Christmas under the Southern Cross - Czech mother in Brazil (2.)

07.12. 2023

 
You could say that we are in a way trapped in São Paulo.

 
It doesn't bother us much - it's comfortable, my husband's relatives are nice and kind, the kids have friends and toys, and I have plenty of time to create and relax...
However, we are still waiting for one lost suitcase.

 
Things are not a problem - fortunately, we have luggage with things for the kids and as far as we are concerned, a short-term consolidation doesn't hurt - the problem is rather that we have planned for tonight a crossing to Batayporã, Bata's city in Brazil, where my husband comes from. It's already the morning before our scheduled departure, the seats on the bus are dwindling, and we still don't know whether to buy the ticket or not.

 
The deadline for the delivery of the lost suitcase has already passed, the number we were given for claims is shielding my husband from one call after another, and I am beginning to suspect that the stray luggage is still looking for its owner somewhere in Madrid.

But we decide to be optimistic. So I put the laundry in the wash so it can dry before we leave. And because the buses in Brazil are heavily air-conditioned (even refrigerated!), our travel clothes include the winter jackets we spent the night in on the plane.

So I ran around the house with an armful of laundry and shouted "Precisamos lavar as bundas também!" ("We need to wash the jackets too!") Someone already guesses what this catchphrase will provoke. And so, for now, I'm passing the time by thinking and writing.

This is not my first trip to Brazil, but it is for the kids. I was a little nervous about how they would handle it, but so far their reactions have exceeded our expectations. Maybe it's partly because I too have left all my accumulated worries, fears, and exhaustion in the middle of winter and here I am living the summer. Carefree and peaceful. I'm turning off the rush that probably all of us find ourselves in during the work year and allowing myself to be "just" a mom and wife right here and now.
My daughter enjoys her time here carefree, appropriate to her age, and conceives of it as a land of limitless possibilities to explore.

My son, on the other hand, has conceived of Brazil as a language-learning experience. From the initial disappointment that his new friends did not speak Czech, the boy's pride and determination surfaced. It is a joy to watch him bravely form sentences in Portuguese word by word while playing with the boys and trying to get along. And the boys talk fast! My son likes to handle things on his own, so he's holding on as long as he can... and then when he can't, I hear an irritated boy's voice from the yard: "Mom, Arturo said something again!!!" Mom, the interpreter, comes running in and stops any misunderstandings right at the beginning. The boys smile in relief and the frolic continues...
It's an interesting experience for me too. To observe how easily and naturally children learn something much harder for adults to catch up on in guided lessons with language teachers.

 
The child has no fear of making a mistake or not speaking correctly. The child simply speaks. If only we too could bring more ease to our communication with others.
In addition to language, my son has the opportunity to practice soccer - with real Brazilian soccer players, guys older and more trained than he is. Since it's just him in goal (and two bigger boys opposite him), he takes me to help him. But with my soccer talent, I'm more of a liability to him, and the boys score one goal after another. I guess it shows because after a while the older Arturo is called off somewhere and the game can continue with the younger boy one-on-one. My son finally scores a goal and I can finally see the genuine joy of the game in his eyes.

 
So as I sit there with the opposing team's mom and we talk about kids, I remember reading somewhere recently that kids need to experience failure sometimes, to learn how to lose and to know that life is not easy, that everything doesn't automatically go their way, and to not base their worth on success alone... I agree, however - and after this experience especially - I see that children need to experience success as well. Not one where we sweep them off the path and deliberately let them win so they don't cry! But the real success that they experience on their own terms in a straight game, like my son is experiencing now. So that they can recognize their talents and know they can compete with their peers. Even in faraway Brazil...