We really had two goals for the day, meet the other volunteers and see the beach. This was a perfect day for both. There are 23 volunteers here this week and we’ve been arriving at different times throughout the weekend.
After lunch, we walked about 15 minutes to get to Porta da Barra
beach. You wouldn’t believe the crowds on this rather small, but very accommodating beach. We managed to find a small section to lay our towels and sit back to enjoy ourselves for about 3 hours. Between the sun, Atlantic ocean, food/drink/chair vendors, children spraying water on our sandy feet, and the wonderful show from the locals, there was never a dull moment. Oh – did I mention the Brazilian bathing suits. I can attest that they can be rather small. For the show, several young men tried to out-do each other with flips, twirls, and other entertaining gymnastics on the beach beside us. I would describe it as New York break dancing moves, but I’ve never seen this done on a sandy beach before.
Larry
Instead of squirrels on the power lines like we have at home, here there are tiny monkeys that chirp like birds chasing each other along the wires. And contrary to popular belief, not all the bathing suits are tiny – there were plenty of board shorts and regular women’s suits, especially on the pale white people not used to the intense tropical sun.
It seems to me there are several categories of volunteers – the long-termers here for two or three months and the short termers like us for one to three weeks. The long-termers tend to be younger, just out of college, or still in college. They chose to do this before heading out into the real world looking for jobs. They make me feel old with their boundless energy and enthusiasm. One told me last night, he would not be nearly ready to go home at the end of his three months. Although we are by far the oldest here, more that 20 years older than most, I have much more in common with the short-termers. Most of them have carved a space out of their busy careers and everyday lives to see if this is something they could and/or want to do more of in the future. Everyone is excited about getting to our assignments in the morning.
Judy
After lunch, we walked about 15 minutes to get to Porta da Barra
beach. You wouldn’t believe the crowds on this rather small, but very accommodating beach. We managed to find a small section to lay our towels and sit back to enjoy ourselves for about 3 hours. Between the sun, Atlantic ocean, food/drink/chair vendors, children spraying water on our sandy feet, and the wonderful show from the locals, there was never a dull moment. Oh – did I mention the Brazilian bathing suits. I can attest that they can be rather small. For the show, several young men tried to out-do each other with flips, twirls, and other entertaining gymnastics on the beach beside us. I would describe it as New York break dancing moves, but I’ve never seen this done on a sandy beach before.
Larry
Instead of squirrels on the power lines like we have at home, here there are tiny monkeys that chirp like birds chasing each other along the wires. And contrary to popular belief, not all the bathing suits are tiny – there were plenty of board shorts and regular women’s suits, especially on the pale white people not used to the intense tropical sun.
It seems to me there are several categories of volunteers – the long-termers here for two or three months and the short termers like us for one to three weeks. The long-termers tend to be younger, just out of college, or still in college. They chose to do this before heading out into the real world looking for jobs. They make me feel old with their boundless energy and enthusiasm. One told me last night, he would not be nearly ready to go home at the end of his three months. Although we are by far the oldest here, more that 20 years older than most, I have much more in common with the short-termers. Most of them have carved a space out of their busy careers and everyday lives to see if this is something they could and/or want to do more of in the future. Everyone is excited about getting to our assignments in the morning.
Judy
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