Friday, May 30, 2008
April 17 Thursday What a Great Day!
3:30 AM Wake up call.
Kathya (Kotcha) woke me up, waited for me to dress and stayed with me in the living room while we waited for my ride. We slept on sofas until the car arrived. I was first to be picked up and I got the lucky front seat. lol Last laugh on me... (joke coming later.)
4:10 AM
We are on our way to Steve's house. The driver made the same wrong turn as our driver on Monday, but this time I had a better knowledge of the city, so I was able to naviagte the roads better and we made it. Then it was on to Mike's house. He overslept and it took 2 phone calls, and about 20 minutes of ringing the door bell to get him up. Then on to Dean's palace. Not a mere casa but a friggin mansion. (No wonder he was always picked up first-it wouldn't be good making the rest of us jealous) Mike said "spoiled brat" and our driver, Antonio, who knew no English laughed out loud. (Fransico had the day off from us)
5:30 AM
We arrived at Dean's after I finally figured out how to read the address.
5:55 AM
Arrived at the Ferry but we missed the 6AM ferry as they begin loading at the half hour. It was full so it left early.
6:30 AM
We are second in line of passenger cars, but there are all types of trucks and long beds waiting. We start to load.
7:00 AM
We leave and within two minutes I am sleeping.
7:15 AM
What am I doing? I wake myself up because I am crossing the Rio Negro, one of the rivers that forms the Amazon. What an experience. We couldn't see much because of the rain, but who cares.
After that I lost all sense of time and never even looked at my watch again.
Our destination was Novo Airo, the town where Mirza, Dean's host, had her first Judgeship, 19 years earlier.
The rain was horrendous, our driver is so fast. We hydroplaned so badly once and the first thing I look for are trees. (remember how I happy I was to get the front seat - not so much any more). I thought we were going off the road.
Antonio got the car under control and I know we were all happy. We stopped for breakfast at Restaurante 3 Irmoas (3 brothers).
Mike wasn't feeling well and I gave him the front seat. He was soon fast alseep and had no idea how fast Antonio was driving. Not that any of us were safe. No seatbelts in an 8 passenger station wagon. We all talked about it later in the trip and knew if we had an accident we were history.
It was several hours later that we arrived. The place we went to looked like a restaurant. Mirza went ahead and never came back. Roberto and Antonio were with her, but all four Americans were hanging out on the steps taking photos of a stray dog.
Mirza came out and yelled to us to come on. Imagine our shock when we walked through the shop to the other side to the deck out back to see 4 or 5 fresh water dolphins getting fish from Mirza. How do you say Holy S**t in Portuguese???
We swam for an hour or more. There dolphins were so rubbery-like baby doll plastic from when I was a little girls (the squishy baby dolls).
It was the most amazing experience, since the birth of my children. In the States, I never really wanted to swim with dolphins because of the whole 'caged animal' thing. Dolphins held hostage for profit. And I know some of you who will read this have done it and I don't judge, I personally never wanted to do it.
But this experience was the best. They were wild dolphins. They could come or go as they wanted. They chose to be near the dock for the fish. When we had no fish, they played amongst themselves.
We then toured Mirza's house. After an hour or so there we headed to the ferry for another 4 hours by car. We stopped in Novo Airo and had lunch. Guarana Bare. Yum. This is a type of soda (just looks like a beer bottle) and more fish.
After we got to the port city, which reminded me of my ideas of Tijuana Mexico (having never been there, I have no clue). Mike and I got out of the car and walked the 1/2 mile or so to the front of the line. We almost missed the ferry because Mirza pulled her 'judge' badge out and got us to front of the line to make the ferry, or else we would have waited for another hour or so.
We were supposed to go to another Rotary meeting but we arrived late to the restaurant. The four of us, plus Francisco (I guess he didn't have off) had pizza. We had beer - but our driver didn't. It was a fun night and if we could have persuaded Francisco, we would have stayed out later, exploring the town.
Home late.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Hotel Tropical
Mike is dancing with someone from our group. The guy with the white shirt and wig is a paid employee of the Hotel. He had four counterparts: 2 guys, 2 women, who dance with guests of the hotel. This guy pictured showed me how to dance (now I know it was the bolero, but at the time, I had no idea what he was saying or doing).
There was a Rotarian at this party who wants to start a Rotary Language Ambassador program. It would be a Rotary Foundation Program, like GSE, and the foundation would pay the way for Rotarians in the program to be translators at the International Convention and other such events. The key requirement to becoming a Rotary Lanugage Ambassador is one needs to be fluent in at least 4 languages. Pretty cool idea.
Vila Olimpica
From left to right: Dean, Me, Swim coach, son, Pedro, Tereza, Mike, Steve. There were two pools here. 50 Meters and 25 Meters. Most children are in lessons until age 12. Then they can join the team.
Teatro Amazonas
This theatre was built by the Rubber Barons in the middle of the rain forest. The wood and iron work were beautiful.
Teatro Amazonas
Every where we will be going for the next month, we will see the joining of the white and the black. The symbolism for the rivers here. Great concept for world peace also. Let's work on it. April 16 Wednesday Manaus
10:30 AM Pickup
11:00 Teatro Amazonsa with Moacyr Bittencourt
12:30 Restaurante Sabor a Mi Rotary Meeting with RC Manaus – Rio Negro
2:00 Vila Olimpica – the Olympic Village with Pedro and Tereza.
3:30 home to nap and shower
6:15 pick up for drinks at the Hotel Tropical, with Rotarians from Belgium
Notes: Being in a foreign country is tiring. I sleep so well here, even in the humidity. No air conditioning. My brain is fried. My delay in the language pisses me off (excuse my profanity). My first response is Spanish, I stop myself and try again. By then it’s too late. I think to myself – what am I trying to say again?!?!? Oy vey. I do love my dictionary. It is amazing. It has all of the tenses and phrases at the same tie.
7:30 Hotel Tropical was a lot of fun. Dancing, drinks, laughs. Language Ambassador from Germany, France and Belgium.
April 15 Tuesday Afternoon
Kathya’s School
Kathya is a University professor teaching people how to work with special needs children and adults. These children aren’t in school and they sure haven’t heard of mainstreaming. But universities offer programs for children and their families and the students in the classroom become instructors in the field.
Kathya is a University professor teaching people how to work with special needs children and adults. These children aren’t in school and they sure haven’t heard of mainstreaming. But universities offer programs for children and their families and the students in the classroom become instructors in the field.
First Rain Forest Rain
Little did I know that it would rain like this everyday for 1 month straight. It only lasts a short time and things go back to normal. But it was fun the first time. Hug of Death
Can you notice the tree that is getting hugged to death? What happens in the rain forest is birds and other animals sit in the canopy and what they eat gets left behind. So the seeds grow down to the forest floor and as they grow, their roots strangle the living tree. 
April 15 Tuesday Manaus
10:30 AM Pick up
Tereza took us to INPA, a local preserve of rain forest plants and animals. We got to see our first rain forest rainfall. Then we headed to Francisca Mendes hospital where we toured the technology departments: radiation, MRI, Gamma.
Tereza is the Assistant Governor who met us at the airport.
I arrived home and had time for a shower and a nap.
6:00 PM The luggage was delivered. YAHOO.
8:00 PM Hotel Lider for dinner/Rotary Club of Manaus – Adrianolpolis
11:00 Home to sleep.
April 14 Monday Manaus
Dean and Paulo at Bom Gosto.
10:30 AM
I am picked up by Fransico, our van driver and then we head to Mike's house to get him. We look for Steve's house for about 30 minutes and our driver, after speaking to someone on the phone gives up and takes us to our first destination. Dean didn't need a ride.
12:00
We attended our first Rotary Meeting. Dean was already there with his host – Mirza. Steve was late because his host, Fabio, had to run home to get him after he got to the meeting and realized Steve never got picked up.
The Club- Industrial Manaus. The President – Paulo Miyakawa.
Lunch was awesome – piranha soup among other things.
2:00
Roberto (pronounced Huberto as all R’s are pronounced as H’s) drove Mike and I to Unimed. Steve and Dean got a ride with Sar (short for Cesar). We had a private tour of a private hospital.
