Marina - Amazon Woman

Connections

2008-08-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

Connections: Rotary, University(IESPES) and Pastoral do Menor:
Reflecting on the past three months of my Rotary grant stay here in Brazil, I would say “connecting things together, bit by bit; with patience” - this has been my mantra.

First I was assigned to teach a marketing class at IESPES, the local university here in Santarem. I encouraged the students to make marketing plans, and to think beyond the box about what kinds of businesses they could create on their own. My university students here are studying in the discipline jornalismo, many already are working for on-line or paper newspapers, local radio / television stations.

Then because of rotary connections, when I arrived in June I aligned efforts with a non-profit here called Pastoral do Menor. Through that organization, I worked with a group of unemployed women to initiate a microcredit cooperative - they would make purses from recycled plastic coke and fanta bottles and I would lend them the money to start (micro credit) and then work to export them to other parts of Brazil and the US. My students from my IESPES marketing class came to visit Pastoral do Menor, interview the women, appraise the situation and between us we have made up a marketing plan. So we will see what develops, we are doing a test run in September for selling the products in the US. (Fotos of women and students)

Special thanks to my friend Tish who came to visit me here in Brazil and support the Women’s Cooperative.!

Obrigada

2008-08-24T06:48:00.000-07:00

I have many people to thank for my good fabulous stay here: Steve and Aurea, Gustavo, Karina, Ron and Vera, my Pastor de Menor family (Dona Ana and Gileci).

Things I Tried to Learn from Brazilians

2008-08-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

- To walk graceful, like all Brazilian women (I never did take the course “finishing school” in my education, is it too late?)
- To eat without getting my fingers or mouth soiled, or leave crumbs all over the table (there is a reason you get only a very tiny napkin with meals here). Maybe less is more!
- That in spite of what misfortunes may happen in life, be patient, try to enjoy life with friends and family - more parties/festas! For It's Áll Good!

And so here is a picture of me with my new Brazilian ``digs`` and attitude!

More Thanks and Parting Thoughts on Brazil

2008-08-24T06:01:00.000-07:00

More thanks to my Quilombo (medical boat team) family for guiding me to not be a casualty but even a help to them, all the taxi drivers and tour guides I came across with their interesting views of what it means to be a Brazilian, especially Darlan –of Sao Luiz,; and last but the most important thanks to Ana, the maid at the Fundacao Esperanca where I was housed, who cooked and cleaned for me all the time. What will I ever do when I get back to the States without a maid???

Things I understand now
-why women wear platform shoes - to stay above the mud and dirt
-why women never put purses on ground - because of bugs

Best scenic destination, little known -Lencois in Maranhao (hundreds of clear blue mineral lakes in pristine white dunes on beaches - spectacular!)

Things I will miss - hugs and kisses, gentileza - gente boa - such good people!, spirit of handling terrible things in life. I will miss all kinds of Amazon fruit we so not have in the US - graviola, cupuracu, caju

Things I will not miss - bugs, heat, trash, noise (cars roaming about blasting political endorsements/advertisements from loud speakers)!

Best thing Brazil has copied from the rest of the world– plastic chairs – durable can survive Amazon, anywhere, cheap

Worst thing Brazil has copied from the rest of the world – Coca cola, Fanta. Gosh, Brazil has a delicious drink of its own – Guarana from real juice!

Boat Trip to Quilombo People of the Amazon

2008-07-23T16:52:00.000-07:00

A quilombo (from the Kimbundu word kilombo) is a Brazilian hinterland settlement founded by Quilombolas, or Maroons and, in some cases, a minority of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews and Arabs, and/or other non-black, non-slave Brazilians that faced oppression during colonization. Quilombos was in fact a group of African fugitive slaves and their descendents.
The Brazilian 1988 constitution granted the remaining quilombos the collective ownership of the lands they have occupied since colonial times, thus recognizing their distinct identity at the same level of the Indians.

A riverboat, equipped as a medical clinic, monthly makes a five day trip, staffed by Fundacao Esperanca, a public health medical clinic organization in Santarem (which helps fund the university IESPES, my sponsor). This project is subsidized by a bauxite mining company, Mineracao do Rio Norte. This boat reaches the remote Quilombo communities along the Rio Trompetras, a tributary of the Amazon, where the bauxite mining exists. The boat is filled with medical records, supplies and public health personnel.

