Essay of Place

The smell of chemical enriched water swirling in the shade, with tiny squirming vines climbing the walls, trying to reach the sun. A clear blue sky lights the yard as two young dogs fight for a chew toy. A fortress of plastic and air floats lazily around in the pool, holding my sister up to bake in the heat. In the corner flowers bloom and burst with color, as a the mighty lime tree rises above all. The sound of children splashing and birds chirping.
All these images coincide gracefully in my head as I remember my childhood. When I was six my family moved to Brazil, where we stayed for four years. I can remember the lazy, warm afternoons with white curtains whimsically drifting in the breeze, and in the nights when my dad would cook out on our churrascaria in the guest house. And the seemingly always full moon illuminating our pool outside my ceiling-height windows. I remember whacking the neighbors flower bushes, whose wounds would leak a white, glue like substance (which I later found was poisonous).
I can also remember the oppressive, glass tipped walls that separated our neighborhood from the poor neighborhood, whose vines I was sure contained monstrous insects. And the actual insects I saw, fangs tipped orange and usually the size of a small bird, often required gardening hoes or larger object to kill. I can still hear the town officers yelling at me in an unknown language, as I cried tears of confusion. Yes, my house in Brazil left a huge impact on me.
The whole life style of the people who live there is completely different. It is more relaxed and hospitable, and always has a pleasant twinkle of the sun whether it be raining or clear out. In Brazil I was exposed to so much so fast, and mixed with such a diverse group of people going to an International school, that I was almost forced to mature. I feel that thanks to my time spent there, I look at things differently than most people would and can often see different sides of the same situation. People there were different, and often accepted people no matter what. Although I do love living back here in America, I will never cease to miss Brazil and the life I had there.