Volunteer in Brazil: The Blog

I can’t believe how quickly the weekend has rolled around again! I’m taking it as a sign that I’ve settled in. I do feel at home here (despite the occasional gunshot echoing about the place!) and it’s a testament to the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the people at the Convent and the Project - especially since my Portuguese isn’t exactly coming on in leaps and bounds! I’ve been writing down ‘new’ words I hear everyday in my diary, and I’ve now established a bit of a collection: branco (white), vermelho (red), multo sol (too much sun) and eu fois (? don’t the actual spelling!) par supermercado (I went to the supermarket) - so maybe you have some idea of what I’ve been getting up to already!

Unfortunately the Project was cancelled this week. This was due to the ongoing violence occuring within the favelas as a result of the BOPE police force’s efforts to implement a pacification process there, with the hope of establishing a more positive environment for the inhabitants in the future. However, it seemed to me that their ‘efforts’ were anything but peaceful. Even as I write now I can hear shots being fired. It’s always terribly distressing to hear as you can’t help but think of those being caught in the crossfire, especially innocent children. As a result of this, the parents obviously didn’t want to risk anything, and the Project will begin on Monday, providing a retreat from the troubles these children must be facing on a daily basis.

Landed with the opportunity of another week ‘off’ as it were, I was keen to get out and explore a bit more. After all, it would be rude not to…

Having finally made it to the local supermarket, I decided to go further afield and on Tuesday I caught a bus with the intention of getting to Botafogo. I had read that that was where Rio’s yacht club was situated and thought that a stroll along the harbour would be a lovely way to while away the afternoon. However, this backfired slightly when I realised the bus made a distinctly different turn along the route and I ended up at the train station. Luckily I located the Metro station and trundled along to Botafogo, where there appeared to be no yacht club in sight - apparently it’s elsewhere. I also made the mistake of attempting to help an old lady cross the road (always a feat considering Rio traffic) - she asked me something in Portuguese, to which I replied ‘Nao entendo’ (I don’t understand). She then asked me where I was from. When I told her, she yelled (no understatement) ‘WHY. DOES. EVERYBODY. SPEAK. ENGLISH????’ to my utter mortification. Still it just gives me the excuse I need to keep learning Portuguese!

On Wednesday I accompanied Beth and Bia to Grumaldi, just outside of the city. A real-life postcard, it’s the most gorgeous beach set in a nature reserve, blessed with white sands and a warm blue ocean, where we could also watch surfers tackle some enormous waves - they don’t seem to have any kind of ’surf etiquette’ when out in the water, if you’ve got a wave you’re going to ride it through, not matter if anybody else is in your way! There were certainly a few who fell victim to this! We then stopped off at a precious stone warehouse in Barra de Tijuca, where I discovered that one of my treasured haviana flip flops had been left behind at Grumaldi. Cue a frantic hopping dash across the busy main road to the supermarket where I could purchase replacements! We had lunch at a really delicious restaurant - I had 3 courses, it was that good - then home where I discovered I had yet again caught ‘multo sol’ and turned a distinct shade of ‘vermelho’!

Yesterday (Friday) I once again attempted to navigate my way around Rio, with the intention of having a wander around Rio Sul - a huge shopping centre located in - yes you’ve guessed it, Botafogo! Sod’s law, I missed the stop (in my defence it was poorly signposted!) and realised the error of my ways when we were halfway down Copacabana. I managed to get there in the end! I must say that, despite the hassle, I love seeing Rio by bus, and encountering the different characters who get on and off. Maybe I’ve found my calling in life and should sack off law school to become a bus driver in Brazil! I’m sure Mum and Dad would love it… Inside the impressively air-conditioned (always a plus) Rio Sul, I had a potter round the shops, which were all quite expensive - can someone please tell me what Brazil’s answer to Primark is please?! - and I noticed that most of the shops had more assistants in than customers. I found some kind of solace in a scarf in Zara - but couldn’t find anyway to justify the 150 real price tag! I then treated myself to lunch at Cafe Viena (another weigh-your-own-portion) before hopping on the correct bus back to Largo de Cariocha, where I had a sneaky acai drink. In the evening, after purchasing a number of different Brazilian beers (again, it would be rude not to!) I had a great evening out with Anne and Lisa in Lapa, where I attempted some kind of funk/samba dancing. To be honest, I think it was more like ‘the Robot’…

Thinking of you all, missing friends who I know would enjoy this experience as much I am, and have started (already!) to run out of English reading material - I read 3 books in a week!

