Stories Inspired by Life in Rural Brazil
Aren’t memories grand? Life is made of both the big milestones and the tiny pebbles under our feet.
This place is magic. When I was young, the road rippled like a Willy-Wonka roller-coaster and my dad–despite the oppressive fair traffic–would turn the car around at the fairgrounds and drive the whole distance again just to give me another chance to go: “WhEEEE!!”. Today the walk from the parking lot to the fair is …
As we filled up our plates and were about to sit down to dinner my honey looked at me from under sheepish eyebrows and said “I’m going to eat dinner in front of the movie, ok?” Which is fine because I’ve been known to make the same call for a riveting episode of C.S.I–who am …
Really, I felt sorry for her. Reading my passport just isn’t simple even if it is all in order. I entered as a tourist then extended and then overstayed my visa and then married and applied for residency. My Brazilian exit documents were the stuff that makes bureaucrats reach for the Tylenol. Which category did I fit in? …
How do you know you’ve been homesick for something? When you’re willing to pay anything–even airport prices–to have it. Things that had me dancing in the airport gift shop: a wall of nuts and dried fruit, a Real Simple magazine, and dangerously dark chocolate. Brazil, I love you, but your snacks for travelers and your …
With our most recent drama there’s been many a conversation of late about courage with, well, just about everyone. For those that asked me my opinion I would tell them that I think courage isn’t about not feeling afraid, it’s about feeling afraid and doing it anyway. Fear is just meant to be a safety-check, …
I don’t know if my husband knows it but when we first started dating he had competition, a very sweet friend of a friend. One night I picked up a phone call from the hospital, calling to see if I was free to come in and interpret in the Emergency Room. When I arrived it quickly …
Dear crônica readers, Minhas Crônicas do Brasil is on a medical leave of absence for the next week or two. On August 1 my husband donated a kidney to his brother. All are doing well and we seem to be leaving the hard days behind and are moving into the phase where each day everyone …
Our farm is overrun with kids. So much so that I rarely talk to my sister-in-law, even though her home is attached ours and we share a veranda. It’s not what you think. See, before there was e-mail and voicemail there were kids. Need to grab that thing over there? Send a kid. Need to …
One of the cutest things I have overheard this week (and with three small kids at the farm, there’s lots of cute) was little Anésio learning to shout “Ayyyi!” in proper cowboy style at the correct crescendos of a musica serteneja song. As of yesterday Anésio (age 2)–god love him–digs this art form that involves shouting …
Why your children will be little copies of you–whether you like it or notRead More
