We are in Miami, with only 10 hours left of our 34 hour journey home. The customs/immigration/check-in process in Rio took 31/2 hours, so it was a good thing we had a long layover. We are surprised by our experience of reverse culture shock after only 10 days away. So many English speaking people is overwhelming. When we got off the plane in Miami, an airline employee told us to “Follow the green dots..” and Larry immediately replied in Portuguese “Nao fallo… (which means I don’t speak)” and then he realized that she was speaking English! We got a really good laugh at that. And we navigated airports in Salvador, Sao Paulo and Rio with our limited language skills and only in Miami did we end up in the wrong place outside the secure area and have a problem. We found that pretty ironic.
The people we met in Salvador have made a lasting impression on us. We plan to improve our Portuguese over the next few months and return to Salvador and maybe see more of Brazil in the near future. I believe the week we spent with the children at Madre Tereza made their lives happier. Tiago, Franciella, Jade, Davi, Rafael, Felipe and Cristian at the orphanage had more attention and fun than usual and the staff got a little extra help. We also brightened the days of the children at the daycare and the ladies at the elder care center. Thank you so much to all of you who helped make this possible.
Judy
Monday, October 29, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Saturday – Morro de Sao Paulo
Before we left, Larry and I both had a chance to meet co-workers from Brazil. They both said we must make the time to visit Morro de Sao Paulo, a small island a 2-hour boat ride south of Salvador. When we got here, everyone said the same thing. So after work yesterday, we boarded a catamaran for the 2 hour trip across the open Atlantic.
There are no roads on the island, only footpaths and beach. The “taxi” that meets you consists of a young man with a wheelbarrow to transport your luggage to your posada for 5R$. Ours was a 25 minute walk with an address of Third Beach. The place looks like something out of the 19th century. We declined a taxi, but Ricardo dogged us the whole way, practicing his English by telling us how far we had to go and how difficult it would be. After about 15 minutes of trudging though the heavy beach sand, Larry gave up and handed over the luggage. Ricardo had won.
We had a fabulous dinner of Argentinian steak and shrimp with Caipirinhas, the Brazilian national drink, on the beach - everything is literally on the beach. Then we fell asleep in our hammock on our balcony overlooking the ocean with a view of the full moon while listening to the Brazilian music below. We missed out on the exciting nightlife that our waiter assured us did not start until much later (it was already 10pm) in the evening.
Now it is time to pack and leave for home in the morning. It has been an amazing trip.
Judy
There are no roads on the island, only footpaths and beach. The “taxi” that meets you consists of a young man with a wheelbarrow to transport your luggage to your posada for 5R$. Ours was a 25 minute walk with an address of Third Beach. The place looks like something out of the 19th century. We declined a taxi, but Ricardo dogged us the whole way, practicing his English by telling us how far we had to go and how difficult it would be. After about 15 minutes of trudging though the heavy beach sand, Larry gave up and handed over the luggage. Ricardo had won.
We had a fabulous dinner of Argentinian steak and shrimp with Caipirinhas, the Brazilian national drink, on the beach - everything is literally on the beach. Then we fell asleep in our hammock on our balcony overlooking the ocean with a view of the full moon while listening to the Brazilian music below. We missed out on the exciting nightlife that our waiter assured us did not start until much later (it was already 10pm) in the evening.
Now it is time to pack and leave for home in the morning. It has been an amazing trip.
Judy
Friday - last day at the Orphanage
Our work here is done. I can’t ever remember being so tired. But also content. I don’t know if tourists like Salvador. Much of the city is dirty, old and broken. 57% of the population is destitute.
But we have seen it through different eyes. We have become friends with the house staff here; also with the Madre Tereza staff who work so hard and with so much love I don’t know how they do it. The children have stolen our hearts. We live in a neighborhood where we can walk around, day or night, eat the local specialties cooked to order on the street corner and speak enough Portuguese to make our way. We may look like tourists, but we are more.
As for the cultural exchange part of the program, I don’t know how much they learned about us. It seems that Brazilians don’t like the US government, but they don’t hold that against its citizens. We were treated well and welcomed everywhere we went. I hope we were good ambassadors.