People pay a monthly stipend to the hospital and it gives them access to the system. Instead of paying money to insurance companies, people pay hospitals directly.
4:30
Home and showered. The humidity is unbelievable.
Nap time.
8:00
Dinner at Bom Gosto – an open air piexe (peshe) restaurant. Piexe means fish. The food, the beer and the people were awesome. They had to be exhausted because they were up late last night and had to work all day today and now they were up late again.
I am picked up by Fransico, our van driver and then we head to Mike's house to get him. We look for Steve's house for about 30 minutes and our driver, after speaking to someone on the phone gives up and takes us to our first destination. Dean didn't need a ride.
12:00
We attended our first Rotary Meeting. Dean was already there with his host – Mirza. Steve was late because his host, Fabio, had to run home to get him after he got to the meeting and realized Steve never got picked up.
The Club- Industrial Manaus. The President – Paulo Miyakawa.
Lunch was awesome – piranha soup among other things.
2:00
Roberto (pronounced Huberto as all R’s are pronounced as H’s) drove Mike and I to Unimed. Steve and Dean got a ride with Sar (short for Cesar). We had a private tour of a private hospital.
People pay a monthly stipend to the hospital and it gives them access to the system. Instead of paying money to insurance companies, people pay hospitals directly.
4:30
Home and showered. The humidity is unbelievable.
Nap time.
8:00
Dinner at Bom Gosto – an open air piexe (peshe) restaurant. Piexe means fish. The food, the beer and the people were awesome. They had to be exhausted because they were up late last night and had to work all day today and now they were up late again.
Photos have arrived
My bedroom & Kathya's House in Manaus
I have been home for a little more than two weeks, and I just got my photos. My plan is to update the blog as if I was still in Brasil, using my journal as documents of my thoughts and our activities. Having been a computer programmer (in other words - anal about flow) this goes against my nature. So for all of you logistical nerds out there - sorry. Where to begin??? That is my dilemma now. I guess I will begin at the beginning.Heading to Manaus – April 13.
2:00 PM Miami Airport
Great weather. Uneventful plane ride from Philly. Malaria pill at 11 AM and no ill side effects. Note to self: get snacks in Miami before flying home to Philly in 1 month (OMG – an entire month) because we won't get any food on the plane from Miami to Philly.
April 14
1:30 AM Arrive in Manaus
No luggage for the team. It is still in Miami. Customs? Piece of cake, without bags there is nothing to declare. Our host families are all waiting for us, as well as the club President and an Assistant Governor for the District.
We all split up and it is a little scary because none of us know what is going on.
April 14 Monday
9:50 AM
Kathya’s house. Breakfast - mango yogurt, watermelon and pineapple, a little café com leite and the best OJ ever.
Earlier I woke up to the sound of water running and women laughing. At first, I thought it was raining and I was trying to figure out which suitcase I put my rain coat in. Then I remembered I had no suitcases to worry about. The time was 8AM and I knew Kathya was gone because her first class begins at 8 and she said she leaves the house every morning at 7:15. With Kathya already gone, I decided to set my cell phone alarm for 9:15 and I went back to sleep.
Knowing I was going to be wearing the same clothes today, I washed out certain items and Kathya loaned me a blouse. After I ate breakfast, I waited for the van to pick me up and I wrote in my journal.
(Note from the present: I am sorry my tenses are all messed up. This is more difficult than I imagined: Writing about the past in the present from past notes written in the present)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Belem May 6 - May 12
May 8, 2008
8:55 AM
I have been waiting outside in the blistering heat since 8:25 for a ride. If there was ever a perfect target for a kidnapping in a foreign country, it is me. I have no idea who is picking me up. I have a name - no face. A total stranger could come up to me and say they are my ride and I would probably go with them. When my kids were little, we had a secret word in case a stranger had to pick them up. I am not so lucky...I didn't think ahead. :-)
But I always look for the Rotary pin. Valdir did such a great job with our schedule, he has our hosts names on the program. So if they don't have a pin and they want to take me somewhere, at least I can ask their name before running away.
This morning for breakfast (now I am just writing to pass the time and to look busy) I had guava juice, papaya, watermelon, yogurt.
9:02
How long do I wait by the gate? Did I miss my ride? Are they very late for a reason? Yo no se (I don't know in portuguese)
Some questions I thought of...(more passing the time)
Since there aren't any mortgages here, how much is rent?
What is the percentage of people who own versus people who rent?
If they buy a house outright, do they have any household bills other than utility bills?
How much are taxes? What do they pay for?
If they own a house, and the government owns subsoil, who owns the land the house sits on?
The weather is not too bad. Just like the shore in August at 2 PM in the middle of a parking lot. There is a nice breeze every once in a while though.
We got a ton of rain yesterday (while at the restaurant) and I am sure we are due for more this afternoon. Being in the rain forest, during a rain storm is quite refreshing. It is like taking a shower with your clothes on.
Claudia, my host, was telling me yesterday that she is a teacher in the public school in the morning. She teaches at the University at night. The public school teachers are on strike right now because of pay issues. They work a very long day for not a lot of money. Even though there is a strike going on, she goes to school every day because the children are showing up. If they don't go to school, they don't eat. So 5 teachers are taking care of 1000 kids. She breaks the picket line for the children. What a great person.
9:10
Baked potato mode now...I wish there was some shade. I feel like the witch in the wizard of oz. It is not a bucket of water that is melting me but my own sweat. A bucket of water would be nice. Or chuva - rain.
I am hoping my hosts are late because they are trying to find Dean and Mike, as their host arrived last night from Sao Paulo and he took them home from the Rotary Meeting.
9:45
Picked up.
It is just Dean and I with Rotarians Djalma and Ronald. (I will write more later as it is getting late and I am falling asleep) Tcahu.
8:55 AM
I have been waiting outside in the blistering heat since 8:25 for a ride. If there was ever a perfect target for a kidnapping in a foreign country, it is me. I have no idea who is picking me up. I have a name - no face. A total stranger could come up to me and say they are my ride and I would probably go with them. When my kids were little, we had a secret word in case a stranger had to pick them up. I am not so lucky...I didn't think ahead. :-)
But I always look for the Rotary pin. Valdir did such a great job with our schedule, he has our hosts names on the program. So if they don't have a pin and they want to take me somewhere, at least I can ask their name before running away.
This morning for breakfast (now I am just writing to pass the time and to look busy) I had guava juice, papaya, watermelon, yogurt.
9:02
How long do I wait by the gate? Did I miss my ride? Are they very late for a reason? Yo no se (I don't know in portuguese)
Some questions I thought of...(more passing the time)
Since there aren't any mortgages here, how much is rent?
What is the percentage of people who own versus people who rent?
If they buy a house outright, do they have any household bills other than utility bills?
How much are taxes? What do they pay for?
If they own a house, and the government owns subsoil, who owns the land the house sits on?
The weather is not too bad. Just like the shore in August at 2 PM in the middle of a parking lot. There is a nice breeze every once in a while though.
We got a ton of rain yesterday (while at the restaurant) and I am sure we are due for more this afternoon. Being in the rain forest, during a rain storm is quite refreshing. It is like taking a shower with your clothes on.
Claudia, my host, was telling me yesterday that she is a teacher in the public school in the morning. She teaches at the University at night. The public school teachers are on strike right now because of pay issues. They work a very long day for not a lot of money. Even though there is a strike going on, she goes to school every day because the children are showing up. If they don't go to school, they don't eat. So 5 teachers are taking care of 1000 kids. She breaks the picket line for the children. What a great person.
9:10
Baked potato mode now...I wish there was some shade. I feel like the witch in the wizard of oz. It is not a bucket of water that is melting me but my own sweat. A bucket of water would be nice. Or chuva - rain.
I am hoping my hosts are late because they are trying to find Dean and Mike, as their host arrived last night from Sao Paulo and he took them home from the Rotary Meeting.
9:45
Picked up.
It is just Dean and I with Rotarians Djalma and Ronald. (I will write more later as it is getting late and I am falling asleep) Tcahu.