Much love,

Felicity

Boa tarde from sunny Rio!

Wow. What an amazing first week I’ve had out here.

I arrived late on Tuesday evening, wrapped up in an abundance of layers thanks to the rather chilly climes of England and BA’s stellar air conditioning, to the hot hot heat of Rio de Janeiro - what a welcome!

My first impression of the Convent was unfortunately shrouded in darkness, due to the power-cut spanning the surrounding neighbourhood. However I was more than compensated when I woke up the next morning to the spectacular and unspoilt view of the city and Sugar Loaf mountain; quite unlike anywhere else I have ever been. After making introductions (in my rather poor attempt at Portuguese) at lunch with the other residents of the Convent, I spent the afternoon at - where else?! - Copacabana beach, with Anne, where I got called ‘brancinha’ (apologies for the spelling!) - ‘white girl’, by the passing locals! Hopefully I will have as good a tan as Anne before I return! I treated myself to a yummy strawberry milkshake from ‘Bobs’ - it seems to be the Brazilian version of MacDonalds - the Bob’s version of a Big Mac is, appropriately, a Big Bob. We caught the ‘Bonde’ (tram) from Cariocha back home, which wouldn’t have been out of place at Blackpool Pleasure Beach - we hurtled across the Arcos da Lapa before climbing the steep hills of Santa Teresa at breakneck speed.

On Thursday we met with Beth to discuss plans for the next few weeks. The children are still enjoying their summer holidays, so teaching won’t start until after Mardi Gras, but they will still come to the Project for recreational activities in the afternoon. I’m really excited to meet them all tomorrow (Monday) afternoon!

On Friday, to take advantage of the fact that the children are still on holiday, I made the rather erroneous mistake of going back to Copacabana - this time to the far left hand area of the beach, called Leme - erroneous because I completely underestimated the power of the sun hidden behind the overcast clouds, and burnt in a bad, bad way. I have sunglasses marks. Yes, it’s that bad. On the plus, I had my first swim in the sea, which was a bit of a challenge - those waves mean business! I also had my first Acai drink - a gorgeous blend of Acai berries and crushed ice. Heaven in a glass. I had read in my Grazia magazine on the flight over that Acai is the new superfood - but it’s got a reputation over here for being calorific - so it doesn’t look like I can have one everyday - very sad! I spent the afternoon in Cariocha browsing the shops with Anne - I bought my first (and not my last) pair of Haviana flip flops - to my extreme excitement - they are about a third of the price they sell for in the U.K. I got the chance to soak up some of the surrounding sights - the colonial architecture in Rio is simply stunning - but a lot of these buildings appear to be in severe disrepair, which I think is a massive shame. There are evidently a lot of European influences, but I was also reminded of New Orleans (although I have never had the pleasure of visiting) with the ornate balconies lining each storey.

Yesterday I had an action-packed day! Beth picked me up and took me to the Botanical Gardens - which I recognised from Laura’s beautiful pictures she took there last year - it was amazingly lush and peaceful; a perfect retreat from the hustle and bustle of Rio life, and just in the shadow of the statue of Christ. We then enjoyed lunch at Biscui in Copacabana - where you paid for the weight of your portion, and took a look around a music shop nearby which hosts musicians regularly - hopefully we will go back soon. After lunch, we drove out towards Ipanema and Leblon, the ’swankier’ areas of Rio. I am continually reminded and fascinated by the evident contradiction of the city - the elite and middle class live in such opulent surroundings, but more often than not, the adjoining neighbourhood will be a slum.Incredible. This was obvious when we drove through Leblon - just next to the golf course was the biggest favela in the city - a sight you really couldn’t miss. We climbed up the mountains to the National Park of Tijuca, which spans the majority of the city, where we watched para-gliders leap off the crests and down to the beaches below - it gives me vertigo just thinking about it! The views were sublime. On our retun journey we stopped off at the ‘Derby Club’ - Rio’s version of Ascot and watched a race. I cannot think of any other city in the world where i would have had such varied experiences in one day alone!

To polish off the day, I was taken out in Lapa with Beth’s daughter Bia to celebrate her friend’s 22nd birthday.
Samba, Brazilian beer, good weather, great company, first Caipirinha.
Awesome night.

Super first week.

I don’t think I could have fitted in anymore! Bring on the next week!

