2nd to Last Day

Today was the 2nd to last day volunteering in Brazil.  As it is a Thursday there were no children at Madre Teresa, just the ladies.  We arrived and were immediately put to work with chores around the house.  Lydianne and I were giving the task of deep cleaning the floors and scrubbing the walls of the ladies bed room.  We were both sweaty and exhausted after pushing the brooms and mops around the floor.  After that task was over, Karen and I were sent upstairs.  We thought we were going to be mopping again, but instead we found ourselves doing laundry.  It was another very humbling moment.  Picture four cement sinks in a row against one wall.  The first sink was for dipping the dirty clothes and adding some soap.  The second sink was for scrubbing with a worn looking brush and a different soap.  The third sink was for rinsing to remove as much soap as possible, and the last sink was for the final rinse in water.  It took four of us to do the laundry and we were up there for probably 30 minutes.  The clothes were then hung on a clothes line with clothes pins which had to be used strategically because there was not enough.  As I worked the third sink station, I thought about all the times I procrastinate laundry at home.  And how with only 2 people in the house we only have to do laundry once a week, if that often.  I thought about how it takes me no time to sort the laundry, throw it in the machine and then do whatever else I want while the machine does the work.  At Madre Teresa they are doing laundry multiple times a week, if not every day.  And on several days they don't have 4 people to get through the task as quickly.  How differently I will think about the task of laundry when I get home.

As we just had the ladies today, we decided to have a little party for them.  We hadn't realized we would be consumed with so many chores, so unfortunately we did not get to all the activities we had planned.  But we did get to make christmas ornaments out of paper, fabric, ribbon, buttons and glue.  The ladies that participated made more than one, and one made at least 4 or 5.  It was a fun time.  We then gave the ladies some treats we had bought from the market near by.  It was sad not being able to give to the one lady with diabetes, but we understood.  Luckily she was content with fresh fruit.

Tonight we had the opportunity to go to a party at CAASAH.  CAASAH was celebrating 20 years.  Theresa and Bea have been volunteering there for the past 2 weeks, but we were all invited to go to the party.  There were 7 of us that decided to go, and it was a wonderful time.  We were immediately greeted by the kids with handshakes and huge hugs.  It was interesting seeing the placement and comparing it to Madre Teresa.  CAASAH is such a big place, and the children much older overall. Both children and adults that have HIV and/or AIDS live at CAASAH. They had murals painted on the courtyard walls for the event.  Theresa and Bea actually were involved in the painting...we all agreed they did a great job!  The kids were wonderful.  We had four boys sitting with us at our table, and one of them immediately told me my eyes were beautiful.  You should have seen his eyes....he has beautiful blue eyes as well!  Although we didn't understand any of the speeches or the lyrics to the songs, it was a wonderful event to have attended.

Tomorrow is our last day.  Up until now I have not taken any pictures at Madre Teresa as I wanted to just be present and focused on helping in any way I could.  I plan to bring my camera tomorrow, but I am not sure if I will remember to take many pictures as I may just be focused on spending every possible moment holding the hands of the kids, or rubbing their backs or whatever else is needed.  Even if I do bring my camera, I will not be able to share any photos as it is against the policy to share photos of the people at placements on public sites.

Tchau,
Bethany

Missing Some of the Kids Already

I was sad this morning when some of the kids again did not show up to Madre Teresa.  I think it is because yesterday was a holiday, and they are kids that have farther to travel.  There are 6 kids that weren't there Monday or today and they are usually the ones that stay the night Monday-Friday.  Since tomorrow is the Nuns day off, the children will again not be there.  I think that means we will not get to see those 6 again before we leave.  You don't want to have a favorite, but one of the little boys that stayed the night was mine.  We think he name is Carlos Daniel...he has the biggest brown eyes and would always cuddle up next to me when it was nap time.  He liked to play with my watch.  I hope to see him Friday, but might just have to be OK with the fact I might not see that little guy again.

Tomorrow we are planning a party for the ladies, and then fun times with the kids on Friday, our last day.  I can't believe the trip is almost over.  Although it will be nice to get back home to see family and friends, it will be a bit sad leaving here.  The group at the house has grown close and had such a good time together over the past week and a half.  And of course it will be sad saying goodbye to everyone at Madre Teresa.  We will take lots of pictures to remember them by and of course the memories of our time together.

