It's all about friendship

Little did I imagine that, 7 years ago, when I befriended a 19 year brazilian guy in Portland who was in a work exchange program that my life was going to take such a different turn. What is so great about it is that it didn't take any plotting, or trying to get to know someone who could help me in the future; it was just friendship....pure and simple. Sure I helped Bruno out that first time he was in portland, but he was very independent, so there wasn't that much I could help him with. He's a wonderful funny person and it was a blast to hang out with him and give him a lift somewhere once in a while. It was after he left and was back in brazil I found out that he's a very special kind of person from very special family. When I told him that I was going to go to brazil for the 3rd time, he immediately said, 'come stay with my family. I told them you were good to me in the US, so we want to open our house to you.' I went, (and probably stayed way too long...3 months) and started really learning about brazil, it's culture and people. The family lives in Padre Miguel, the place I'd heard about from another brazilian, my
good friend and godfather of the Lions of Batucada, Jorge Alabê. He lived there and I understood it to be the home of Mocidade, the only samba school I'd heard of up to then. One day I was driving Bruno somewhere, and he casually mentioned that he was one of the leaders of the tamborim section of Mocidade, which Jorge had always said were the best in Rio. I was super impressed and asked him all kinds of questions like, "how easy is it for americans to go play with them?" I remember him telling me that it's known as a 'closed' school. People come up from Estrelinha da Mocidade (the mirins, the children samba school; most of the big schools have them) and eventually make it into the adult version, and he said someone has to die before there's an opening! I thought that made sense and let it go. I wasn't going to try to use him to get in, or even to go rehearse with them...I just let it go.
Ok...ahead to when I get off the plane in Rio and Bruno asks if I'm tired, and says he has a surprise for me. It turned out to be quite a surprise; I went with him to Mocidade's technical rehearsal at the quadra that night thinking that was the surprise....oh no, he brings me a chocalho and asks if I want to play. Before I could freak out too much, I found myself playing chocalho with Mocidade! I was on top of the world! We played for a while, warming up and then we stopped. I was in the back, where Mocidade puts chocalhos for technical rehearsals, but soon realized that way up front people were having to play by one by one while everyone listened. I heard nervous conversation that I didn't understand, until I heard the word 'teste'...gulp! I knew what that meant! Since they had to go through 200 or so people before they got to me, I had plenty of time to think about it...I sweated so much that sweat was rolling down my whole body from my underarms and dripping off...no kidding! They finally got to me. I'd been repeating over and over to myself that I know how to play chocalho so just play, what else could I do? I wasn't prepared for EVERYONE turning around to see the gringa friend of Bruno test for chocalho. They all had smiles on their faces, but still! I played and people were so very kind and congratulated me immediately afterward....WHEW! Now that I know more, I'm sure I wasn't terrible, but I'm also pretty sure I wasn't as great as they acted. That moment was a turning point; from there I rehearsed with them, went to the invitation only party for the bateria, got to parade on Sapucai for a technical rehearsal, and since people got to know that I could play, was asked to join grupos de acesso to fill out their chocalho sections and have gotten to parade on Sapucai 3 times for carnaval. That stuff is all great, but more importantly, I have made some dear friends....I'm a richer person now. Words aren't really sufficient, but I just want to say that Bruno Moraes is a very special person and I'm lucky he's my friend.