Obrigada

by: Kelly Muskat

I´m sure that at least fifteen other people will agree with me when

I say that our flight(s) to Brazil were not easy. After 64 hours of travel, four

canceled or delayed flights, and a cold night spent on or under the terminal

benches of the Chicago O´Hare Airport, we were exhausted. To add insult to

injury, our luggage was lost somewhere along the way, and by Wednesday

morning many of us had been wearing the same clothes for four days. That

morning, running on about 2-4 hours of sleep, I could see the exhaustion in

our eyes. And yet for all that trouble, one morning spent at the CECOIA

school made it worth it.

We were immediately greeted by everyone present. For the entire

duration of our visit, there was not one minute when I did not feel actively

welcomed. In addition to the children at CECOIA, we met several students

from Notre Dame. The children at CECOIA performed a dance, gave a guitar

performance, and sang for us. We also played soccer, ate food, and played

games like musical chairs and potato spoon race.

me feel like family. Thank you very

much for taking the time and effort

to open up your lives to us. You

have inspired me to open up my

own. []

At the end of our visit,

one boy tapped me on the shoulder

and promptly ran away, laughing. A

few minutes later, he tapped me on

the shoulder again and handed me

a bright red candy before smiling

and running off again. As enticing

as it looks, I won´t eat it. It will

always be a reminder to me of the

kindness of a stranger, and of a day

spent amongst people who made

(continued)

When we went to the Santa Clara Parish,

I reallly wasn´t sure what to expect. It felt

like one of the more spontatneous things

we did, just walking up to someone´s

house, accompanied by no adult other

than a strange teacher I couldn´t

understand. The barking dog on a chain

in the front yard really didnt help to lessen

my suspicion. But once we met the

elderly woman and her two daughters, I

began to relax. And even though we

didn´t speak the same language, I could

tell from their appreciative and

compassionate looks and gestures that

they were ecstatic that we were there.

They even served us some sickly sweet,

bright pink Jello. I don´t even like Jello,

but I enjoyed being there so much that I

ate the whole thing. The experience was

so unexpected, so out of context, and so

Paroquia Santa Clara

unlike anything else I´ve ever done. The

couches were very green, the Jello was

very pink, and the people were very nice.

[]