Amazonas Medical River Boat

2008-07-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

I had the unique opportunity and privilege to be part of the incredible humanitarian medical team this month, participating and sharing with the Quilombo communities their strengths and problems. I just got back, exhausted yet exhilarated! What a life moving experience for me! I will not editorialize in this blog but merely share my Amazon experiences about the Quilombo people. Often native people are the forgotten ones when issues arise for political or economic reasons. Today the Amazon is a point of interest to the world at large – important for resources, for consequences of the environment, of global warming, etc. But here is some information I will share with you about the people, the most valuable resource, no?
No body can tell me for sure but I believe that the origin of the Quilombo people of the Rio Trompetas is that hey were escaped slaves from Santarem and Manaus in the late 1800’s during the cane sugar, rubber and/or gold rush times. They got as far away as possible. Indeed it took us a 24 hour riverboat ride from Santarem to reach these communities.

The Quilombo People

2008-07-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

My pictures are of the boat we took, the medical team, and the local people. The boat would dock at each of the three communities visited and with the help of local volunteers, medical records and supplies were taken from the boat in nearby centers. My participation (since I have no public health nor medical expertise) was to help from simply passing out numbers for the sign up consultation to accompanying a young male nurse tech on home visits made by motor taxi. These visits are so necessary as many cannot make it by boat to the community centers every month. The nurse tech checks elderly people for blood pressure and locates young children who have not been identified in the data collection. These home visits were the most moving for me. At one of the river homes where we stopped, after the nurse tech took blood pressure of two elders, and weighing three new babies, a young mom was pointed out to me having a problem. The people wanted me to check her for lumps in her breasts since she was having some pains. I told them that I was not a nurse nor a doctor but had a special interest and would check her. The young 29 year old deaf woman was extremely fearful, as older members of the family who had died were thought to have died from cancer.. I did not find anything I thought to be concerned about but advised her to get consultation next month. She is so much in my thoughts since I have come back…..

Quilombo people - Life on the River

2008-07-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Life on the River
Making the home visits I came to know so well that the river is “everything” for these people: what they drink, where they get their food, where they bath, where their excretion flows to, their only means of transportation (there are not roads), and where they get contact with outside world. I even saw a boat with a loud speaker on it, as well as a church boat. Some larger boats take people to the “big” city nearby – 6 hours away.

These two 12 year old girls I met attend a high school in the larger city, otherwise they would be stuck with no education beyond 4th grade level and nothing to do except get pregnant. Some of the fotos I took are of handicapped people. Families take care of their handicapped - a brother or sister has the every day job of caring for a child born with birth defects as in the foto here or an elder, victim of a stroke. So the families share the responsibility in a matter of course. Some young mothers who I suppose, seeing their fate, escaped, catching a boat to the outside world one night, leaving their very young with 9 or 10 year daughters or sons who are left to care for their young siblings. Amazingly these young care takers were so very loving with the babies, though I did see them not hesitate to kick the family dogs around.

2008-07-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

The Staff: and Activities.
There were 17 Public Health staff members on the particular boat journey I went on; there was a boat crew of four, including a captain and a cook. The process for the local people was very well organized and thorough: education, diagnoses and prescriptions. Most would start through the maternal child care kiosk set up where babies were weighed, and checked for length. Education was presented on personal hygiene, how to breast feed and general information. If there was lab work they needed, they proceeded to the lab tech who did tests and shots right there. Some public health staff were busy finding records (brought on the boat) and updating records; others fulfilled prescriptions Two nurses provided medical consultations and wrote up prescriptions.

Quilombo continued

2008-07-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hope
The Quilombo people’s medical problems have been greatly reduced or under control in the eight years this boat project has been in existence. One thing I would greatly like to help out with is a preventative measure - to provide water filters for local families so that they at least get clean drinking water. So many get dysentery and related health problems from drinking the river water directly. I see a lot of hope in the local community volunteers who can be spokespersons for the local health and education needs. Also I saw that the government is giving each home owner (at least in one community) bricks to build a permanent home and I am assuming they are also getting the rights to the land. The ability to persevere, to treat others with dignity and love, to have a sense of humor, to accept things as they are - are all incredible traits I saw and felt from these people. Our so called “civilized” world has a lot to learn. I am honored to have been present in time and space with such people.

More Quilombo

2008-07-23T15:02:00.001-07:00

Side Trips North East Brazil and Brasilia

2008-07-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Brasilia

Always so good for me to visit my “roots” in Brasilia – my Brasilian extended family who took care of me during Peace Corps days. I was last here four years ago.The statue of the two black figures symbolizes the “candanglos” – people who came to help build the new capital, of which I also claim to be part of, since the city was in its infancy and PC was to help the candanglos with health and education. Wonderful visit – my family here is doing so well and is loving and accepting. Gisele who is pictured with me eating sushi (who would have thought?) was a guest in our home in Alameda 10+ years ago. My Brazilian mom is 90 years young with a great sense of humor. So nostalgic for them to have my favorite foods! Very upsetting occurrence took place for us at the American Embassy where I was not allowed in nor could I take pictures. I did work here for the state department, after all, and created the good relationship we have with Brazil! My Brazilian family could not believe it – how I was mis-treated by my own government!

