I have about 3 weeks left in Brazil. To me, this does not seem very long and I am already preparing myself for the goodbyes I will have to say. There are many beautiful things I will miss here. However, in quiet reflection and in my daily activities, I am reminded of what I love about Canada too.
This past weekend I had a little heartbreak, which has put me in this reflective mood. As I was starting out for a run down a quiet street near Michelle´s family farm, I heard the loud mewing of a kitten -- a recognizable sound to anyone who has raised cats of all ages, like myself. Though small, kittens cry louder than adult cats. I turned around on the street and saw the kitten caught in a grate at the end of a huge field of wheat. The drop down from the grate fell into the sewer below it. So, I coaxed the kitten to wriggle through the grate into my hands, and saw the poor shape he was in -- skinny and dirty. I probably should have left him there on the street, but I know what healthy kittens should look like. I took him home to the farm to feed him.
When I tried to release him back into the surrounding farms, he wouldn´t go. He looked up at me and came right back to my side. I cried so hard. When I wandered sheepishly back to the farm, kitten in my arms, Michelle´s family and friends laughed along with me. Still, they couldn´t understand why I was crying. They asked if there are many animals on the street in Canada, and I said not really. In Brazil, homeless dogs and cats are very common, and walk the streets everywhere. I recently saw a fully-grown golden Lab in a small, glass cage in a pet store. In some restaurants, cat meat is served because it is less expensive than beef and chicken. The treatment of animals is much different between countries.
Despite the difference in cultures, Michelle´s family sat down to think about who would like a kitten. This is a major favour to me; housecats are not at all common in Brazil. Eliza came to me and said that one of Geovana and Isabella´s friends, at the farm that day, would like the kitten. I watched as the little girl very gently wrapped him, and I said my goodbyes.
