Policia
Well, I just got home from a Brazilian Police Station...
Let me explain.
Well, even before I begin to explain, let me give some background. :)
Ever since I got to Brazil, I've been telling my friends how I want to buy coffee to take back to the States. Literally-- for the past week, I've mentioned it every day. Finally, tonight (Sunday night), I went to the supermarket with Thiago and Priscilla to get my coffee! Hooray!! #soexcited
Ahead of myself a little bit...let me give some more background.
The people that I'm hanging out with in Brazil are some of the best people one could ever know. I'll start with the couple that have been gracious enough to let me stay with them in their house while I'm here. Thiago is a brilliant and hard-working engineer and Priscila is about the sweetest and kindest person in the world. They both work with the youth at the church and would be my role models and mentors, no doubt, if I was in high school and going to church with them. They have a very nice apartment and very nice car (the car will come into play in the near future...) The other couple that i've been with alot are the best friends of Thiago and Priscila. Cesar is a lawyer, studying by night on an additional accounting degree, and Marta is ADORABLE. They work with the family ministry at church and --again-- they would be my top choice for Christian fellowship if I went to church with them. They also have a very nice house and car. Their car actually exactly matches Thiago and Priscila's car--just a different color! See, told you---best friends. ;)
So. These two couples and I went over to the Leite's house tonight for dinner. So sweet of Miriam to invite us all over! She previously told me how much she loves these two couples and I agree with her 150%. Thiago and Cesar park the cars outside of Miriam and Alaor's apartment building, in the street directly across from it. The way the security works in regards to apartment buildings here is that they typcially have a gate and a guard who has to open the gate for you if you are approved to enter into the building. Or you can call the person's apartment from a speaker system. The Leite's apartment building is even more secure than typical, but not because they live in a bad neighborhood--quite the opposite, actually. The area is very very nice. And they feel extra safe because their building has two gates instead of one and they live on the 12th floor and there is a "secret parking spot" they can utilize if they want the cops called without drawing any attention.
Thus, we continue with the original story. I was so excited to get my coffee and I got a LOT of it! You see, my first two trips to Brazil I was just a baby and didn't like coffee at all. But I now love it (and know some family and friends who would like some Brazilian coffee as well ;) ) so I bought like 9 kilos. Then we headed over to the Leite's house and met Cesar and Marta there. It was a lovely time! We ate Brazilian pizza (onions, eggs, lots of cheese, ham, etc, with a fork and knife) which is sooo good and I, of course, had Guarana. Good fellowship too! I was completely surrounded by men and women of God. What a feeling!
I will admit, however, that I was encouraged and in high spirits throughout the evening, but I didn't speak much...and that's because they did about 90% of the talking in Portuguese. No problem for me, I'm the intruder--speak your language, I am in your country!! But I often didn't know what was being talked about and I went back and forth between a) actively listening to try to follow the convo and pick out words I knew (I'm actually getting better at the language and am understanding more) and b) totally tuning out and getting lost in my own little world while they happily chatted on. :)
So the night was coming to a close and after my tour of the apartment, which included an incredible view from the balcony, we start to gather our things to leave. At that exact moment, the phone in the kitchen rings. I hear Miriam's voice get a little louder, then she comes rushing into the living room staying something very urgently in Portuguese! Everyone stands up, in disbelief, and runs out to the balcony where I was standing just a few minutes before. I hear Thiago whistle very very loud. The living room had emptied in seconds, except for Alaor due to his health, and I was left in sheer confusion sitting on the couch. I couldn't get anyone's attention to try to translate for me and I didn't want to pull someone away from whatever thing was causing this ruckus, so I stand up, look around--at Alaor, out at the balcony, at the Guarana on the table, at the phone in the kitchen--and say aloud to no one in particular I guess, "What is happening??!?"
No one heard me and Alaor just kinda grinned. I'm sure my sheepishness was entertaining in the least.
Turns out that a couple of guys were breaking into Thiago and Cesar's cars!!
Well, actually I thought at first (via a quick translation) that the cars themselves were literally being stolen and driven away. But rather, the bad guys punched in the keyholes of the trunks and stole the spare tires out of the back. But these tires (nice cars, remember?) aren't the donuts that are fairly common in America--they were full tires that need to be replaced. And the bad guys wanted them. And they got them. Boo. Hiss.
