October 31, Sunday

It’s our first American holiday tonight, Halloween. Kids dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for candy, and we are ready. We have carved a face into a pumpkin and lit a candle inside, and I put it on the front porch as night descends. I look up at the dark sky that is so unfamiliar I know we are on the other side of the world.

The boys have practiced saying “Trick or treat!” and now that it’s dark Carlos is taking Juan and Junior around the nearby streets while Lupe and I stay home to give out candy, sipping tea and chatting between knocks on the door. Neither of us speak much English yet so our conversation is a mix of English with Portuguese and Spanish combined, which we laughingly call Portañol.

“Lupe, why North Carolina?”

She laughs. “It’s funny, I never heard of it when I left Mexico. I’m from Monterrey, not far from Texas. So I go there first. My cousin got work here and my son and I been here two years.”

“Do you miss Monterrey?”

Lupe shakes her head. “No, it’s a big ugly city, not pretty with trees like North Carolina. And there is no good work for me there.”

“It’s nice that Juan and Junior walk to school together. It’s good to have a friend in a new place.”

“Es verdad. And Juan is glad to have a new amigo.”

Junior is in the first grade and Carlos has started high school. They have to work hard to catch up since classes started in September, on top of learning English. I’m amazed at how well they’re doing, making new friends and adapting to American customs.

The second week we were here, I started a job at Burger Shack on Franklin Street, just a short walk from our house. It’s not really a restaurant because all they sell are hamburgers and fries, and everything they cook is frozen or pre-made. People take their food in paper bags and sit at plastic tables or they eat in their cars. I keep all areas clean, from the dining tables to the bathrooms, and make sure the trash is taken out regularly. I don’t really like the food but it seems popular because the store is always busy.

The day after we arrived, I sent letters to Sónia and Dona Célia with our address and phone number. We have a phone at home but it’s too expensive to call Brazil. It’s important to have a telephone in America for jobs and schools. We can manage without a car, but not without a phone.