Weekend at Tiago's

As my first week was coming to a close, I was beginning to wonder what I would do with my first weekend. I learned from the other guys in the house that almost everyone goes home to Sao Paulo, and come Friday evening, I saw this to be true. The house was dead silent. The familiar sounds of people laughing and shots being fired in Counter Strike were replaced by the echoes of my footsteps through the empty rooms. Only Fraek the Dutchman and the unlucky Brazilians with class on Saturday morning remained. Luckily, Tiago, the driver from Edumed, had said I would spend the weekend at his house with his family.

Saturday arrived and Tiago came by to pick me up around noon on his moto. First, we sped off in search of a bank where I could withdraw reais using my Bank of America card. The first two banks we visited rejected the transaction, and finally the HSBC machine spit out the cash I needed. We went back to Tiago's house, in a little neighborhood pretty close to Campinas center. The area was pretty run-down, with some unpaved roads and a handful of stray dogs pacing the streets. The houses were made of some type of concrete or brick, and drab gray or pale blue paint was chipping off of the exterior walls.

Tiago and me on the couch

The inside of the house, however, was very nice. Beautiful tiles sprawled across the floors of the well-decorated rooms. Tiago's mother, who also helps keep things tidy at Edumed, is a warm and generous woman. His father is a mechanic of sorts and he has a 10 year-old sister. Throughout the weekend, I felt extremely welcomed, as if I were a part of the family. And for them, family is most important. Tiago brought me around the neighborhood to his uncle's house a few streets over, where I was introduced to his aunts, uncles, and cousins. That night, they all came by for dinner, and we ate, talked (I listened, trying to catch familiar words and phrases in Portuguese), and watched TV before Tiago and his best friend, Fushu, took me out for a romp around Campinas. Needless to say, the Brazilians know how to party.

Sunday was a day of recovery: sleeping in followed by a trip to the mall, where we shopped, played in the arcade, and saw Angels & Demons. Dinner was at a churrascaria, an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse a la Chamas or Fogo de Chao, providing a filling, and satisfying, end to a wonderful weekend. Hope you're all well.