LONG LOST FAMILY

A versao em portugues esta no post seguinte - como sempre.  :-)

I was on facebook, when a guy tried to add me to his friend's list and  started asking questions about my surname, my family, my origins. A real drag, I thought.

He said his surname was also Ramalho and he would like to be my friend. My unfriendly, suspicious, arrogant  careful nature took charge of the conversation and I was not the nicest person to chat to. 

While he was being nice and friendly, my brain was racing...:

What does he want from me? Why is he talking to me? What is happening here? What is his hidden agenda? Huh? Huh?

But the guy was insistent:

- My surname is Ramalho too, I'm looking for other family members

and what do I have to do with it?

- My family lives in Guaracy. We are a large family.

I could not care less

- I'm trying to find more members of our family, retrace our family tree even.

should I just tell him Ramalho is almost like Stevens? We have thousands of unrelated families with the same surname. Helloooooo

- My family is originally from Lindoia. Do you know someone from this area? Do you know any relatives that come from Lindoia or there abouts?

- I am from Lindoia. I'm sure you already knew that and you are only playing me... The info is in my profile.

- Really? That is so great! Do you know or have ever heard about a woman called Sophia?

- No.

- Do you know someone who can help me? Someone older we could ask?

To shorten the conversation, I promised to ask my dad. And as promised, I did so. My father had no clue who Sophia was, but promised to ask my grandmother, on his next visit. 

It turns out that my grandmother was Sophia's sister in law ( if I got it right). My grandma's brother, Sophia's husband was unemployed, and could not find a job to support his family, sopanicked and jumped from a moving bus. He left Sophia and twelve children. 

The legend says that Sophia was a beautiful woman (even after twelve children?) And she started corresponding with a farmer from a city called Guaracy (can you see where am i going?).

The farmer fell in love with her, took her and her 12 children to his ranch in Guaracy. Some of her children did not adapt to the new life and went back to Lindoia. Others have made their lives in Guaracy.

Carlos Ramalho, who found me on facebook, is actually my cousin. And I did not even know the existence of this part of the family.

Because not all Ramalhos are as rude and silly as I am, my newly discovered relatives have been super, ultra nice to me . And to thank the kindness and affection, in July, when I go to Brazil, I will go to Guaracy to get to know my lost family.