New Friends at Fundacao Esperanca and IESPES

On the left is a picture of my new friends here: Gustavo, Erbena and her daughter Anna Laura. Gustavo is also staying at the Fundacao Esperanca. He is a medical student visitng Brazil from Pennsylvania. Erbena is a professor and Coordinator of Turismo at IESPES. Below is a picture at Alter de Chau, a beach nearby on the river: Gustavo, some young friends we met, and Karina. Karina is like me, a visiting professor at IESPES university.

Rotary at Work and More Children

Polio Immunizations - Santarem Rotary and children at Alter de Chau. Polio is almost completely eradicated in Brazil, thanks to such efforts from organizations such as Rotary.

Children

Pictures of criancas (children) which tell a beautiful story of Brazil.

Wealth

Today I am philosophical; here are some of my thoughts on wealth. You all know that I like nice things and I am not afraid of spending money. But I also come to appreciate other kinds of wealth in this world – family, friendship, nature, spirit within and interconnectivity among people.

We live in a world of plenty. Abundance is everywhere, especially in nature. All our resources come from nature – food, building materials, gold, even dollar bills themselves. We have what we need. We need to have respect of this great wealth.

But look at what man has done over the ages to get what they think is “wealth” from resources? Here in the Amazon is a good example – in the late 1800s first the rubber barons came. (Rubber tree "tapped" in picture on left) Land was fought over – Indians were killed, natural seeds from here were stolen (Henry Wickham smuggled them to England to be planted elsewhere), the country-side and cities were left barren (Santarem hardly has any trees!), the people penniless, and Wickham himself did not become rich but penniless – his just desserts. Then in the 1920’s Ford thought he would build a utopian factory-like place here in the Amazon (Fordlandia) growing rubber trees for tires and related parts for his successful auto industry. He paid no attention to local habitat, agricultural methods that would work here nor local culture. So boom and bust. Gold seekers in the 1970s ,and now we have the modern lumber barons, and soybean farmers – scathing the land without replenishing.

Some people/countries have always profited from what others have. Manifest destiny, in the name of religion, or power- lust. What is it they are looking for? What does it mean to be wealthy? Does one ever have “enough”? Do they ever get what they want if it is power or money if they do not use it wisely? Things that one takes away, without a good intention, are often taken away easily by others.
(Picture on left - outside of town - soybean fields after Amazon forest cut down recently )
Look at our global world today. Oil is king. We fight wars over it, people are killed, resources are used up and not replaced.

To be wealthy truly, we need to nurture nature and ourselves.,;. These are things that no one can take away from us. I remember St Exupery’s book The Little Prince,” je suis responsable” he says with regards to the little flower he found and took care of on an unidentified planet. We are all responsible for nature.

(Picture on left - local soybean and rice factory )

Indiginous people all over the world found wealth in appreciating, using wisely, and recycling nature. Their lessons are simple and wise. So I am relearning:
Respect the resources that you have
Replenish what you take.
Only use what you need, even money since it is just another energy resource from the universe. Use it wisely

Maybe some day we will evolve in consciousness enough to use “wealth” to eradicate all poverty in the world, instead of destroying our environment and killing people to gain resources in one local or another. Maybe we can learn to be kind to ourselves, others, and the environment.

Pastor do Menor; Steve and Aurea Alexander

Pastoral do Menor
I went to the Pastoral do Menor today to find out how the women’s sewing group run by Dona Ana is coming along with my idea of making recycled purses made out of can tops. Not too successful so far as it is difficult to obtain so many recycled can tops (500 needed) for one purse. But they showed me purses made out of recycled rubber which would be great for sacs used to grocery shop in the States.

I also delivered a laptop that my son Patrick donated to this incredible center and its 11 satellites which improve the lives of over 2000 at-risk children. The older students take a computer class with Pablo (a former attendee at the center) who skillfully teaches them Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Matter of fact, most of the employees are former children of the center who grew up here and developed the philosophy of giving.