Belem May 6 to May 12
May 7, 2008
4:20 AM
Yesterday we arrived in Belem at 4:30 PM and immediately had to put our watches ahead one hour. So we are ahead of the East Coast of the US, as well as Santarem and Manaus.
Approaching Belem by air was awesome. Rivers EVERYWHERE. This city is huge, with many tall buildings. Population 1.9 million. MY first impression: wow a real city.
We got our bags and were met by several rotarians. Valdir, the cute little Rotarian that we met at the District Conference. Valdir is 78 years old. Antonio, whose wife Flor is a French teacher at the Unveristy and Wagner, who is Steve's host for the week.
I am staying with Claudia, Antonio's daughter who is also a teacher at the University. Mike and Dean's host is still in Sao Paulo so those two got dropped off at a hotel for the afternoon.
I got to Claudia's house and see that I have displaced 12 year old Ana. I feel bad about taking her room. I only had a few minutes to unpack a few things, change and head out the door to our first Rotary Meeting in Belem.
I had my first conversation in Portuguese, with Antonio in the car on the way to the meeting. It was basic two year old type speaking, but at least I could speak. The Rotary Club was Belem- Norte and it was their Annual Mother's Day Celebration. They had their program and then it was 10:00. Time to eat dinner. The food was good.
I was home by 11, showered and in bed by 11:30. I am getting picked up at 9 tomorrow morning. Time to get some sleep. But I only use the eye shield. Why would I need ear plugs here? I am four stories up in a condo building. Windows are closed. Air conditioner comes on sporatically as needed. So I don't use the ear plugs. A damn rooster woke me up at 4:20. I couldn't sleep, so I wrote my journal entry.
Things that I never thought about before:
Military time, kilometers, kilograms, Reais, liters, dates with day/month/year, 8 digit phone numbers/ addresses with road, then house number, then apartment complex, then the building and apartment number, then the barrio, then the city, then the state. (I hope I don't get lost)
7:30 AM
The rooster has stopped. 2 dogs barking. A man whistling. Clear blue skies. Did it rain here last night?
9:30 AM
Our first full day in Belem had Dean, Mike and I traveling by yacht on a water tour of the city's coastline. We spent a couple of hours riding up to coast then we headed west up a river way to a restaurant for lunch. Saldosa Mallorca. I think that is the correct spelling.
The food was just caught that morning: river crab, fish, shrimp. The buffalo meat was fresh, but I don't think it was hunted that morning. Who knows...it could have been. Acai and tapioca for dessert.
The platters of food kept coming out. I was so full by the time we got back on the boat, I thought I would sleep like a baby. Nope...little did I understand the properties of acai...a fruit that has a kick of energy.
After we got back to the dock, our hosts of Pedro and Roberto, took us to a pool run by the Para Government. If you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you have seen me write that children go to school in this region of Brasil in shifts. This leaves many children unattended through out the day because their parents are working, so the government stepped in and provides activities for the children. This pool that we attended has 1500 children in its aquatic program. I got to see the younger children in a lesson and the swim team first level - age 13 - in practice. They also had an amazing diving program. If the government of Para can keep this program up ==> Look out world, Brazil has some stars in the next several Olympics. While we were visiting them, the Brazil Olympic Time Trials were going on in another region of the country and this team had 4 swimmers there trying to make the team. Good luck to them.
We head home to change for our second Rotary Meeting.
Antonio picks me up and at first I realize we are heading back to the same place we went last night. Uh-oh. Is he lost? Did he get confused? Why take me back to the place he took me last night. Do I say anything? No. I go with the flow. We go to the same building and the same floor as the night before. I open the door and it is a totally different crowd. Whew!
There are 6 Rotary Clubs in Belem and they all meet in the same building, same floor, same room. One meets Monday night, two meet on Tuesday (AM and PM), Two meet on Wednesday (ditto) and one meets on Thursday night.
Another Mother's Day celebration. Another Rose. Same food. Same late night. In bed again by 11:30, with eye patch and ear plugs, slept until 7:15 AM YEAH!!!!!!
4:20 AM
Yesterday we arrived in Belem at 4:30 PM and immediately had to put our watches ahead one hour. So we are ahead of the East Coast of the US, as well as Santarem and Manaus.
Approaching Belem by air was awesome. Rivers EVERYWHERE. This city is huge, with many tall buildings. Population 1.9 million. MY first impression: wow a real city.
We got our bags and were met by several rotarians. Valdir, the cute little Rotarian that we met at the District Conference. Valdir is 78 years old. Antonio, whose wife Flor is a French teacher at the Unveristy and Wagner, who is Steve's host for the week.
I am staying with Claudia, Antonio's daughter who is also a teacher at the University. Mike and Dean's host is still in Sao Paulo so those two got dropped off at a hotel for the afternoon.
I got to Claudia's house and see that I have displaced 12 year old Ana. I feel bad about taking her room. I only had a few minutes to unpack a few things, change and head out the door to our first Rotary Meeting in Belem.
I had my first conversation in Portuguese, with Antonio in the car on the way to the meeting. It was basic two year old type speaking, but at least I could speak. The Rotary Club was Belem- Norte and it was their Annual Mother's Day Celebration. They had their program and then it was 10:00. Time to eat dinner. The food was good.
I was home by 11, showered and in bed by 11:30. I am getting picked up at 9 tomorrow morning. Time to get some sleep. But I only use the eye shield. Why would I need ear plugs here? I am four stories up in a condo building. Windows are closed. Air conditioner comes on sporatically as needed. So I don't use the ear plugs. A damn rooster woke me up at 4:20. I couldn't sleep, so I wrote my journal entry.
Things that I never thought about before:
Military time, kilometers, kilograms, Reais, liters, dates with day/month/year, 8 digit phone numbers/ addresses with road, then house number, then apartment complex, then the building and apartment number, then the barrio, then the city, then the state. (I hope I don't get lost)
7:30 AM
The rooster has stopped. 2 dogs barking. A man whistling. Clear blue skies. Did it rain here last night?
9:30 AM
Our first full day in Belem had Dean, Mike and I traveling by yacht on a water tour of the city's coastline. We spent a couple of hours riding up to coast then we headed west up a river way to a restaurant for lunch. Saldosa Mallorca. I think that is the correct spelling.
The food was just caught that morning: river crab, fish, shrimp. The buffalo meat was fresh, but I don't think it was hunted that morning. Who knows...it could have been. Acai and tapioca for dessert.
The platters of food kept coming out. I was so full by the time we got back on the boat, I thought I would sleep like a baby. Nope...little did I understand the properties of acai...a fruit that has a kick of energy.
After we got back to the dock, our hosts of Pedro and Roberto, took us to a pool run by the Para Government. If you have been reading this blog from the beginning, you have seen me write that children go to school in this region of Brasil in shifts. This leaves many children unattended through out the day because their parents are working, so the government stepped in and provides activities for the children. This pool that we attended has 1500 children in its aquatic program. I got to see the younger children in a lesson and the swim team first level - age 13 - in practice. They also had an amazing diving program. If the government of Para can keep this program up ==> Look out world, Brazil has some stars in the next several Olympics. While we were visiting them, the Brazil Olympic Time Trials were going on in another region of the country and this team had 4 swimmers there trying to make the team. Good luck to them.
We head home to change for our second Rotary Meeting.
Antonio picks me up and at first I realize we are heading back to the same place we went last night. Uh-oh. Is he lost? Did he get confused? Why take me back to the place he took me last night. Do I say anything? No. I go with the flow. We go to the same building and the same floor as the night before. I open the door and it is a totally different crowd. Whew!
There are 6 Rotary Clubs in Belem and they all meet in the same building, same floor, same room. One meets Monday night, two meet on Tuesday (AM and PM), Two meet on Wednesday (ditto) and one meets on Thursday night.
Another Mother's Day celebration. Another Rose. Same food. Same late night. In bed again by 11:30, with eye patch and ear plugs, slept until 7:15 AM YEAH!!!!!!
Our Team
Our team is made up of three guys and me. I am the Rotarian. The three guys are
Dean an NBA front office man for the Denver Nuggets; Steve, a financial health consultant for PWC and Mike a photojournalist from Philadelphia. My name is Mary and I am an Aquatics Coordinator at a YMCA. All of us live and work in Southeastern PA.
