This is a part of the story I forgot to tell.

When I decided to move to Buenos Aires, my mother gave me something really special. It was a jacket.

But it wasn't just a simple jacket, it was a gift from my father to her when they were married. He had bought it in Ecuador. Now that I think about it, I don't understand why. As you know, Venezuela is a tropical country. We only have two seasons "dry" and "rainy" and we barely use a sweater on the "cold" days.

Anyway, let's move on.

She gave me this old, but nice jacket, because she thought it was going to be useful, given the fact that Argentina has all four seasons, and I wasn't used to it.

When I started my journey, I had to take some kind of taxi from the frontier of Venezuela to the nearest city in Brazil (Boa Vista).

The road was very sinuous, and I got dizzy, but the guy who was driving (a very funny Brazilian with some yellow streaks in his hair, who barely spoke Spanish) gave me some advice for how to feel better. I took advantage of the moment to practice Portuguese, and that helped me to forget for three hours the reasons for my trip, and all the feelings I had when I left my city.

When we arrived to the terminal it was 3 pm approximately. I took my stuff and went to the bus station to wait for my bus, which was supposed to arrive at 8pm. I had some hours ahead so I just sat in the waiting room, and of course I searched for wifi.

Suprise: There wasn't wifi (at least not free). I paid for wifi service, and during an hour I could talk with my mother and update her about the trip. There were two air conditioners in the waiting room, and I started feeling cold, so I looked up for my jacket.

Bad news: my jacket was missing.

I took a breath, and I started checking my bags. No jacket. And then I thought that I probably forgot it in the car I took in Venezuela. But, how to get it back an hour later? How to contact a guy that I didn't know, in a country with a language that I barely spoke?

I have to say that the "taxi I took" belonged to some kind of company, and they were very distinct. All of them had the same logo. So, as soon as I saw the next cab stopped in the bus station, I ran to it to talk to the driver.

With my little ability to speak Portuguese, I tried to explain the situation to the man. I remember he asked me for the name of the first driver, which I honestly didn't remember.

He looked at me and said (in Portuguese of course) "You should forget about it girl".

It was heartbreaking. I felt really bad, because I had lost it in the same day I just got it. I don't want to excuse myself, maybe it was because of the emotions, the rush, or I was just distracted. But it was lost and nothing was going to change that.

- It was a gift from my father to my mother and then to me- I explained to him.

-Do you remember what the guy looked like?

I gave him the description of the guy, and let's be clear, he could be anyone. But thank god for the streaks in his hair.

The man checked his phone and then showed me a picture in whatsaap. It was the driver of the taxi I took!

The man called the guy, and the rest is history.

This is a story with a happy ending. I got my jacket back, and of course I was checking constantly that it was with me, and all my stuff.

I have to say that mothers are angels. Not only because they are always taking care of their children, but also because they are one step ahead them. I never thought it was going to be SO useful.

When I decided to move here, of course I knew there were seasons. But I didn't know what autumn meant, or winter.

I knew about hot days, fresh days, but as a Venezuelan... just tropical weather.

That jacket saved me during my first year in a new country with really cold days (at least until I got used to it). And I only can be thankful for having it.

By the way, the jacket, is the one I have in the picture of this post. :D

Snowlyx

Where is my jacket?

A Venezuelan in Buenos Aires