Things that we did in the Peace Corps
that we would think twice about doing now

I knew that my mother had three brothers some where in São Paulo. I had an address for one of them that looked like it was on the outskirts of the city. So, a little dumb and 21, I had a four day weekend. I took a flight to São Paulo, went straight to the main post office, handed the clerk the address and asked how I could find my lost uncle. She wrote out the directions for me (3 different buses) and stated that at the last stop that there would be a fruit stand on the left and to go in and ask for final directions there. An hour and a half later, I arrived and did as the clerk instructed. The fruit stand attendant was very unfriendly and stated "who wants to know" I explained. The attendant went in the back and came out a few minutes later and simply stated, "Wait" I did as I was told.

About 5 minutes later, a young man road up on a motorbike. He just says, "Are you Lorie", yes, I replied, to which he stated, "Hop on" And off I went through a section of town that I would describe as, lower income housing here in the States. 

Now, I ask, how dumb was that? I trusted so many people back then. I don't think that I would venture out by myself like that now.

Yes, this guy was my cousin and he took me straight to his parents house where I met his sister. Friendly me said to the young lady, "Hi, I am your cousin from the U.S." and reached out to shake her hand. Surprise, she put her hands behind her back. In a split second, I started to think about how I was going to get out of that place. What kind of excuse would I give my aunt when she arrived. Why, of course, I was just dropping by on my way to Rio, for an appointment. My appointment was for me to sit on Copa for the next three days.

My Mom came down to visit me at Christmas time and she was very happy that I had found one of her brothers. There is more to the story, but this is enough for now.

Lorie Farinha
Brazil 1 RS/SC 62-64