Dean an NBA front office man for the Denver Nuggets; Steve, a financial health consultant for PWC and Mike a photojournalist from Philadelphia. My name is Mary and I am an Aquatics Coordinator at a YMCA. All of us live and work in Southeastern PA.
What does GSE mean?
GSE stands for Group Study Exchange. It is a Rotary program for Non-Rotarians who are led by a Rotarian to a foreign country to learn about their vocations in that foreign country. More specifically a small portion of that country, called a District.
Rotary International is divided up into Districts all over the world. Therefore, the GSE program is a District to District Exchange. While we are here in Brazil, Disrtict 4720 (the six nornthern states of Brazil), District 4720 sent a team of people to our District 7430 (southeastern PA).
All expenses are paid for by Rotary International, as GSE is a Rotary Foundation program. Most Rotarians around the world donate $1000.00 to the Rotary Foundation at some point in their lives. Some Rotarians donate $1000.00 every year, which makes them sustaining members. It is this donation of money that allows programs, such as GSE, to be inexpensive ways for Non-Rotarians to see the world.
For more information on Rotary International and all of its programs, go to www.rotary.org
There is a catch though. You become an Ambassador to the hosting country for Rotary International. You attend Rotary Functions on a daily basis. While it isn't a free ride, it is an amazing way to see the world. Rotarians make the world a better place every day. This blog is one way to see all the good that is going on in District 4720.
Rotary International is divided up into Districts all over the world. Therefore, the GSE program is a District to District Exchange. While we are here in Brazil, Disrtict 4720 (the six nornthern states of Brazil), District 4720 sent a team of people to our District 7430 (southeastern PA).
All expenses are paid for by Rotary International, as GSE is a Rotary Foundation program. Most Rotarians around the world donate $1000.00 to the Rotary Foundation at some point in their lives. Some Rotarians donate $1000.00 every year, which makes them sustaining members. It is this donation of money that allows programs, such as GSE, to be inexpensive ways for Non-Rotarians to see the world.
For more information on Rotary International and all of its programs, go to www.rotary.org
There is a catch though. You become an Ambassador to the hosting country for Rotary International. You attend Rotary Functions on a daily basis. While it isn't a free ride, it is an amazing way to see the world. Rotarians make the world a better place every day. This blog is one way to see all the good that is going on in District 4720.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
MAY 1 TO MAY 6 LAST DAYS IN SANTAREM
May 1, 2008 Thursday District Conference Day 1
5:50 AM
Awake. I have been using earplugs and an eye shield and those seem to help me sleep alittle better. The birds here are soooo noisy in the morning: roosters, exotics, sparrows.
My room mate got here late last night and I didn’t wake up ---yesterday wore me out.
I don’t use the curtains, as the open windows are the only fresh air.
Since I have been in Santarem, I have gotten into a nice routine. Shower in the morning, do my hair, workout with the isoaerobic machine, have breakfast by 7. Try to head to the computer lab across the street by 8 and have an hour before we do the daily activity. Come home and just before bed, shower again, do the baby powder thing, put on pajamas and go to bed.
12:30 PM
This morning we attended the RYLA conference (Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly) It was awesome. It was very hard listening to speeches in a foreign language, and the dictionary was used a lot. But the passion was fantastic.
May 2, 2008 Friday District Conference Day 2
6:45 AM
Last night we attended the Opening Ceremony of the District Conference. Carol, Haroldo’s daughter carried the Brasilian Flag. It was such a late night that I fell asleep before the GSE Team was introduced. The language translation is very difficult and it just tires my brain. We got home at 12:45 AM and need to be ready to go at 7:45 AM so Vera can make sure all is well with the conference.
We arrived at the Conference by 8 AM and Vera was soooo mad. She is the first woman to be District Governor ever in this region and she has certain ideas on how a conference should be run so it is more accepting of all people. Not a heirarchical caste system like it has been in the past. So out went the head table and in came the couches and plants and coffee table. It was a very warm and inviting environment.
While we were watching the presenters speaking, people would raise their hand and the monitor at the podium, would write their name down. Once the presentation was over, the people who raised their hand would then line up and grill the presenter for an hour or more on their presentation. Oy vey. After the first speech of the morning, our presentation was delayed one hour already.
At the 11:45 AM coffee break, even though the speaker was still presenting, the entire crowd got up and went to the back of the room to get their coffee and cake. I felt bad for the presenter. The people in the back of the room were so noisy you couldn~t hear the speaker any more. Also cellphones would ring during a presentation and people would answer their phone, stand up while talking and head to the back of the room. It was shocking for me to see this behavior. But it is typical for this region.
We finally got to the podium at 2:15, two hours late. Not a problem, except no one has eaten lunch yet because we were supposed be done the entire conference at this point for the day. We did have a few people in the room while we spoke. My portuguese was totally terrible. But everyone was happy I attempted. I just got so tongue tied. Dean, Steve and Mike did a great job. But I am glad it is over, now we can go back to FE and get some food and take a nap before the evenings festivities.
May 3, 2008 Saturday District Conference Day 3
I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT!!!!!!!!
Last night was a talent contest. Singing, dancing and poetry reading. We met up with Celia and Haroldo and their children Carol and Larry. The dancing didn~t start right away, but when it did, I was asked to dance by a Rotarian who is working at the clinic, I think his name is Ben. Well he tried to teach me the Boliero. I got it right a few times.
The rest of the night was a blur and I danced the rest of it. I learned the following dances:
Canimbo which is a local Santarem dance. Somba, with a lot of crazy hips, feet and shoulder movements. Boliero – woman walks forward 4 back 2 ¼ turn and repeat. Forro which is a northern Brazil dance. 2 right two left, and lots of crazy hip motion. This was my favorite and I want to go dancing again soon. OMG this was my best night in Brasil. These Rotarians know how to have a great time.
May 4, 2008 Sunday District Conference Day 4
This morning we had a church service and then a tree planting. Before the tree planting there was a peace offering. We had lunch with Paparazzi, the man at the wh took pictures at the conference all weekend. It was cool, every night they had a slide show of the days events. After lunch we got a taxi home and I took a nap. This language barrier, the late nights, the lack of exercise have made me tired and the heat, can’t forget about the heat. Most people in this region don’t do siestas anymore, but I do. :-)
Mike woke me up to tell me the Germans from SEARA were visiting us. We found out it is DAY OF THE MEN(according to the Germans). DIAS DOS HOMMENS or some such spelling. They were with their friend Fransico who works at the school with them. They had been to several of their other male friends’ houses, but they were all busy with their girlfriends or wives. Lol
Mike was not feeling well so he went to bed. Dean, Steve and I headed to the city for a night on the town. The crowds were enormous and we got a pizza and beer and just people watched for a few hours. It was nice not having much to do.
May 5, 2008 Monday Last Day in Santarem
Dean and I got a taxi and went shopping for soveniers. Sorry if my spelling is wrong. The spell check doesn~t work on ENGLISH words. Lol Things you don~t think about until you get somewhere new. Dean, Steve and I went to the city again and went back to MACOSTE and sat outside, drank beer, ate french fries and listened to loud music. Dean ate two cheeseburgers and they were quite good. The best so far in Brasil.
1:30 AM
(Notes written in the dark)
Thunder and Lightening Storm. Heavy rain. Writing in the dark. 2 miles off and getting closer. The breeze feels great. The first Wednesday in Manaus, we had a terrible storm for two hours. This storm is less than 1 mile away.
6:30 AM
Rain still falling, but it is a light rain. I love sleeping in the rain.
2:30 PM
Today was a quiet day. I did most of my packing yesterday. I just had my desk to pack up. We got to have a nice breakfast and lunch with Ron, Vera, Ed and Betty. Before we knew it it was time to go to the airport and catch a plane to Belem.
I have a ton of photos and someday I will get the chance to upload them. Please have patience.
5:50 AM
Awake. I have been using earplugs and an eye shield and those seem to help me sleep alittle better. The birds here are soooo noisy in the morning: roosters, exotics, sparrows.
