SEE FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! Vai ser tão bom matar a saudade! To see people I’ve been separated from for over a year, to talk to them face-to-face and not over the internet, to be able to give a hug or a kiss, to enjoy that wonderful spirit and camaraderie that characterizes us when we’re all together: the conversations, the sense of humor, the love. Family and friends, you will have to pardon me if, when I see you, I hug you and do not want to let go.
Things I want to eat (in no particular order): Bagels and lox, chicken matzoball soup, Dad’s sushi and Japanese soups, pierogies, subway sandwiches, Reese’s peanut butter cups, French onion soup with bread and melted cheese Spot-diner style, pumpkin pie – yes, I realize I will miss the right season for it, but… hrm, what else… I’d like to drink chai and also a big glass of cold, plain 1% milk… even the smell of Brazilian milk makes me gag. And also eat the fruits that I don’t get so much down here: peaches, kiwi, Clementine oranges, blueberries (actually, I’ve never seen those here), cherries (ditto), pears, plums, CANTALOUPE!!! Wait, have I ranted about Brazilian melon here yet? About how Brazilians always, without fail, seem to serve it crunchy and unripe? For such a relaxed, laid-back, and habitually late people, they can’t be patient enough to wait for the darn melon to ripen?
Anyway, I also want to eat ethnic food that’s not Brazilian: Thai, Chinese, Mexican, Middle Eastern… I haven’t had hummus in a while… ooh, also go to a Japanese steakhouse. Also, a big and complete salad that’s more than just lettuce, tomato, and onion. With blue cheese. Cheese!! I’d almost forgotten! Swiss and smoked gouda and muenster and feta and all that good stuff that costs a fortune in Brazil. And good chocolate; for some reason, even the stuff made by Hershey’s and Nestle here tastes funny. I’m told it’s because all the good cocoa gets exported to the first-world countries, leaving the second-rate stuff for the Brazilians. And homemade applesauce, cider, and doughnuts. They don’t have doughnuts here. Maybe Brazilians are uncomfortable with all bagel-shaped pastries, I dunno.
Play piano for hours and hours and hours.
Go to the library and take out a ton of books! In my own language! Actually, before that, I’ll have to gobble up all the books in my house that I haven’t read in forever. Related to that, I’m going to have to watch all my favorite movies. Or any good American movie. This week’s spectacular movie lineup features Home Alone III, Stuart Little, Blade II, Hollywood Homicide, Leave it to Beaver, and Saw. Hmmm… missable!
Play Frisbee, tennis, and ping-pong. Ok, so the first two will have to wait a few months until more agreeable weather. I bet I’m super rusty.
Go sledding. I miss snow. Well I mean I could do without the dangerous roads and the fifteen below mornings, but I’d love to just go play in it. Anyone up for this?
Go hiking/camping… again, will have to wait for summer.
Go skating. I’d sort of stopped skating during the summer before I left for Brazil because I was frustrated with my completely stalled progress. I doubt I’ll return to taking lessons, but it’ll be nice to get out there again.
Play Scrabble with mom, who will slaughter me; I’m having enough trouble expressing myself in English as it is, and then I have to compete in a word game? A random thought: I wonder what the values of the letters are in the Portuguese version of Scrabble. IS there a Portuguese version?
