2/8/12

Jungle walk! So after lunch we went for a walk in the jungle behind the hotel. The guide Marcio made all the girls headbands made from a giant blade of grass.

It was really eerie how dark and quiet the jungle became the further we went in. Our guide, Washington, I believe, showed us the kinds of traps that the Amerindians use to capture small prey. They were really ingenious, with a loop that would wrap around the prey once the trigger was sprung. The prey would be get smacked against the tree and killed, and then hang high above the reach of other predators until a native could return to retrieve food. Washington also showed us ants that the natives smash and spread on their skin to act as mosquito repellent as well as a kind of fungus the local Catholic Church would burn as incense. It was really fascinating to see how the Amerindians adapted to life in the rain forest.

1/8/12

We swam with the pink dolphins today!

It was the coolest thing ever! As you can see, the dolphins are actually more grey than pink, but the river is a dark red so when the dolphins pass by underwater they look bright pink. Their skin feels exactly like that of dolphins found in the ocean, kind of like a smooth, rubbery feel. The Amazon dolphins have very tiny eyes to the point that I wonder if they are blind since the river water is so dark, it's probably very difficult for them to see underwater anyway. I thought it was so cool that we were allowed to swim with them since they are technically an endangered species. I feel like people in this region of Brazil are more trusting and know that the intention of the people who come here is not to harm them. I couldn't imagine the U.S. allowing anything like this to happen, but this experience was truly incredible!

31/7/12

We crossed the Rio Negro today to get to our hotel located on the edge of the Amazon jungle. The hotel is called Tiwa and it was barely recuperating from a huge flood that occurred during the rainy season. Now that the dry season's begun, the water is slowly starting to recede. In December the water falls to such a low level that there are beaches people visit as if they were at the ocean.
Anyway, as part of our adventure today, we went piranha hunting. Our guide kept parking the boat in the middle of the river which was frustrating since piranhas like to stay close to the banks. I ended up climbing to the back of the boat which was a little closer to the trees and I managed to catch two piranhas!

Later that night, we had piranha stew for dinner. With a little rice and farinha d'água, the stew was delicious!

30/7/12

Manaus! It's so good to be back in my old city! It's really hot, too. So we spent the day visiting the Amazon Theater as well as the port of Manaus and the city center. I'd forgotten what a busy city this is! The theater is valued to be worth over R$1 billion. It was built during the rubber boom of the late 1800's. The opulence of the theater is amazing when you consider that it is in a city in the middle of the Amazon rain forest and is only accessible by boat or plane.

After the rubber plant was smuggled off to Indonesia, the rubber boom in Manaus ended, but the city continues to thrive because of the many manufacturing plants that are located here. There is also the zona franca, where people can buy goods tax free. By wandering around the city center, you can see how important commerce is to the city. There are stores everywhere! And on the sidewalks in from of the stores there are covered tables selling more items.

Not everything was able to recover after the rubber bust, and downtown Manaus is full of old abandoned buildings where you can see the jungle starting to grow back right in the middle of them. To me, Manaus is the most fascinating city in Brazil, where you have a crazy mixture of the cultured and uncouth.

29/7/12

Today was the last day in Fortaleza so we took advantage of the time we had left to walk along Fortaleza's famous calçadão (big sidewalk). In the early evening/nighttime most people avoided the beach which was poorly lit in favor for the calçadão. There was so much to do there! People were rollerblading, skateboarding, long boarding, and diving off of piers into the ocean. There were beach volleyball and soccer games going on, and tons of vendors selling coconut water. The calçadão was also taken up by tables where people were selling tablecloths, toys, clothes, and many other crafts. On one pier, there was a free concert where a band performed American music for a small crowd. It was fun to see so many people together enjoying the weather. I also tried my hand at long boarding which was awesome, but dangerous as the sidewalks were super crowded. While the beaches in Fortaleza were okay, the calçadão was a great place to spend the evening seeing how Brazilians like to relax and have fun.

28/7/12

Today our assignment was to visit four sites in Fortaleza: the city cathedral, the Central Market, São José Theater, and the Dragão Center of Culture. The Central Market was huge! It was story after story full of stores selling anything from hammocks to t-shirts to canned peppers. The architecture was pretty cool with a winding platform that went up among several floors of stores.

I loved the stained glass in the cathedral we visited. It is the most modern church we've seen so far on this trip. One cool fact I learned is that the most expensive color for a stained glass window is blue.

