An incomparable Brazilian vacation

I just woke up from a Sunday afternoon nap, and when I was dreaming, I was back in Brazil. This is interesting because when I was in Brazil, my dreams were in the United States. However, it gave me some time to reflect on our adventures over the past two weeks.

First, it was great to get out of the cold winter weather of North Dakota in January. Second, it was wonderful to meet all of Camila's relatives and see the city where she grew up. Third, I wasted a lot of time worrying about the food. Whatever they fed me, I ate, and it was all good. They know how to cook. That's the big stuff, now let's look at a few specifics.

Sao Paulo was large, crowded and noisy. Our little vacation home in the country was like a small piece of paradise. The country agreed with me...the city, well, not so much.

Regarding the all the fruit that we ate, I think my son Derek summed it up best, "We didn't eat a bad piece of fruit in Brazil." The bananas tasted better, the watermelon was also the best I ever tasted. Then there were a number of different fruit that I had never seen or eaten before and they were all good.

Unfortunately, we couldn't speak Portuguese. I hope we learn because I would love to hear stories told by Camila's dad and her uncles. I did have young people who translated some for me, but I know I missed a lot. For instance, when I heard the relatives laughing uncontrollably, I would ask this one guy, "What did they say?" His answer was always the same, "It doesn't translate well."

Still, we got to meet a lot of people and they all had wonderful qualities. One of my favorites was Uncle Carlos. You could tell from the instant you met him that he had a wonderful heart and loved all of his family...even the new ones from America. He also was the chief chef at every barbecue. This was a position that he had earned and he took a lot of pride in. He was also a very hard worker at the barbecues...he would wash the grills, fire them up, trim the meat and cook it all to perfection. He was always the last to eat. He had a very lovely wife as well...she always wore a smile on her face. Another fascinating thing about Carlos and Eleana was that we kept running into them...at the market and at a shopping mall. Remember, Sao Paulo is a city of 20 million people so it's a wonderful coincidence when you actually run into someone you know. Carlos was also one of our many drivers who brought us to and from the city.

Camila's cousin Paula was also one of our many drivers and she took us shopping one day -- not to a mall -- but to actual stores, cramped and crowded in the city. We found many bargains there. In fact, the prices were the best in these small stores and the highest at the malls. Paula also has a daughter who speaks English and she holds a special place in my heart because we had a good chat with her mom and grandma because she could translate our words almost effortlessly.

Camila's immediate family were a treasure trove of love. Her brother Rodrigo was very playful. Because we were there during their summer, Rodrigo was out of school and spent many days at our vacation home with us. We enjoyed his playful nature while playing cards and swimming. And since he spoke the language of Brazil, he also helped us out at the store and dealing with our landlord at the vacation home.

Aline, Camila's sister, is beautiful and she has a wonderful, sparkling personality. A room really does light up when Aline enters it. She also was tremendously busy while we were there as she worked until 6 p.m. and also was the chief planner for Derek and Camila's beautiful wedding. She also drove us to and from the city on some of the nights when the highway was less than hospitable. One night, she drove in thick fog and one night the steam from a rain reducing visibility.

I spoke in the previous blog about Camila's parents. I still marvel at them as they had to be extremely brave to send their teenaged-daughter to the United States. They were both very gracious and loving to Derek and his family.

I hope no one feels as though I left them out of my blog, because all we met have a special place in my heart. There was a young man we met whose name is Rafael. He told me at the wedding that I would always be in his heart. He and his relatives will also remain in my heart as well. Even though we are about 5,000 miles apart, I know that Camila's Brazilian family and her American family all believe in the same God, so one way we can stay closer is by praying for each other. Tonight, when I'm on my knees in prayer, I will pray for each of them...and I'm sure they will do the same.

To really get to know someone....

You have  probably heard the expression, "To really get to know someone, you have to walk a mile in their shoes."

Well, I'm not literally walking a mile in her shoes, but I am getting to know my daughter-in-law a lot better by traveling to her country and meeting her relatives. Our daughter-in-law is Camila, a native of Sau Paulo, Brazil, a city of 20 million people.

First of all, I know that she is extremely brave to have left her home in Brazil while in high school and move to the United States to stay with a family she didn't even know. As luck would have it, the family was the Steve Ash family in Beulah...a nicer bunch of people you would never meet. But still, think about traveling thousands of miles to live in a climate a lot colder than yours. And even if you know English, you don't know it as well as the people who speak it as their native tongue.

I also always knew that our daughter-in-law Camila could be very intense and also very funny. After meeting her parents in Brazil, I see that she comes by this naturally. Her dad and mom both run successful businesses. They know business, they understand money, and they can almost pierce you with their eyes when speaking to you. And then in a blink of an eye, they can be laughing and enjoying themselves. They love life. They love their families and they love the families who love their children. I can appreciate that...I feel the same way.

What ironic about this is that her dad puts me so much in mind of Belinda's dad. He's a big guy and can overwhelm you by his size. What's ironic is that Grandpa Doll and Camila didn't hit off every well. It was at Derek's college graduation when the two of them first met. Someone said, "Camila, this is Derek's grandpa." So, Camila said, "Hello, Grandpa." But Grandpa Doll's retort was, "Not yet, I'm not."

Oh well, a couple of years later and Derek and Camila were married and now Grandpa Doll is also her grandpa. Still, I could see something similar happening with her dad. He drove us from the airport to a bakery for breakfast the other morning. While he only speaks Portuguese and I don't, I could tell that he "got down to business" when talking to his daughter on the one-hour drive. I could only guess what they were talking about...but I knew it wasn't small talk. It probably had to do with his daughter's upcoming wedding in Brazil...or maybe her college classes...or her husband...or her job at Minot State University. Or perhaps it was to tell Camila about his job as a fish marketer in Brazil. A couple of times on the drive, his cell phone rang, and he spoke to whomever he was talking to in the same stern voice that he talked to his daughter.

Now think about it, as a dad, he sees his daughter at the most about twice a year and sometimes only once in two years. Just that thought breaks my heart. I need to see my family a lot more often than that.

Now let me talk about Camila's mother. First, let me say, she is a hard worker and a great cook. You can tell that she would be a great mother. There would be no sacrifice that she wouldn't make for her children. In fact, she sold her car so she could send Camila to college in the United States. To this day, she doesn't own a car.

She owns and operates a beauty salon, next to the house she grew up in on a busy street in Sau Paulo. She took Camila to her salon so she could wash her daughter's long black hair. While there, one of Camila's aunts stopped by to visit. She lives only a couple of houses down from the salon. The aunt is of Italian descent and has blond hair with blue eyes. This stands out in Brazil. She looked like she could be a sister to a family of girls I grew up with in Roundup. Among her many attributes are her cooking skills, She said she doesn't like pizza but she loves to make pasta. Well, I like pizza and pasta, so she's my kind of relative.

The aunt's husband is Carlos, a good soul who also came to the airport as we had way too much luggage. The cars in Brazil are small because the roads are narrow and the price of gas is expensive.

Let me tell you about another relative I met. I think her name is Paula...but it's pronounced Pah-ool-a. Anyway, we met this sweetheart at the grocery store yesterday and she drove the car that took me and Camila's brother Rodrigo to our vacation home 30 miles north of the city. She too is a kind soul and a fun-loving individual. When we drove down a particularly steep hill, we would yell "Wee!" and fling our arms in the air like you do when riding a roller coaster.

Well, there will probably be more adventures to tell as the next week and a half progresses, but for now...Chao...or er, um, Bye.