I know that we learned much about Salvador and the Bahian culture. The history is largely defined by slave trade and the culture is Afro-Brazilian which is the basis of their love of music, dance, drumming. And then there is soccer. We learned about the fusion of candomble, an African religion, with Catholicism, about the evolution of capoeira from a fighting technique of the slaves to a dance form; we enjoyed some of the most interesting and delicious regional cuisine imaginable, even though we often did not know what we were eating because the ingredients do not exist in our culture.
We learned about dental floss bikinis and seat belt skirts. We learned that men don’t wear the tiny Speedo bathing suits these days because board shorts are the rage. Surfing style is hot. In Salvador, the third largest city in Brazil with a population of 2.6 million people, you need no shoes other than flip flops.
Our time here was too short. The work was hard, but rewarding. I think it mattered, even though it was only a week. Maybe the children will know we cared. Cindy, who was here last year, swears that Jade recognized her. Maybe they’ll recognize me when I come back.
Judy
But we have seen it through different eyes. We have become friends with the house staff here; also with the Madre Tereza staff who work so hard and with so much love I don’t know how they do it. The children have stolen our hearts. We live in a neighborhood where we can walk around, day or night, eat the local specialties cooked to order on the street corner and speak enough Portuguese to make our way. We may look like tourists, but we are more.
As for the cultural exchange part of the program, I don’t know how much they learned about us. It seems that Brazilians don’t like the US government, but they don’t hold that against its citizens. We were treated well and welcomed everywhere we went. I hope we were good ambassadors.
I know that we learned much about Salvador and the Bahian culture. The history is largely defined by slave trade and the culture is Afro-Brazilian which is the basis of their love of music, dance, drumming. And then there is soccer. We learned about the fusion of candomble, an African religion, with Catholicism, about the evolution of capoeira from a fighting technique of the slaves to a dance form; we enjoyed some of the most interesting and delicious regional cuisine imaginable, even though we often did not know what we were eating because the ingredients do not exist in our culture.
We learned about dental floss bikinis and seat belt skirts. We learned that men don’t wear the tiny Speedo bathing suits these days because board shorts are the rage. Surfing style is hot. In Salvador, the third largest city in Brazil with a population of 2.6 million people, you need no shoes other than flip flops.
Our time here was too short. The work was hard, but rewarding. I think it mattered, even though it was only a week. Maybe the children will know we cared. Cindy, who was here last year, swears that Jade recognized her. Maybe they’ll recognize me when I come back.
Judy
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Thursday -
The daycare at Madre Tereza is closed on Thursdays for the sisters to work in the community. That means cleaning day. We scrubbed the floors and walls with bleach, by hand. The director was telling me, through a translator, that eight of the children will be leaving at the end of this year. They can only stay three years, to make room for others. Hopefully there will be room at
the local free school for them to attend. All their parents are employed except one. One other’s father was killed in gang activity.
After the cleaning, we returned to the orphanage for fun and lunch. My favorites (although I know I shouldn’t have any) are Felipe and Franciella. Felipe is a one year old terror with charm. He likes everything mechanical and is prone to tantrums. I got to give him a bath today. There’s no tub, but a concrete sort of trough they sit in. I wasn’t sure how to proceed, so I decided just to dump a bucket of water over his head. He loved it! It was the drying off part he didn’t care for.
Franciella is nine months old. She is quiet and serious and very affectionate. She LOVES Larry. Her older sister comes every day before and after school and two days has been there all morning for some reason. She is nine, but seems much older. She is a big help with the other children as well.
After lunch today, I lay on my bunk and cried. I am so tired and already filled with saudade (saw dah jee), a beautiful word for which there is no direct translation in English. It means missing someone or something in both a happy and sad way at the same time. Emma, from Manchester, England, has been here for two months. She tells me she will have this word tattooed on her ankle before she leaves next month to forever remind her of her time in Salvador. I don’t need a tattoo.
Judy
the local free school for them to attend. All their parents are employed except one. One other’s father was killed in gang activity.After the cleaning, we returned to the orphanage for fun and lunch. My favorites (although I know I shouldn’t have any) are Felipe and Franciella. Felipe is a one year old terror with charm. He likes everything mechanical and is prone to tantrums. I got to give him a bath today. There’s no tub, but a concrete sort of trough they sit in. I wasn’t sure how to proceed, so I decided just to dump a bucket of water over his head. He loved it! It was the drying off part he didn’t care for.
Franciella is nine months old. She is quiet and serious and very affectionate. She LOVES Larry. Her older sister comes every day before and after school and two days has been there all morning for some reason. She is nine, but seems much older. She is a big help with the other children as well.