The Dragão Center of Culture is comprised of several buildings where cultural events such as plays, movies, and concerts take place. There is even a planetarium on the grounds.

According to the people we talked to, the São José Theater is undergoing renovations right now. Out of these four places we visited my favorite was the cathedral. It was really peaceful inside, and I liked just sitting in the pews admiring the complexity and beauty of the stained glass windows.

27/7/12

Fortaleza today! It was a free day, so a group of us went to go see the new Batman movie at the shopping mall. It's amazing how similar malls here are to ones in the United States. I guess it goes along with the idea of globalization and the emergence of a worldwide culture. What is a little different is that in Brazil, people dress up to go to the mall. They have their hair done and wear nice outfits and you will never, ever see anyone in Crocs. I wish that things in the United States weren't so casual all the time, that people would get dressed up more to go out. Well, the girls in our group tried to fit in with the Brazilians for our visit to the mall and dress up accordingly.

26/7/12

We went on a boat ride today to two islands that are close to Salvador. If I thought that the water was beautiful in Salvador, the water here was perfect! In water up to my shoulders I could still see my feet perfectly.

What I really enjoyed about today though happened as we were playing beach volleyball. Only a few of us were still left playing and the man who had rented us the volleyball equipment asked if we would let this family join our game. Our group said yes and we all had a lot of fun playing together. What really impressed me is that the man who had rented us the equipment for the day could have just waited for us to leave and then charged that man and his family to play with the volleyball. Instead, he helped that man to have fun with his kids playing with us for free.

25/7/12

I'm feeling better today. Vanessa's advice seems to be working. I don't feel as sick to my stomach anymore, I just feel super tired because I haven't eaten a real meal in like a week. So today we went to an Instituto de Bioconservação of Chico Mendes! I recognized the symbol from the report I did about him. Anyway, at this institute they take care of various species of sea turtles and other marine animals.

By talking to one of the workers, I found out that he started off as just a volunteer taking care of the sea turtles. His volunteer work is what influenced him to finish school and now he is studying biology at the local university. It made me happy to see how this young man was working to achieve his dream of being a marine biologist and also how Brazilians are starting to seriously focus on preserving the environment and the creatures that live there. Brazil holds an enormous percentage of all plant and animal species found on earth, so it is important that they recognize the importance of protecting these species from extinction.

24/7/12

Spent the day sick and throwing up again. Vanessa told me to drink lots of chá and coke since the water in Brazil is usually pretty questionable. I totally agree with that since most of the bottled water I've seen here isn't even filtered. I also quit taking the antibiotics today since it only seems to make me feel worse the longer I take it. I'm so tired of being sick! I just want to go out and see Salvador!

23/7/12

I managed to make it to Bahia, sick and all. From what I could see from the taxi ride, the water in Salvador's beaches is an amazing deep blue green. It is seriously the prettiest colored water I have ever seen. I'm so excited to be here, I've always wanted to visit Salvador, so I hope I get better soon and take in the sights of the city.

22/7/12

I went to sacrament meeting and then came home and slept. I continued the antibiotic regimen the doctors gave me but I still don't feel any better.

21/7/12

Since I spent last night vomiting up the açaí I ate at lunch, Jonny's family took me to the Real Portugues Hospital to undergo some tests and get rehydrated. It was a very depressing place, especially since it is a private hospital. The positive side was that I was attended by a doctor after waiting only a few minutes, but in the end, they did as much for me as what any doctor would have done at a community health post. And I wouldn't have ended up with a R$500 bill for essentially getting an I.V. of flavorless gatorade. I'm seriously disappointed with Recife's health system, the treatment I received in Amazonas, Roraima, and Acre was of better quality.

20/7/12

I gave a presentation today in class about Chico Mendes. He was an activist from the state of Acre who grew up on a rubber tree farm. The workers on those farms were treated like slaves. Everything they had came from the owner of the plantation and he would charge them around 5x higher than the normal price for food, clothes, and supplies. The people had to work hard in order to form raw balls of cooked latex which were then shipped off to undergo a process called vulcanization and then turned into tire rubber. Mendes fought for the rights of the plantation workers and also tried to make people aware of the destruction of the jungle that was taking place. Mendes was murdered by two plantation owners. He has a bioconservation institute named in his honor in Brasília. Sadly, his murderers got out of jail without serving even half of their sentence because of the political connections they had.

