Limeria...then Homeward Bound

Most of our team is officially back in the states now (minus Matthew who's coming home soon). We're all readjusting to reality & desperately missing Brazil...hence the delay in our final blog post. Here's a recap of our final destination, Limeria.

On Wednesday, June 8th, we enjoyed a tasty breakfast buffet in Araras, then boarded a bus for Limeria where we were greeted by Anna Karina, our coordinator in this new city. After checking into our hotel, we were quickly whisked off to lunch & a visit at Senai, a technical training school. Limeria is a city full of industry with many factories producing food, machinery, costume jewelry, etc... As a result, this technical school provides an essential service, training the work force this city requires, while giving students skills that guarantee them employment post-graduation. Upon our arrival to the school, we were met by the school's director & a photographer & videographer who documented every moment of our visit. The school posted welcome posters featuring our team photo around nearly every corner. It was a virtual "Where's Waldo" of us & definitely made us feel welcome while eliciting some self-conscious laughter. That evening we presented to local Rotary Club where we were given with beautiful quartz jewelry made that day. What a delightful & generous surprise!

The second day we got all dressed up for an appearance on The Reinaldo Bastelli Show, local Limeria TV program. In Brazil, it's not difficult to feel like a star! Matthew, Bob & our wonderful translator did an amazing job on the interview couch, while Jennifer, Christine & I sat in the audience & provided some later commentary regarding our exchange program & experiences in Brazil thus far. After tons of photos & lunch, we rushed over to the major's office for an informational session about Limeria, it's growth, population & economy. Then onto Limeria's local newspaper office where we toured the establishment & were interviewed by a reporter. The following day we were featured in the paper. Hard to believe it was a third appearance in a Brazilian paper since touching down in this incredible country! :) Onward we went to a costume jewelry factory where the girls were given rings are parting gifts, then off to a costume jewelry museum & shopping. We ended the day speaking at another Rotary Club meeting. The highlights were when the Senai School Director presented us with a slide show of our visit the previous day & his translation of Christine's fabulous blog post about her Rotary District Conference. It's amazing to see that people are following our little blog.

On Friday morning, we got up in the wee hours of the morning to present at the Blue Mountain Rotary Club. It was surreal to think this was our last presentation in Brazil, but a wonderful feeling. Afterward we visited Dohler, a fruit processing company that makes juices & many other food items. We got all dressed up in our protective hairnets & smocks & took a tour of the facility & tasted some delicious juices. In the afternoon, we had free time so Anna Karina generously took the girls on a tour of the town where we shopped for tasty treats to bring back home & got pedicures. We topped off the night with a delectable meal at the churascaria with local Rotarians, a fun farewell & phenomenal end to such an incredible trip!

Many of my team members have already been home for nearly a week. Brazil somehow feels like it was a lifetime ago already, but the memories of this trip will live with us forever. Thinking back to all that we learned, the incredible places we've seen, the thing that I will cherish the most are the warm & generous people that I've met along the way. I'll forever have a fondness for this beautiful country & its people & want to thank everybody in the US & Brazil that had a part of making it happen. Words cannot express how much I appreciate your hard work & generosity.

Muito obrigada!
-Stephanie

Ararassssssssssssssssssssssssss...

Hey guys. We had a wonderful time in our second to last stop in Araras. Araras is a fantastic city full of great food, beautiful farms and fantastic Rotarians. We arrived in Araras on Sunday afternoon after the District Conference. All of our families got together for a pizza dinner that night. Then we were off for a fun-filled, action packed two days.

On Monday morning, we visited St. Gertrudes Farm. This farm has been passed down for several generations. It was once a coffee farm and is now a premier location for shooting telenovelas and hosting weddings. The farm was beautiful and I hope to be attending a wedding there in the next few years! After lunch, we toured downtown Araras and saw a cultural center and church. The late afternoon took us to AMCRA (Association of Friends of Children of Araras), a center for children whose parents are HIV positive. They can come to this center for social and medical attention. We then visited Project Abrigo which is a home for young girls from birth to 18. Christine, our "Child Whisperer" immediately found some new friends. Of course I fell in love wiht the only boy in the home, four month old Gabriel. I wanted to take him home with me but between my clothes and Takuo's wife, there wasn't much room left in my suitcase! That evening we had a presentation at Rotary Club of Araras, which was the club of our host families.

 

Christine in the Cultural Center in downtown Araras that used to be a jail.

On Tuesday morning we visited Usina Sao Joao, a sugar plant. It was very interesting to see the process by which sugar cane is transformed into sugar and ethanol. After lunch (which by the way had Pastel with cinnamon and chocolate), we visited another farm, Fazendo Santo Antonio. This farm was once a sugar cane and coffee plantation. It is now owned by a private family. It is a stunning property with a golf course, stables, beautiful gardens and a private beach. I also had the opportunity to visit a museum in the afternoon designed by a Brazilian architect who is still working at the age of 102. Our second presentation is Araras was that evening at Rotary Club of Araras Sul.

On Wednesday morning we bid farewell to Araras and headed for Limeira. More to come...

Abracos,
Jennifer

District Conference

This past weekend was spent in the lovely town of Aguas de Lindoya for the Rotary District Conference, and what a weekend it was! The town is nestled into the foot of the mountains and our hotel was reminiscent of a European chateau.

We had all day Friday free to explore the town and practice our speech for Saturday, where we were to present in front of 250+ people....in all Portuguese. Luckily with a day of practice and language coaching, our presentation went off without a glitch. We were all able to present completely in Portuguese, a first for us and an exciting moment!!

Saturday night after dinner was a themed dance, and boy do they know how to throw a party! We joined the Cajamar club in representing Brazil, and conga lined our way in decked out in yellow and green. The live band played a mix of America and Brazilian hits, we were especially thrilled when they performed 'Footloose' and we could all sing along.