Steve and Aurea Alexander
I am fortunate to have landed in Santarem where I already know some local folk. Steve Alexander is an American x-pat living here with his Brazilian wife, Aurea. Steve was my regional Peace Corps director when I was in the Peace Corps in Brasilia. He now is a tour guide and Aurea is a pediatrician. This week they showed me her two medical offices. One is public and the other private. She works tremendously hard and is very dedicated. It felt so good to see children they may have some medical problems but they almost all had their baby shots and looked like normal chubby babies, not skinny with big bellies as I saw during Peace Corps days. Aurea tells me though, that mal-nutrition is the number one problem with babies in Santarem. Polio is just about eradicated, but I know two young women at the university (one a rotary member) who had polio when they were young, but are highly functional now. I attended a session where babies were being given physical therapy and their moms were being trained.

Steve took me to meet Dona Dica Fracao. This 87 year old lady is a legend in Santarem. For 50 years she has been making clothes out of local material – plant roots, bark of trees. She designs the most incredible fashions (dresses, hats, purses, fans) and incorporates the native materials, excellent sewing and crocheting techniques. Each item is a one of a kind. Dona Dica has boundless energy and showed off her fashions one by one then went into detail about many of her items being worn by royalty and dignitaries world wide. Her shop is now a museum. (log in the Steve’s blog http://bosque-santa.blogspot.com (dated Friday June 13, 2008) to see more of Dona Dica as well as Steve's incredible pictures of local flora.

University - Inter-Disciplinary Studies

(The picture on the left is the college library.)

All students enroll in a discipline of their choice (nursing, business administration, journalism, tourism, etc) at IESPES when they start out as freshmen. However, they are also required to form an interdisciplinary team (one member from each discipline) of 8 or so and are given an at-risk barrio in Santarem to “adopt”. They start going out to this barrio as Freshmen and continue on with the project for four years. They select a certain problem to analyze and then develop strategies to solve the problem (children’s health, education, STD information, teen pregnancy, drugs, garbage, etc). They present their findings at the end of each semester.

I am very impressed with the presentations which are going on now, since it is the end of a semester. Student dress up with business attire (one group for instance is dressed in black business pant suits with white blouses. I asked – where do they get that kind of clothing in the Amazon and the response was they get someone to make it for them. They do their presentation with PowerPoint. It is interesting the perspective that each member of the team has, coming from their respective discipline, i.e. nursing, tourism, etc.) Many of these students have not been to the poorer parts of town where they were sent and so many were amazed about the poverty and passionate about what needs to be done. Hopefully the university is grooming the next leaders of the community of Santarem to be aware the many problems that exists.
(Here is a picture taken at the college café - the center of life - an a candid picture of a female student with the "uniforme" - tight jeans and 5 inch heels.)
The students reminded me of Peace Corps days but the potential impact and involvement that this group could have on the community is more powerful since they are from here.

The library is the most astounding place! It used to be a private home of a wealthy couple who made their fortune with sugar cane. Each of the many rooms have incredibly beautiful native wooden hand-carved doors are incredibly beautiful. (picture - below) There are more than 50 hand carved doors - carved on both sides. The pool of the home has been filled in and is a pavillion for the students.

The Mission and Values of the college which are posted everywhere are too important not to mention:

The Mission
To contribute to the development of the Amazon region through knowledge, with studies based on humanistic, values, as well as critical thinking.

Values
Quality
Interdisciplinary studies
Social consciousness
Theory, but emphasis in practice
Institutional democracy

Water Exericise
The administrative assistant at the Fundacao Esperanca, where I live introduced me to a water aerobics class at a private club around the corner. It was just want I was looking for as the reality is it is too darn hot to walk, run or work out a regular health club here. The water was warm and refreshing but my new Brazilian pals were complaining how cold it was. They do not know “cold”! Right next to the pool is a soccer field, so I amuse myself during class watching classic local soccer. The picture is of my new friends and myself dancing in the water to the regional music of the Sao Juao festas (clapping – marching, comparative to square dancing).

