Lights Out!

I and the rest of the city of Piracicaba are currently in the dark. Around 4pm today, Sunday the 21rst, a hail storm knocked out power. Brazil, you will recall is currently in its winter time, which means the sun goes down around 6pm, so the darkness came early. Its two minutes until 9pm now. I am not tired because of a nap I took earlier. So here I sit in my bed with host sister Juliana (Ju) in the bed next to mine. The house smells like a strong combination of cookies and garlic thanks to the cookie candle I brought for my host grandma that is being used for light and the corn and garlic soup that is on the stove.

I suppose last night is worth a bit of a story. My “grandma” Lair has temporarily moved in. With such a full house and a few complications the sleeping arrangement was as follows. Juliana slept alone in our room. She is sick and has a cough and did not want to get me sick or keep me awake. So I slept in the next bedroom with Lair. Sérgio and Li slept in their room and my host brother Rodrigo slept on a mattress on their floor. I was happy with this arrangement and ignored the lighthearted jokes from my host parents that focused around the idea of Lair’s snoring. 

What I learned around midnight was that this was no joke. I tried my hardest to sleep through the loud deep-throated-growls and gasps but I could not. Around two I went to my room and searched for my earplugs, but to no avail. In this process I woke up Ju who expressed much compassion. I felt bad for waking her up, apologized and returned to Lair’s side telling myself to deal with it. About an hour later and no success with the finger-in-ear strategy I grabbed my pillow and returned to my room to grab a blanket. My goal was to sleep on the couch. In this process I again woke up my ailing host sister. She insisted on getting me a sheet and making my bed on the couch. She is wonderfully stubborn. I guiltily allowed her to do so, said my thanks and went to sleep.

Speaking of guilt….for various reasons really, I felt guilty: 1. Li didn’t want anyone to sleep on the couch because she wished to keep the living room in order for unexpected visitors who would come to see Lair and give their respects. 2. I felt bad for acknowledging Lair’s snoring because I didn’t want to her to be embarrassed. 3. I felt bad for leaving her to sleep alone. 4. I woke up my sick host sister twice.

The next day I didn’t feel so guilty. Some light teasing made me feel as though everything was fine and I was glad I made the move.

Now I am going to go try the corn and garlic soup.