Reunion brings back heartfelt memories

It looked like a typical airport reunion. Tears, hugs and squeals of joy. But there wasn’t anything typical about this family gathering.

When Isabella Caldas stepped off the plane on June 19, it was the first time in five years that she’d seen the woman she calls Mom. Six years ago, Caldas had arrived in Spokane from Brazil to begin her yearlong stay as a foreign exchange student.

Her host parent, Diane Daugherty, was a single mom of three at the time, and had never considered hosting an exchange student until her daughter, Terynn, brought up the idea. At Terynn’s urging, Daugherty contacted World Experience, an exchange program. Soon the family was poring over student profiles. Together they chose 17-year-old Isabella Caldas.

She arrived in Spokane in August 2002, and it didn’t take long for her to win the hearts of her host family.

“She adapted really well,” Daugherty said. “She was so eager and willing to experience things.”

Those new experiences included sampling unfamiliar foods and tackling chores she hadn’t attempted in Brazil. From Daugherty’s Spokane Valley home, Caldas recalled some highlights of her time in the States.

“I love mac and cheese and peanut butter,” she said. She wasn’t fond of the vacuum cleaner, however. She’d never used one before. “The vacuum terrified me,” Caldas said with a laugh. “I chose to clean the refrigerator and do the dishes.”

She attended Ferris High School with Daugherty’s daughters, Terynn and Macee, and plunged into high school life with enthusiasm.

“In Brazil, all the subjects we study are mandatory,” Caldas said. “You don’t get to choose what you study. Here, I got to take drama. I didn’t have that opportunity in Brazil.”

Macee said, “She fit in really well. Everyone in the drama department loved her.”

While at Ferris, Caldas appeared in productions of “42nd Street” and “Once Upon a Mattress.”

She was just as eager to explore American family life. “When the kids would go to their dad’s on the weekend I asked her if she wanted to go,” Daugherty said. ” ‘She said, ‘Oh, yes, I want to go.’ ”

Caldas has warm memories of Robert Baker. “The girls’ dad became my dad, too,” she said. “He’s special to me.”

The seasons passed and the bond between the exuberant Brazilian teen and her host family grew.

“She called me Mom, and we called her Liz,” Daugherty said. “She loved it. She wasn’t familiar with nicknames.”

Caldas said homesickness wasn’t a problem.

“It’s about attitude. I came prepared not to be homesick.”

She did, however, confess to longing for her mother’s beans and rice, and Christmas filled her with thoughts of home. She wasn’t there for her brother’s First Communion, and she worried about her grandmother who had been ailing when she left.

But those smaller worries couldn’t match the tragedy that would follow. Late one February night a call came that would forever change their lives. Daugherty took a deep breath as she recalled that moment.

“Isabella’s uncle called. He said, ‘Isabella’s parents were killed in a car accident today. You have to tell her.’ “

Five years later, Daugherty still weeps when she remembers. How could she tell this teen she’d grown to love so much that her mother and father were dead? The only positive news was Caldas’ brothers, who were also in the car, had survived the crash with minor injuries.

“She knew something was wrong,” Daugherty continued. “She said, ‘Is it my grandma?’ I said, ‘No, it’s your parents.’ ” They held each other and wept.

In Brazil, embalming isn’t part of their culture. There was no time for lingering goodbyes. Daugherty had to figure out how to get Caldas home, immediately. Some friends rushed over to help her pack. They stayed up most of the night and were at the airport by 4 a.m.

“I couldn’t get anyone to help me at the airport,” Daugherty said. “Finally someone at Skywest heard me and offered to help.”

By 10 o’clock, Caldas was on a plane. The Skywest employees even took up a collection and pressed a cash-filled envelope into her hands.

Through tear-filled eyes, Daugherty recalled those wrenching moments at the airport, trying to say goodbye to a child who’d become part of her heart.

“I remember thinking about what she had to face and wanting to go with her.”

Once home, Caldas rallied. Though grieving, she helped care for her brothers, finished high school and went on to college. But she didn’t forget her family in Spokane. She stayed in touch through e-mail and phone calls.

“She would always call me on Mother’s Day and my birthday,” Daugherty said. “She’s just a very sweet girl.”

Caldas recently graduated from college with a degree in international relations. When she heard one of her friends from Ferris was getting married, it seemed the perfect time for a reunion.

Daugherty said the best thing about seeing Caldas again is “being able to hug her all the time.”

They’ve spent some serious girl-time watching movies, shopping and enjoying a day at a local spa.

“It’s kind of surreal having her here,” said Macee. “It’s like nothing has changed.”

Daugherty said she believes God put them together for a reason, and Caldas agreed.

“I feel like I fit perfectly,” she said. “They will always be my family.”

Correspondent Cindy Hval can be reached at