playing catch-up
24 August 2005 @ 16:26
So, where to begin? Probably where I had left off...so, here it goes.
Saturday morning -- the day we left for S�o Jos� dos Campos -- I woke up to a surprise. Andr� wasn't in his bed. At seven o'clock in the morning, when neither of us have been waking up until after lunch is ready, Andr� wasn't in bed.
He came into the room just a few seconds later, collaspsing into my bed, writhing in pain. Not good. The pain had never been this intense. I needed help, and at that hour of the morning, no one is awake.
When M�e finally woke up, us womenfolk took Andr� out for treatment. First, we went to a pharmacy and picked up a few drugs, including ear drops. They didn't help. We went to another pharmacy, where a pharmacist(?) took at look at his ear. We got even more drugs.
Then, since nothing was working, it was off to the hospital. I waited with M�nica in the reception area while M�e went with Andr� to see the doctor. In the entire hospital -- which is small, by the way -- there is only one doctor. I was grateful that they weren't too busy.
When Andr� returned, he told me that the doctor thought it was a nerve thing -- which is why the ear drops didn't do a thing. Now, that's different from what his dentist had told him, which was that his teeth had been broken off from his roots or something along those lines. In the end, it was a hot water bag com um peixinho and more painkillers.
It was back to the house, to finish packing. M�nica and I put together a bag for Andr� and we loaded up our bags into the car.
Then, time for goodbyes.
Naldo, M�nica, Andr�, M�e, Pai... right before we got in the car. Andr� looks like that because he's in extreme amounts of pain, despite all of the drugs we pumped into him.
The trip was fairly uneventful. No accidents or near accidents. But because we left so late, there was no time to stop at the big church. It was dark when we reached S�o Jos�. But, we got to see a beautiful sunset.
On Sunday, his pain wasn't any better. Which meant that he didn't want to do much other than lay in bed and play PS2.
Personally, I can't stand laying around and watching him play PS2. I'd rather talk to him, go out, or cook in the kitchen.
So, I went out for lunch with Andr�'s family...for churraso, Brazilian barbeque. It was pricy at roughly R$20 per person, but very much worth it. I felt bad because Andr� didn't come. Really bad.
I ended up coming home to a very upset boyfriend who wouldn't even talk to me. So I sat in bed with him and watched Monty Python's Meaning of Life, thinking that I was watching it alone. (He later confessed that he was indeed watching while half-heartedly playing PS2.)
Francesca and Dudu wanted to go out, so after much convincing, Andr� was up and out of bed. And talking. And smiling. And laughing. And in pain.
After munching on some Habib's, we left for the shopping center for arcade games. I have a feeling that will become a minitradition. Oh, and Dudu driving like a maniac. We're talking gunning red lights (hell, they're optional in Brazil anyways), doing donuts in dirt lots, weaving back and forth on the roads, and other craziness.
Andr� went in and out of pain the whole night. It was good to see him laugh, it was good to see him smile, and I am very grateful that he went out with us. He ended up paying for it afterwards. It took a sleeping pill to for him to actually sleep.
Monday morning was a trip to yet another dentist. Well, we actually went to two.
The first took him in and looked at him, but did nothing. It was funny, because the clinic was called "Without Pain" in Portuguese, and the dentist could do nothing because he didn't have an x-ray machine.
The second dentist actually did something. She took an x-ray and drilled holes in his teeth. Other than that, nothing. But the holes seemed to relieve pressure, which did eventually help the pain. She said it looked like there was a big wound under there -- possibly even an absess.
Afterwards, and while everyone was at work, I packed. And packed and packed. M�e e Pai went on several hopeless missions to find bubble wrap for all of the cacha�a I brought home.
We had made plans to go to the Super Wal-Mart in S�o Jos� for kicks. That and Andr� needed a PAL-M converter and I was on a mission to find Legi�o Urbana CDs for my dad. Never happened, unfortunately. Dudu and Fran showed up as we were eating sandwiches, which meant that everyone was going to sit around and eat a little bit even though my bags were already in the car.
The drive to the airport, dispite the fact that Dudu was driving, was fairly uneventful in the I - think - I'm - going - to - die department. 160 km/h down the freeway, singing and jamming, and pointing out every motel I saw to Andr� while Francesca teased him for not taking me to one. And, of course, Dudu's endless stream of bullshit in a fun mix of Portuguese and English.
We parked illegally in the airport parking lot, and walked in to be greeted by the very, very, very, very long line for American Airlines. They stood with me as long as they could, and when they couldn't they were waving and yelling and running off to buy me some Guarana. I was actually pulled out of line to check in and was told that I had to go immediately to immigration.
No time to shop. No time to sip my Guarana. No time to sit and talk a little. No time at all.
Boarding passes, passport, and Guarana in hand, we ran off to immigration. Dudu and Fran taped the last bit that they could while we all said our goodbyes. They tucked it in my bag, telling me that I was taking them with me.
Dudu yelled "I love you" over the wall because Andr� couldn't.
Have I mentioned that I hate that flight?
But, I'm home safe. Missing meu gatinho brasileiro, but there's not much I can do about that.
At� mais,
--Annie