I haven’t forgotten all of you, my “old” friends, and I just wish I could bring you here to experience this “real” Brazil, sometimes called “the end of the earth” by the earlier explorers and settlers of the Amazon, since they were not prepared for jungle-life.


Food
Everyone goes out of their way to help me out, in stores, the university, on the street, and always are inviting me to events. “Gente boa!” as they here – really good people!

One of everyone’s favorite thing to do is to out to eat on the weekends with friends and family. I love the delicious fish from the Amazon River. One of my favorites is piracuru stuffed with bananas and covered with a tomato nut sauce. Fish and meat are often eaten with rice and farofa (ground flavored mandioc), which is an acquired taste I have developed.

Fruit here is incredible. “Cupuracu” is my favorite, which is no where to be found in the US. An unusual drink is “sucu de caju” – cashew juice. I just love what is called “Vitamina” and had forgotten about it. I had “Vitamina” during Peace Corps days – tropical fruit and avocado with some milk mixed in a blender at local stands. Surprisingly enough, avocado is a “fruit” and is quite delicious with other fruit. It’s all good!

Last Saturday I had “feijoda” with my rotary sponsors, Ron and Vera. (Vera is the region governor and a colleague from the university. Vera’s vast rotary distruct includes all of the Amazon regions – 5 states, equivalent to about 1/3 of the US mainland. Did I mention that she is also the President of the university I am working at? One busy and focused woman, but takes time to be so congenial. Ron has been my Brazilian rotary sponsor this past year in setting me up with assignments and housing here and I am so thankful.) Feijoda is a typical Brazilian dish to have on the weekends with friends and family. It is made up of pork, black beans, sausage and greens. The restaurant we went to was called Maricota. The live music was somewhat like samba (presented by a fabulous singer and great guitar player) and was so catchy that the waitresses and clients couldn’t help but dance and sing along. Everyone goes out to eat on the weekends to see their friends- it is a social time.

Another Brazilian “thing” that I do not think I will ever master (along with walking about in 5 inch heels in uneven sidewalks and dirt) is managing table napkins. They are so “small” – about 3 inches by 2 inches and so thin. I have watched Brazilians eat and they are careful to not use their fingers hardly ever so they do not need the big napkins we Americans have. What does that say about cultures? This may be a metaphor - some use less than what they need and some use more.

Night Sounds and Getting Around

Now I am back in line – the wireless was down for a week.
Night stereo sounds… I had mentioned soccer playing 6-8pm outside my window. But did I mention there was a church behind the complex with singing from the alta falanche (loud speaker) just about every night (8-10pm, after soccer). Then comes the most amazing delightful music from college students finishing classes and from 10 to 11:30 they practice their steps for the Sao Juao festa June 14th on the neighboring soccer field dancing, clapping, marching and singing to broadcasted folklore music.

It’s dawn – and now I hear all the exotic native birds of the Amazon!

Walking About and Moto-Taxi

I took a walk to the Amazon River, about a mile away. The river walkway was bustling with riverboats transporting people, fish, and produce ( the people sleep in hammacks). The river is the main access for this town to the outside world. Santarem was prosperous during the rubber trade, but went bust when an Englishman named Henry Winkham in the late 1800’s illegally transported rubber tree seeds to England where they were germinated and exporting to English colonies around the world.

Since we had two days of torrent rain and mild weather, I forgot the sun here could be so hot (we are on the Equator!) after 9am and so I forgot to bring water. I stopped at a corner mercado to purchase a can of beer - so delicious and cheaper than water. There are no street signs here so I have to remember wherever I wander to observe the gas stations and drogarias on the corners, and count the street lights so not to lose my way back. Some streets are paved, but the majority are not.

