What A Wonderful Smell
It’s only been three days, and Gabi and Mason already smell like Brazil.
I’m sure everyone has their own smell that they associate with places they’ve been. For me, it’s the laundry soap that my mother-in-law uses. It’s on all the clothes. It’s in the air, especially after she irons. My kids rub their faces against a tummy or shoulder and then their heads take on that heavenly smell that only originates here.
I wonder if she uses a popular brand, because we’ll be walking in the mall, or down a street, and I’ll get a whiff and have to stop to take it in. I must look like an idiot, suddenly stopping to sniff the air, and then sighing, but I can’t help myself.
After we return home, I’ll unpack and put away clothes that my mother-in-law washed but weren’t worn, and our whole upstairs suddenly smells like Brazil. And when I pull them out days or weeks later to wear, the scent of laundry soap is still so strong that it transports me back to my in-law’s apartment, and I bury my face in them to keep me there longer. Or I’ll pick Gabi up from school and bend down to give her a hug and the smell will hit me. I’ll think, That’s Brazil! And hug her a little bit longer.
It may sound strange, but the thing I’m enjoying the most here in Brazil is that smell. It makes me feel so happy.
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