“The Portuguese call it saudade…all things born of the soul that can only be felt.”  

Anthony De Sa

My first encounter with the word Saudade was on my first international trip. It was summer 2011, and I was studying abroad in Brazil. It was time to say goodbye to my new friends, and instead of “Goodbye,” they said, “Saudade.” I have a curious mind, and I love learning languages, so of course I had to ask the meaning. I didn’t believe her when she told me, but I asked around and she was correct (of course). Saudade doesn’t have a direct English translation, and it can mean many things depending on the situation. A few of them include: “the presence of absence,” an experience that one can never have again, a longing to be near, a love that will always remain, and nostalgia.

I loved the word…