Carla

(Robert) Out of the blue I received a Facebook message from Carla. Introduced to me a few months ago by my globe-trotting uncle, John, Carla had been generously giving me tidbits of advice on Brazil in advance of our trip. Given that she lives a plane ride away in Sao Paulo,  I was surprised when she stated that she was in Rio and interested in meeting up for a drink. We made plans to meet at her friend’s restaurant, Ipanema Market, located only a couple blocks down the road from our studio apartment.

The only indication of the cafe from the street is a sandwich board that sits in front of a long narrow hallway leading to a pleasant courtyard with outside seating behind which resides the rest of the restaurant. We grabbed a table outside and jumped headfirst into conversation. It took little time to realize that Carla is quite an interesting person. With a career history that includes modeling, hi-hop jewelry design for celebrities and, most recently, talent search for what will be Brazil's most significant outdoor music festival of all time, Carla left Katherine and I wondering about the relevance of our own career histories. 

The dinner was delicious. It probably didn't hurt that the friend Carla was staying with in Rio was the head chef. When we went our separate ways after dinner, we laughed as we realized that our apartments were less than a block apart from one another. At that moment it was clear just how small our world can feel at times. While we would have loved to have seen Carla the next day, we were simply too busy to meet up before our respective departures. We'll have to cross our fingers that we may be so fortunate to cross paths again in this ever-shrinking world.