Like I observed years ago, Brazil is a country in contrasts which is demonstrated in Santarem – well appointed, sophisticated students at the University along with common folk sitting out in front of their barracas (shacks) selling what they can – bananas, churascaria; beautiful gardens next to rubbish. Streets are filled with beautiful ceramic walkways and gardens surrounded by gutted sidewalks. I do not know how the beautiful Brazilian women manage to walk down the street on broken sidewalks, or no sidewalks, or red dirt walkways in their 5 inch high heel shoes, but they do so with grace and manage to not to dirty their feet nor their shoes. It is unbelievable and one of those incredible Brazilian “things” that no doubt I will never conquer!

The Amazon region especially is a study in contrasts: among the lush beauty of the flora, multiple specimens of birds and fish are the bugs, termites snakes and disease, and decay below. It is difficult to keep buildings looking good with so much rain and termites.Here is a public phone - they are all over the place, although many people have cell phones. They look like “orelhas” -giant ears and are so named or sometimes named "Oi"- Hi".

Today I took my first moto-taxi, an inexpensive way to get around Santarem. This is me, a little fearful at first but the traffic goes slow and it was like riding a bike, minus the exercise.

The University

I have spent the last week attending meetings at the university with faculty and students. Such an impressive, enthusiastic and bright bunch! Each faculty chair is also in charge of functions such as marketing, computer systems and networking, outreach, involvement in the community, etc. There are no counselors. Faculty are the front line – advisors as well as instructors.Students are always putting on events.

The nursing program put on a demonstration at the college entrance for checking blood pressure and literature about dengue fever (which is a big problem here). In this foto a student is showing recycled toys she made. In every classroom there is the college mission and values, indicating an envolvement with the Amazon region and protecting its resources.

Everyone at the college walks the talk, as the mission states, and seems to have a commitment to the region, to recycling and protecting the environment.I will be in Brazil three months altogether. This month I will be doing informal sessions with faculty who want to learn English as well as help out in some English classes. English is a class in the tourism department. Here is the tourism class on an outing where they practice being tour guides in English.

I will be involved this month through August at the University, the Pastoral do Menor and in August teach a semester marketing class in one month!

Yesterday I attended a seminar at the University put on by a bauxite mining company Mineracao Rio de Norte. Bauxite is used to make aluminum. They try to be a cocially responsible company by providing community services – 1) send a boat from the Fundacao Esperanca (institution where I am staying) to Quilombo, a remote community living in the mining area to provide health services, 2) enhance education services in the area, 3) plant renewable trees and 3) teach farming methods to the poor in the region. 4) They also partner with a museum to have native people make replicas, for sale, of pottery (Tapijonica ceramics) discovered in this local area. The museum put on a display at the college in this foto. This pottery is known to be the earliest (8000 years ago) of both the north and south hemispheres, perhaps indicating a civilization before the Incas. Hand prints on local rocks indicate a people who lived here 10,000 years ago.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Rotary Activities
Today and last night were devoted to Rotary Activities. I attended my first Rotary Club meeting here – Santarem University Club. A small club, but very active. All seven members are Paul Harris Fellows, attend regularly, and participate in just about everything. Here are some pictures of the meeting. I presented our club flag with them. How charming that the club meets at a hotel overlooking the Amazon. I told them about my club, meeting at the Chart House, overlooking the ocean in Encinitas.

Then we went off to the Pastor de Menores. This is a program for street children (mostly young boys) who have no where to go during the day and so, left to their own devices, get into trouble. Brother Ronaldo from the US started this program 15 years or so ago and it has grown remarkably with the help of Rotary and other organizations over the years. They have a library, dance classes, Portuguese and mathematics classes, religion, sewing for mothers. The young kids are the best – taught to be very respectful with hope for the future.

In the picture above Pastor de Menores is receiving books, educational toys, computer and projection equipment from the Ann Arbor Rotary Club who partnered with my Santarem local University Rotary Club. My rotary club, Encinitas Coastal, donated some funds to the Ann Arbor club for this project. I just happened to be here this day of dedication, so it was quite emotional for me.

There are over 1000 children here. These two really tugged at my heart.