Until then, if not before

English, so that everybody understands

Warning: This is a very tacky and twee post, I haven’t left yet and I am already nostalgic.

I was sitting on my sofa next to Arami and, just like anybody who is about to leave a place where one has lived for the past few months, we begun talking about the stuff we did here, and obviously about what we were going to miss.

I will miss pão de queijo, overall. But I’ll learn how to cook it, so no big deal. I will also miss my view from the shower in my bathroom, but I’ve taken pictures. I think I’ll print them, frame them and hang them in my new shower wherever I end up living next semester. Having the uni walking distance from home is another highlight of my life here. I will very much miss that as well. And Ibirapuera, although I might have a big park close to my place wherever I am in the near future. I won’t miss the rain. Fuck the rain.

Out of all the situations I’ve been through this past 5 months, I’ve got to know amazing people. I loved breathing my existence out with you all:

I loved listening to Geev talk about her flirting methods or her nail polish (her two favourite topics), our adventures in Vila Madalena or in Shopping Cidade Jardim, our lunches around her place, and her showing me her new purchases every single day or how she would defend any of her friends to death. I am looking forward to spend a Sunday in Sacre Coeur with you.

I loved hanging out with Emily and how she is the coolest type of American. I loved spending so much time with her this past two weeks, how she loves burritos, makes fun of everything and cooks pancakes. All the gossiping, the cooking, the arts and crafts, the crazy shouting from my 11^th floor balcony... I loved to draw your tattoo very much. I guess I’ll somehow be with you for the rest of your life, and you’ll probably regret it when you’ll be 70, but who cares now?

I loved Laura’s blue eyes, her super sexy American Apparel body, her amazing pictures, her taste for music, the way she takes care of everybody, her Quiche Lorraine and  the way she says “Oh, yeah!”.

I loved sharing a flat with Arami, she seriously is the perfect roommate. I loved going crazy and painting the whole dining room in red with fabric paint, waking up to find out she had gone to buy breakfast for me, listening to her stories about life in a small country, unsuccessfully trying to speak Catalan, our chats and laughs at home and our “very strict” diet deal. Andorra and Lleida are too close for us not to see each other.

I love how Mage says hilarious stuff looking very serious and her sexy dance moves, I love Karell always caring for everybody and looking so absolutely lovely and being a bit wicked sometimes, I loved breakfast, lunch and dinner at the French Bakery with the girls, and the cinema sessions, and going with you to the tattoo place, I loved the long ours we spent together before Geev’s first departure... I am looking forward to our American road trip and for Emily to come visit us in Europe and for the Europeans to visit each other soon….

I loved having Bob over to dinner every now and then -even if he never brought me flowers- and laughing at his stupid jokes. I am also very thankful he literally saved my life at a party at Velódromo. I loved having him walking me home and the fact that he is always smiling and willing to do anything. I must admit sometimes I wanted to chop your genitals and make salad with them, though.

I loved Juan as a flatmate very much. Not only because he always said my food was awesome and did the dishes, but we also had like a brother-sister complicity and would talk about stuff going on in our lives, and I would steel his clothes and he would always use my computer. We even shared a room and a bathroom for 20 days: that is a lot of life together. You’ve been the best choice I could have as a flatmate.

I loved Kevin being impatient when it comes to food and the fact that he was always cleaning his apartment. He is the sweetest guy. And when I had an energy overdose, so he gave me his iphone so that I could play a stupid game and not annoy anybody. And how he was always the one calling when we were looking for flats together. And that cunning smile of yours.

I loved travelling to Buenos Aires with Marc and listening and laughing at his shit stories. It is amazing how much he changes when you get to know him. He is possibly the craziest guy in Sampa.

I loved getting to know Victor, Florian and Zak during our road trip. How Zak treated me as a total princess and talked for ages about his beloved Tunisia –that for sure I’ll visit soon-, how Victor is as fun as he is in everyday life, but a lot more sweet than he’d like people to think he is, or how Flo always has an opinion about everything, how he is a person with strong principles and how much he loves china. I loved laughing out of desperation with him when we could not find roads on our way.    

I loved Marjorie and I having wine in common among a lot of other things. We need to do that wine exchange for sure. France and Spain are too close to miss such an opportunity.

I loved Marco listening to me whenever I had excess of vitality, even if he was absolutely tired, and how good his caipirinhas are. He learned from Pedro, the best of the teachers. I loved the fact that he brought me stolen flowers with Geevitha the night of my birthday. It was the most adorable thing ever.

And then I loved a lot of other things about other people with whom I did not have the time and pleasure to hang out with that much: I love Alex smelling always sooo good and being gentle and fun, I love James loving beer-pong and being so tremendously hilarious or how he always says “very true”, and making arrows for his and Juan Felipe’s Cupid costumes, I love Kuba always giving me a big hug, I love Diego having such a beautiful smile and envy his tanned skin very much, I loved Rachel complimenting me every time she’d see me and being so comical without even knowing, I loved how Brazilian Rafael introduced himself to me out of the blue being so extremely nice, I loved Bartek always being so ironic, I loved Aidé and her flatmates hosting parties at their place, I loved going to SESC with Clara, I love reading Alexandre’s poetry in Portuguese, I loved  Giulia, Kami, Emilio, Andrzej, Atin, Gianno, Sebastian, Jaissa, Veronica, Álvaro, Portuguese Alexandre, Gilles, Anya, my buddy Leka, Daniel, David, Fatima, Maud, Paula, Oriel, Lego, Fatima and so many more.

You made my days in Brazil a lot better. Go and enjoy life back home, your beds, your mothers’ food, your brothers and sisters, your boyfriends and girlfriends, your friends in general, your favourite bars. I will do my best in Barcelona. Hopefully not for a long time, though.

And let me know whenever you are close to wherever I am living. I’ll be glad to host you and show you around. I am an awesome guide. I am sending huge hugs to all of you. Remember to give them back to me whenever you see me again. And a kiss as big as São Paulo.

Que el fin del mundo os pille bailando. AKA: May the end of the world catch you dancing.