After lunch today, I lay on my bunk and cried. I am so tired and already filled with saudade (saw dah jee), a beautiful word for which there is no direct translation in English. It means missing someone or something in both a happy and sad way at the same time. Emma, from Manchester, England, has been here for two months. She tells me she will have this word tattooed on her ankle before she leaves next month to forever remind her of her time in Salvador. I don’t need a tattoo.
Judy
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Wednesday – Orphanage & Bahia Soccer
Oh my God. Did you ever think you might die from being crushed? Tonight we had that opportunity. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to go to an important playoff game for the local Bahia soccer team. I now understand about the riots and deaths you read about at soccer games. The hundreds of MPs at the entrance should have been a clue. Crushed in 100,000 seven foot tall maniacal Brazilian fans was terrifying. We’d heard what fun the games were, but this was serious business. Even the regulars (CCS volunteers) who went tonight came home shaking from the experience. But everyone has returned safely. We left at half time, having no desire to experience the crowd’s departure, win or loss. We heard it was a tie. All goals scored while we were there. Ask me later about what rains at the soccer game.
We had a wonderful day with the children, but wake up came too early after a night out. Tuesday night is the street festival where there was live music, dancing and drumming. We only had four minutes to spare before curfew. It would be embarrassing to be sent home at our age for violating curfew. They are very strict and it doesn’t matter if you are 17 or 77.
Today there was no scrubbing or laundry – all play. Legos, balls, giant balloons, singing and dancing until both the children and the adults were all exhausted. I’ve attached photos of two children. The little girl is Jade (pronounced Zha Zhee) shown here with Maria, another CCS volunteer. Jade loves to blow bubbles and is the princess of the orphanage. She is stubborn, inquisitive and very bright for two years old. She always wants to be the center of attention. The boy is Raphael, her brother. He is six, but looks only three. When he arrived he was very malnourished and couldn’t walk. Now, a year later, he walks well and his motor skills are good, but he does not talk. From what I could understand they lived in a dump before. I was worried that our presence and all the attention upsets their
routine and they don’t take their nap as usual. Sister Gloria laughs and tells me (in English) that they can sleep anytime and to have all the attention we lavish on them is much more important than sleep. I’m not sure Chinquina, the director, would agree!
This afternoon we checked out the Mercado Modelo, the local market, for some quick shopping. The vendors are so aggressive, it’s exhausting just to walk by. Then we rode the elevator from the lower town to the upper town. The elevator has been in operation for some ridiculously long period of time like 135 years. It costs .05 R to ride up and down – the equivalent of 2.5 cents.
I’m pleased that my Portuguese is working for me. I have learned to navigate the taxi system and can get where I want to go and back in Portuguese without being cheated. Today I bought tickets to the balet, a show of traditional Brazilian dance, from a man who spoke no English. He was very worried than I meant tickets for tonight and I kept having to reassure him that I
knew what I meant. I was pretty pleased with myself.
Judy
We had a wonderful day with the children, but wake up came too early after a night out. Tuesday night is the street festival where there was live music, dancing and drumming. We only had four minutes to spare before curfew. It would be embarrassing to be sent home at our age for violating curfew. They are very strict and it doesn’t matter if you are 17 or 77.
Today there was no scrubbing or laundry – all play. Legos, balls, giant balloons, singing and dancing until both the children and the adults were all exhausted. I’ve attached photos of two children. The little girl is Jade (pronounced Zha Zhee) shown here with Maria, another CCS volunteer. Jade loves to blow bubbles and is the princess of the orphanage. She is stubborn, inquisitive and very bright for two years old. She always wants to be the center of attention. The boy is Raphael, her brother. He is six, but looks only three. When he arrived he was very malnourished and couldn’t walk. Now, a year later, he walks well and his motor skills are good, but he does not talk. From what I could understand they lived in a dump before. I was worried that our presence and all the attention upsets their
routine and they don’t take their nap as usual. Sister Gloria laughs and tells me (in English) that they can sleep anytime and to have all the attention we lavish on them is much more important than sleep. I’m not sure Chinquina, the director, would agree!This afternoon we checked out the Mercado Modelo, the local market, for some quick shopping. The vendors are so aggressive, it’s exhausting just to walk by. Then we rode the elevator from the lower town to the upper town. The elevator has been in operation for some ridiculously long period of time like 135 years. It costs .05 R to ride up and down – the equivalent of 2.5 cents.
