Paula was supposed to pick me up around 12:45 in order to go to lunch. Paula is Japanese and I really wanted to have some Japanese food with her (especially because she would be able to help me and my lack of Portuguese skills order). While I was walking down my hall before going to lunch I ran into Miguel and Chema (more like the door to their room was open and I waved) and they said they were going to lunch with their buddies and wanted to know if we wanted to join. We said that could possibly work but we wanted to see where Paula wanted to take us. Long story short, all the interns (sans Jessica who had left early that morning) ended up at a sushi restaurant chosen by Chema’s buddy. The food was pretty good, although expensive, but there were points for flair considering the sushi was served in a boat. The worst part about lunch was the fact that we had to start to say goodbye to people. Frankie had to leave before eating lunch to catch his flight back to South Africa (we assume he made it but he cut it very close) so that was a sad parting considering he lives all the way in South Africa and the chances of seeing someone we saw every day for a month again was very small. While we were all wiping away the tears Laura had the idea to share our pits and peaks for the past month. This was so great because it turned into a long list of peaks, making us laugh and smile and remember all the good times that made Sao Paulo so hard to leave.
Tearful goodbyes at sushi
After arriving back at Transamerica and saying goodbye to Paula for the last time we headed back to our rooms to finish up the packing and then met up in Laura’s room to listen to sappy goodbye music and talk about how much we were going to miss each other. Gabriela and her boyfriend Demetri showed up around 5 to take us to the airport, but not before showing us how to make brigaderos, the bonbon of Brazil. Because the microwaves in our rooms just wouldn’t do for crafting Brazilian delicacies, Gabriela secured us special access to the Transamerica kitchen. We didn’t have time to roll the candies into balls so with five spoons we ate the chocolate concoction.
And then, just as suddenly as it started, it was over. We checked out at the same desk we checked in at, loaded our bags into the car, said goodbyes to Erik and Johanna, and drove towards the international airport with Gabriela and Demetri, two resources we did not come to Sao Paulo with. The people we met and bonded with in Sao Paulo (and Rio) is what made the departure so rough. I know Danny felt the same way and we had to share overly emotional texts about the trials of saying farewell to really the only people we knew in Brazil.
Once we arrived at the airport we checked into our flights and it came time to say goodbye to Gabriela, someone who had acted as another buddy for me. On the way to meet Laura and Gabriela at their check-in desk, Demetri warned me to not cry because it would make Gabriela cry and she was already crying this morning. If you have ever met me (and you probably have if you are reading my blog), you know how this ended- I started crying too. Gabriela gave us each gifts and I opened it right away (Brazilian etiquette) to reveal a beautiful Brazilian futebol jersey and some playing cards with pictures of Sao Paulo on it. But the material gifts were not as good as the card, displaying a beautiful and perfectly applicable quote- “The value of things is not in the time they last, but the intensity with which they occur. That is why there are unforgettable moments, inexplicable things, and unique people.”
After saying goodbye I was sobbing but continued on through the airport, probably causing people wonder what tragic crime the little blonde girl was victim of. Like most women, I decided to fill the gaping hole I felt with material possessions and headed to the duty free gift shop to buy last minute souvenirs. After buying my last pao de queijo, using the last of my phone credit to text Danny and call my mother, and drying my tears, I boarded the plane, heard flight attendants talk in perfect English, and knew I was on my way home.
