Minha amiga especial

I have this special friend.

Her name is Lidiane and she now lives in São Paulo, Brazil, although I met her in Ann Arbor, Michigan, seven or eight years ago when I decided to study Portuguese and she became my tutor, minha professora.

My boss at the time accused me of being intellectually lazy so I decided to learn a foreign language to prove her wrong. I had studied French for a few months in high school but hadn’t been bowled over. I thought Chinese and Russian might be too difficult to master and wanted to study something other than Spanish so I settled on Portuguese, which sounded beautiful to me and was similar to Spanish anyway. Once I found Lidi, who charged very little for private lessons out of her apartment off Packard Road in Ann Arbor – my favorite Michigan city – my Friday nights were never the same.

I don’t remember how old she is – or “how many years she has,” as Brazilians say – or where she went to school. I know she earned a degree in speech therapy in Brazil, then came to the United States with her then-husband who worked for the American auto industry. She had such good energy, such charm, that Portuguese class soon became the highlight of my week. I looked forward to driving 60 minutes after a long work week to study and laugh and chat and share with Lidiane.

She made learning fun, too. We didn’t just conjugate verbs and plod through boring memorization drills; we listened to and translated wonderful Brazilian music – João, Astrud and Bebel Gilberto, Marisa Monte, Elis Regina, Tom Jobim and of course Gilberto Gil – and talked about Carnival and politics and life in Brazil. We occasionally snuck cigarettes on her balcony together and talked about my life, my goals, my conflicts and dreams. (She always preferred questioning, listening and advising to talking about herself.) She was so supportive, so curious and genuine and full of advice. I don’t know exactly when she went from “tutor” to “friend” but I was glad it happened because I always felt better after spending time with minha amiga especial.

When her husband declared that they were returning to Brazil, I was more than a little disappointed. We promised to stay in touch but that seldom actually happens and our case was no different. One of the best things about my life at the time became infrequent long-distance telephone calls, then occasional Facebook messages. I missed my Brazilian friend but life went on.

Fast forward a few years. I married and divorced, then became involved with the love of my life. Lidi got a job with Google in Brazil and divorced her husband. Our communication was infrequent and my grasp of Portuguese was reduced by time to a few words and phrases.

Then a few days ago I needed a friend, someone supportive and sensitive like Lidiane, so I sent her a message stating that I was in Atlanta with my parents and suggesting we communicate via Skype. Less than a minute after I hit “send,” I received a message saying she was trying to add me. I accepted and we soon were talking and sharing again, Atlanta and São Paulo, teacher and student, long-lost friends. She was concerned about me. She showed me the silver lining again like she used to. She encouraged me and made me feel better, albeit momentarily, again.

If you have a special friend like Lidiane, I urge you not to lose her. You might need her. I did.

Obrigado, minha amiga especial. Eu estou com muitas saudades de você. Beijos na sua testa.