I’m pleased that my Portuguese is working for me. I have learned to navigate the taxi system and can get where I want to go and back in Portuguese without being cheated. Today I bought tickets to the balet, a show of traditional Brazilian dance, from a man who spoke no English. He was very worried than I meant tickets for tonight and I kept having to reassure him that I
knew what I meant. I was pretty pleased with myself.Judy
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday - full day at Orphanage - Pelhourino
Madre Tereza is located in a fortress in a dangerous part of the city. Our van pulls up with the doors locked and when they unlock the tiny entrance in the wall, we jump out and rush inside to safety. It is like an oasis inside the walls.
We had six children at the orphanage today. Orphanages here are not necessarily for children with no family. The poverty is so extreme that often parents cannot feed or clothe their children or they have no home. They will take their children to the orphanage because they love them and they want them to be cared for. The children flourish under the care of the nuns and can return for visits with their families. So today, three children were out with their families.
All but one of the children are two or younger. We played with balloons and bubbles, Legos and trucks. Larry was the designated sweeper and mopper. They keep everything very clean. I was the washerwoman. All the laundry is done by hand. Basins lined up to wash, rinse and bleach mounds of laundry. I wanted to know more Portuguese so I could have conversed more with Chinquina, the civilian director in the orphanage, while we washed. We did exchange the information that we both have two children, a boy and a girl, and that hers are three and twelve years old.
Judy
In the afternoon, we had a walking tour of the Pelhourino section of Salvador. Here's a picture of it's old streets. After our dinner and a class on Brazilian history given by a local professor, we decided to go back to the old town (Pelhourino) for music and drumming in the streets. We all had a great time listening to the music, watching the Samba dancing, and bartering with the street vendors. After a while, we parked at the end of 2nd street to try and watch the drumming procession go by. After ordering, we got the disappointing news that the drummers had gone through earlier than normal this week and we thought we missed them. We were enjoying the guitar player and drummer at our open bar. Then, we heard the loud drumming and cheering as a large group of drummers came down our street and stopped right beside us for a 15 minute crazy music session. It was great. Equally as fun was when a couple of us were buying a CD from the group. The boy that we were bartering with was so dramatic and fun. We talked him down from 24 to 20 Real each, but the whole experience was the real fun.
Larry
We had six children at the orphanage today. Orphanages here are not necessarily for children with no family. The poverty is so extreme that often parents cannot feed or clothe their children or they have no home. They will take their children to the orphanage because they love them and they want them to be cared for. The children flourish under the care of the nuns and can return for visits with their families. So today, three children were out with their families.
All but one of the children are two or younger. We played with balloons and bubbles, Legos and trucks. Larry was the designated sweeper and mopper. They keep everything very clean. I was the washerwoman. All the laundry is done by hand. Basins lined up to wash, rinse and bleach mounds of laundry. I wanted to know more Portuguese so I could have conversed more with Chinquina, the civilian director in the orphanage, while we washed. We did exchange the information that we both have two children, a boy and a girl, and that hers are three and twelve years old.
Judy
In the afternoon, we had a walking tour of the Pelhourino section of Salvador. Here's a picture of it's old streets. After our dinner and a class on Brazilian history given by a local professor, we decided to go back to the old town (Pelhourino) for music and drumming in the streets. We all had a great time listening to the music, watching the Samba dancing, and bartering with the street vendors. After a while, we parked at the end of 2nd street to try and watch the drumming procession go by. After ordering, we got the disappointing news that the drummers had gone through earlier than normal this week and we thought we missed them. We were enjoying the guitar player and drummer at our open bar. Then, we heard the loud drumming and cheering as a large group of drummers came down our street and stopped right beside us for a 15 minute crazy music session. It was great. Equally as fun was when a couple of us were buying a CD from the group. The boy that we were bartering with was so dramatic and fun. We talked him down from 24 to 20 Real each, but the whole experience was the real fun.
