A Story for Jeremy

...if I had to choose just one instance, what would it be?

It was Monday morning in Cypress, Texas when my Host Brother and I were having lunch at our                                 

school’s cafeteria. We were talking about the weather when he suddenly stopped and looked at me ­ “Kawe,                                 

have you ever seen snow?” An involuntary smile, which probably had been on my face for at least 15                                   

seconds due to how much it started to hurt when I became aware of it, gave place to an enthusiastic reply ­                                         

“Wow, we should do it, we should find a place where we can see snow!”.

I believe It starts out when we watch “A Christmas Story”, or maybe “Home Alone”. The fact is that                                   

most children in the world want to see snow. And it was no different for me ­ growing up in a country of really                                             

hot temperatures, my friends and I would scrape the walls of our freezers in order to make our unique “Snow                                     

Balls”. We had started to plan, Jeremy, how we would convince my Host Mother that it was a great idea to                                       

plan a trip to a state where we would be able to see the snow. At our first attempt, though, she said it would                                             

not be possible for her to join us and that maybe we should consider taking the AMTRAK up to the Windy                                       

City on our own ­ “Well, boys, we have family in Chicago, you know.”

“What? To take a train to Chicago?” My Host Brother and I were unisound. Can you believe it,                                 

Jeremy, a 15­year­old freshman in high school and a Brazilian Exchange Student jumping on a train and                               

crossing the United States from South to North? We did it, though.

Getting out of Union Station, we hurried to the nearest park ­ It was there, white and soft as a                                     

blanket, the snow that had fallen the night before. It looked as though it was a movie scene, and I was                                       

amazed, indeed, I felt this unique desire to have all my family and friends join me where I was. It took me a                                           

minute to finally go down and reach some of it on the ground ­ “It is very differ…” My Host Brother had                                         

thrown a massive snowball right on my face. Then I immediately got a handful of snow, without any gloves,                                   

and I threw it.

I never got to know if it hit him or not. The moment the snowball left my hand, I had my eyes                                           

closed, and in fact, I thought that it was just a dream. But the moment I opened them again, Jeremy, and I                                         

was sure not only that I was in the middle of the best snowfight in the planet, but also that life is a                                           

wonderful journey, where everything is possible.

      Kawe Vieira Das Merces

A picture from one of the richest moments of my life

Kawe