To catch you up on other events, yesterday was a holiday so we had the day off.  A group of 6 of us (Karen, Karin, Lydianne, Natasha, Megan and I) went on a boat ride to two islands.  It was a fun time listening to local music, trying more Brazilian food and enjoying the nice breeze and views.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Hot and Humid

It is Monday night and today we had sunshine for the first time in Salvador since the first weekend we arrived.  It gets very hot and humid here in the sunshine and we were told by Bruno that this is nothing compared to what it will get in a month or two (summer).  We went back to Madre Teresa today.  Since tomorrow is a holiday less kids were at the home.  I worked with the ladies doing the normal routine of feeding Anita, cleaning up after breakfast and getting ready for an activity.  Today's activity was beaded bracelets and necklaces.  I think the ladies had a good time....I sure did!

This afternoon we had another tour of the city.  This time we went to a tile shop, had ice cream, went to Bomfim Church and a Fort.  Bomfim Church is a famous church in Salvador.  People come to pray for cures, wishes such as to be married, etc.  Colorful ribbons that say "Lembranca do Senhor do Bomfim da Bahia" are tied to all of the fences around the church and people sell them for you tie on your wrist.  Each color represents an Orixa.  When you get a ribbon, you have a friend tie it on your wrist using 3 knots.  Each knot represents a wish.  When the ribbon eventually falls off, it is said that your 3 wishes will come true.  We each got some ribbons.  I choose blue and orange to respesent several things (Syracuse for my family, and the Blue Cats for Rob).

During our drive we saw the favelas along the water. It is a very pretty site.  Bruno explained that Favela means to live on a hill.  So we have been using the term wrong.  The tiled exterior walls, colorful painted stucco, and decorative iron gates and window coverings are very beautiful to me.  Here are just some of the views we saw today:

We had capoeria and samba lessons today as well, which has left me very tired.  Tomorrow is a holiday here in Brazil, Proclaimation of the Republic.  Therefore we are not going to our placements.  Instead several of us have bought tickets to tour 2 nearby islands.  Then we hope to see the drummers in the streets of Pelourinho.  

Tchou, 

Bethany

Lencois Bahia Brazil - Beautiful Town and Countryside

This weekend five of us travelled to Lencois.  When diamonds were discovered in riverbeds in the 1900s, people flocked to the region and towns such as Lencois arose.  It is now the gateway to Chapada Diamentina National Park, a park that was established in 1985.  We had to take a ~6 hour bus ride, leaving at 10:45pm Friday night to arrive at 5am.  After sleeping for 1-2 hours in our Pousada (kind of like a hostel) we took an all day tour.  The tour involved lots of hiking (on rocky climbs) to a river, waterfalls, through caves and up to the top of a hill to see the vista.  It was a tiring but amazing day.  The five of us had a wonderful time.  Here are several of the beautiful scenes from the day:

Saturday night we had pizza for dinner.  It was a nice change from rice and beans.  The food is very good here at CCS...Maria cooks us wonderful dishes for every meal.  But a little taste of home was nice.

Sunday we had to catch the bus back to Salvador at 1:15pm.  Three of us went for a hike to a nearby waterfall.  My legs were so sore after the long day Saturday, but it was a great hike and the waterfall at the end very beautiful.  The bus ride back felt much longer since I didn't sleep very much.  I entertained myself by looking at the countryside and taking photos from now and then.  Here are a few to share:

I am so glad I was able to go to the national park and spend some good times with new friends.

Tchou,

Bethany

Beautiful People, Beautiful Culture

Tuesday the city had over 100mm of rain.  It was one of the worst rain storms they have ever seen.  We were able to go to Madre Teresa on Wed, however several of the streets along the way were flooded.  Ivan drove right through one after pausing to think about it for about 5 seconds.  We were all shocked, as that is something we would not do in the US, however we made it!  Below are some pictures of the flooded streets - Megan provided these pictures for me to share:

It continues to rain each day we are here.  It has not been as heavy of rains, but enough to be annoying.  We have continued at our placements and seeing the city.  On Wed I worked with the elderly ladies at Madre Teresa.  I helped feed one lady who is bliind, mopped the floor, and then played bingo with 4 of the ladies.  With their help, I can not count 1 to 78 in Portuguese.  I brought my photo album which they and the workers really enjoyed.  One of the sisters was very surprised I was married (I guess she thought I looked too young).  Joselita, one of the elderly ladies who is very social, sat next to me with her arm around me and held an entire conversation in Portuguese.  I just smiled, nodded and said sim (yes) several times, and she seemed happy. She was saying something about Florida and California but that was all I know.