Larry
Monday, October 22, 2007
Monday; Orientation & first look - assignment
This is definitely not a Smithsonian tour. I want to know what kind of monkey that is on the power lines and no one can tell me. It’s just an urban pest, like I think of squirrels. Our “dorm” is squeaky clean and comfortable. We’re told this is a middle class neighborhood, but you might not know it since all the homes have locked fences and guards and the sidewalks made of decorative mosaics are broken and marred by massive holes waiting to break your ankles. But it is safe to walk around, even at night. We walked to the mall, about 10 minutes away, last night and lots of people were out enjoying the beautiful evening for a stroll. We are fed three meals a day that are like your grandmother’s best home cooking if she was Brazilian. I have no idea what it is half the time, but most of the dishes contain azeite de dende, a very spicy palm oil that tourist books say the uninitiated tourist should not eat. But we love it. Larry has an appointment with Emelia in the kitchen on Thursday, in hopes of learning how to make some of the delicious dishes.
This morning we got an introduction to our placements. Madre Tereza is a complex that houses an orphanage, a daycare and an elder care facility. It is spotless, bright and cheery, mostly built of shiny white tile. Everyone was glad to see us. We got there late, due to orientation and the children had already eaten lunch. We arrived at toilet time. At the daycare, the rows of naked children (mostly between 2 and 3 years old) thought it was hysterically funny that we should arrive just then. They have a very strict routine and bath time was next which is why they had no clothes just then.
We met the children in both facilities and all the elderly ladies. Some of the women were either blind, deaf or mute, but a couple of others talked constantly, not caring at all that we couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. There were lots of hugs and smiles. Tomorrow we will start out early and have much more time to spend feeding, dressing, bathing and playing with the children.
We spent a couple of hours at the beach again and it was even more crowded than yesterday (although the picture is of Sunday before the crowds arrived). Turns out today was some local holiday and everyone had the day off. Back home for a Portuguese lesson, dinner and a class on Brazilian culture. It has been a very full day and everyone is tired.
Judy
This morning we got an introduction to our placements. Madre Tereza is a complex that houses an orphanage, a daycare and an elder care facility. It is spotless, bright and cheery, mostly built of shiny white tile. Everyone was glad to see us. We got there late, due to orientation and the children had already eaten lunch. We arrived at toilet time. At the daycare, the rows of naked children (mostly between 2 and 3 years old) thought it was hysterically funny that we should arrive just then. They have a very strict routine and bath time was next which is why they had no clothes just then.
We met the children in both facilities and all the elderly ladies. Some of the women were either blind, deaf or mute, but a couple of others talked constantly, not caring at all that we couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. There were lots of hugs and smiles. Tomorrow we will start out early and have much more time to spend feeding, dressing, bathing and playing with the children.
We spent a couple of hours at the beach again and it was even more crowded than yesterday (although the picture is of Sunday before the crowds arrived). Turns out today was some local holiday and everyone had the day off. Back home for a Portuguese lesson, dinner and a class on Brazilian culture. It has been a very full day and everyone is tired.
Judy
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday, the first free day.
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
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Arrival in Salvador
We are here! 24 hours after leaving home we arrived at our home for the week. It is pleasantly plain, but to my delight, we have our own bathroom! The trip was uneventful and unlike what we had been told, everywhere we went, people spoke some English. There were friendly dual language passengers who were always willing to help when we were confused by the Portuguese announcements in the airport. Some of the other volunteers we’ve met already swear we were lucky. They had some hair-raising adventures in their travels to get here. We had a fabulous soup for dinner that we never could figure out what it was. Some kind of spicy vegetable puree. We are 20+ years older than anyone else who is here now. I think most of them are headed out to explore tonight, while we are ready to sleep. We’ll start our explorations tomorrow. We have the day free to be tourists, as some people don’t arrive until later and our orientation is now scheduled for early Monday morning.
Judy
Judy
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Preparing for Brazil
Practicing the Portuguese language tapes; learning about children in an orphanage; spending 3 days in San Francisco to get a Brazil Visa: I never imagined how much effort it would take planning this volunteer trip. I've taken international trips many times, but this one is different. There are others (little folks) counting on us when we get there. So, we're reading and talking to friends to find out just how to interact with children from 1-4 that probably don't speak any English.
But, some things are just not risk free ... and that would take the surprise and joy out of it anyway. Judy and I are really looking forward to all that we are offered during this trip for Cross Cultural Solutions and Mother Teresa's orphanage in Salvador, Brazil.
Larry
But, some things are just not risk free ... and that would take the surprise and joy out of it anyway. Judy and I are really looking forward to all that we are offered during this trip for Cross Cultural Solutions and Mother Teresa's orphanage in Salvador, Brazil.
Larry
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