Thanks to many,many people

A trip such as this would not be possible if it were not for literally thousands of people - all the Rotarians who contribute to the Rotary Foundation. On a level closer to us there are many hard working behind the scenes people - District 7570's GSE Chair, Ernie Bentley, District 4590's GSE Chair, Miguel Anfe, the coordinators in each city, all the Rotarians in each city who welcomed us with open arms and hearts and opened their homes to us.



Thank you to all those who followed us via this blog and facebook. We truly appreciate your support.


Thank you to our families and love ones whom we missed for our 5 weeks in Brazil.


On a personal note I want to thank the members of "Team Brazil", Ashley Olin, Chris Teague, Jose Perez, and Katie Meeks for being such great travel companions and team mates. This was truly a TEAM - everyone looked out for each other and pitched in and helped where ever and when ever needed. This was one of the best if not best GSE Teams I have ever seen. Thank you guys!!!

Jundiai

On June 2^nd we traveled from Cajamar to Jundiai. Upon arrival we were met at the local Rotary building by our host families and taken to our new homes. After lunch we went to the local TV station expecting to be interviewed but all the journalist were out on assignment so we ended up just touring the facility.




The team on TV Set








In the evening we presented at the Rotary Club of Jundiai. Here we are pictured with the club president, Roberto (far right), a past district governor (2nd from left) and next year's district governor (4th from right).

June 3^rd was a holiday – Corpus Christi. In Brazil, this means a party which means BBQ – we had another all day BBQ held at the country home of Chris’ family.

Friday morning we headed in Sao Paulo City. We dropped Ashley and her host father off at a home decorating show being held at the racetrack on the edge of the city. Two hours later we got out of our van and walked the last kilometer to the downtown market. Traffic was bumper to bumper and crawling. We ate at a food court. It took almost two hours as we had to wait for a table and then wait to place our order. It was wall to wall people. The two pictures below were taken from the same spot looking in opposite directions. After lunch we went back outside where we met Ashley and her host father. We walked around looking into shops. Some were successful in purchasing some items to take home. People and cars were attempting to occupy the same space and it made walking along the streets very difficult.





Looking one way from lunch


Looking the other way from the same spot

Crowded streets

Our last morning in Brazil was spent visiting the widow of the artist Tao Sigulda, a well known Brazilian artist who had lived to be 91 and passed away 4 years ago. His wife has kept his gallery, home, and studio as a shrine to his brilliant talent. Several of his metal sculptures were on display in the yard. Inside the buildings were many of his paintings and a history of his work. A life size statue of his wife was the center piece in front of the gallery.

After having lunch at a local Rotarian’s home we started our journey homeward. A small van met us and we somehow got the 5 team members, 2 Rotarians, 2 drivers, and all the team’s luggage into it. On the way to the airport we saw a beautiful sun set.

After checking in at the airport we had to say our final farewells in Brazil. Chris was remaining in Brazil for another week as his wife was meeting him in Rio the next morning. The rest of us flew back to Roanoke via Atlanta.

Our last team photo in Brazil

Cajamar

Our stay in Cajamar was shorter than planned as we spent part of this scheduled visit at the beach. Our first visit in Cajamar was to the town hall where we met with the mayor who gave us some basic facts and information about the city. Adjacent to the city hall was a small museum showing the history of the city.

The team and the Mayor of Cajamar

We next visited a home for children with HIV. Ages were from birth through 18. Many were children of single mothers who couldn’t raise the children properly, others were orphans and some were unwanted by their families. There were 4 houses for the children who were divided up by age groups. We were surprised at how clean the houses were and how big the bedrooms were. All the children we saw looked happy. School age children attended the regular public schools. The local Rotary Club works with the home and even raised money to help the home buy a bakery at which baked goods are sold to the public with the proceeds helping finance the home.

Outside and inside the home for children

After lunch we visited a social program where women were making clothes, towels, and other products from donated cloth. The products were sold at a bazaar and the proceeds went to help the poor. This was another Rotary sponsored project.

Sign at Bazaar

That evening we had a BBQ with the Rotary Club of Cajamar. My host family hosted this at their home. This was an informal meeting of the club and we did our presentation for them. In the middle of the presentation my wife skyped me. We stopped our presentation and had the club talk to her. As with other BBQs, it seemed the meat and other food never stopped appearing. This lasted until midnight!

Party Time!!!!

The next morning we and traveled about 20 minutes to our next city, Jundiai.

Day at the Beach

While at the District Conference we met my host family, Marco and Ansley, for our next city, Cajamar. They told us they would met us Sunday morning and to have a small bag packed and ready to go to the beach.

We met them Sunday morning and drove to their home in Cajamar, dropped the majority of our luggage (and that's a lot!!), and headed to their condo on a beach called Riveria located south of Sao Paulo, not in France.