Felicity xxx

In Brazil the end of the school year is almost upon us and so the children at the project are starting to find out whether they have done enough during their academic year to pass onto the next year or whether they have to repeat the year. One of the ways in which the project monitors the children’s progress in school is by asking them to bring in their school reports each term, these reports are then put on the wall for all to see. It is a condition of their attending the project that the children bring these reports into the project to be reviewed by the staff. The schools will begin to close over the next couple of weeks for the end of year holidays and I believe it is intended for the project to close on the 18th for around 4 weeks or so.

It is so strange for me to be in a hot country for Christmas and stranger still when, for example, I went to Barra Shopping (which is said to be the largest shopping centre in South America) with Jackie and saw a huge Christmas grotto complete with, it has to be said, quite possibly the best Father Christmas I have ever seen! Who would have thought that I’d miss the cold weather of London and tramping up and down Oxford and Regent Streets doing my Christmas shopping … but I do. That said I am open to this new experience as I think it will be a very different Christmas for me this year, one which I will be spending at the convent with the sisters. I am hoping that this Christmas will see me move away from the consumerism that most of us get caught in at Christmas and to rediscover (not to sound too cheesey) but the real meaning of this special time of year in the Christian calendar. Part of my Christmas celebrations in the run up to the day itself will be spent at two favelas in Rio, one being Rocinha (which I believe is one of the biggest favelas in the country) and the other being Prazeres. I am really looking forward to these experiences and hope to be able to tell you all about it in my proceeding blog.

With all the exitement of Christmas it will also be a sad time as Jackie will be leaving us on 19th to return to England and another friend, who has been here since my arrival in September, will also be leaving to return home. Jackie and I have developed a good working relationship but an even better friendship and so her leaving will be an emotional time for us both but like she says there will be new volunteers arriving in the New Year and so that is something that I have to look forward to.

That’s all for now folks, I hope to write again very soon.

Love
Anne
-x-

Feijoada success

I am happy to report that the Feijoada Festa was a great success.  Rumour has it that it was in fact the best yet!  It was wonderful to see many of the children attend with their families and also to see the interaction amongst the adults who had all come to join in a common purpose that is, asides from the tastey food, to support the project which, in turn, supports their children. 

The food was absolutely delicious and had been prepared and cooked by, amongst others, the monitors from the project, namely Monica, Willington and Fabiana.  They did a truly wonderful job that day and worked tirelessly from early in the morning to late into the afternoon.  Great praise must be lavished upon them as they gave up their Saturday to do this and I think they were so relieved that that particular weekend was a bank holiday weekend so that they could have time to rest and recover.

Disappointingly, and rather ironically, the only person who seemed to be getting tipsy on the caiprinhas and hence at risk of falling into a hedge (per my previous blog) was me!  Well you know I had to get the party started and give Jackie something to do behind the bar and let us not forget it was all for a wonderful cause.  Well, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!

Trip to Niteroi

Beth and her husband were kind enough to take Jackie and I to the city of Niteroi.  Amongst other things, we went to see the famous Contemporary Arts Museum (Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Niterói — MAC) which has become one of the city’s main landmarks.  It was designed by architect Oscar Neimeyer and stands 16 meters high.  I think the original inspiration was for the structure is for it to appear like a flower springing up from the ground but to me it looked more like a flying saucer that had crash landed – Area 51 style. 

That said the juxtaposition of the structure with its location are outstanding and I think that’s where the real genius is.  The more you look at the structure the more you see beyond the superficial and appreciate those underlying subtleties.  I would say it is worth a visit, not perhaps as a sole reason to go to Niteroi but definitely as part of a visit.  Whilst there we also visited a couple of amazing beaches, it was such a great relief to go to a beach that wasn’t jam packed with people.  It was truly heavenly and the weather certainly did not disappoint.  We had a wonderful day – it felt like being on holiday, it was so relaxing and carefree. 

Christmas cards

The children at the project have been busily designing, amongst other things, Christmas card designs.  Beth has then been working on taking these designs and producing actual cards.  Currently the cards are on sale at the convent as we very often have visiting groups who come and stay with us. I also understand that Beth will also be advertising the cards as being for sale on the project’s website and so all of your surfers out here can put in your orders but I wouldn’t delay in so doing as the cards will sell out very quickly and when you see the art work you’ll understand why, they are fantastic.  You may find yourself investing in a piece of early artwork by tomorrow’s Picasso!

A Day for Zumbi 

This weekend is a bank holiday weekend (yes, again!) and so today (Friday) the project is closed.  The public holiday is in remeberance of a figure who is of great importance and significance to Afro-Brazilians and serves as a day of black consciousness.  Today many people across the country will be holding celebrations.  Prior to their telling me a little about Zumbi a couple of days ago, this was a figure who I was largely unaware of and for those of you who wish to learn more there is lots of information out there on the web.