Salvador de Bahia - fotos

2008-07-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Side Trip Salvador de Bahia

2008-07-16T08:14:00.000-07:00

Salvador de Bahia -the birthplace of Brazil. Here slaves were brought over and put to work on large plantations (here for sugar cane and tobacco) such as what took place in the US in the south. However in Brazil, the various African religious gods, food and dance the slaves brought with them were allowed to continue and got passed down through generations. Condoble religion is symbolized by the lacey voluminous white dress of local Bahian women and capoira by the dance somewhat like Asian Tai-kon-do

Fernando de Naronha - side trip

2008-07-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

Fernando de Naronha is an island ( a main one with various small ones) 400 miles off the NE coast. It is a well preserved federal government national park. Only a limited number of people can come to the island at one time. Residents work in the restaurants and posadas (like B&Bs). My friend Tish and I had various adventures touring on 4 wheel drive vehicles (only these vehicles are allowed on the island), climbing down metal ladders with terrential tourain to pristine beaches in the rain. Tish, with her efferevescent personality, found some local beach boys who showed her the best snorkling sites, caught fish and cooked it for us on the beach. How good it that?

Side trip - NorthEast Brazil - Fortaleza

2008-07-16T05:57:00.001-07:00

The Northeast of Brazil used to be the poorest areas – 80% of the population migrated to the Amazon or Brasilia in search of a better life between 1955 and 1990. Now the incredible beaches and folklore have been discovered and local people are prospering from tourists from southern prosperous regions of Brazil and foreign countries.
These three fotos symbolize Fortaleza for me - the jangadas cast against a skyline of modern buildings, fishermen team work, and a dad and his son who arrived on the beach by bicycle for a morning of play. They parked the bike in the sand, took off on a barefoot run on the beach, found toys that were "gifts" of the sea, played in the sand, swam and delighted in one another – very simple. No automated toys or fancy vehicles, just a wonderful loving relationship!

Amazon River - Monte Alegre cave drawings

2008-07-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

The Amazon and its tributaries this time of year is very high (40 feet from its low). The homes along the way are built on stilts. 12 hours by boat from Santarem is the town of Monte Alegre where cave drawings indicate people living here more than 8 centuries - one of the oldest findings on either North or South America. To reach the famous drawings, Tish and I, with a local family, go on a very precarious adventuresome ride on this 4-wheel drive vehicle made into a pick-up truck. You can see what the rode looks like!

Amazon River - side trip

2008-07-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Tish, whom I was in the Peace Corps with years ago, came to visit and recap the heartbeat of Brazil so many years later. First we went on a river boat trip with our own private guide, cook and navigator to local tributaries to visit native people, called caboclos – a mix of Indian and various other cultural groups. Two young caboclos greet our boat and Tish, who has made a early morning dip. Here are some pictures of a family – the young and the old (adults are missing from this town making a living selling their fish in the “big” city, Santarem). This 16 year old boy on the right of the picture feeds and takes care of his 87 year old grandmother who is going blind and can no longer weave baskets, her livelihood. Other women show us their fabulous basketry handicraft which we readily purchase.

New Friends at Fundacao Esperanca and IESPES

2008-06-23T06:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-23T04:03:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-22T08:39:00.000-07:00

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

Wealth

2008-06-18T10:08:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

(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

2008-06-11T06:39:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-11T06:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-06-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Local Color

2008-05-31T15:41:00.000-07:00

This is my dorm room across from the university.

Here is the soccer field outside my window and here are the local "boys", hanging out on the corner.

Arrival in Brazil

2008-05-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

‘It was amusing and instructive to watch people’s reactions. There were the Prudent who said, “ This [going on an expedition into the Amazon in Brazil]is an extraordinarily foolish thing to do” There were the Wise, who said, “This is an extraordinarily foolish thing to do, but at least you will know better next time.” And there were the Very Wise, who said, “This is foolish thing to do, but not as foolish as it sounds.”’ Peter Fleming, Brazilian Adventure, 1933

May 28, 2008

– blast off date. Patrick dropped me off at SAN airport– “Oh there goes my mama again – off on one of her adventures…” .At the United gate who checked me in but two gals from Brazil, one whose dad helped build Brasilia when and where I was in the Peace Corps 40 years! An animated conversation got me to check over 50lbs a piece of luggage free! As they say in Brazil - “dar um jeito” help out a friend….