My room mate got here late last night and I didn’t wake up ---yesterday wore me out.
I don’t use the curtains, as the open windows are the only fresh air.
Since I have been in Santarem, I have gotten into a nice routine. Shower in the morning, do my hair, workout with the isoaerobic machine, have breakfast by 7. Try to head to the computer lab across the street by 8 and have an hour before we do the daily activity. Come home and just before bed, shower again, do the baby powder thing, put on pajamas and go to bed.
12:30 PM
This morning we attended the RYLA conference (Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly) It was awesome. It was very hard listening to speeches in a foreign language, and the dictionary was used a lot. But the passion was fantastic.
May 2, 2008 Friday District Conference Day 2
6:45 AM
Last night we attended the Opening Ceremony of the District Conference. Carol, Haroldo’s daughter carried the Brasilian Flag. It was such a late night that I fell asleep before the GSE Team was introduced. The language translation is very difficult and it just tires my brain. We got home at 12:45 AM and need to be ready to go at 7:45 AM so Vera can make sure all is well with the conference.
We arrived at the Conference by 8 AM and Vera was soooo mad. She is the first woman to be District Governor ever in this region and she has certain ideas on how a conference should be run so it is more accepting of all people. Not a heirarchical caste system like it has been in the past. So out went the head table and in came the couches and plants and coffee table. It was a very warm and inviting environment.
While we were watching the presenters speaking, people would raise their hand and the monitor at the podium, would write their name down. Once the presentation was over, the people who raised their hand would then line up and grill the presenter for an hour or more on their presentation. Oy vey. After the first speech of the morning, our presentation was delayed one hour already.
At the 11:45 AM coffee break, even though the speaker was still presenting, the entire crowd got up and went to the back of the room to get their coffee and cake. I felt bad for the presenter. The people in the back of the room were so noisy you couldn~t hear the speaker any more. Also cellphones would ring during a presentation and people would answer their phone, stand up while talking and head to the back of the room. It was shocking for me to see this behavior. But it is typical for this region.
We finally got to the podium at 2:15, two hours late. Not a problem, except no one has eaten lunch yet because we were supposed be done the entire conference at this point for the day. We did have a few people in the room while we spoke. My portuguese was totally terrible. But everyone was happy I attempted. I just got so tongue tied. Dean, Steve and Mike did a great job. But I am glad it is over, now we can go back to FE and get some food and take a nap before the evenings festivities.
May 3, 2008 Saturday District Conference Day 3
I COULD HAVE DANCED ALL NIGHT!!!!!!!!
Last night was a talent contest. Singing, dancing and poetry reading. We met up with Celia and Haroldo and their children Carol and Larry. The dancing didn~t start right away, but when it did, I was asked to dance by a Rotarian who is working at the clinic, I think his name is Ben. Well he tried to teach me the Boliero. I got it right a few times.
The rest of the night was a blur and I danced the rest of it. I learned the following dances:
Canimbo which is a local Santarem dance. Somba, with a lot of crazy hips, feet and shoulder movements. Boliero – woman walks forward 4 back 2 ¼ turn and repeat. Forro which is a northern Brazil dance. 2 right two left, and lots of crazy hip motion. This was my favorite and I want to go dancing again soon. OMG this was my best night in Brasil. These Rotarians know how to have a great time.
May 4, 2008 Sunday District Conference Day 4
This morning we had a church service and then a tree planting. Before the tree planting there was a peace offering. We had lunch with Paparazzi, the man at the wh took pictures at the conference all weekend. It was cool, every night they had a slide show of the days events. After lunch we got a taxi home and I took a nap. This language barrier, the late nights, the lack of exercise have made me tired and the heat, can’t forget about the heat. Most people in this region don’t do siestas anymore, but I do. :-)
Mike woke me up to tell me the Germans from SEARA were visiting us. We found out it is DAY OF THE MEN(according to the Germans). DIAS DOS HOMMENS or some such spelling. They were with their friend Fransico who works at the school with them. They had been to several of their other male friends’ houses, but they were all busy with their girlfriends or wives. Lol
Mike was not feeling well so he went to bed. Dean, Steve and I headed to the city for a night on the town. The crowds were enormous and we got a pizza and beer and just people watched for a few hours. It was nice not having much to do.
May 5, 2008 Monday Last Day in Santarem
Dean and I got a taxi and went shopping for soveniers. Sorry if my spelling is wrong. The spell check doesn~t work on ENGLISH words. Lol Things you don~t think about until you get somewhere new. Dean, Steve and I went to the city again and went back to MACOSTE and sat outside, drank beer, ate french fries and listened to loud music. Dean ate two cheeseburgers and they were quite good. The best so far in Brasil.
1:30 AM
(Notes written in the dark)
Thunder and Lightening Storm. Heavy rain. Writing in the dark. 2 miles off and getting closer. The breeze feels great. The first Wednesday in Manaus, we had a terrible storm for two hours. This storm is less than 1 mile away.
6:30 AM
Rain still falling, but it is a light rain. I love sleeping in the rain.
2:30 PM
Today was a quiet day. I did most of my packing yesterday. I just had my desk to pack up. We got to have a nice breakfast and lunch with Ron, Vera, Ed and Betty. Before we knew it it was time to go to the airport and catch a plane to Belem.
I have a ton of photos and someday I will get the chance to upload them. Please have patience.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Labor Day Holiday May 1
Yesterday was Labor Day. First off, all holidays in this country are celebrated only on the day that is designated as the holiday. So if Christmas is on a Sunday - you don't get Monday off.
So yesterday was Thursday. May 1 is Labor Day. All stores, schools and businesses are closed for the day.
The celebrations started on Wednesday night for most folks. The music is very loud here on weekends and holidays. We have been in Santarem for almost two weeks and we have celebrated two holidays.
Ed went investigating for the location of the music so he could take photos. He came back and said there is a huge block party two streets over. Betty, Dean and I went back with him. Dean was carrying his frisbee. I just had my water bottle.
We got to the block party and there is a large swimming pool, with hundreds of kids - absolutely no lifeguards - swimming with noodles tied around their waists as life preservers, sliding down plastic backyard toddler slides into the baby pool, kids diving and jumping everywhere. We were there for two hours and didn't hear of any accidents. I didn't stay around to life guard though - too stressful for me.
There was a large dance area with couples dancing. Speakers playing really loud music. I don't know if there was a band playing or just a sound system. But it was sooo loud, just thinking about it makes my head hurt.
There was also an empty soccer field. So Dean and I go out and we started throwing the frisbee. As soon as we got on the field, a few kids came out and wanted to play with us. The crowd grew until we had about 20 kids playing. It was sooo much fun. We learned their names and we just played for about an hour. Dean gave the frisbee to Pedro, a boy who spoke a little English. Pedro looked to be about 11 or 12 years old.
Dean and I got half way back to FE, when the boys came around the other block. They just wanted to talk to us about the US. They asked if all of the US was like Las Vegas. They only know what they see on TV. We must have talked with them for about 30 minutes on the city street. Stevie and Mike came walking down the block. They had been coming to look for us. Mike had a soccer ball in his hands so we all walked back to the soccer field. There were another 15 or more boys on the soccer field. Mike split the boys up into two sides: skins and shirts. There were at least 40 kids on the soccer field. They proceeded to play soccer for an hour- all 40 at the same time. I filmed for the first 30 minutes, then I sat down just to watch. The boys ranged in ages 8 - 16 and their soccer skills were out of this world.
Not one of them played with shoes on. The shirts won. :-)
So yesterday was Thursday. May 1 is Labor Day. All stores, schools and businesses are closed for the day.
The celebrations started on Wednesday night for most folks. The music is very loud here on weekends and holidays. We have been in Santarem for almost two weeks and we have celebrated two holidays.
Ed went investigating for the location of the music so he could take photos. He came back and said there is a huge block party two streets over. Betty, Dean and I went back with him. Dean was carrying his frisbee. I just had my water bottle.