Well folks, I think that is all the news I have for now so in the meantime rest assured that I shall be keeping my new found taste for caiprinhas under control but if I end up falling into any hedges …. I will never tell you

 Love

Anne

Hi bloggers.

Apologies for my absence, this has been owing to my poor time management skills as of late and a lack of creative juice … but I am back now! I know you haven’t been totally starved of news as Jackie has since made her blogging debut so I am not going to feel terribly guilty, just a little!

It seems like we have quite a bit of catching up to do … where to begin?! So, as Jackie has already mentioned in her blog, we had annual Children’s Day at the project and to celebrate this special day the kids had, what is music to all children’s ears (and many adults’ too), news that they were going to be spending the afternoon at an all you can eat pizza lunch. Well it has to be said I have never seen so much pizza in all my days. Not only was I staggered at the volume of pizza that was served and consumed but it was the sheer variety of toppings … I mean, chocolate pizza, who knew there existed such a thing, well apart from Joe, Laura and past volunteers that is! I felt like re-enacting that well known part of Peter Kaye’s comedy act about garlic bread! Plus the journey home on all those winding roads in and around Santa Teresa had us a ll a little green around the gills. C’mon guys, you didn’t think I was going to be rude enough not to participate in this food fest did you, it would be rude to abstain!

It was so funny to hear that some of the kids wanted to really ensure that they got their moneys’ worth from this gastronomic spectacular so much so that they skipped their meals the day before to make room – ah kids, they are the best, they don’t miss a trick!

Beth and I left Rio for a few days and went to the state of Espirito Santo, we stayed in the city of Vitoria but also got the chance to go and visit the city of Venda Nova. Vitoria is in complete contrast to Rio, as where here in Rio the rich and poor live cheek by jowl, in Vitoria you could almost be forgiven for thinking that there was no poverty whatsoever. And as ashamed as I am to admit this, it was a nice change as there, provided you are living in the right ‘zip code’, you don’t have to live with the sound of gunfire and/or the constant anxiety that brings, like you have in Rio. Oddly enough you only realise that you live with this anxiety once you leave Rio, before I’d never really notice. Of course this sort of segregated living isn’t desirable in an ideal world as it poses the obvious risk that the more wealthy sections of society, who consequently it seems are also those with the power, may become ignorant of the social problems facing the less well off in their community but who lives in an ideal world. Anyway, even the wealthy and powerful in Rio do a good job of closing their eyes to what is right on their doorstep, so who is to say?! Vitoria is like a new city, it has many modern buildings, large shopping centres, etc. It has an abundance of wonderful beaches and I felt very privileged to be staying at Beth’s apartment there which literally had a beach on its doorstep, ah what bliss.

As I mentioned, I got to visit the city of Venda Nova and I absolutely fell in love with the place, it is stunning with vistas to die for. Its history is very interesting and the European influence there from a bygone era is obvious, as you wander around you feel as though you may possibly be in Europe as its houses wouldn’t look out of place in the Alps. It seems that one of the city’s main revenue streams is generated by what they term ‘Agroturism’ so, for example, you go and visit local food producers and buy their fresh produce and/or go for lunch at a fazenda, etc. If any of you get the chance to visit this storybook city please take it as it is a place not to be missed.

On my return from my trip with Beth I took time to reflect upon the time I have spent in Rio so far, to see whether I felt I was being true to my original inspiration for volunteering or whether I had unwittingly deviated therefrom. Although I am here for one year time does have a habit of going awfully quickly. I was quite shocked to realise that I have already been here for two months and I do not want to get so far down the line to only to realise that I had not achieved what I had set out to. I think as a volunteer it is important to keep a check on yourself as it is all too easy to get distracted and lose sight of why it was you came to be a volunteer in the first place. I am still in this reflective period but I have to say that I am, on the whole, happy with my progress thus far but I will never be completely satisfied, I always strive to do better.

This Sunday the project is hosting its annual Feijoada Festa here at the Assumption Convent. The kids have been feverishly selling tickets for the event, tickets cost BR.5 and entitle the bearer to a plate of the best feijoada in the city, neigh the country, and a drink. Rumour has it that Beth is making her deadly caipirinha! I just hope the attendees don’t forget that in order for them to get home there are a considerable amount of steps that they have to traverse and I don’t want to be pulling stragglers out of the hedges the next morning as I make my way down to street level for my walk! Actually I can be honest with you, I would love for this to happen and on the off chance I think I will take a camera with me! Watch this space bloggers……!

