beijos!!
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