When I had caught up with what was happening and things settled down a bit, the police were called and I was told that the guard of the building had seen these guys, yelled at them, then called to our apartment to let us know. Then Thiago had run to the balcony and whistled really really loud, which made them run off-- but it was too late and they already had what they wanted. That part in itself is ironic because Thiago and Leandro have been trying to teach me how to whistle all week (Zach, you know that it's impossible...I've been trying for 25 years...) and they seriously can't believe that neither I nor Priscila can whistle! Well, after tonight's adventure Priscila and I decided that whistling is a very important part of life and we sure do need to learn... :)
Also, after the dust settled, it was explained to me that even living the "the Bronyx of Sao Paulo" for all their lives, with their nice things, neither couple has EVER had any vandalism or had anything stolen or anything like that. At all. Ever. And we weren't even in "the Bronyx area"! We were in a nice area, so no one had ANY reason to think something would happen. I was reassured many times over that this was not normal. And that it's just apart of my adventure (true!). Not common for them at all!
And so, the bad guys got the tires. However, the bad guys also got something else of value (monetary and emotional value).....
MY COFFEE!!!!
Yes, it's true. My 9 kilos of coffee had been put in the trunk by Thiago right after we left the supermarket.
The bad guys wanted the tire and they were also apparently thirsty, with a nice coffee machine all geared up and ready to brew at their home...
Seriously? Come on. I JUST bought that.
Thus, this is how i ended up in a Brazilian Police Station at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night.
After the police came to the apartment and we got into the cars and tied down the trunks (the break-in broke both trunks), we drove to the nearest police station to file a report.
By now, the shock had worn off and the disbelief of the evening had turned into humor. We were all chuckling and the laughing only grew when the boys had to document what was stolen--two spare tires, one pair of tennis shoes, and 9 kilos of coffee for the American Gringa.
I asked to take a photo to remember the moment and to immortalize what a Brazilian Police Station looks like...however, I was informed that there was no way I'd be allowed to take a picture in there (even though it was a very informal and casual work environment.) I snuck a picture anyway, with my phone, once we were outside...shhhh don't tell.
So that was my evening!! :) As I said before, it turned into a pretty humorous event (thanks to the coffee. And oh! for some reason the bad guys left behind ONE package of coffee for me in the trunk! We found it afterwords. It's now my lucky coffee. Why they just wanted 8 kilos and not all 9 beats me.....!) and it was an adventure for sure.
Good news--no one was hurt, nothing was seriously damaged, and the Lord was watching over us the whole time.
Always and forever.
Amen!
Let me explain.
Well, even before I begin to explain, let me give some background. :)
Ever since I got to Brazil, I've been telling my friends how I want to buy coffee to take back to the States. Literally-- for the past week, I've mentioned it every day. Finally, tonight (Sunday night), I went to the supermarket with Thiago and Priscilla to get my coffee! Hooray!! #soexcited
Ahead of myself a little bit...let me give some more background.
The people that I'm hanging out with in Brazil are some of the best people one could ever know. I'll start with the couple that have been gracious enough to let me stay with them in their house while I'm here. Thiago is a brilliant and hard-working engineer and Priscila is about the sweetest and kindest person in the world. They both work with the youth at the church and would be my role models and mentors, no doubt, if I was in high school and going to church with them. They have a very nice apartment and very nice car (the car will come into play in the near future...) The other couple that i've been with alot are the best friends of Thiago and Priscila. Cesar is a lawyer, studying by night on an additional accounting degree, and Marta is ADORABLE. They work with the family ministry at church and --again-- they would be my top choice for Christian fellowship if I went to church with them. They also have a very nice house and car. Their car actually exactly matches Thiago and Priscila's car--just a different color! See, told you---best friends. ;)
So. These two couples and I went over to the Leite's house tonight for dinner. So sweet of Miriam to invite us all over! She previously told me how much she loves these two couples and I agree with her 150%. Thiago and Cesar park the cars outside of Miriam and Alaor's apartment building, in the street directly across from it. The way the security works in regards to apartment buildings here is that they typcially have a gate and a guard who has to open the gate for you if you are approved to enter into the building. Or you can call the person's apartment from a speaker system. The Leite's apartment building is even more secure than typical, but not because they live in a bad neighborhood--quite the opposite, actually. The area is very very nice. And they feel extra safe because their building has two gates instead of one and they live on the 12th floor and there is a "secret parking spot" they can utilize if they want the cops called without drawing any attention.
Thus, we continue with the original story. I was so excited to get my coffee and I got a LOT of it! You see, my first two trips to Brazil I was just a baby and didn't like coffee at all. But I now love it (and know some family and friends who would like some Brazilian coffee as well ;) ) so I bought like 9 kilos. Then we headed over to the Leite's house and met Cesar and Marta there. It was a lovely time! We ate Brazilian pizza (onions, eggs, lots of cheese, ham, etc, with a fork and knife) which is sooo good and I, of course, had Guarana. Good fellowship too! I was completely surrounded by men and women of God. What a feeling!