Ate mais!

Anne.x

So I have been in Brazil for four weeks now and on the one hand I still feel like the newbie but on the other I am starting to feel like a local in the Santa Teresa neighbourhood, it all has a comforting familiarity.  This has been particularly highlighted to me on the occasions Jackie has joined me on my morning walks, I have actually felt knowledgeable in being able to say this is here and that is that, etc.  Jackie arrived on Thursday evening and is settling in well, I think she feels like her Brazilian adventure has truly begun and I am confident she will slot in nicely both at the project and here at the convent.

I am happy to report that the last week in Santa Teresa has been a peaceful one, the turbulence of the past few weeks has abated, at least for the time being, and I think this has had a calming effect on all concerned at the project. 

As you all know by now, and if you don’t …. where have you been(?!), Rio has been selected to be the host of the Olympics 2016 and I, for one, think it is well deserved, an Olympics in South America is long overdue.  I know it is tempting to say well should Brazil really be spending its money on an Olympic games or should it be spending the money instead on its community services such as schools, housing and hospitals, etc but lets all be real but for the Olympics the government of this (or any other country) would not otherwise spend the cash in any event!  My hope is that the pressure of being under the glare of the world’s media and the desire to have Brazil to be seen to have the same living standards as other world superpowers will be such that the situation of those who most need help will get it.  For me, it does not really matter whether there is a true sincerity or indeed desire for those in power in bringing about better living standards for the favela communities, just so long as real change is made, we cannot always afford to be fussy as to the whys and wherefores, I am sure if I were living in such conditions I would just be glad to have any improvement, I would not be questioning the motivations. 

The children at the project had their annual spring party on Friday also, so it was timed nicely with the Olympics celebrations.  It was an afternoon of music, games, food and general fun, it was wonderful to see them so relaxed and at ease.  They were so excited about the Olympics and so very proud that it was coming to their City!  I found it very touching as they are arguably the very segment of this City which will arguably be the very people who may, on a worst case scenario, get nothing from the Olympics’ arrival here but still their excitement and pride in the having the games in Rio touched my heart and I pray that this will be a games for all. 

Speaking of the Olympics I had quite a surreal experience here at the convent, so let me set the scene, it’s Friday night and some hours before the announcement that Rio, neigh Brazil, had been waiting for finally came in – parabens all round!  So, later that night I turned in for some much needed beauty sleep and it was around 2:25am when I stirred to the sound of, it couldn’t possibly be, a full band, I am talking trumpets, drums, guitar, you name it I could hear it!  I could also hear what sounded like hundreds of people singing, shouting, laughing and I thought someone must have slipped a magic mushroom into my rice and beans as I surely must be hallucinating! I got up, out of bed and threw open my window, which overlooks the courtyard, and sure enough I was not dreaming or tripping there actually was the mother of all parties going on on the main road which passes by the convent, I just burst out into fits of laughter and thought, wow, how surreal is this?!  I was half tempted to go running down the hill in my PJs and fluffy slippers to join in but I didn’t want to give the night watchman too much of a fright, I think he has had enough of those in the last few weeks with the gunshots to last him a lifetime … the sight of my ‘just out of bed’ look may possibly have tipped him over the edge!    

On Saturday afternoon Beth took both myself and Jackie to a music store come café come music venue, it was fab!  It was so relaxing just whiling the hours away listening to great musicians and singers and, for me, having a beer or three!  I don’t know of many places in the UK where you could just sit and nurse a drink for a couple of hours or so, but at this place this was the norm and I really enjoyed the relaxed attitude – it was all about the music and the artists.

Last night Beth, Jackie, Bea and myself went to see a film called Dancando com o Diabo (Dancing with the Devil) as part of Rio’s International Film Festival 2009.  It was a documentary by an English director by the name of Jon Blair.  As it was the opening night of the festival and the premiere of the film the director attended and gave an introduction to the film highlighting his motivations behind it and the controversy it had caused given that Rio is now to host the Olympics 2016.  It was said that there were some people who did not want it to be shown and it almost wasn’t.  He quoted from Rev. Martin Luther King, to paraphrase, that in the end we will not remember the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends, he said he was a friend of Rio and did not want to be silenced.  The film focuses on three main ‘characters’ (1) a drug lord (Spiderman) of a favela in West Rio; (2) a pastor of an Evangelic church (an ex-trafficker); and (3) two policemen.  Lets just say that the film left a different impression upon us all and it made for interesting ‘debate’ on the way home in the car (ha ha)!  Perhaps if you get the chance to see it you can judge for yourselves – it was made in conjunction with Channel 4 so perhaps it will be aired on C4 at some point, so look out for it. 