Upon arriving we ate at a lovely resturant overlooking the ocean.

After eating lunch we took a short walk on the beach and then to their condo which overlooked the beach and ocean. Ashley and Katie waded into the water and found it to be rather cold.

Monday morning walks were taken along the beach and sun soaked up while relaxing. We were even able to watch nature close up.

For lunch we drove about 20 kilometers to another beach and arrived just as a storm hit. We did get to see a beautiful rainbow. After lunch we went back to the condo and prepared for our journey back to Cajamar and the world of GSE travel and adventure.

District Conference

Team members have been taking turns updating our team blog and it is my turn again.

We arrived at the District Conference in Aquas de Lindoia after a two hour drive from Atibaia. Jose and Chris had left in the morning and Russ, Ashley, and Katie arrived in late afternoon. The conference was held at the Hotel Majestic. Upon arrival we started meeting people from some of the cities we had visited. The conference was held on Thursday, May 27 through Sunday, May 30.

We attended the opening ceremony which was very impressive. Each club had a representative march their flag into the large auditorium. They placed the flag on the stage behind the district governor's table. We recognized many of the people carrying the flags including Alda, the team leader for the team that had visited our district in March. When she saw me she left the line to give me a great big hug! The flag ceremony concluded with the entrance of the Brazilian flag and color guard.

Friday was a "free" day for the team. Several of us spent the day catching up on rest and trying to combat colds and sore muscles. Some shopping in nearby shops was also done. Some of the team even managed to get to a party Friday night!

Many clubs had created posters showing the projects they support.
Saturday morning we did our presentation to the largest group we faced. Estimates have ranged from 300 to 500 people. It was a large room and there were a lot of people there. Friends who had seen our presentation in other cities even cheered and did some ad libbing for us! It was definitely our best job of presenting so far. We presented just before Alda's GSE team. It was great to be reunited with them even if it was for such a short time. Both teams remained on the stage for a photo op with the district governor. Each of presented the district governor a gift representing our home towns. The team's gift was a soccer ball with our team picture imprinted and our signatures.

That evening a masquerade ball was held. Most of us attended but not in costume. The Brazilians attending were dressed in a variety of costumes including gangsters, wild west sheriff, soccer fans dressed in green and gold and blowing horns, pirates, royalty and several other outfits.

Sunday morning we were met by our next town's coordinator, Marco Ginciene and his wife, who took us first to Cajamar and then onto their beach house south of São Paulo.

To see additional pictures follow this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051161&id=1398728287&l=3c4b73c9d5

The group arrived on Atibaia on Sunday, where we were greeted with an afternoon lunch at a beautiful location on the top of a mountain. The afternoon was filled with good conversation, plenty of laughter, food and beverages. At this point the team went to their respective host families, were we rested and prepared for an evening of pizza. Brazilians love their pizza! They are famous for their sweet (dolce) pizza. One of my personal favorites has arugula as a topping.

Monday morning we met at the local rotary club and after a bumpy trip up to Pedra Grande. The pictures we took barely do this amazing place justice, but one gets the idea of the amazing vistas. After another delicious lunch we headed to Hiranaka Orchid greenhouse. This particular greenhouse sells orchids all over the country. I know why they are so expensive… shipping! Monday evening we visited Casa do Caminho, a soup kitchen that the local rotary club supports. The team toured the facility and helped serve a few meals. Afterwards we went to see a group of 12-string guitar players that gathers every Monday to work on new pieces of music. My host brother, Hi, told me that they sometimes perform for the community. The sound was amazing, very relaxing!


Tuesday morning was free, and I took advantage and slept in! At two we went to city council where we learned that the city continues to grow, but only industries that do not pollute are supported by the local government. The group then went to practice our pottery skills at Bairro do Tanque. First we watched a master, Izumi, create a sugar bowl in minutes. It was amazing how quick he finished and how easy he made it look. Then it was our turn, once everyone had given it their best shot, we took a look at the showroom. Actually participating and then seeing the final product of a master, one truly appreciates the skill it takes to create these works of art. On the way back towards our homes, we stopped at what they call a redneck coffee house. I have no idea where the name comes from, the coffee was delicious and the warm bread and real (locally made) butter is making my mouth water just writing about it.

Wednesday the group split up, Chris and Jose’ visited the city of São Paulo, the rest of us visited Schwing, a company that fabricates cement pumps and mixers, places them on trucks and then paints them to their customers specifications. It was interesting to see the process from the steel sheets to the actual trucks. For me the most intriguing thing was the fact that all the water used is cleaned before it’s returned to the environment. Yet another example of how Brazilian’s respect their resources and the environment. Wednesday night we presented to Rotary Club Atibaia, and had a lovely time meeting with the local Rotarians.