19/7/12

I was feeling a little better today, so I went with the group to Porto de Galinhas. There are natural pools formed here by the low tide similar to the ones in Maceio. But while you just swam in the pools in Maceio, here the reefs were actually exposed enough that you could walk on them and see the little crabs and fish trapped in tiny puddles of water.

Snorkeling gear was also available, so we would dive under the water to try to catch glimpses of the schools of fish swimming past. It was fun but difficult to stay underwater since people are naturally more buoyant in seawater. We had to take turns holding one another underwater so that we could get a good look at the fish and the reefs.

18/7/12

On the bus ride home yesterday my intestines felt like they were on fire. So today I'm stuck in bed while everyone else gets to go to the old center of Recife and see the synagogue the Jews built hundreds of years ago. :( I hate being sick.

17/7/12

We're back in Recife again today. It was really fun to go and visit other cities but it's also nice to come "home" afterwards. Today was a rest day, so I just stayed home and talked to the maid, Dulce about our trip. She has never even left her home state of Pernambuco. When I asked her if she felt like traveling anywhere else, she said maybe to Rio de Janeiro to visit some family she has there, but that she didn't even really want to travel outside of Brazil. It was interesting to see how different people have different desires. I really love traveling and getting to know new places, but there are many people back home in Louisiana who have also never left their home state. So probably in regards to traveling it's more of a personal desire and opportunity that makes a difference as opposed to being a cultural trait.

16/7/12

Today was the best day ever! We are in Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte. We spent most of the day swimming in the ocean, which had so much seaweed! Later in the afternoon, though, we went on a dune buggy ride up and down the sand dunes of Natal. It was so much fun! There were four girls in our buggy and we would scream like we were on a roller coaster ride. I think the driver liked how excited we were, so he would drive super fast and bounce us all around the car. I also tried sandboarding, since I like to snowboard back in the U.S. I fell down a lot, but it was still fun. It's different from snowboarding in that you can't make a lot of turns. The sand is really thick and once you slow down too much, you fall over. What I liked about today was how I could see the way that people react to each other's emotions. Our car was having fun, so our driver decided to go on crazier paths that the other drivers didn't. Today was an experience that I will remember for a long time.

15/7/12

We visited the easternmost point in Brazil today which is also in João Pessoa, the capital city of Paraíba.

It's called Cabo das Seixas and there is a lighthouse marking its location as being the nearest point on South America to the African continent. We had just come from church which is why we are all in our Sunday clothes. João Pessoa is also known as the city where the sun rises first because of it being farthest to the East.

14/7/12

We spent the day in João Pessoa! We went to the river to watch the sunset and listen to a man play the saxophone as he was rowed past a line of restaurants in a canoe. He played really well, and then afterwards came and took pictures with the tourists. There were so many stores there selling every kind of souvenir imaginable. I bought a pair of earrings made of capim dourado (golden grass).

The grass dries and stays these unique golden color, so Brazilians weave it into bracelets, necklaces, earrings and even headbands. Whenever I look at the handicrafts made in Brazil, I'm impressed by the ingenuity. The grass is something that is easily found and the rest of the materials to make the crafts are very cheap. By being resourceful, many families are able to sustain themselves by making and selling these crafts. It reminds of a story a guy from CCJ told us of having to support himself and his wife by making and selling kites on the beach. I feel like the saying, "If there's a will , there's a way" definitely applies to Brazilians, because Brazilians will always find a way to achieve what they want.

13/7/12

In culture class today we talked about globalization and what kind of effect it has had on Brazil. Brazil certainly has adopted many areas of American culture, including the language. I would see this pet shop everyday on the bus ride home in Recife. A large number of stores in Brazil opt for names in English instead of Portuguese, maybe because they think it's fancier. Some customs are becoming more Americanized, like the ones involving Christmas. When my mom was a small girl in Minas Gerais, she and her siblings would always put out their shoes in order to receive their Christmas gift inside them. Now, the Christmas traditions in Brazil are very similar to the ones in the U.S. with presents being placed under a decorated tree. For many years, I feel like the culture exchange was very one-sided, with the U.S. giving and Brazil receiving. However, things are starting to change. Açaí juice is sold in most American grocery stores, Michel Telo's song "Ai se eu te pego" played on American radio stations, and this year, Macy's launched a collection inspired by Brazil. So to me, it seems like Brazil's part in globalization will begin to change as its economic success also means the spread of its culture around the world.

