Visitors

It’s strange how the internet can be so impersonal and distant yet it still has the uncanny ability to bring people together. Case in point, some weeks ago I receive an email from a woman from Washington State. She, her husband and their 2 children are due to arrive in Torino on business. Hoping to prepare for the trip, she asked me questions about the weather, what to bring, the culture of Torino, etc…We corresponded via email and called each other several times back and forth before we actually met up at a Brazilian restaurant in Torino.

Being Brazilian, she commented on how similar things in Italy were to her native Sao Paolo. I listened to her speak Portuguese and marveled at its sound. A cross between Spanish and Italian, she used Portuguese to get by for the month she was in Italy. Since her husband was working during the day, we went to the mall, the market, to lunch, anything to keep the kids busy and entertained. What I enjoyed most were our chats, comparing notes on Guam vs. Brazil, our independent experiences of Seattle, as well as the adjustments you have to make when moving to a new country. In a short 4 days we divulged anything and everything. I was glad for the company and happy to have connected with someone. She says I have made a friend for life in her little boy, I told her the feeling is mutual.


Look who is a bucking bronco today!



The children at a mini-Lego Land.

Roberta and the children.