I am so happy to be able to write this blog and have nothing but good things to report.  It just goes to show good things happen as well as bad but it is just that the bad seems to get more attention!

Until next week this is your roving reporter Kate Adie, whoops I mean Anne McMahon, signing out!!

Love to you all.

Anne.xxx

I have just had a read of my post from last week, together with all your comments for which I am very thankful, and it seems as though in my penultimate paragraph I´d predicted the children at the project having a bad day and my having to put into practice what I had said about showing understanding and compassion during such times. I was disappointed that I didn´t find it as easy to do as I had hoped but it was a huge learning curve for me, particularly in not taking unruly behaviour personally.  I am sure for all those professional teachers out there this is something that you learn early on. 

As I have already mentioned things around the convent have been less than peaceful as of late and, of course, all of this unrest has its affect on the children, how could it not, and I experienced the difficulty of trying to teach children who have arguably become accustomed to living in war-like conditions, it was not easy for them or for me.   

When something is troubling the children you can tell immediately, there is a palpable sense of nervousness than hangs in the air as soon as you descend the stairs from the convent to where the project is situated.  The children are charged with a kind of nervous energy that has them on edge for the entire day, you see it not only when you are trying to teach them but also in the way in which they play balls games during their break and their general interaction with each other.  It is not a case that they become naughty as such, it is difficult to describe, I would say that they disconnect and that their minds are elsewhere.  During my classes with the two younger groups, P Group and M Group, on this particular day (last Tuesday) I had lost all control, they were unenthusiastic about participating in the work I had set, they were bickering amongst themselves and I felt ignored and pretty much discarded.  This was quite an alien experience for me insofar as my work background has always been within the very formal and, dare it be said, stuffy setting of solicitors´ offices in London, although this is not to say that I´ve not come across countless difficult and irrational lawyers in my time who unlike the children here have no reasonable excuse to áct out´ but that is another story! 

I think that day really demonstrated, at least to me, that children really are products of their environment, particularly as their behaviour on this one day stood in stark contrast to their previous behaviour both in classes with me prior to and since this time.  They really are good kids with good, kind hearts and what seems to be an almost unbreakable spirit and I really admire that – I think I will learn a lot from working together with them.  I think this experience was more a lesson for me in how to teach and also as an opportunity to develop better coping strategies.  I feel confident that should such a day occur again in the future I am now better equipped both practically and emotionally in how to best manage the situation. 

The weather here in Rio has been very mixed, it often feels like they can have all four seasons in one week.  When it rains in Rio it really does rain, none of this drizzle malarkey that Englanders are accustomed to.  Oh no, everything is on a much larger/dramatic scale here … from hills to weather!  Luckily on the weekend we were blessed with a couple of really beautiful days of sunshine and for the very first time since arriving here I was fortunate enough to get to experience one of the things that Rio is most famous for …. its beaches!  On Saturday evening we went to Copacabana which I really enjoyed, it is a great area with a lot of nightlife and oodles of people jogging, jogging with their children, jogging with their dogs … I have never seen so many joggers!  However given how delicious Brazilian food and the copious amounts of sugar that many people add to their beverages (including fruit juices!) I guess you have to balance things out some how! 

On Sunday morning Beth took both myself and Rosie to Ipanema beach.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful beach.  Like Beth said, the beaches in Rio are at least one place where everyone is the same, there is no barrier as to class, colour or creed, everyone is there enjoying the beach together, rich and poor alike.  For lunch we went to a style of eatery which seems to be quite popular here in Rio, and I can see why, it is where you pay for your food by weight – I´ve not come across such a place before either in the UK or on my travels overseas.  The food is set out in a buffet style and they have every kind of food you could imagine, from sushi to that good old Brazilian staple of rice and beans!  Once you make your selection you take your plate to be weighed by the staff and they give you a kind of charge card which you pay off at the end of your meal.  I thought it was pretty cool and I hope to make a return trip in the future. 

As I have been here for almost four weeks now I am starting to settle into my own new routines.  Each morning, weather permitting, I take a walk through the local neighbourhood and see everyone going about their daily business, maids, gardeners and other domestic help busily getting underway with their morning´s chores, mechanics and engineers who, at least look from the amount of oil and grease on their overalls, have been hard at work for some time already and also there is the quintessential professional setting off for his/her day at the office somewhere in the centre of the city.  I really enjoy this time of day and observing every day Cariocan life. 

