Remembering childhood

I was listening earlier to Joy Division while drinking black tea. Now I'm listening to Depeche Mode with a hot chocolate mug beside me. There are three melting marshmellows floating in the chocolate. Why did I never roast marshmellows in Brazil? Because we didn't have them in the country when I was growing up. We also didn't have Nike shoes, MTV, a tour by The Smiths, Dynasty, and hobos in our McDonalds. We drank Coca-Cola on Sunday because it was a special treat. My mom would give me money and ask me to go buy a 2 litre bottle at the bakery while she laid out the table for lunch. During the weekends, when we drove to our farm outside Sao Paulo, we'd have to stop by the newsagent so I could buy comic books to read during the ride. My brother hated me because he got motion sick anytime he tried to read. I raced through all the superhero sagas, little realizing how so many tight costumes and bulging biceps would affect my precious innocent mind.

The car ride to my farm was about 2 hours and a half long. We had a Pet Shop Boys tape (the one with Domino Dancing) that we'd play on repeat. My dad would sing along with my brother and I. We'd stop sometimes to drink garapa, a juice made out of sugar canes. It's like downing green-coloured liquid sugar. When Depeche Mode's song "Strange Love" came out, my brother bought the vinyl. He was 11 years old. He was dating a girl we all called "Almondega" (Meatball in Portuguese). She didn't seem to mind the nickname. Her apartment was right beside mine and she had a really annoying little brother. One day we threatened to beat him up so he pushed all of his living room's furniture against their front door. Later, his mom came over to complain to my mom that we were trying to kill her son. She also said that one day she had heard me through the walls threatening to knife my brother (I was chasing him with a butter knife - reasons unknown - but I never intented to kill him.)

We lived in a condominium of three buildings, in Sao Paulo's south side, called Vila Flora. Each building was 12 storeys high and with 4 apartments per floor. We had a playground with synthetic grass, a jungle gym, a slide, a merry-go-round, swings and see-saws. We also had a court to play football, volleyball and basketball and three swimming pools. The swimming pools varied from small, very small and super small. The super small pool was just a round little pond where mothers placed their toddlers. The water was always suspiciously warm in there. I spent countless Summers in those swimming pools.

Since I've moved away, I occasionaly go back to visit the friends I grew up with & who still live there. Recently, the last one moved away. Thinking about my trip to Brazil next month has got me all nostalgic... I wonder if I'll get a chance to drive by Vila Flora while I'm visiting my friends in Sao Paulo