Community Corner

A Father's Visit to a Daughter Studying, Growing in Brazil

A return to Brazil

Carlyle Howard has been writing a column for McLean Patch as she spent the year in Brazil attending school and learning Portguese. Both of her parents have gone to visit. Her dad, Matt Howard, recently returned from a reunion with his daughter.

Carlyle returned home from her great adventure Monday.

It was with more than a bit of trepidation that I arrived at the national airport of Buenos Aires. Carlyle had a complex trip behind her and I had no way of knowing if she had even gotten off the bus in time to make her flight from Porto Alegre. I had gone without seeing her in almost eight months, but due to the wonders of Skype I was pretty sure she hadn't added any Tyson-esque tatoos.

My daughter, Carlyle Howard, has been on a Rotary scholarship in southern Brazil for her junior year of high school and I was about to see if I had made a colossal mistake in backing her decision.

She was a bit late – this is Latin America after all. Arriving looking a bit frazzled but all in one piece, we set about a week of getting to know each other again after so long. She and I have traveled together in the past – Russia, Italy, Turkey, just to name a few, but this was a first.

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She spent her first four years living with her mother and me in Santiago, Chile, and I have been playing her that wonderful Brazilian jazz  since she was old enough to remember. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at her choice to go there.

My father always described her as having a willful soul, I guess he was right. She found the scholarship on her own and set about winning it. Her mother and I were just along for the ride.

Buenos Aires had not changed too much – I had spent a great deal of time there in the 90s. It is, as the Argentinians are so proud to say, the most European city in South America. Think Madrid with beef instead of Jamon.

She looked around the lobby of the hotel we would be staying at that I, not being on a student budget, had booked, and said “ it's nice to travel with daddy”

Nice indeed. We had a great time looking for fun restaurants and enjoying all that a great town has to offer. If the following sounds a bit like a chamber of commerce plug for Buenos Aires, please bear with me.

We enjoyed several afternoons combing through some of the best antique markets anywhere. The combination of Italian and Spanish heritage makes for some terrific cuisine, as well as some truly excellent steak houses.

The real estate is inexpensive enough to support some eclectic shops, and the leather products available are a draw for people all over the world. It is also cheap enough to let me buy her much of what she wanted, something I can't even think about anywhere else. It was nice to be able to say yes, for once, more than I said no.

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We also had the distinct pleasure of spending time with her old soccer coach, Enrique Bello, something of a local legend (at least in our house). He coached many of the athletes that make up the terrific women's teams that both McLean and Langley enjoy.   

He and his family are in Buenos Aires as he heads up the offices of the Organization of American States there. His daughter, with whom Carlyle played many a soccer game, and Carlyle went out a couple nights. I guess at some point you have to let go. Giving your daughter cab fare to go out in a big city like that is one of those moments.

There were lots of other great moments – eating what I think the is the best ice cream anywhere (and yes, Italy, I am looking at you), taking the ferry over to Colonia, Uruguay, and spending a day at the beach were also good fun.

I think the moment that crystallized the whole experience for me was over lunch at my favorite cheap steak house in Sant Elmo (a neighborhood in Buenos Aires) and discussing the finer points of the differences between Portuguese and Spanish. She has become interested and interesting, and will make great things happen in her future.

I have heard it said that adversity or great change promotes the most growth. It is true in grapevines, civilizations and children. She has gone from girl to young woman and I can't wait to see that happens next.

Matt Howard


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