In class

12/7/12

It was really nice to spend some time at the beach today. It's funny how the busiest hours for the beach in Brazil are in the early morning or later in the evening. For Americans, we like to go to the beach to get tan, so we usually are out on the beach when the sun is the strongest. For Brazilians, they already are tan for the most part, so I feel like going to the beach for them is more of a social event, where they can go to spend time with their friends or family. It's interesting because usually most people stay on the sidewalk that runs by the beach where they ride bikes or go jogging. When they are out on the beach itself, they usually stay shaded from the sun under these giant umbrellas. At nighttime, you can see people going out to eat some açaí or watch teams play soccer on the beach after the tide has gone out. The beach in Brazil is a really good place to relax and just have fun.

11/7/12

What really impressed me on this trip to the interior of Pernambuco was the work ethic of the people we met. All of them were willing to work hard in order to reach their goals. Another example of this that we encountered today was of a group of teenagers who make and sell jewelry made from the seeds of plants from that region. The youth use the money they make to pay for the construction costs of the church that they attend. It was amazing to see how hard they worked to gather supplies and make jewelry. Many kids might have given up since they live in a very rural area where it must be hard to sell what they make. However, they have managed to fix up the church with what they've made so far and they are planning on building an addition to the church.

10/7/12

Today we actually went out to the farms to see the various projects that Diaconia realized with help from the Brazilian government. Most of the farms we saw had huge tanks for storing water and that even collected water from the roof during rainstorms. Water is very precious in the Brazilian northeast because that region receives very little rain for a short period of time. With these tanks, the families can store enough water to last them the entire year. Whereas before, many families would leave the rural areas in search of better opportunities in the cities, Diaconia's projects are helping farmers to grow enough food and have enough water so they can stay in the rural areas instead of migrating to the already overcrowded cities. All of the families said that Diaconia's projects had made a huge difference in their lives by helping them become more self-sufficient. It was awesome to see how once people were able to receive a little help from others, they were willing to put in the time and the work to create a better life for themselves and their families.

9/7/12

As you can tell, it was a looong trip to the interior of Pernambuco. We went to the city of Afogados da Ingazeira, which is about a four hour bus ride inland from Recife. We met with Marcio, a representative with Diaconia, the NGO we've been working with on our internship. During our meeting, Marcio told us a little bit about some of the sustainability projects they do with the local farmers, such as water storage and biodigestors. What stood out to me the most was that he said that Diaconia's intention is to help people "aprender a fazer, fazendo." Which means learning how to do something by doing it. So when Diaconia goes and helps a farmer dig a well, they teach him how to do it. This works really well because most Brazilians, especially those in the rural areas, are not selfish, but have a strong sense of community. So, when a farmer who knows how to dig a well finds out his neighbor needs one, he will go and help his neighbor to dig one, teaching him that new skill. This way, that new skill begins to spread itself throughout the community, helping all the families who live there. This hands-on method of teaching helpful skills seems like it has huge potential to help the families in Afogados to make a living off their farms.

8/7/12

While I was in Maceio, I had some interesting experiences when it came to race. Brazil is a country that has a lot of mixture between American Indians, Africans, and Europeans, so most people there aren't of one clear race. However, even with all this mixing there is still some prejudice against darker skin colors. I was hanging out with two of Jonny's friends when I mentioned that I thought they were both a really pretty color. The girls were shocked that I thought they were pretty since I was white and they were a darker color. The next day, I was sitting on a bench next to the beach waiting for Jonny to come back when a guy came by selling toys. We started talking and I told him I was just working on my tan a little while I waited for my brother. He told me that I was already getting too dark and that I should try to stay out of the sun so that I could go back to being whiter. It really surprised me that color is still a big deal to people in Brazil, especially with all the mixture there, but it gave me a better understanding of the discrimination that people with darker skin must face on a frequent basis.

7/7/12

The piscinas naturais (natural pools) in Maceio were amazing! At low tide, the reef forms these small pools of water that are anywhere from ankle to about chest height. It was so cool to walk around in such shallow water when you felt like you were in the middle of the ocean! In several of the pools, there were several kinds of fish trapped and they would swim around you if you gave them fish food. We rode out there on these small sailboats called jangadas. I also liked how people could go out and appreciate the natural beauty of the pools, but that the city was also trying to preserve them. Instead of building a dock for the boats to stay at, there was a thick rope secured to the bottom with concrete blocks. It still allowed the boats to secure themselves in the water, but it maintained the feeling that we were floating in the middle of the ocean and helped preserve the reef from destruction.

