COUNTRY: Brazil
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Wildlife Conservation & Youth Work
WRITTEN BY: Alice Clarke
How has it been 3 weeks already!!
Our trip to the Children Centre on our beautiful day off proved to be the turning point for productivity. The teachers obviously realised we were on a path of construction as the next couple of weeks were a hive of activity. We painted the lines for soccer on the courts on Wednesday and moved the new goals in. Then we painted the vegetable garden logs on the same day.
Felix's birthday was on the 30th and to celebrate we decided to just have drinks at his house. Highlights of the evening included reminiscing over Lonely Island songs and video clips, Holly lighting her hair on fire while trying to light the cake, Tom distracting Felix while we were getting the cake ready by saying "WAIT THEY ALL DECIDED TO GET CHANGED YOU CAN'T COME DOWN" and Amanda (Felix's host sister)'s friends making him a legit caipirinha that was actually good!
Thursday is Capoeira day, with our favourite teacher at the centre Cascau. We did cartwheels (shockingly) and were tested on the instruments - bandeira, atabaqui and berimbao comprised of the dobrum, cabasa, baketa, verja and aram and our favourite CASHISHI!! (of course I spelt all of them wrong - pandeiro, atabaque, berimbau, dobrão, cabaça, baqueta, verga, arame and caxixi). Friday is usually games day at the centre but me, Tom and Jed painted yellow lines for the volleyball court and the backboards for the basketball nets.
The productive rhythm that had started the week earlier continued when we were left alone. Kind of. On Monday Felix and Maddy taught English classes in the morning but when me and Belinda arrived at 12 the place was strangely quiet and empty of kids. Del explained that there was a municipal strike and so there were no teachers and thus no kids coming this afternoon. Felix and Maddy went to Lagoa in the afternoon, to Point 16, while me and Belinda planned the tyre playground, bought coloured paper for upcoming English classes and had discussions about life. On Tuesday the real work began as Felix and I got to work on the tyre playground. As usual the kids were eager to help dig which resulted in us not really doing much after mapping out where they needed to dig until the teachers told the kids to let us have a turn. This was surprisingly mostly finished by fruit time (10AM) and we added a few more tyres to Felix's hopscotch before relaxing a bit before lunch. We expected that Maddy and Belinda would paint the tyres in the afternoon but instead they were directed to paint the benches to match the rainbow playground.
Wendesday was my first real class. I had "taught" before with Holly, Maddy and Belinda but teaching with 4 people and teaching with 2 are very different things. We taught colours to 3 morning classes that we like to call Octavio's class (even though he was absent. Octavio is the most advanced at English in the whole of the centre. Groups in the past have taught him most of what he knows and he has just started an online English course this year. This class is mostly older kids - 11 to14), the angel class (younger children who just adore us and so tend to listen to what we say more than the older kids) and the last "class" was just one girl from the angel class who came late. We thought it'd be a big challenge teaching just one person but she didn't grasp the content too quickly so we were able to go over it again with lots of different games to try and help her remember. Belinda was sick so in the afternoon Felix taught a class on his own; apparently having lots of fun teaching colours and playing team games with his class. One of the kids said he was a good teacher so he must've been doing something right.
Wednesday was also the start of my (allbeit so far shortlived) exercise regime. Me and Maddy went to the park and did a circuit while cars honked at us and people stared from buses. On Thursday the activeness continued as the girls walked to the centre from TICEN and did a short circuit on the way. We had capoeira again before our meeting with Grazi where we learned of our new non-obligitary goals to finish the greenhouse which at the moment has no covering and the paint is worn, and (much to Felix's crazy excitement) to organise and catalog the library. Thursday night brought home made sangria and enchiladas as we bought ingredients and had a little family Mexican night.
That weekend we went to Lagoa and stayed at Maddy and Belinda's family's "pousdada" (mini hotel).Belinda met us in the evening and after settling in to our room we went to Sushi Roots with Dani (Belinda and Maddy's host sister). I am ashamed to say I fell asleep at the table but in my defense none of the others had woken up at 7 as I had that morning and we were seated on the ground in the comfy section. On Sunday Felix, Maddy and I went horse riding which consisted of us getting lost and finally finding the ranch, climbing on to horses and riding away with these two crazy dudes. We reflected that our parents would not be pleased that we had been given no helmets but nothing bad happened so it's all ok right? We rode into this strange pine forest that seemed to be rooted in the sand as it was in the middle of big dunes leading to the beach. After our ride Felix went to his family bbq and I crashed Maddy and Belinda's. It was delicious as all Brazilian (and Australian) bbqs are - it's hard for meat to taste bad once it's been seasoned with so much salt. Before we left we went to the turtle sanctuary and watched a turtle be freed and went on a walk to the "natural swimming pool" a calm patch of water in this alcove of rocks.
This past week as well as the usual teaching English classes and capoeira, we painted the tables inside the greenhouse (which we're told will be covered next week), painted the tyres and weeded the vegetable garden; freeing beetroots from under the grass. It was a beautiful day on Wednesday and me and Maddy went back to Barra da Lagoa for a nice swim in the calm water and go stand up paddleboarding.
This weekend we (Felix, Maddy and I) journeyed to Iguazu Falls. via a 16hour overnight bus trip both ways. It was an unbelievably hot day; giving us Christ the Redeemed flashbacks however thankfully it was not so uphill. The falls were beautiful and never ended. At the end we were glad for the wind spraying the water onto us as we went out onto the platform that looks over the edge of the waterfall. Felix left a lock on the railing where others had left string and other locks and threw the key into the river. Maddy left her hair tie there. After I dragged them to the bird park so I could get more pictures for my bird-enthusiast mother (I think now I have just become a bird-enthusiast too thanks to this trip!)
Until next time!
Alice Clarke
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