Nothing much different compared to the last few weeks in terms of work – still helping with classes wherever necessary while steadily working on the game.
Sofia returned this week. I thought it would be inadequate of us to not host a return party for her since she’s been with us since the beginning, and I thought it would also be a good way to show her that we felt her absence, to make her feel more welcome. At the very least it was a good excuse for us to do something slightly different from usual to spice up our daily lives. Giulia went to pick her up from the airport while I got us a cake for the celebration. We spent that night in the kitchen sharing stories over dinner, filling her in on what we’ve been up to while she was gone. When it came time to serve the cake we sang Happy Birthday together in improvised Portuguese because it just somehow felt right for the occasion. We ended the night by watching a movie together in the living room, Sofia trying her hardest not to nod off on the side of the couch. It was a nice evening, one that remains in my memory carrying with it this feeling of having been a proper celebration of sorts.
We carried the same energy with us into Valentine’s day when we held another celebration. We had agreed sometime earlier in the week, I believe at Giulia’s behest, to do a secret gift exchange among the members of the volunteer house. We drew ballots with our names on them, and spent the few days we had in-between trying to find something suitable for one another. I would be lying if I said that it didn’t take me considerable effort to figure out what to get for my recipient, and I ended up bending the rules for myself just a little to feel somewhat satisfied with the choice. The night itself didn’t go that much differently from the other; we had dinner, made Sangria together, spent a lot of time indecisively debating if we should go out or not, discussed various other topics, held the gift exchange, and then ended the night by watching another movie. During the exchange we created a little suspense by first concealing our gifts and making ourselves guess each other’s drawn names. My secret Valentine turned out to be Simon who got me a funny cup with a little red plant inside. I’ve placed it nicely on my nightstand, where it adds some much needed life to my room.
It was a nice week spent in the company of friends, hosting our own festinhas.