This is all for this week´s post, my apologies that it is a bit late but I have been having computer problems! 

Until next week! 

Love, 

Anne.x

This week I began teaching and being taught …

I attend the project from Monday to Friday, teaching English every Tuesday and Thursday and also receiving Portuguese lessons from the teaching assistants twice weekly.

I am finding teaching very enjoyable but I have to say that it is not always easy keeping the class settled and focused on getting the work done. That said, I feel confident that once my language skills improve I will be able to engage in a greater level of dialogue with the children which hopefully, in turn, will get them more tuned in to what I am trying to do with them in class.

On the days that I am not teaching in the classroom I take the children for games out on the court at the convent. The children really enjoy sport and, unsurprisingly for Brazilians, take their football über seriously – every game of football they play is played as if it were the World Cup final! I took part in one such game and I like to think I gave them a good run for their money but I feel that I must own up to that fact that this particular game was played with P Group whose median age is approximately 8 years old, so suffice it to say I had the height advantage! When it came to playing footy with G Group, however, I am honest enough to admit that I was substituted inside the first two minutes, ´goodbye Professora´ rung out across the pitch!

I have been getting to see more and more of the city during my free time and am getting a feel for how to get around, i.e. which buses go where, etc and so I am starting to feel a bit more independent. Last Sunday I visited a Jesuit college with Javier and Amourie (a Brazilian student who is staying here at the convent) who were attending a CVX meeting. The college building is outstanding, it dates from the colonial times and is truly splendid. I couldn´t image what it must be like to go to school in such palatial surroundings. It was also a great opportunity to meet new people and it was made all the more sweeter that they spoke English as it saved me from embarrassing myself with my pigeon Portuguese!

Before arriving at the college, however, we had to get the bus and the bus rides here in Rio are similar to the white-knuckle rides they have at Alton Towers … you have to hold on for dear life and the bus driver always seems to get into an argument with another bus driver and it always seems as though a fight is going to break out, much to the amusement of on-lookers!

I am enjoying living in Santa Teresa, it has a nice atmosphere with plenty of restaurants, bars and shops and it is a great place just to go for a long walk and look at and enjoy the architecture. On one such walk yesterday, myself and Rose took the bonde (the tram) part way back to the convent - it was such fun. Admittedly, like the buses, it is not the smoothest of rides and you do alight slightly ruffled and even a tad bewildered but it is all part of the experience! Plus if you stand up you don’t have to pay so one can´t really complain.

On Saturday I attended the Bienal do Livro with Beth and her daugher, Bea.  I don´t think I have ever seen so many books under one roof!  Judging by the volume of attendees I think it´s fair to say that Brazilian people love to read … I am not sure whether the turnout for such an event back in the UK would be as huge!  They even had their own Brazilian Barak Obama look-a-like there which proved highly popular with many people having their photo taken with him. 

The week has been a really mixed bag. On the one had it has been a good week and I have learned a lot and also enjoyed seeing more of the city. With each day that passes I feel I am getting to know the children more and more and I like to think that they are starting to feel that I am less and less of a stranger to them. On the other hand the past week has been very turbulent within the local communities – there appears to have been a notable ratcheting up of violence and unrest, the theories as to why this is are numerous.

Although I feel secure, the safety and wellbeing of the children who attend the project and the teaching assistants, who live in the surrounding communities, does play on my mind somewhat. It has reinforced, for me, that no matter how much I get to know the children and learn about their lives and background, I will never truly know what life is like for them to live the lives they do and this is something that I must not only accept but must have at the forefront of my mind when I am dealing with the children, for example, if they are having a bad day, etc.

I am a guest here at the project and I respect that privilege and am thankful for the experience(s) I have gained and, no doubt, will continue to gain from being here. 

I will post further news next week.

Goodbye for now.

Anne.x

Oi, tudo bem todos!

I have almost completed my first week at the To Ligado project here in Rio. The time has passed by so quickly but I will give you a run down of what I have experienced so far …

When I arrived at the airport I was met by three smiling faces, those of Sister Regina of the Assumption community in Rio, Beth and her husband Eduardo. It was so nice to be met by people after the long flight, it was like leaving one family and going to another.

