I want to tell you guys how a Nextel radio saved me.
Fourteen years ago, I was just a girl — living abroad, not knowing anyone but my host family, the P@rente family. It was a house in Burnaby: a young couple, two kids, a dog, and a cat. I had no idea that a few months later I would be living through a terrifying experience.
It started on day one… an innocent comment asking me if I had ever had a Brazilian waxing. I wasn’t sure how my reply to that question would influence my future in that family, so I said yes — and the laughter just started, in a small group of the couple and some friends.
The days went by, and the couple was going through a small crisis in their marriage. The kids were disoriented. I could feel the emotional break happening inside them. So I was there for Carmela and her brother — always playing, laughing, dancing, learning so many new words with those two.
At that point, I felt that everything was okay. After all, they were adults, and supposedly they would solve their disagreements. That’s when the story started to change.
One day, I was watching TV, lying face down on the couch.
The host father arrived and gave me a big slap on my butt.
It was a holiday.
Get Gi Beluca’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
My reptilian brain kicked in: escape or fight.
Obviously, I went to my room and tried to reach my family.
The psycho host father had locked me in the room and turned off the Wi-Fi.
So I tried to use my phone — but this was 14 years ago, and my account was under his name because I was underage when I moved from Brazil. To my astonishment, he had cancelled my phone account as well.
Think fast. Think fast. Think fast.
Nextel. Thank you.
Of course my parents were concerned.
My mom contacted the school coordinator — luckily, she was Brazilian. A chat on Facebook, and everything was solved.
That night, I slept in her apartment.
And that host family would never receive a student again.
These stories stay with us for the rest of our lives.
The memories fade, but sometimes they rise back to the surface.
Those are the waves of life.
