Already Ready for the Holidays (third meeting)

After fall break, Monique and I met for another coffee at Union Grounds. We talked about our fall breaks and shared stories on what we did. Monique had gone to see Cirque du Soleil, which is currently in Dallas. She encouraged me to check it out. We also talked about the state fair since I had had plans to go during break. She said she had gone before so she shared her experience and warned me to be prepared for all the fried foods at the fair. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to go to Dallas in the end because I had other plans that got in the way. Instead, I had spent time with my friends who were still on campus during break.

Maybe it’s too soon to be thinking about it, but we then shared our winter break plans. She told me how she was planning to go back to Brazil for the break and see her family. It’s disappointing, though, because she won’t be able to stay for “Carnival,” a weeklong Brazilian festival to celebrate Mardi Gras. During “Carnival,” everybody dresses in costumes and, as Monique put it, everybody “goes wild;” it’s like a weeklong party. Interested, I asked her more about this festival. It usually happens around late February and everything is closed so that everybody can celebrate. This reminded me of Lunar New Year (Tet) in Vietnam during which all services are closed for celebration.

She told me more about Brazilian celebrations. It was exciting to learn about the holidays that are celebrated in Brazil.  What I found most intriguing were the Brazillian traditions for common holidays. It’s interesting to see how different cultures celebrate worldwide holidays. For example, during New Years, everybody wears white in Brazil. This is to bring in good luck and peace for the New Year. New Years is her favorite holiday and favorite time to be home so she’s glad that she’ll at least be able to be home for it. Moreover, she told me she was ready to get away from the cold since it will be warm when she goes home in December. I told her that I could relate to this since I was also raised in a warm country but I liked that it was getting colder because it brings that feel of the holiday season, which is my favorite time of the year.