The weekend before we left, all the Americans threw us a little going away party. We ordered pizza and all the families brought other food to go along with it. It was a beautiful evening and all the kids ran around outside while the adults shared food and laughs. After everyone was fed, we sat down and the others presented us with a few gifts to remind us of Brazil. We were given two CDs, one by Paula Fernandes (my favorite Brazilian artist). We were also given a blanket with several photos of Horizontina on it. We didn't get the blanket until we arrived in the U.S., but the ladies had printed off a picture of what the finished product would look like. I loved the picture of the blanket, but I was even more impressed when I opened the box last week! Kevin saw it yesterday and was pretty excited, too. It's fun to have something so tangible to remind us of our home there.
We were laughing here because there's a tradition in Brazil that's interesting. During bridal showers, the bride is supposed to guess what's inside the present she's been given. If she doesn't guess correctly, she's supposed to take off a piece of clothing. Ya, so, how easy is it to guess what's in a gift?? Not real easy. Think about it. . . usually there are just a bunch of women at a bridal shower. Why in the world would anyone want the bride to take off all her clothes?? How embarrassing and ridiculous! OK, I'm judging a culture I really came to love, but seriously?? Come on. That's not the only tradition I didn't care for. During the baby showers, the expecting mother is also supposed to guess what's inside the wrapping. If she doesn't guess correctly, the guests get to draw whatever they want on her exposed belly, or face, or arms, or half-exposed breasts. They usually use lipstick to draw with, but if there's a marker around, they could use that, too. I purposely chose to have my baby shower after Adri arrived:) Then nobody could try to convince me to expose my belly to all the guests and I didn't have to disappoint the guests!! Anyway, when I was given the gift from the Americans, we joked that I needed to guess what was inside. I'm SO glad I decided not to play the game!
Tami, Sue, Courtney, me, Gwen and Sarah (missing Jill). These are the other American women who moved to Horizontina over the last year. I am SOOOOO grateful for them and for the short time we were able to get to know each other.
We definitely shared a few laughs over the past few months.
And the men. . . Jason (Gwen), Scott (Tami), Matt (Courtney), Steve (Sue), Jason (Sarah) and Kevin. Fabio and Jill were another couple who moved to our town in January. They weren't able to make it to the party, but we missed them and we're thankful for them, too!
Like I said, the kids were running around all evening so we didn't see them much. It was so nice of Scott and Tami to host a party for us and we just felt really loved. Fun night!!
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