6/7/12

Today was a long bus ride to Maceio, to visit some of the areas my brother passed through on his mission. The bus ride was around four and a half hours long because of the roads. In some areas the bus wobbled back and forth so much I felt like I was on a boat in the high seas. Brazil is such an amazing country with so much potential, but so many of its problems stem from political corruption. Like the roadways, for example. On our trip, one of the girls commented that if an interstate transport system like in the United States existed here in Brazil, that four hour bus ride would have only taken two hours. Brazil has the sixth biggest world economy, so it does have the resources necessary to maintain nicely paved roads between states. The problem is that most of the money never makes it where it is intended. Brazil is making some changes to decrease corruption, but if politicians don't feel like their are real consequences to their illegal actions, the country's situation will have a hard time changing.

5/7/12

We watched the movie Besouro in class today about the famous lutador de capoeira (capoeira fighter). The movie showed how the rich, white landowners would take advantage of the slaves and would treat them as inferiors because of their skin color and birthplace. Capoeira came about as a way for slaves to practice fighting in the event if they had the opportunity to overthrow their masters. Although capoeira is  fighting style, the slaves would make it into a dance ritual in order to keep the truth from their masters.
While this kind of slavery ended a long time ago in Brazil, the new kind of exploitation in Brazil, as well as in many other countries, is that of the rich taking advantage of the less educated poor. The politicians especially take advantage of the poor by promising them food, while ensuring that a lack of education will keep people dependent. It's only once the level of education rises in Brazil that one of its biggest problems- corruption- will finally begin to disappear.

4/7/12

In the morning, we had a fourth of July party with the same students from the English immersion program. A representative from the U.S. Embassy came and spoke, and then we sang both the American and Brazilian national anthems. Afterwards there were hotdogs (both American and Brazilian style). The Brazilian students were such a good example to me of being respectful of other cultures. They showed a lot of interest in learning about how we celebrated Independence Day in the U.S. and participated wholeheartedly in the  activities we did.

Later that evening we went on a boat ride that passed under several of the famous bridges in Recife. The most famous is the Mauricio Nassau Bridge.

It was built by Nassau, the Dutch governor in the northeastern region of Brazil. In order to build the bridge, Nassau had taken out a substantial loan. He needed money to pay back the loan so he told all the townspeople of Recife that there was going to be flying bull at the bridge's inauguration. However, to see the bull fly, people needed to pay an entrance fee. Of course, no one wanted to miss out on an opportunity to see a flying bull, so Nassau was able to make back enough money to start paying off the loan. On the day of the inauguration, he replaced the real bull that was on display with a paper one, and then the paper bull "flew" across the water. This story illustrates the kind of ingenuity that Brazil is famous for displaying.

3/7/12

Our group went to the American school in Boa Viagem to meet with some Brazilian students who are part of an English language program. Some of the students in our group gave short presentations about popular American sports such as baseball, basketball, and football. Afterwards, we went out to practice the different sports with them. I think we all had a lot of fun playing sports and it gave us a chance to get to know one another's cultures a little better. I helped teach the kids to throw and catch softballs, and to me, the Brazilian students did not seem to hesitate to go outside their comfort zone and do things they might find strange.
On a different note, I really like that Brazil includes foreign languages in their schools, even at a young age. While many Brazilians complain that the quality of the language classes are poor, I think it helps motivate many Brazilians to want to learn a foreign language and to open their horizons. In the United States, we usually don't teach foreign languages until high school, which seems a little late in instilling an interest in learning about other languages and cultures.

2/7/12

Today was spent cleaning and painting the CCJ's house in Peixinhos. For most of this internship we have been learning from CCJ, such as how to spray paint or interact with the local community, but today was nice because I felt like we were able to do something for them and for the children who take classes there.

In the beginning, it felt like they people from CCJ didn't really know how to react to our help, but I think that that is something both Brazilians and Americans have in common. We both are willing to help others, but when it's our turn to accept help, we don't really know how. But with the group's hard work, the CCJ house turned out really nicely, and hopefully everyone who works and studies there is able to feel how much we appreciate the work that they do.