1992 - My first trip overseas

I couldn’t shut my eyes the entire night before my first trip abroad. As a kid, I was extremely excited and happy to travel overseas. Consequently, I was not able to fall asleep, already imagining myself at Disney World. Like any child in my country, I have always dreamed of traveling to the fantasy land famous for those theme parks. I had butterflies in my stomach as I heard the voice in the airport calling for our plane. It seemed unreal that my dream was actually coming true. Going abroad to the U.S. not only meant that I was going to encounter for the first time my childhood idol – Mickey Mouse; but also that I would be in another part of the world where every-day life was entirely different from mine.

The airport has always been exciting for me. Whenever I go to the airport, it brings back childhood memories of yearning to travel and discover the world. Watching airplanes in the skies from the balcony, I envisioned a whole new world that existed far away from my reality. Arriving in the United States, I realized that most of the airport facilities were really new to me. I encountered a world which seemed to be light-years ahead of my own. I learned at school that Brazil was considered a "third world country", while the United States was a "first world country". I had a vague idea of what that meant, but I was still surprised to see the difference first hand. The evidence of a developed country became clear as we landed in the States. While in Brazil people walked forever to arrive at the next terminal, in America, people used flat escalators and concourses to get to terminals. This was quite a revelation. Riding the concourse from terminal E to D was my first remarkable experience in America. The concourse and flat escalator fascinated me because they represented American progress. Ironically, now I just take for granted the airport facilities that assist me in commuting from one terminal to the other.

After we left the airport, I was constantly reminded of the fact that I was in an alien land. For the first time, I was able to see clean streets, new asphalt, and respectful drivers. I was amazed at the organization of the traffic and the lack of noise. Why did Americans not honk their horns and curse at other people while driving? This reminds me at a Mark Jenkins’ article. In “Leap Year”, he described the muddled traffic in Spain which is very similar to Brazil: “Triple parking usually blocks the entire thoroughfare, giving all involved something to honk and yell and wave their hands about, which they seem to enjoy far more than actually getting where they’re trying to go” (185). Today, Jenkins’ description makes me wonder if the chaotic traffic in Brazil is not our heritage from our colonizers, the Portuguese. I thought that chaotic traffic was a characteristic common only to third world countries as they lack a strong police to enforce the traffic rules; however, it seems that my hypothesis was wrong. Although Spain is considered to be a "first world" country, it appears to be another stressful place to drive. And Portugal might be the same. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the unusual silence and the fact that drivers did not try to kill any pedestrians while driving.

Another aspect of America that I perceived as an evidence of progress was the fact that I did not see favelas (slums) nor did I see homeless people living under bridges. In my little mind, I wondered where the homeless people were and if there was any poverty in the U.S. But I was soon distracted by the gorgeous buildings and cars that I saw through the shuttle window. I could not stop staring at the beautiful limousines. And I soon returned to my original thought: I didn't see people squeezed in to buses. At sundown, I noticed the large amount of colorful lights which gave another atmosphere to Miami. Wow! It was amazing, I thought, American people know how to light up the night!

Before the day was done, I had my first encounter with American people. I thought I would be more successful in communicating, but I was extremely confused due to my language limitations. All I heard was "blah, blah, blah". While I was waiting for our group to finish checking in, my siblings and I saw a group of kids laughing and playing in the reception area. We wanted to talk to them. Although we had learned a few words, they were not enough to engage in a conversation and start a friendship. I felt irritated because I only knew how to say a few words: “I don’t speak English”, “Hi”, “Thank you”, and “Nice to meet you”. As Jenkins says “It is not possible to know a country well without knowing its language”. Reflecting back, Jenkins' comment express exactly how I felt in my first experience abroad. Everywhere I went with my family, we felt awkward because we were unable to communicate what we wanted to people. In restaurants, we noticed that customers and waitress always engaged in funny conversations. At the mall, the salesperson greeted us nicely, but we repeatedly failed to get what we wanted because we did not know how to explain ourselves. I felt even more frustrated when I arrived at Disney World. All the conversations were conducted in English and I was not able to understand a single conversation about the many attractions they offered. Language does play a major role in traveling abroad. A person can travel overseas without knowing the native language; however, acquiring the language enables people to establish better communication and contact with local people. Now that I look back on my first trip overseas, I realize that the frustration of not understanding English became a motivation for my future commitment to learn the language.

At Disney World, the theme parks appeared to be so magical; however, there was one big disappointment. As I looked forward to seeing the real Mickey Mouse, the one which I would only encounter at Disney World, I realized I was deceived. Mickey Mouse was a man in a costume. I was appalled that I had been cheated for almost ten years of my life. It was shocking to travel with the expectation of seeing the real cartoon and realizing that it was another fantasy that adults created for kids. Why do adults attempt to deceive kids? They created stories such as Santa Claus and Easter Bunny, making children so disappointed when they discover the truth. For a moment, I was convinced that my trip to Disney had been ruined, but then I saw the incredible night Disney Parade. All my irritation disappeared and it was Magic all over again!!! As any other kid, I was easily distracted and entertained again.