We got to the block party and there is a large swimming pool, with hundreds of kids - absolutely no lifeguards - swimming with noodles tied around their waists as life preservers, sliding down plastic backyard toddler slides into the baby pool, kids diving and jumping everywhere. We were there for two hours and didn't hear of any accidents. I didn't stay around to life guard though - too stressful for me.
There was a large dance area with couples dancing. Speakers playing really loud music. I don't know if there was a band playing or just a sound system. But it was sooo loud, just thinking about it makes my head hurt.
There was also an empty soccer field. So Dean and I go out and we started throwing the frisbee. As soon as we got on the field, a few kids came out and wanted to play with us. The crowd grew until we had about 20 kids playing. It was sooo much fun. We learned their names and we just played for about an hour. Dean gave the frisbee to Pedro, a boy who spoke a little English. Pedro looked to be about 11 or 12 years old.
Dean and I got half way back to FE, when the boys came around the other block. They just wanted to talk to us about the US. They asked if all of the US was like Las Vegas. They only know what they see on TV. We must have talked with them for about 30 minutes on the city street. Stevie and Mike came walking down the block. They had been coming to look for us. Mike had a soccer ball in his hands so we all walked back to the soccer field. There were another 15 or more boys on the soccer field. Mike split the boys up into two sides: skins and shirts. There were at least 40 kids on the soccer field. They proceeded to play soccer for an hour- all 40 at the same time. I filmed for the first 30 minutes, then I sat down just to watch. The boys ranged in ages 8 - 16 and their soccer skills were out of this world.
Not one of them played with shoes on. The shirts won. :-)
District Conference Day 1 and 2
02/05/2008 May 2, 2008
Oi! Tudo Bem. Hi! I am good.
The district conference started yesterday. Our team went to the RYLA conference in the morning. Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly. Three hours of trying to decipher the presentations from Portuguese to English wore me out. I came home and after lunch I crashed for a few hours. The conference was really good though, from what words I could look up.
Last night we had the opening ceremonies to attend. The mayor was an hour late, so instead of starting at 8 we started after 9. By 11:30 I was ready for bed. We didn't get home until late last night. We were at the conference this morning by 8.
We did our presentation today. It went really well for the team, but I totally sucked at my speech. I have practiced this speech literally a hundred times in my head. But my tongue wouldn't work today. The pronunciation is very difficult. But on the bright side, many people stopped by to thank me for attempting their language.
Our team is very well liked as "the boys" as they are called - "Mary and her boys" - have great personalities. Dean knows the language very well and can joke and get things right all of the time. Mike is just funny with his "portanol" - portuguese-espanol and Stevie (each vowel is pronounced here so Steve's name comes out Stevie) - is quite good with his language skills. I found out yesterday he was a social director for his fratnerity at Penn State and I can see why.
So everywhere we go, we have been well received and it continued at the conference today. I am having a great time and this trip is amazing. I hope Doug doesn't mind, but whenever I talk to someone I invite them to come visit when they come to Philly. :-)
Amizade! (Friendships) Pronounced - Ah- Mi - Za - Ge
Tchau.
Oi! Tudo Bem. Hi! I am good.
The district conference started yesterday. Our team went to the RYLA conference in the morning. Rotary Youth Leadership Assembly. Three hours of trying to decipher the presentations from Portuguese to English wore me out. I came home and after lunch I crashed for a few hours. The conference was really good though, from what words I could look up.
Last night we had the opening ceremonies to attend. The mayor was an hour late, so instead of starting at 8 we started after 9. By 11:30 I was ready for bed. We didn't get home until late last night. We were at the conference this morning by 8.
We did our presentation today. It went really well for the team, but I totally sucked at my speech. I have practiced this speech literally a hundred times in my head. But my tongue wouldn't work today. The pronunciation is very difficult. But on the bright side, many people stopped by to thank me for attempting their language.
Our team is very well liked as "the boys" as they are called - "Mary and her boys" - have great personalities. Dean knows the language very well and can joke and get things right all of the time. Mike is just funny with his "portanol" - portuguese-espanol and Stevie (each vowel is pronounced here so Steve's name comes out Stevie) - is quite good with his language skills. I found out yesterday he was a social director for his fratnerity at Penn State and I can see why.
So everywhere we go, we have been well received and it continued at the conference today. I am having a great time and this trip is amazing. I hope Doug doesn't mind, but whenever I talk to someone I invite them to come visit when they come to Philly. :-)
Amizade! (Friendships) Pronounced - Ah- Mi - Za - Ge
Tchau.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
April 30, 2008 Wednesday
6:15 AM
Yesterday was the first day without rain here.
12:15 AM (Thursday) Notes from my journal...
Today was our first scheduled free day of the entire trip. Mike, Betty and I went to Escola Rotary to play soccer with the children, and take photos.
Betty and her husband Ed arrived here last night. Ed is a retired dentist who is also a Rotarian. He has come to work in the clinic. Betty is a professor of photography and she will be teaching four classes next week at the college across the street. Ed worked in the clinic, we took Betty with us.
We arrived at the school about 9:30 and we left at 10:30. So much happened in that one hour, we all thought it was about 1 PM when we left. This is the school with no playground. They have a total of 8 classrooms for 500 students. The children come in shifts: 7 - 11:30, 1:30 - 5, 7 - 10:30. Age is not an indicator of grade. Material understood is. So you can have some young children with older students doing more advanced work, and it isn't uncommon to have a 15 yr old fourth grader.
The important thing is keeping the kids in school and making sure they learn the material so they can be successful in their life.
But we went to play soccer. There were two soccer balls flying around outside. On top of roofs, over walls. Children running everywhere. I filmed video. Mike played. Betty shot photos.
After we got back to FE, we picked up Steve, who slept in on his free day. Then we got a taxi to the city center to buy some things for the district conference, like shirts and ties for the men, because we have two formal nights here.
For lunch we had cheeseburgers and coke by the Tapajos River (the Amazon was in the distance).
Then we went to the District Conference hotel to help stuff papers into folders. We got picked up at 3:30 by Irene a local Rotary Club President who took us to all of the schools on Tuesday. We were going back to hand out mosquito nets and toddler clothing to the SEARA school. See blog below.
We had 26 nets. 60 families need them. So we will get them nets some how. One of the German volunteers turned 20 today. So everyone sang Happy Birthday to Philipp. He invited us to his house for his birthday party in the evening.
I got to work on my blog for an hour. Yeah!! Then the computers crashed again. They hadn't worked all morning. It wasn't until later tonight that we found out that April 30th is TAX DAY in Brasil and 1,000,000 people got on the system to file their taxes electronically and it crashed the system and many more systems in the cities.
Steve, Mike and I did get a taxi to Philipp and Max's house. They are both volunteers at the SEARA school. The school keeps this house for its volunteers. It was a big family party. The three of us expected two 20 something boys to have a 'fratnerity' type party. But they had a bbq going. Lots of salads. There were moms and their children from the school program. The director of the school and her brother. It was a fun night. Lots of music and singing. Drinks in pineapples.
I got a new roommate tonight. She is with RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership) and she is working at the conference.
A final note about our wonderful FREE day...when we were at the school playing soccer, the children kept pointing to the sky. I thought they were thinking it was going to rain on us and I kept shaking my head "No". No rain. But Betty figured out what they were saying. "God Bless You." As soon as she said it, that made me cry. So did the kids hugging us and doing the two cheek kiss, asking for autographs like we were rock stars, asking to pose with us. They kept saying "we are Rotary too."
WHAT A TOTALLY COOL FREE DAY!!!!!!
Yesterday was the first day without rain here.
12:15 AM (Thursday) Notes from my journal...
Today was our first scheduled free day of the entire trip. Mike, Betty and I went to Escola Rotary to play soccer with the children, and take photos.
Betty and her husband Ed arrived here last night. Ed is a retired dentist who is also a Rotarian. He has come to work in the clinic. Betty is a professor of photography and she will be teaching four classes next week at the college across the street. Ed worked in the clinic, we took Betty with us.
