Rio de Janeiro - Planes, Trains, Automobiles and a VW Van

Well folks, time sure does fly when you have so much to do and it was time for Jimmie and I to pack up our things and say goodbye to Vicosa. What a wonderful time we had. I throughly enjoyed getting to know Jimmie's family. They were very gracious hosts and I will miss the time we spent together. I look forward to the opportunity of seeing them again in the future.

Jimmie and I had to catch the bus out of Vicosa at 1020pm. The plan was to take the bus to Rio, sleep on the bus, drop our luggage off at the airport in a luggage locker that we were informed about, and spend the day sight seeing. Our plane left at 830pm from Rio the next evening to head back home to the US so we had a lot to do in the next 24 hours.

Seems like a good plan that should work without any kinks right??? Of course not. The bus ride was fine except for the fact that it is very difficult to sleep when your head keeps banging against the window. Jimmie was able to get more rest then me but he could sleep through a tornado and not hear a thing. I, on the other hand, was not blessed with the ability to sleep like the dead. The bus trip arrived at the airport earlier than expected so Jimmie and I were hanging out with the airport work crew at 430am looking for a place to put our bags.

The information deck informed us that they no longer stored bags for people anymore. Perfect!!! Luckily, Jimmie was able to ask around to a couple of other people and found out that the airport does in fact store luggage but the information desk and the luggage guys were not on the best of terms. We stowed our bags with the luggage guy and were ready to jump on a bus to take us into town.

We were coming up on 6am now and needed to find some coffee and something to eat. We met a nice family from London who was traveling. Jimmie had been to Rio before so he was able to give all of us the rundown on what he knew of the city. When you first leave the airport you can not help but notice the amount of favellas or low income or shanty homes. These houses are made of scrap wood, metal, mud, or even cardboard and make up a lot more of the Rio landscape than you would think. Here is a picture of what they look like.

From Rio De Janeiro - Sugar Loaf and More

After the bus trip we walked around a bit we found a local padareia to drink some much need coffee and munch on a few pastries. Next stop, Sugar Loaf. These is one of the must see tourist stops if you ever visit Rio. The pictures and videos should give you an idea of the beauty you will witness if you ever have the privilege of visiting.

From RioSugarChristHome

From RioSugarChristHome

Next stop, the Christ statue that overlooks the city. We took a taxi over to the base of the mountain and rode a small electric train that took us to the top. The top was covered with clouds but it was still a very remarkable site. Again, a must see if you are ever in town.

We traveled back down the mountain on the train and took a taxi to a more artsy part of Rio. It used to be considered a rough part of town but now the cobble stone streets were lined with restaurants and art shops. We ate at one of the local eatery's with a friend we met on the train. After a late lunch we took a historic electric rail car back into the central part of town. It was getting close to 5pm and we needed to get back to the airport to catch our flight. We found a bus that took us to the outskirts of the airport - we had to jump on a separate shuttle which happened to be an old VW Bus that dropped us off at the airport.

So, to sum things up, we had started the day off on a bus, then a taxi, next a gondola (Sugar Loaf), then another taxi, then an electric train (Christ Statue), then another taxi, a historic cable car, a shuttle bus, a Volkswagen bus, and finally.....a plane.

It was time to go home.

Don't worry, more to come.

A Day Trip to Ouro Preto

Most of the week has been spent lounging around the house catching up on some much needed rest and hanging out with Jimmie's family. A typical evening consists of eating a wonderful meal and conversing about religion while Thelonious Monk plays in the background. In addition to the family time, we took a few trips into Vicsosa to get familiar with the town and to visit the local university where Jimmie's father teaches along with two side trips to Ouro Preto and Ipachinga.

Ouro Preto is a 300 year old city that is a big tourist hot spot in this area. Several Baroque churches, cobble stone streets, a ton of history (both good and bad). The area is rich in precious gems and minerals and they have some amazing artisans that work with soapstone. We have some cool pics of the soapstone market where you can watch these guys in action and of course, purchase what you like.

We ate a historic restaurant that serves local dishes in what used to be the slave quarters of one the original homesteads. Next we hit up the soapstone market and local shops.

If you are ever in this part of the country this is a must see.

Welcome to Vicosa!!!

Well, we finally made it to Vicosa!!! I have been looking forward to seeing a different side of Brazil. Don't get me wrong, Sao Paulo is a cool city but I grew up in the country and have spent most of my life running around in the woods so it is nice to take a break from the concrete jungle. Vicosa is Jimmie's home town and his family still lives there.

Jimmie has a unique upbringing. His father is from the United States and came over in the 60's with the Peace Corp. He met his wife (Jimmie's mother) who is from the Northeastern part of Brazil. They moved to Vicosa a little over 30 years ago and still live here today. I am not doing the Griffith family story justice by giving you such a short explanation. A book could be written about the entire family, and believe me you would be highly entertained. That story is for another day but believe me when I say that you will be in for a treat if you ever have the pleasure of meeting them.

Daniel dropped us off to meet the Griffith family (Jim, Betty, and Alan) in the historic town of Ouro Preto. We did not spend much time there because this would be one of the places we would be coming back to later on in the week but there are a few teaser pics for you to take a look at below. We headed down the twisted windy roads of Brazil along the mountain ridge line all the way in to Vicosa which took about 2 hours. Jimmie and I were beat because of all the recent late nights and travel we had been involved in. I about did a back flip when I saw the room I would be sleeping in and could not wait to get some rest.

