Last week, I played host to my cousin who flew down from Atlanta. It was her first trip to Rio. And she did her research.
We drank coconuts on Copacabana beach and watched footvolley on Ipanema. We shopped in Leblon and rode bikes around Lagoa. We hiked up Morro da Urca and fed monkeys. We explored the botanical gardens and got harassed by some aggressive strawberry salesmen at the market. Salgados, acaraje, tapioca, sushi, and pounds of red meat were consumed in addition to 16 different kinds of fruit juice. (Not even half of the 41 fruits on the menu.) Her trip ended with the obligatory visit to Cristo Redentor.
After a week with my cousin, I now have some idea what it’s like to have a five year-old on summer vacation.
I’ve had to translate for all of my family but, unlike other visitors, my cousin has an endless supply of energy and tendency to shout recently learned Portuguese phrases at totally inappropriate times. A pre-departure nightmare involving a kidnapping meant leaving her on her own was out of the question. Her first question every morning was “What are we doing today?” So, she couldn’t read or speak to anyone, couldn’t be left alone, needed to be entertained every day, and she found the Portuguese word for armadillo absolutely hilarious. In Rio, my cousin becomes a 23 year-old child.
Our week went like this. “What would you like to do today?” “What do you feel like eating?” “What do you want to drink?” “Who else do you need to get gifts for?” “The word for opossum is gambá.” “Where do you want to go now?” “Let me ask him where the bathroom is.” “Not a good idea to shout ‘gambá!’ in the middle of the market.” “What would you like to do if it rains?” “Fui assaltada means ‘I was assaulted.’” “What size do you want?” “It’s 35 reais.” “Please don’t tell the taxi driver you were assaulted.”
On her last day, she proudly announced that this was the first time she had ever exhausted a guidebook.
For my cousin every new experience, no matter how small, was worthy of being celebrated, turned into a joke, and discussed repeatedly. While her constant enthusiasm is tiring it is also her most admirable trait. She still has that childlike wonder which turns a trip to the grocery store into an adventure and pot-roast flavored potato chips into a treasure.
Our week together in Rio was great fun! Exhausting but great fun. She helped me realize just how much fun Rio can be with a sense of adventure and that I will probably be sending future kids to summer camp.