However, the highlight of the weekend for me was seeing so many familiar faces we had met along the way. These past 3 weeks have been filled with so many fun moments and memories and it was wonderful to connect with so many of our friends one more time. In many ways it felt like a family reunion, lots of hugs, smiles and even a few tears when we said our goodbyes.

This weekend reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, that I think wraps up the weekend well:

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or a lifetime, is certain for those who are friends."


Abraços,
Christine

Cajamar & Beautiful Riviera Sao Lorenzo

We arrived in Cajamar in the evening time, and were greeted by the friendly welcome of Ansely and Marco, our hosts for the night.  We were invited into a beautiful house, and the first of what would be many good meals in Cajamar.  Marco and Ansely had just arrived back from Europe that day!  They had had a tough day of international travel, with flight changes and other adventures, and we were amazed by their level of energy and graciousness as we sat down to a home cooked meal and a bottle of Chilean wine. 

The next morning an fun group arrived to pick us up for a visit to a Chocolate factory.  This place was amazing - its a huge operations, that produces 300 tonnes of chocolate every day, according to our guide.  We had to wear full protective clothing on our tour, to make sure we didn't bring any dust or foreign elements into the production area.  Huge vats of chocolate churned around us, and miles of pipes and tubes carried the ingredients through the factory, it was amazing to see.

That afternoon we met with the mayor of the city, and his photographer, which resulted in a new friend and our pictures in the local papers the next day.

 On the way back we stopped to see on old church, get some icecream in the town square, and see the river that was famous for its bad smell, thanks to the sewage that comes from Sao Paulo, upstream.  We also visited a historic building, still in original form, from the early days of the city, and heard the legends of it builders.

We had heard that we were in for a treat at the beach.  But we didnt expect what awaited us at Riviera sao Lorenzo.  Marco and Ansely drove us up to their rooftop apartment at this beautiful beach town, famous for its ocean views and natural setting.  The views were beautiful, and we had the benefit of some rest and relaxation, with Marco and Ansely showing us their favorite spots, and teaching us about the history of the development there, which was a very unique construction project, designed to be in alignment with the forces of nature and the natural landscape.  The buildings are placed so that the wind can still circulate and much of the land is left undeveloped.

We drove back to Cajamar for our final night, which was a special invitation from the Mayor to be his guests at the huge Rodeo festival that was being hosted in the city.  An estimated 20,000-30,000 people were in attendance on the last day of this epic event, where we got a taste of local festivities on a grand scale, heard some traditional Brazilian country music, and saw a little bull riding rodeo excitement.  Thanks to the mayor, and of course Marco and Ansely, we had first class treatment.  All in all, a wonderful time in Cajamar!

A Grand Visit to Jundiaí

We just completed a lovely visit to Jundiaí, a city north west of Sao Paolo. On Monday we visited Cidade dos Meninos, a school for low income students ranging from 6 months to 18 years old. The school was created over 50 years ago by a couple without children of their own & who wanted to give back. The beautiful campus nestled on a hill offers many general education courses as well as some more unusual ones, including papermaking, gymnastics, baking, dairy production & electrician work. Similar to other schools we've visited thus far, this institution also offers classes to parents hoping to develop new skills. The children were overjoyed by our visit, especially when Christine joined them in singing Justin Bieber songs.

The afternoon continued with a visit to a private Portuguese-English school, a park & then a tour of TVE, a local educational TV station where we toured sets & got a first hand look at that interesting world. We ended the night at a Rotary Jundiaí Vila Arens meeting where I spoke with two wonderful previous GSE team members, one who went to Switzerland & another who visited Maine & New Hampshire. It was a pleasure hearing about all their exciting experiences during their exchange.

On Tuesday we visited Circuito das Frutas, the wine producing region just outside of the city. The scenery was gorgeous & we got a taste of the Pope's wine, the very same blend that he tasted upon his trip to a local winery awhile back. In the evening we presented at the District Governor's Club, Jundiaí Leste.

On Wednesday we ended our trip with a visit to a neighboring town where we toured Fabio's business, Matthew's host father. The town was very beautiful & the food was incredible too. After packing up & a series of goodbyes, we moved onward to Cajamar.

-Stephanie

Its A New Week For GSE In Jundiai

After a resful two days in Sao Pedro with some wonderful Rotarians we hopped into our familiar onibus and headed off for a two hour soujourn to Jundiai, a city of nearly half a million. We were greeted by some very friendly Rotarians in front of Park de Uva (grape), loaded up our luggage and headed off to a mountain top home of the President of the Jundiai club. I cannot remember which of the six clubs he his president, but Salvador was so hospitable. Their home is within an environmentally protected area. You can see that it is a very comfortable place. We had BBQ beef, pork and chicken, tasty fresh vegetables for salad and of course lots of wine, beer and caipirinhas. One friendly guy offered me a delicious liquor made from sugar cane, Cana - pretty smooth.

The team is having a great experience. Our Portuguese is not progressing as quickly as we may want because many of our hosts speak English so well.

Tchau,

BoB

We have seen the Mountain top, y Que lindo!

We just arrived in Jundiai after a wonderful visit to Sao Pedro over the weekend. This small town hosted us in big fashion. We stayed with wonderful Rotary families and our coordinator, Sandra, did a great job scheduling our activities. We hiked to a waterfall, visited the markets and a museum, had a great afternooon at Aguas de Sao Pedro, and some fantastic homemade pizza at Sergio´s house. I will save my adventure (or misadventure) to the Bee farm for another day! What a relaxing and exciting time we had. I´m definitely not the photographer of the group, but pictures will follow soon.

Caio,
Jennifer