Trials and Tribulations

Yesterday, my fellow newcomer friend and I had made a plan to attend the International Newcomers Club monthly coffee. I bravely volunteered to drive us, knowing it was near St Francis and in a very good neighborhood. Her husband was kind enough to drop her off at the apartment and off we went. I was pretty proud of myself as we drove into morning rush hour with the GPS on hand , but navigating from memory.

Not only did we make it safely, but we arrived early, (mistake #1, we parked the car ourselves instead of using valet, as the parking lot was empty) had a cup of coffee in the swanky coffee bar and made our way to the meeting. The get togehter was very well worth attending, as we both made several contacts with fellow expats in our respective neighborhoods. After the meeting was over, we took advantage of the attached gourmet grocery store and visited with several English speaking woman as we shopped.

As all the ladies were waiting for the valet line, we popped our purchases in the trunk and cruised fairy easily from the lot and headed toward Villa Lobos Mall, our next shopping destination.

"Well, we made it. " I said proudly, feeling that the drive to the mall was a direct shot down the freeway and it is my regular stomping grounds. (mistake #2, never count your eggs until they're hatched). I saw the freeway sign ahead and before it could register, the car was jolted by two loud pops. What just happened? It sounded like we blew a tire. No we didn't blow a tire, we blew TWO tires, both on the passenger side. Here we were in a very busy business district of Sao Paulo, about to hit the freeway, and we were stranded. Thankfully, David had told that if anything ever happened, leave the car, get to safety, and call the number in the glove box.

Luckily for us, we were no more than a half mile from the meeting place and could easily walk back from the car. Unlucky for us, my cell phone would not dial out (mistake #3, if you know you're cell phone isn't working fully, do not drive). Knowing there was a chance some fellow English speakers with working cell phones would still be lingering, we quickly walked back to the venue). Sure enough, we found a friend, who not only lent us her phone, she also called for us, in her much more advanced Portuguese and got the ball rolling with Brazil's version of AAA. In the meantime, the car was sitting in the road, hazards on, hoping to avoid further disaster.

After a few more phone calls on the grocery store phone, I managed in my minimal Portuguese to verify our location, determine they were sending a "platform" (a tow truck) and request a taxi, which all happened within a very efficient hour.

When it was all said and done, two things left us perplexed. Why did two tires on the same side of the car blow out and why (after going back with the tow truck) would the car not start? It was cranking fine, but sounded like it was choking and sputtering. Speculation from the New comers was that someone had tampered with the car (reference back to mistake #1).

It's one of those experiences, that later, leave you laughing at the seriousness of it and feeling grateful that it turned out so well. It couldn't have been worse and it couldn't have been better. I've never had such a bad mishap with a car, yet we couldn't have been in a better situation regarding when and where it happened. We were close to a familiar and safe place and we had English speakers there to help us out.

Needless to say, we never made it to the mall and I'm now without a car again. David's company is working to get me one quickly, but quite frankly, I don't really care right now. On the other hand, I feel the worst case scenario has happenend to me, so why not get back on the horse? Thank God I had a calm grown-up with me and not two scared kids. Maybe there's something to be said about not driving myself around Sao Paulo. Not because I can't do it, but because there are some things you just can't control. Maybe I just need to give up my independent ways and allow myself to be driven, my house to be cleaned, and my independent ways to be dampered.

One thing's for sure, Brazil is changing me. It's tearing me apart and putting me back together in a new way. That's what I wanted when I started this journey, but now I know what they mean when they say "be careful what you wish for". Today I need some building up, so I'm staying close to where my heart is, at home.

Tomorrow, I'm sure I'll be ready to fight through the fear and venture out into the city again.

Afterall, its' skyline is my backyard and nothing will fence me in.