We arrived at the school about 9:30 and we left at 10:30. So much happened in that one hour, we all thought it was about 1 PM when we left. This is the school with no playground. They have a total of 8 classrooms for 500 students. The children come in shifts: 7 - 11:30, 1:30 - 5, 7 - 10:30. Age is not an indicator of grade. Material understood is. So you can have some young children with older students doing more advanced work, and it isn't uncommon to have a 15 yr old fourth grader.
The important thing is keeping the kids in school and making sure they learn the material so they can be successful in their life.
But we went to play soccer. There were two soccer balls flying around outside. On top of roofs, over walls. Children running everywhere. I filmed video. Mike played. Betty shot photos.
After we got back to FE, we picked up Steve, who slept in on his free day. Then we got a taxi to the city center to buy some things for the district conference, like shirts and ties for the men, because we have two formal nights here.
For lunch we had cheeseburgers and coke by the Tapajos River (the Amazon was in the distance).
Then we went to the District Conference hotel to help stuff papers into folders. We got picked up at 3:30 by Irene a local Rotary Club President who took us to all of the schools on Tuesday. We were going back to hand out mosquito nets and toddler clothing to the SEARA school. See blog below.
We had 26 nets. 60 families need them. So we will get them nets some how. One of the German volunteers turned 20 today. So everyone sang Happy Birthday to Philipp. He invited us to his house for his birthday party in the evening.
I got to work on my blog for an hour. Yeah!! Then the computers crashed again. They hadn't worked all morning. It wasn't until later tonight that we found out that April 30th is TAX DAY in Brasil and 1,000,000 people got on the system to file their taxes electronically and it crashed the system and many more systems in the cities.
Steve, Mike and I did get a taxi to Philipp and Max's house. They are both volunteers at the SEARA school. The school keeps this house for its volunteers. It was a big family party. The three of us expected two 20 something boys to have a 'fratnerity' type party. But they had a bbq going. Lots of salads. There were moms and their children from the school program. The director of the school and her brother. It was a fun night. Lots of music and singing. Drinks in pineapples.
I got a new roommate tonight. She is with RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership) and she is working at the conference.
A final note about our wonderful FREE day...when we were at the school playing soccer, the children kept pointing to the sky. I thought they were thinking it was going to rain on us and I kept shaking my head "No". No rain. But Betty figured out what they were saying. "God Bless You." As soon as she said it, that made me cry. So did the kids hugging us and doing the two cheek kiss, asking for autographs like we were rock stars, asking to pose with us. They kept saying "we are Rotary too."
WHAT A TOTALLY COOL FREE DAY!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Pastoral Do Menor
Pastoral Do Menor is the last school type program we attended yesterday. The two men in the photo, Father Ron and Father Leneord have been in Brasil for 40 plus years. This is an after school program that offers all types of activities from sewing, silk screening, volleyball, soccer, painting. The children also get a meal at the end of the day. The Dance program put on a dance recital for us that was absolutely wonderful! What a great day. Three different schools that have specific needs in the community and Rotary plays a part in each one.
SEARA
SEARA is a program for children 1 - 4 years old who are in desparate need of nutrition. Most of the teachers are their moms and both mother and child receives education on health, nutrition, cleanliness and many other subjects. The children are fed 4 times a day. Bathed 2 times a day. Many of them have to walk 1 hour to get to the school, so their clothes are washed and dried while they attend school. While there, they are placed in donated clothing. We arrived at the last meal of the day and the children ate everything, including the marrow in bones. Rotary School
The Rotary School was mentioned on my first blog posting. This is our first day here (yesterday). We went back today to play soccer with the children. This is a school where Rotary plays a very active role both in donations and man power. There are three Rotary Clubs in Santarem and they are all involved. The biggest thing this school needs is space. There is little room for play. But we did a great job today wearing each other out. Back in Santarem
My bedroom in Fundacao Esperanca in Santarem. FE is a medical and dental center for the poorer people of Santarem. Most of the doctors and dentists come from the US and stay in these rooms. We have toured the facilities and most of the funding comes from Rotary International. Sunset on the Amazon
Obidos is on the right. We are leaving the port to head back to Santarem. It has been a long 21 hour wait. But we all kept our cool and handled the situation very well. We even laughed a lot. What a view!
Leaving Obidos The Final Chapter
Monday April 28, 2008
Trying to Leave Obidos The Final Chapter
5:30 PM
We left on the Cezar Brelaz about 15 minutes ago.
After a nap from 1 - 3 PM, Paulo took Dean and I to a Museum that had a display on the early history of Obidos. There is a Native American tribe and the early settlers came here in 1697 when the military set up a fort to protect the interests of the Portuguese Government. (Brasil was a colony of Portugal since 1530).
6:07 PM
Filled with a coca cola, bacon flavored cheese puffs, 1/2 package of cookies, I am content.
Sitting on the top deck of the Cezar, listening to a concert on TV (very loud) and watching a lightening storm in the distance, chugging on a boat up the Amazon, this is the life. It is approximately 5 hours to Santarem. Hopefully tonight we won't break down. We should be in Santarem by 11, if I didn't just jinx us.
The breeze feels so great. I just may stay up here all night as long as the rain holds off. We haven't had rain since early this morning. We are in the Rain Forest during rainy season. It is always raining.
12 hours ago I never thought we would be at this point; returning by boat to Santarem. 24 hours ago I had no clue what the evening had in store for us. We were giving out clothes and soccer balls to children in the poorest barrio in Obidos. It was such a powerful experience. I was filming and children were literally coming from every direction. How they knew what we were doing was staggering. I want to do so many things here and every where we go, people let us know of the ways we Americans can help. The Rotarians here are like the gods to these people.
Paulo is awesome. He is living Rotary's motto every day of his life: Service above Self. He is it! We keep calling him the mayor, because everywhere we go he knows somebody.
Hopefully my work is not done here in Obidos and Santarem. I still have so many questions. I will need to continue my Portuguese lessons when I return to the states.
Last night while sitting in the boat terminal with a ton of other people who were waiting for a different boat, every time a ship came into port, I sooo wanted to see the word "Cezar" on the prow. When I finally saw it tonight I was ecstatic. I really can't believe we are heading back to Santarem. Heading back to warm showers, real coffee, clean clothes, a bed with a pillow.
12:35 AM
We got back to FE about 30 - 40 minutes ago. I unpacked my dirty stinking clothes so they can be laundered tomorrow. Yucko. They were my pillow for the past two nights. I got a shower, scrubbed my face, shaved my legs, got in clean pajamas, put some baby powder on my body, turned on the ceiling fan. AHHH civilization. Did I say a few days ago in an email that Santarem was a third world country? Nah…it is all relative.
What a great adventure the past few days have been. Obidos was wonderful. Even through all of the hassles of the past 24 hours, I would do it again in a heart beat. God Bless and Good Night.
7:00 AM
At first I couldn't figure out where I was. Then I head Ron's voice, which is very distinctive and I knew I was back in Santarem.
Tchau
Trying to Leave Obidos The Final Chapter
5:30 PM
We left on the Cezar Brelaz about 15 minutes ago.
After a nap from 1 - 3 PM, Paulo took Dean and I to a Museum that had a display on the early history of Obidos. There is a Native American tribe and the early settlers came here in 1697 when the military set up a fort to protect the interests of the Portuguese Government. (Brasil was a colony of Portugal since 1530).
6:07 PM
Filled with a coca cola, bacon flavored cheese puffs, 1/2 package of cookies, I am content.
Sitting on the top deck of the Cezar, listening to a concert on TV (very loud) and watching a lightening storm in the distance, chugging on a boat up the Amazon, this is the life. It is approximately 5 hours to Santarem. Hopefully tonight we won't break down. We should be in Santarem by 11, if I didn't just jinx us.
The breeze feels so great. I just may stay up here all night as long as the rain holds off. We haven't had rain since early this morning. We are in the Rain Forest during rainy season. It is always raining.
12 hours ago I never thought we would be at this point; returning by boat to Santarem. 24 hours ago I had no clue what the evening had in store for us. We were giving out clothes and soccer balls to children in the poorest barrio in Obidos. It was such a powerful experience. I was filming and children were literally coming from every direction. How they knew what we were doing was staggering. I want to do so many things here and every where we go, people let us know of the ways we Americans can help. The Rotarians here are like the gods to these people.
