We are in Miami, with only 10 hours left of our 34 hour journey home. The customs/immigration/check-in process in Rio took 31/2 hours, so it was a good thing we had a long layover. We are surprised by our experience of reverse culture shock after only 10 days away. So many English speaking people is overwhelming. When we got off the plane in Miami, an airline employee told us to “Follow the green dots..” and Larry immediately replied in Portuguese “Nao fallo… (which means I don’t speak)” and then he realized that she was speaking English! We got a really good laugh at that. And we navigated airports in Salvador, Sao Paulo and Rio with our limited language skills and only in Miami did we end up in the wrong place outside the secure area and have a problem. We found that pretty ironic.
The people we met in Salvador have made a lasting impression on us. We plan to improve our Portuguese over the next few months and return to Salvador and maybe see more of Brazil in the near future. I believe the week we spent with the children at Madre Tereza made their lives happier. Tiago, Franciella, Jade, Davi, Rafael, Felipe and Cristian at the orphanage had more attention and fun than usual and the staff got a little extra help. We also brightened the days of the children at the daycare and the ladies at the elder care center. Thank you so much to all of you who helped make this possible.
Judy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment