Luiz (Brazil) took an exchange year in Rumford in 2009-10 with his brother, Yago (Spain). These two took advantage of every sport Mountain Valley HS had to offer and made friends with everyone, from the lunch ladies to coaches, especially Ray Broomhall, the 70-something-year-old, cross-country ski coach. Aunt Connie and Uncle Ben loved these two boys--and I'm sure it was Luiz and Yago who coined the name, "Benjamin Button" for U. Ben. They loved their Venskus Family.
My funniest memories of these two had to be their wars in the basement as they battled in ping pong. They screamed at each other and cried, "You're cheating, Yago! / Luiz!" during matches. In soccer, Luiz was a brilliant player with skills and energy. He could have lost his cool during American high school matches since our players were not up to his standards, but he just played. When I studied soccer for a few months in Brazil, the term people screamed from the stands on the pitch was, "Jogar a bola!" Play the ball. Luiz did just that. A rugby player, Yago had played some soccer but his skill on the pitch was his athleticism, energy, and never-quit personality. The two made a profound difference on the Mountain Valley's team.
I was also there the first day the two got on skis. I don't recall if Yago had seen snow before, but Luiz had not. That first morning of snow in Maine--more frost on the windshields than a real snow--they were amazed. But when the snow really hit, they picked up their XC skis and were off for their first ski at Black Mountain. The rest of the story...
They did not stand. All of us, their teammates and coach, plus the boys themselves, cracked up at their inability to stand or move forward. The fun part? Six weeks later, they were racing the course with remarkable style and athleticism. I can't recall seeing two foreign flatlanders transition to ski racing so quickly. What if they'd spent their whole lives on skis?
Now, Luiz is living, working, and exploring New Zealand. Every time I see a picture of him rock climbing, I write, "Be careful." One thing's for sure, I'm glad he's not climbing with Yago. I could picture the two of them having one of their fights 1000 feet up in the air.
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