Thursday we headed to Águas de Lindóia for the district conference, more to come!

Pictures from Atibaia

We have spent the last few days in the city of Atibaia located about 40 kilometers north of Sao Paulo. It's been one of our most relaxing weeks - getting ready for Rotary District 4590's conference. Below is a link to some of the pictures I have taken. Another detailed post will be made when Ashley gets Internet Service.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050887&id=1398728287&l=a7d42a3caa

Sao Joao da Boa Vista

Boa Vista Means "beautiful view", and for me, this sums up the week. As we drove into the city we were greeted by a landscape of rolling pastures and blue skies. Although we all enjoyed the hospitality of our respective host families, Miguel and Giovanni took the lead in showing us all that this town has to offer. Giovanni gave us a brief lesson of Brazilian history and politics, and the assistant mayor instructed us on the town itself. From what we have seen, the country is not just concerned with growing its economy, but they are more concerned with positive growth and expansion. As we spent the week visiting public schools and social programs, a common thread continues to tie it all together. Local businesses are encouraged to invest in the local community. Local children are trained so they can one day be utilized in local businesses. Many successful programs we have seen function with little or no government funding. Rather, local industries contribute towards these vocational and technical programs with the knowledge that they are not only strengthening the commuity, but their workforce as well.
On Saturday we took an off road ride to one of the highest peaks in the area, where people come from all over the work to para sail and hang glide.  Some less adventurous people have also been known to sit on the grass and enjoy an adult beverage, while admiring the view and relaxing. Guess which category we fell into? 

 Once again, the hospitality shown to us has been amazing. Another week has flown by and we don't want to leave...but..., something tells me you will be hearing that again..

Tchau!

Pictures from Sao Joao da Boa Vista

I have several pictures for the city of Sao Joao da Boa Vista. There are too many to upload here so follow this link to see them

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050631&id=1398728287&l=c03df2ce68



http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050486&id=1398728287&l=9f93427cf4

Vocational day in to Casa Geraldo

On Wednesday Russ, Ashley and I had quite a treat. Miguel, the GSE coordinator for this district set up a tour of a local winery, Casa Geraldo. Carlos Geraldo Marcon, one of the grandsons and the enologist for the winery, took us on a special tour. We first watched a video (in Portuguese) on the history of wine in Brazil as well as the history of Casa Geraldo. Carlos then took us on a tour from vine to wine. Sparkling wine (espumantes) is very popular in Brazil. There are several ways to produce a sparkling wine, Casa Geraldo uses the Charmat process, which is when the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bulk tanks designed to withstand the pressures involved. The wine is then bottled under pressure. The four of us were the first to try the latest Brut, it was delicious!

We continued our tour throughout the winery. I learned that they use everything, like many businesses we visited in Brazil, nothing is wasted. The seeds are sent to the cosmetics industry, the skins are pressed a second time to make grappa and cognac. The rest of is put in the fields as fertilizer. Casa Geraldo has two lines the one they sell 2.5 million liters of (the most popular and least expensive) are bottled in bottles that can be returned. The winery will then clean them for reuse. After three years, the American oak barrels are sent to be scrapped and then used for cachaça, which is a popular liquor in Brazil.

The final stage of our tour included a quick tour of the lab and a tasting of what they had to offer. My personal favorites were the Moscato Giallo, an off dry white that had a delicious passion fruit aroma, that tricks you into thinking it’s sweet, but it finishes dry, much like a Pinot Grigio. They also had a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Tannat blend, a dry red with black berry aromas and a slightly toasted finish. Delicioso!

We took a helicopter ride over the city of Sao Joao da Boa Vista and the surrounding mountians. It was the first helicopter ride for each of us and all enjoyed it very much.

To see pictures of our flight follow this link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050502&id=1398728287&l=f8581f2e42

Our time in Araras

We were driven to Araras by Ednilson, Iran, and Stanley’s father. Upon arriving we were met by Edhinho, Betsy, Sirley and Garcia.

We visited a Sugar Cane and Ethanol Plant. The plant generates its own energy needs from the sugar cane and even sells surplus electric to the local power company. We toured the plant and saw how sugar cane and other sugar products are produced. We went into a couple of “clean” rooms and even Jose and I had to wear hairnets! Hard hats and safety glasses were required in all the factory.

Saturday morning we visited a local farmer’s market. The fruits and vegetables were larger than what we were used to in the states. We also saw many that we did not know.

The next stop was to visit a local theatre displaying works by Niemeyer. The theatre was built like a thermos – 2 thick walls separated by a narrow hallway. This was to keep the outside noise from interfering with performances.

After a short tour of the downtown area we went to Ashley’s host family’s “country home” where we enjoyed an afternoon of rest and relaxation. The home had beautiful landscaping and several flowers along with a swimming pool which we put our feet into.