Paulo is awesome. He is living Rotary's motto every day of his life: Service above Self. He is it! We keep calling him the mayor, because everywhere we go he knows somebody.
Hopefully my work is not done here in Obidos and Santarem. I still have so many questions. I will need to continue my Portuguese lessons when I return to the states.
Last night while sitting in the boat terminal with a ton of other people who were waiting for a different boat, every time a ship came into port, I sooo wanted to see the word "Cezar" on the prow. When I finally saw it tonight I was ecstatic. I really can't believe we are heading back to Santarem. Heading back to warm showers, real coffee, clean clothes, a bed with a pillow.
12:35 AM
We got back to FE about 30 - 40 minutes ago. I unpacked my dirty stinking clothes so they can be laundered tomorrow. Yucko. They were my pillow for the past two nights. I got a shower, scrubbed my face, shaved my legs, got in clean pajamas, put some baby powder on my body, turned on the ceiling fan. AHHH civilization. Did I say a few days ago in an email that Santarem was a third world country? Nah…it is all relative.
What a great adventure the past few days have been. Obidos was wonderful. Even through all of the hassles of the past 24 hours, I would do it again in a heart beat. God Bless and Good Night.
7:00 AM
At first I couldn't figure out where I was. Then I head Ron's voice, which is very distinctive and I knew I was back in Santarem.
Tchau
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Leaving Obidos
April 28, 2008
Trying to leave Obidos
3:50 AM
I have to write this now while the thoughts are going through my head. We`ve been at the boat terminal since 7 pm last night. We were supposed to be on the boat taking us back to Santarem at 8 pm. We sat outside the terminal at the “beer park” till midnight.
Our host for the weekend in Obidos is Paulo. He is a school teacher at both the high school and the elementary school. He teaches English and Sociology. Paulo and his family have been wonderful hosts for the past three days, but they both have to work at 7 am, so we forced them to leave us at the boat terminal in a foreign country. They were very reluctant. But we were more persistent. We even got out of the car and walked to the boat yard entrance. Bags in hand.
Communication and technology that we have in the US is something I never had to think about before. You want to see when your plane is coming – check the board. Ditto for the train. You want a taxi – you hold up your arm and you have a taxi. Here in this region of Brasil, the rivers are the roads. Boats are your only form of transportation.
The rain is nonstop and has been since 1 AM. I am soooooo thankful that I bought an LLBean rain jacket for this trip and I am even more thankful that I brought it for this weekend trip to Obidos. It has been my salvation.
I just went to the bathroom. I had to use journal paper as toilet paper. The guys on the team have it so easy with regards to bathrooms. They can use the Amazon River, just like all of the other men in this area. As soon as I brush my teeth I will be good to go another few hours. Some day, sometime I will sleep.
5:35 AM
A boat heading to Santarem arrived at the port at 5. We were on it for about 5 minutes. There were no rooms, they wouldn’t take our tickets, we had no hammocks – so we would have been standing for 8 – 10 hours. Plus no one in the world knew we were on that boat. It was a scary decision to make on only 1 hour of sleep.
Trying to leave Obidos
3:50 AM
I have to write this now while the thoughts are going through my head. We`ve been at the boat terminal since 7 pm last night. We were supposed to be on the boat taking us back to Santarem at 8 pm. We sat outside the terminal at the “beer park” till midnight.
Our host for the weekend in Obidos is Paulo. He is a school teacher at both the high school and the elementary school. He teaches English and Sociology. Paulo and his family have been wonderful hosts for the past three days, but they both have to work at 7 am, so we forced them to leave us at the boat terminal in a foreign country. They were very reluctant. But we were more persistent. We even got out of the car and walked to the boat yard entrance. Bags in hand.
Communication and technology that we have in the US is something I never had to think about before. You want to see when your plane is coming – check the board. Ditto for the train. You want a taxi – you hold up your arm and you have a taxi. Here in this region of Brasil, the rivers are the roads. Boats are your only form of transportation.
The rain is nonstop and has been since 1 AM. I am soooooo thankful that I bought an LLBean rain jacket for this trip and I am even more thankful that I brought it for this weekend trip to Obidos. It has been my salvation.
I just went to the bathroom. I had to use journal paper as toilet paper. The guys on the team have it so easy with regards to bathrooms. They can use the Amazon River, just like all of the other men in this area. As soon as I brush my teeth I will be good to go another few hours. Some day, sometime I will sleep.
5:35 AM
A boat heading to Santarem arrived at the port at 5. We were on it for about 5 minutes. There were no rooms, they wouldn’t take our tickets, we had no hammocks – so we would have been standing for 8 – 10 hours. Plus no one in the world knew we were on that boat. It was a scary decision to make on only 1 hour of sleep.
So now Steve and I are sitting with the bags back in the terminal while Dean and Mike are looking for Paulo’s house. It has to be somewhere near the docks. We had stayed at his parent’s house and that is only two blocks away. Worst comes to worst…we hop the security gate at his dad’s house, we use the key hidden in a planter on the porch wall, we shower, we sleep, we tell someone in Santarem what is going on, we get another boat trip home, we refill our water bottles, we eat. A lot of wishes in that last sentence. All with the hope that Mike and Dean can find his car and that leads them to his house.
The boat that showed up here at 5 was due in last night at 6. 11 hours late.
What surprises me is the lack of technological infrastructure. No ship to shore communication at all.
I slept from 4 – 5 AM with tons of bats swooping overhead, 2 inch long cockroaches crawling on the floor and walls, rats walking within 10 feet of me. I slept great. After I brushed my teeth for five minutes, using the Amazon River at my sink; I just couldn’t stomach going back into the public bathroom at the terminal. The only bathroom and all public bathrooms here smell like old fashion outhouses (not portopotties – they are cleaned out regularly). I will never ever complain about gas station restrooms again.
11:45 AM
We arrived here at Paulo’s dad’s house at 6:30 AM. We will leave for lunch at noon.
Dean and Mike found Paulo’s car but not his house. When they came back, I wrote up a note for the car. Mike and I went to the car to put the note on the wind shield. We weren’t satisfied that he would find it…he could walk to work. So we walked back to the terminal and wrote up two more letters. One for each of this language centers that he and his wife own. We walked to the buildings and put the notes on the doors. The notes were basic English: “6:00 AM Paulo – we are still at the terminal. We need sleep, water and food. Please come get us.”
It worked. He found the one on the windshield. He was very upset for us. He found out our boat the Cezar Brelaz, broke down 3 hours away from Obidos. So who knows if it will show up. Tonight there is a boat leaving for Santarem at 8 AM.
Once we got to Paulo's dad's house, I was too tired to shower. Even though I was so smelly, I couldn’t get out of the hammock.
April 29, 2008 Tuesday
Even though I have been in Brasil for more than two weeks, I am going to start my blog today and as time goes on, if I get more computer time, I can add some of our past experiences.
We are now in Santarem, Para. The home of the District Governor Vera. We have been guests at her home since we arrived last week. Vera and her husband Ron are directors of a medical center and a university. We are staying in the guest dorms that visiting doctors, nurses and dentists use. I will upload some photos of our facility.
The district conference is this week Thursday - Sunday so the dorms are filling up. It is going to be a fiesta until we leave here on Monday.
This afternoon we visited three different schools. The first is a Rotary School. It has 500 students and not many classes. So children attend school in shifts. Younger students go from 8 - 11:30. 1:30 - 5 is for middle school students and at 7 another group comes in. They have one computer lab.
We are now in Santarem, Para. The home of the District Governor Vera. We have been guests at her home since we arrived last week. Vera and her husband Ron are directors of a medical center and a university. We are staying in the guest dorms that visiting doctors, nurses and dentists use. I will upload some photos of our facility.
The district conference is this week Thursday - Sunday so the dorms are filling up. It is going to be a fiesta until we leave here on Monday.
This afternoon we visited three different schools. The first is a Rotary School. It has 500 students and not many classes. So children attend school in shifts. Younger students go from 8 - 11:30. 1:30 - 5 is for middle school students and at 7 another group comes in. They have one computer lab.
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