Patria Amada!

"Ouviram do Ipiranga as margens plácidas
De um povo heróico o brado retumbante."

I was 7 years old, almost 8. A little girl with no worries about anything in the entire world, when those words started to mean something deeper to me. 1994, the first world cup I was old enough to understand. It was happening in the United States of America, and I thought, "some of family lives there"! I barely knew who Diego Maradona was. He was this man, who achieved so much for our rivals: Argentina. This was his last world cup but he would walk away with tears in his eyes, after failing a drug test.

We were placed in a fairly easy group which included Cameroon - we always face Cameroon for some odd reason. Yet, "This was going to be a tough one", our hearts told us. At the time I lived in Brazil, and the idea of soccer not being the most important thing during the month of June, every 4 years, did not exist. We won our group by a mere 2 points, and advanced to the playoffs. We played the USA and advanced to play the Netherlands. Oh those dutch... they have always been in our ways and people have always underestimated them. After beating them and whoever was next we faced Italy in the finals. Now, I am part Italian... this was weird. Italy had the most amazing soccer team of all times, and I adored them. I followed them. We had no idea that having our captain Dunga, our star Romario, and one of Italy's stars: Baggio, would win us the world cup. The match went to overtime and eventually to penalty kicks. As a 7 year old, I don't remember anything from those last 15 minutes besides 3 facts: 1. We had an amazing goalie, his name was Tafarel and the commentators always said "vai que e tua Tafarel!" (Go for it because it's yours Tafarel, which to this day my friends and I say it playing around when we wish someone to do something that they are great at). 2. Romario was our beast. The man made history, and it's not easy to make history as a Brazilian soccer player. 3. Baggio... Roberto Baggio was his name and missing the crutial penalty kick was what he did. And that was my first experience as a Brazilian soccer fan.

Four years after that I remember us preparing for another world cup. This is when we would win our 5th championship we thought. Coca-Cola sang in its commercials "O Brasil ta com fome de gol, O Brasil ta com sede de 5" (Brazil is hungry for goals, Brazil is thirsty for 5) and we all chanted it. But that was a disappointment. We watched as Ronaldo, the phenomenon, failed to perform and France took our fifth star from us.

2002 came quickly and we easily killed Germany in the finals with our phenomenon scoring two goals against nothing. Who would ever thought that 12 years later we would be slaughtered by the same country 7 goals to 1? I certainly didn't. If i did I wouldn't have painted my face yellow and green, i wouldn't have tied my hair with a Brazilian bandana and worn my country's colors. Or would have I?

That's the question us fans ask ourselves all the time. After living in America for 11 years I realized that America loves, but it also hates. Just like us Brazilians. The silly constant comments about soccer never, ever, made me feel anything negative. I love the sport. I think it's stupid when people compare it to football because it's soccer. The most ignorant comment of all times is: "the real soccer, football, starts in september". Ignorance is my least favorite human characteristic..  Come on everyone, there's soccer and there's football, and because the whole world decided to call soccer "football" (foot+ball, kicking, kicking the ball with your foot... etc) does not mean they are the same. So would I have dressed up for Brazil even if i knew they would have lost? YES! and I will repeat, yes. My heart beats green and yellow, my hands shake and tears come to my eyes when I hear our anthem. The passion and love I have for my country, my soccer team, my players, my brothers and sisters, will never ever fade. And if you, share those emotions with me, you will appreciate this video. At every beat your heart, as will mine, will move faster and in the end, with chills in your arms and tears in your eyes you will sing.  With all your might you-will-sing:

"Terra adorada!
Entre outras mil
És tu, Brasil,
Ó Pátria amada
Dos filhos deste solo és mãe gentil,
Pátria amada
Brasil!"

The bag and the beach.

After two long, life changing years, a special someone encouraged me to be back. With different goals in mind, I typed in the URL for my long lost blog and there it was. Colorful, full of details and fashion items. Quickly I thought: "I must change this if I ever want to write on it again!". Today I can say that I am a much more simple person, who can quickly distinguish from black and white. I'm here to share a story of a friendship that grew from nothing but random encounters to a bond that could never be broken. As A always says: "The universe has a reason for everything".

A Friday in July 2005: I wore a jean skirt and a brown tight polo, all from Abercrombie and Fitch. Where else?! That store smelled like good looking people and played the best music. I walked for the first time into the place where my home would be for the next 9 years. I carried my pink and white stripped bag with neon yellow handles that had some quote about the beach on it. Little did I know both the bag and the beach would bring us together at different times. The day went quickly and I met some friends. Some I still talk to, some I still carry in my heart and memories.

A Sunday in September 2005: I also wore a jean skirt, this time I paired it with an army green racer back tank top. My best friend and my parents moved me in to my first dorm room... I've always been a clean and organized person, I remember being a little girl dumping all my clothes on the bed because a skirt was misplaced in the wrong drawer. Upon walking into that room, desperation came over me. "I couldn't sleep in this messy room on a top bunk" I thought! Luckily before I even took a breath, I was moved to a different room due to knowing a friend who was joining the same dorm room (still I was placed in a top bunk, but this time around it was ok because I was with my friend). That night the most random girl came up to me and asked if I would like to go to a party, and to meet outside at 9:30. I quickly got ready and met her and a bunch of new kids. We walked to a place that has held so many memories to me and A throughout our lives. Once there I saw A standing by a table where people played a game called beerpong. A and I locked eyes and I think i can speak for both of us when I say that we knew we would get along. A spotted my stripped bag and ran to me saying she saw me walk during that July afternoon and had loved my bag! This is the moment the bag brought us together. We started talking about parties and school. We found a bucket full of watermelons where we stood by and munched on some delicious fruit. Then people were calling on others to play the beerpong game, so A and I said why not? Obviously we won, we were so good at it somehow. We shared laughs, hugs, and what would become a first night of a beautiful friendship.

A Monday in November 2006: A wakes me up to go to anthropology class. She was always the most responsible one. The one who never skipped class and made study guides before exams. After showering, I told A i wasn't feeling so well, she rolled her eyes at me thinking I was probably just skipping our class again, but still she saw in my eyes that I couldn't go. After a text message, A ran back to our room with medicine for the pain I felt. Once she walked in she was surprised to see that I had changed colors and no longer felt my limbs. That moment A and I shared something neither of us will ever forget. Thanks to A and a few other characters I survived safe and sound. As A would say "The universe has a reason for everything".

The memories A and I shared are immense and impossible to be written down by me solely. Things, people, obligations were put in our path but today we are stronger than ever.

A Thursday in May 2014: After feeling extremely sick, A convinces me that I should come down to the beach for memorial day weekend. She knew I needed a new scene, some fun... That weekend changed my life. There were other people involved in this change, they know how much they mean to me. But A, she knows how much my heart needed her and the beach. This is the moment the beach brought us together. As we held hands and sat by the water for the first time in so long, I looked at A and I said "Thanks, I am finally complete" and A answered that "the universe has a reason for everything".