Sunday we visited an aluminum plant where they re-melted the metal into sheets. The sheets were then sold to other factories.

While the girls headed to the country home the guys went to a car show on the town square. Brazilian car industry started in 1959. Any cars on display older than that were imports.

We attended our third Brazilian BBQ in the afternoon. This was attended by several Rotarians and their families. Lots and lots and lots of food was placed on a long table and then the meat was brought out!!!!

Monday was our last full day in Araras. We visited a technical training school and an environmental school. After lunch we visited our local coordinator’s house he is having built. In the evening we made a presentation at a meeting of three Rotary Clubs located in Araras. This will be our 6^th presentation and the 9^th Rotary meeting Russ has attended.

Tomorrow morning we will have a farewell breakfast at the Hotel Marques before traveling to our next city, São João da Boa Vista, which is located about 100 kilometers from here.

Go Galos!

It was so hard to say tchau to all of our new friends in Sao Pedro but we were reassured that we will see them all at the District Conference in a few weeks (didnt stop me from crying like a baby anyway!) We spend an amazing weekend with our families eating, sightseeing, and shopping. It was very busy but a nice change of pace from all of the fun things we did in Campinas. On Sunday we spent the first half of the day with our family which was nice since it was Mother’s Day. This was a nice cultural experience to see how the families celebrate a holiday! Then we all got together and walked around the town one last time. Monday morning we said our "see you laters" and headed to our next stop in Limeira. We arrived at the meeting place and met our new families and our dear friend Alda (the team leader that visited our district in Virginia and Tennessee 2 months ago). We settled in with our families in Limeira then got ready for a Club meeting. We only had one club to present to this week. The rest of the week was very busy with vocational tours to a jewelry manufacturer (Luiza Bijouterias), a tile manufacturer (Batistella), vocational schools (Senai and a school that teaches blind children), and a Marketing Company (Dephinitiva). It is so interesting to visit these places because we can compare them to what we know about their industry in the United States. This week we absolutely felt like A List celebrities! We were interviewed by The Jornal de Limeira, then on a LIVE TAPING of Reinaldo Bastelli in which yours truly got 15 minutes of fame, and last we got a grand tour of a popular radio station in which we also had a live interview on their talk radio station. We are so fortunate to have some hosts that speak both languages so they could translate and I’m not sure what we would do without Chris who has had to translate for us and speak on our behalf for these interviews!! We had so much fun!! We also had the great pleasure of touring the art gallery of Atelier Marciel Oehlmeyer, and were invited to an opening at a posh furniture store where his work was displayed, we were quick to accept this invite and very glad that we did as we had such a good time! I will not even try to describe how amazing all of the food is because I don’t think I could do it justice, but this week was our first Brazilian BBQ hosted by Alda and her family. The meet was perfection and we got to try some of Alda’s peppers that she grows in her garden, Jose and I could not get enough!! Muito Bom!! Before we knew it we were saying more “see you laters” to our wonderful new friends and off to spend the weekend in another city, Araras. So much more to add to this week’s experience but not enough time, sorry for lack of photos but we are having a hard time uploading and some of us do now have wireless access (photos are on our computers and we are using our host’s computers). We will post lots of pictures just as soon as we can!!

Pictures from Araras

We visited a Sugar Cane and Ethanol
Plant as our first stop in Araras

Our new team picture!! Ready to work

in the Sugar Cane and Ethanol Plant.

Machine used to crush sugar cane. The plant

uses the sugar cane for several uses including

generating its own energy needs.

This is a blast furnance in an aluminum plant

which takes used aluminum and remelts it

for other uses.

Brazilian fruit in this farmer's market appears

to be larger than what we are used to.

Sunday morning we attend a car show on

the town square. This is just one of the

many interesting cars we saw.

This picture is NOT upside now. The flowers

(Jade - pronounced jajee) were growing on a

frame work.

Some of the team getting some sun.

Ashely, Cornman and Katie chilling out -

literally - the water was cold!

This is what was left AFTER we ate! We

a BBQ on Sunday.



The cook and help wanted a picture with us.

The food was absolutely GREAT! As usual

we ate too much!

This is our local coordinator's 2 year old

daughter, Lara. We all feel in love with her

and are trying to figure out how to bring

her home with us! Her parents keep
telling us we can't take her with us!!!

Back to School - we visited a private school

in Araras where students gain experience

in many technical areas

Class learning Microsoft Excel

Some the not so well off areas of Araras

Seeds gathered by students at the

enviromental school

Students and the team at the environmental

school

Soccer jerseys drying at the environmental

school

Stair case in a former plantation overseer's

house

This tree is a Brazilian tree (that's

the actual name of the tree!!)