Oh, how sweet it is to have a friend like you says James Taylor. His song makes me think of how fortunate I am to have such a wonderful sister in my life name Papi. Papi's birth name is Gabriella but she goes by her nickname. My mom came to me in high school and asked if I wanted to host a foreign exchange student. I could pick any country. She brought me a stack of potentials which included a small passport photo and their likes/dislikes. Some how, I came to the conclusion that Papi was the one out of 100 faces. I showed her to my Mom who immediately was taken back because she didn't smile in the photo. It looked more like a mug shot. My mom asked, "Are you sure?" I replied, "definitely." And that was that. Papi was on her way all the way from Brazil.
Papi came to our house the summer before my Junior year in high school with one suitcase. She had managed to pack more clothes than I had in my entire closet in one suitcase. She has ironed and folded everything in her bag before she left. It was unbelievable. The other thing I remember is how fascinated I was with all her clothes and things. Everything was so different. Papi and I went to the same high school and she was also considered a Junior so we had many of the same classes. She played Volleyball and was on the swim team. We both enjoyed hanging out and sharing our life together even for one short year.
Luckily this year and the past year she has been able to visit. I have not made it to Brazil yet but it is on my list of vacation spots. :) My entire family was able to celebrate her visit at Maggiano's restaurant. We were also able to have lunch with friends at Watt's Grocery in Durham. It was fabulous! Of course, Papi and I had our two hour shopping excursion at Wal-mart and another one at Nordstrom Rack before the weekend was over. I wish she could have stayed longer. Better yet, I wish she could come for another year!
Last year photos 2010
2011 Visit
No comments:
Post a Comment