I will admit, however, that I was encouraged and in high spirits throughout the evening, but I didn't speak much...and that's because they did about 90% of the talking in Portuguese. No problem for me, I'm the intruder--speak your language, I am in your country!! But I often didn't know what was being talked about and I went back and forth between a) actively listening to try to follow the convo and pick out words I knew (I'm actually getting better at the language and am understanding more) and b) totally tuning out and getting lost in my own little world while they happily chatted on. :)
So the night was coming to a close and after my tour of the apartment, which included an incredible view from the balcony, we start to gather our things to leave. At that exact moment, the phone in the kitchen rings. I hear Miriam's voice get a little louder, then she comes rushing into the living room staying something very urgently in Portuguese! Everyone stands up, in disbelief, and runs out to the balcony where I was standing just a few minutes before. I hear Thiago whistle very very loud. The living room had emptied in seconds, except for Alaor due to his health, and I was left in sheer confusion sitting on the couch. I couldn't get anyone's attention to try to translate for me and I didn't want to pull someone away from whatever thing was causing this ruckus, so I stand up, look around--at Alaor, out at the balcony, at the Guarana on the table, at the phone in the kitchen--and say aloud to no one in particular I guess, "What is happening??!?"
No one heard me and Alaor just kinda grinned. I'm sure my sheepishness was entertaining in the least.
Turns out that a couple of guys were breaking into Thiago and Cesar's cars!!
Well, actually I thought at first (via a quick translation) that the cars themselves were literally being stolen and driven away. But rather, the bad guys punched in the keyholes of the trunks and stole the spare tires out of the back. But these tires (nice cars, remember?) aren't the donuts that are fairly common in America--they were full tires that need to be replaced. And the bad guys wanted them. And they got them. Boo. Hiss.
When I had caught up with what was happening and things settled down a bit, the police were called and I was told that the guard of the building had seen these guys, yelled at them, then called to our apartment to let us know. Then Thiago had run to the balcony and whistled really really loud, which made them run off-- but it was too late and they already had what they wanted. That part in itself is ironic because Thiago and Leandro have been trying to teach me how to whistle all week (Zach, you know that it's impossible...I've been trying for 25 years...) and they seriously can't believe that neither I nor Priscila can whistle! Well, after tonight's adventure Priscila and I decided that whistling is a very important part of life and we sure do need to learn... :)
Also, after the dust settled, it was explained to me that even living the "the Bronyx of Sao Paulo" for all their lives, with their nice things, neither couple has EVER had any vandalism or had anything stolen or anything like that. At all. Ever. And we weren't even in "the Bronyx area"! We were in a nice area, so no one had ANY reason to think something would happen. I was reassured many times over that this was not normal. And that it's just apart of my adventure (true!). Not common for them at all!
And so, the bad guys got the tires. However, the bad guys also got something else of value (monetary and emotional value).....
MY COFFEE!!!!
Yes, it's true. My 9 kilos of coffee had been put in the trunk by Thiago right after we left the supermarket.
The bad guys wanted the tire and they were also apparently thirsty, with a nice coffee machine all geared up and ready to brew at their home...
Seriously? Come on. I JUST bought that.
Thus, this is how i ended up in a Brazilian Police Station at 10:00 pm on a Sunday night.
After the police came to the apartment and we got into the cars and tied down the trunks (the break-in broke both trunks), we drove to the nearest police station to file a report.
By now, the shock had worn off and the disbelief of the evening had turned into humor. We were all chuckling and the laughing only grew when the boys had to document what was stolen--two spare tires, one pair of tennis shoes, and 9 kilos of coffee for the American Gringa.
I asked to take a photo to remember the moment and to immortalize what a Brazilian Police Station looks like...however, I was informed that there was no way I'd be allowed to take a picture in there (even though it was a very informal and casual work environment.) I snuck a picture anyway, with my phone, once we were outside...shhhh don't tell.
So that was my evening!! :) As I said before, it turned into a pretty humorous event (thanks to the coffee. And oh! for some reason the bad guys left behind ONE package of coffee for me in the trunk! We found it afterwords. It's now my lucky coffee. Why they just wanted 8 kilos and not all 9 beats me.....!) and it was an adventure for sure.
Good news--no one was hurt, nothing was seriously damaged, and the Lord was watching over us the whole time.
Always and forever.
Amen!
Ps, dear Lord, I'm not sure what the judgement is for coffee theives--I'll leave that one in your hands.
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