Wed night all of us went to Pelourinho again.  We wanted to shop at the market but unfortunately most of the shops were closing at 6pm and we arrived right at 6 not knowing it. We will go back.  The entire group had tickets for Bale Folclorico Da Bahia.  It was wonderful!  If you ever travel to Salvador, make sure you have time to see it.  They had African dances with the Orixas, did Capoeira, and Samba.  Afterwards we had dinner and tried the local dish of mukeka and the popular drink, caporinhas.

Today (Thursday) we went to Madre Teresa in the morning.  Thursdays are a day off for the sisters, so only the 8 children who live there during the week are present, along with the elderly ladies.  We  made paper crowns with the kids which was absolutely adorable, and then yarn bracelets.  We are learning how poor these children really are which is very disheartening but reality.  I helped Alessandra (the cook) with several chores and then we gave the ladies hand massages.

After placement we had a history lesson with a local professor.  He had so much interesting knowledge to share with us.  It was just another example of how great the people at CCS (Cross Cultural Solutions) and who work with CCS are with us. I haven't talked alot about the people at CCS Brazil yet, but they are wonderful wonderful people.

Well until next time (Tchou),
Bethany

Karen has been taking fabulous photos, but can not upload them from her  phone.  Here are some of her favorites to share:

Being Flexible....One of things the told us ahead of time

So today has been a strange day.   It has been raining here, actually pouring off and on all day. When I woke up I thought my roommate was already in the shower because I heard the water, but to roll over and find out it was pouring.  When it rains here, the children can not make it to Madre Teresa unless they are the few that live at the home during the week.  The four of us that volunteer at Madre Teresa were sad about that as we had planned a crown making craft for the kids and had a CD with spanish children songs for dancing.  We were also going prepared with a list of children songs to sing.  We decided to switch to a different craft for the ~8 kids that would be there, and piled in the van.  About 10-15 minutes into the ride to placement, Ivan, our driver, got a call to have us come back.  Some of the roads were flooded and we would have to sit in traffic so long we wouldn't have time to be at the placement.

We came back to house and discussed many topics about Brazil with the CCS employees.  We learned that the flag has the following meaning:

• Green - for the Amazon
• Blue - for the Atlantic Ocean and the rivers
• Yellow - for the Gold that was/is from the Minas Gerais region
• 27 white stars below the written words- representing the 27 states.  It was recently 24 states, but Para is being split into multiple states.
• 1 white star above the written words - representing Brasilia

We talked about the Labor laws here, including the minimum wage, vacation time, retirement money and healthcare.  Brazilians have free healthcare.  We compared the holidays that Brazil gets versus the US and Europe.  People in Salvador have 6 Catholic Holidays, Brazil Independence (Sept 7th), Bahia Independence (July 2nd - Salvador did not gain independence for almost another year after the rest of Brazil, so the entire state of Bahia celebrates the second independence date as well), Republic (Nov 15th), and then they get Christmas and New Years as well.   We discussed a little about the politics in Brazil as well.  They currently have their first Woman president.  She has served 2 years of a 4 year term.  She can be reelected once more before having to be out of office for 4 years.  She can then try again to be president.  They have over 100 political parties here in Brazil.

We watched a movie this morning as well.  It was called City of God.  It is set in a slum in Rio.  It was a very emotional video that was apparently based on a (semi) true story.  Vini told us there are still issues in the slums, but the government is working to set up military posts inside to cut down on the drug crimes and violence.

This afternoon the sun came out and we were able to go on our tour of Pelourinho.  Unfortunately part way into the walking tour, it started to pour again.  The group had been planning on staying out and enjoying dinner at a restaurant and seeing the live music.  I guess that will have to wait until another day.  We were able to get some great pictures before the rain.  Here are some of my favorites:

Tchou,

Bethany