May 30, 2008
Two days in Manaus – Hotel Tropical – very comfortable and familiar. I had been here before – first time with Patrick in 1990 and second with Tom in 2004. Nice shopping and ambiance. Everyone is friendly. Breakfasts are made up of wonderful exotic fruit and omelets, all kinds of rolls and a noisy animated crowd. I will need to manage my quiet time which I have come to relish, when in company of Brazilians and their wonderful animated selves. I feel myself gradually being transformed into “Marina” like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly as my Portuguese is coming back and I am alive with the smells, the sights, the sounds and the feel of Brazil.

Larry W, please . note - there are no boa constrictors waiting to eat me – yet!

Last evening in Manaus there began early celebration of June holidays (why wait??)– I walked around to absorb everything around me. I found a local restaurant and had my first caparinga (this one made with mango), piracuru fish fried with onions, and farofa on the side. Farofa is usually only eaten by authentic Brazilians – it is like a flavored course grain of some sort. Everyone is out, night soccer is happening in the parks, chit-chat, music, guys diving off the edge of the river – night swimming on the Rio Negro. Easy to talk to workers at the restaurant, taxi drivers. They are wondering – who is this obviously foreign (tall and with strange clothes -REI model gear- woman (not wearing the tight jeans and 5 inch high heals all the Brazilian women are wearing) speaking Portuguese almost like a native?

Serendipitous encounter as will usually take place in Brazil– same taxi driver drove me to the airport that drove me around town the previous day to a shopping center.

At the airport in Manaus I was worried because my luggage had come from the States to Brazil on international luggage rules (2 50 lb bags and 2 heavy carry-ons). But I had spent two days in Manaus. The counter gal was able to “dar um jeito (let me pay only for one small bag ($25) which could not be carried on (local limit 22 kilos) – it could have cost me hundreds of $!

I arrive in Santarem. Ron from the local rotary met me at the airport (all my luggage arrived!) and short ride to my new “home” – Fundacao Esperanca a complex where visitors, workers, groups of foreign student community service (presently here from Westalen College) stay. Pleasant room with my own private bath – yes! With the Alta Falante and “hede” (truck with speaker blasting very loud music and advertisements circulating outside my window every now and then and a hammock for my use), yes, now I know I am in Brazil!.

Fundacao Esperanca has many medical services for women and children, dentistry. They also sponsor a youth at risk center where I will be working in July.

May 31, 2008
Ron and his wife Vera, the local rotary governor who covers more than the state of CA, whisked me off at 8:30 (I was already in bed! But came alive) – the night is young in Brazil. IESPES university put on a festa last night at the Hotel Amazon (same place I stayed with Tom in 2004). This hotel is like the one in one of Steven King”s book which takes place in a dilapidated hotel being taken over by the jungle, etc. In its hay day this hotel was owned by VARIG plane company who thought that Santarem was going to be a regular stopping place.

There are six universities in town. Three federal, this one is private. Most students attend school at night after working all day. I will be teaching a night class in August, 6 days a week. Nossa sonhora (translation – oh my God!)

Brazilians love to get together to talk and dance-much more social than Americans. So the festa was (cheia de gente – full of people) I met many students and teachers. They had booths of imaginative companies and got many real local companies to participate (cell phone, small plane medical airlift, Xique (a stylish “sheik” women’s clothing place in Santarem). The college fictitious companies were made up of the different university schools – pharmacy, nursing, teacher training, business administration, etc. Teacher training was most interesting – students had made up hand-made books of the region to teach youth about their local heritage and toys made up of recycled materials. Maybe they might be a good source for my Brazilian purse microcredit venture? I was so impressed by the college students who put on such a creative and well-thought out event. I met many university teachers with whom I will be working with. Some want me to teach an informal English class with them. I told them I want to also share teaching methods, etc.- discutir metados de erudicao.

This feels like this is Peace Corps all over again. I am being shown around and yet so many things I thought I would teach or give to them, they already have better and are more knowledgeable. I must listen and be like a sponge.

This afternoon I have a fabulous lunch with Ron and Vera (whose children reside in the States) by the riverboat port, for this is a riverboat town – no roads go to and from Santarem just planes and boats. Then a siesta (now I get it and get on Brazilian time!) and then shopping at the local mercado two blocks away. So I get a bottle of cachaca (Brazilian national drink), drinking water, and wafer cookies. What do I mix cachaca with to make caparingas? Hmm, I need some limes. Yes, my diet Isogenix :”Want more energy?” lime powder mix. Michele M. – new use for the diet powder. How good is that?

Oppsies – the soccer gang is back again outside my room – bagunca (lots of noise and activity!)

2008-05-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

Off to Brazil May 20, 2008

2008-05-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of me and my sons in my condo in Encinitas overlooking Moonlight Beach. I will miss them and Encinitas.

Count down - 8 days - to go off to the Amazon where I will be teaching and working on Rotary projects. Am I ready? As in Brazil there is a saying - "dar um jeito" - which translates - don't worry - there's always a way to make things work out.