I am not quite sure how to explain the feeling I had but as soon as I arrived in Brazil, once I had managed to get through the queues for immigration and customs that is(!), I immediately felt at home … I did not feel like I had arrived in a strange land, maybe that is because I have been building up to my arrival for such a long time and I had been briefed so well by Joe Howson, but either way I think it is a very good sign and bodes well for things to come.

Beth drove us from the airport to the convent through the city´s winding roads which snake their way around the neighbourhoods. I enjoyed looking out of the car window at the urban landscape under cover of darkness. Rio is, by anyone’s standards, a special city as not only is it a huge metropolis but it is blessed with so much natural beauty, the contrast really is quite something to behold.

The convent, where I am staying, is fabulous and is high up on a hill and when I say a hill I don’t mean the sort of hills Londoners like myself are used to …. I think we’d call it a mountain but as many of you know we tend not to venture beyond the M25!

Upon my arrival at the convent I was met by Javier and Rose; Javier is an exchange student from Mexico and is here in Rio for 6 months and Rose works at the convent and is my next-door neighbour. They are so friendly and are always happy to help me to learn Portuguese.

Sr. Regina was kind enough to give me the guided tour of the convent and what stands out in my mind is the view the convent has from the roof. It offers, what must be unparalleled views of the city, I just love it. However, it is quite unsettling watching the planes come in to land as the view gives you an almost optical illusion as the airport is, as Sr. Regina informed me, on an island and so you see these planes which fly around Sugar Loaf mountain and then descend closer and closer to the water … at that stage I just have to close my eyes!

I had my formal introduction to the children of the To Ligago project on Tuesday and I spent the afternoon observing Beth teach so that I could get a feel for the teaching methods which work best, etc. The children are bundles of energy and are overflowing with enthusiasm. They are so intelligent, even the very little ones who completely left me in their dust when we were doing an English vocabulary building exercise which involved completing a word search themed on the children´s tale of Jack and the Beanstalk, which is this semester’s theme. But the less said about my being out-thought by 8-year olds the better, for my own ego at least!

I start to teach English at the project next week and I am looking forward to it but am wondering how I am going to manage with such minimal Portuguese but I feel confident in the knowledge that there is always plenty of help at hand from the monitors/teaching assistants at the project and, of course, Beth. Speaking of Beth I really cannot emphasise how much time and dedication she devotes not only to the project but also to volunteers like myself. She is like superwoman and I have so much admiration and respect for her and the work she does on the ground here.

I am not sure what else I have to report right know, I am sure there is more but it escapes me at this moment in time but I will say that the climate here suits me very well, it´s lovely and warm but up at the convent it catches a refreshing breeze. Also, the food is great and there is plenty of it … bet you wish you were here, am I right?

Already I feel at home and I am thinking to myself, mmmm is one year really enough?! We will see ….

Bye for now and I will be back with an update very soon.

Anne, x

Hi guys
This is just a quick blog to tell you about the rest of our time in Brazil

After we left Rio, Rod and I traveled 2000 Km North, to the Capital of the state of Piaui - Terasina. This is where my mum was brought up, and where most of her family now live. There we were reuinted with Mum and our Brazilian family. It took us a while to get into speaking Portuguese 24/7 but once over the initial shy period we really enjoyed getting to know our cousins again. We had a great few weeks, with plenty of family get togethers, parties and lots of caipiringhas!

Dad arrived in Teresina on the 23rd of July (he had spent a couple of really enjoyable days with Beth and her family in Vitoria). Dad’s arrival was good excuse to have some more family get togethers. Then we traveled 600 Km south to a town called Christino Castro, where Mum and Dad used to work and where the ‘Development for all Programme’ is located. Miguel was waiting for us at the bus station and Totinha had prepared a great breakfast. Miguel and Totinha work with mum and dad coordinating the Development for all Programme and looking after the volunteers. We stayed with Totinha and Giovanna (Totinha’s daughter), Miguel made himself available 24/7 to take us out to meet friends and communities out in the bush. During our time in Cristino the religious and social festejos were taking place. Hundreds of people had come into town from the bush to enjoy the celebrations.

We made lots of new friends in Cristino, enjoyed the festejos and trips out into the bush. We had a great day traveling out to the mountains that over look Cristino. It was really fun traveling on the back of an open truck and standing on top of the moutain looking at the great views. After 9 days we returned to Terasina. The last few days with family were brilliant and it was really sad to leave them all. Once back in Rio Beth and Bia really looked after us taking us to the Maracana stadium and the botanical gardens as well as down town Rio and a romote beach.

Our time in Brazil was amazing, and we all loved it, and we hope to go back soon!