After nine months of living in Brazil, we were more than homesick for America. Having sent 15 letters to colleges on the west coast trying to find a teaching job for my husband for the coming school year, we decided that I would head home with the boys early, and see what job opportunities I could dig up. Our lease was up for our apartment in Bahia. My husband would stay for another month, finish his research and filming while living with friends. Flying to Rio de Janeiro the children and I caught an airplane home, while my husband took the bus back to Bahia. Luckily I had a group photo with all our sons on my passport.
As I look back on that time now I wonder how I managed three lively boys ages two, three and six on the airplane, but I was young-only 32 years old at the time and longing for home. We landed at Lima, Peru and with all three kids asleep on the plane, I went into the terminal to do some quick tourist shopping. I almost missed getting back on the airplane on time. That would have made an interesting experience for my sons if when they landed in Los Angeles, they found out that their mother was still in South America.
When we arrived in California after a very long flight and checked through customs, my two youngest sons headed off in different directions in the airport lobby as I tried to find our connecting flight to Sacramento where my folks were meeting us. I grabbed one child before he got too far away, but I couldn't find the other. Luckily he was stopped by someone when he tried to board a different airplane and returned to me. Tired and bedraggled, we finally landed in Sacramento and were met by my parents.
For a month, we lived with them until my husband flew home from Brazil. After buying a used car, we soon headed off to start our job search on the West coast. Now we had to readjust to America and experienced a new "culture shock" coming back to our own industrialized society after living a slower more relaxed lifestyle in Brazil. The future lay ahead of us with a new possibilities on the west coast after a year’s absence from our homeland.