After a good night's sleep Jimmie's parents took us for a stroll through their neighborhood and hiked through some trails that were at the top of the ridge that the development back up against. It was a real treat to get to see some of the landscape of the country here. The vegetation is so different - fruit trees of all sorts line the landscape along with a new trend of eucalyptus tree farming that has been made very popular here. Eucalyptus grow very well is this area and very quickly. They can be fully mature in 7 years, and these are big trees!!! Time and time again, the landscape reminds me a lot of the country side of Australia, where I studied for a semester during college.

We both will be catching up on some much needed rest this week. I look forward to meeting some of the locals and exploring more of the country side of Brazil.

The pictures kind of give you a run down of the drop off point and the hike we took in Vicosa. Most of the pictures are from the hike and overlook the neighborhood where they live and where we are staying now.

Belo Horizonte - A Bug and a Weekend on the Road

Farewell Sao Paulo, hello Belo Horizonte (Beautiful Horizon). Jimmie and I have both had an amazing experience in Sao Paulo. Valderes and his family were very gracious hosts and have shown us many different sides of Sao Paulo's history, culture, and food. Now it is time to explore a different side of Brazil.

Saturday was a travel day. Jimmie and I both had to wake up early to pack our things and meet Valderes for one last round of meetings at Impacta. After saying a few more goodbyes to the faculty we had to go and pick up the the rest of the family across town to participate in the consumption of Feijoada. This is a Brazilian meal that is more like feast which consists of various cuts of pork in a type of stew that is served over rice and beans with other various sides. This dish used to be more custom of the poorer communities of Brazil that would use the leftover parts of the pig that rich folks wouldn't eat but it has become a popular dish across all of Brazil with each restaurant putting their own spin on the traditional recipe. Our last meal with Valderes and his family and one of the best yet.

After the feast it was time to head to the airport to head to Belo Horizonte which was about an hour flight northwest of Sao Paulo. We were to stay with one of Jimmie's best childhood friends and head to Vicosa the following day.

The flight was smooth and we arrived in Belo Horizonte airport in one piece with no trouble. Daniel (Jimmie's friend) was there waiting for us. Jimmie hadn't seen his friend in a couple of years so it was cool to witness the reunion. We gathered all of our bags and headed for the parking lot to Daniel's car which was a vintage 1976 Volkswagen Bug. I can't believe we were able to get all of our luggage in that thing. Nonetheless, it fit. The ride seemed to kick start the weekend and once we arrived at Daniel's apartment to unload the Bug and pick up Daniel's girlfriend we headed out for some drinks.

For me it was nice to sit back and take in the scene. Jimmie and his friends had not seen each other in a long time and had a lot of catching up to do. It was easier to do in Portuguese of course, and though I am picking up a word here and there, I could by no means jump into the conversation. They would go back and forth from English to Portuguese so I could participate - I was happy either way.

The night wore on and we ended up heading back to the apartment. I was beat and it was close to 4am before I had a chance to settle down. Jimmie and Daniel had busted out the guitars and drums and continued on into the morning. We had to wake up around 10Am so we could get some breakfast at a nearby indoor market and needed to hit the road soon after to meet Jimmie's parents in Ouro Preto. After breakfast we went to pick up our things and headed to the edge of the city to a popular overlook to take some pictures and drink some coconut water. The photos will sort of give you an idea of everything from the bug, the market, to why they call the city Beautiful Horizon.

We took off down the road to Ouro Preto to meet up with Jimmie's parents. Next stop, Vicosa.

Belo Horizonte

The Day of 50 Goodbyes

Yes my friends, the two weeks of class have come to an end. Time really does fly and the group we have been working with made this class a very pleasurable experience. Jimmie and I both have worked like crazy to get things pulled together and in my opinion everything worked like a charm.

The week has been mainly more of the same. Wake up, plan for class, eat lunch, go to meetings, then go to class. Rinse and repeat, except for a couple of nights after class when we would go out to meet some of Jimmie's childhood friends who now lived in Sao Paulo. This was of course the buildup to the last night of class which, per request of some students and permission from Valderes, we were able to hold a a local pizzeria about two blocks from campus.

Brazilian pizza is a little different than what we are used to in the US but the concept is the same. The toppings are very different and the crust is really thin but the taste is amazing. We did not go to the pizzeria to critique the food however, we were there to have conversation in English and reflect on the experiences we had together. Lots of laughter and a great time.

As the evening came to a close it was time to say goodbye to all of our new found friends. Many pictures were taken and many hugs were given. It was sad to say goodbye but I many of the students we have will be continuing on with class via video conference along with the fact that many will be coming on the exchange visit next January so there was no need to be too down. Check out the pictures to get a feel for the night.

After class Jimmie and I wanted to hang out one last time with Trey and Ana Paula. We hung out in the cool soccer bar that had tons of soccer memorabilia - over 3000 pictures, articles, and jerseys covered the wall as well as the history of Brazilian football. We headed back to the hotel for a couple of more goodbyes (a special shout out to Trey and Ana Paula for showing us the Sao Paulo nightlife - we had a great time). We knew we had better get to bed because now it was time to get ready for the next leg of the adventure.

Brazil Pizza Last Class

Sao Paulo Nightlife

Beyond the City Life

Well folks, you need two things to update a blog, 1)the Internet and 2) time. We have had neither of each in the past couple of days and it has made things rather difficult as far as updates are concerned. For this I do apologize. The Internet in the hotel has been down for the past two days and when we get to Impacta this site is blocked. Nonetheless, life in Sao Paulo has been and continues to be a pleasant learning experience. Days still consist of waking up, planning for the day's lessons, meetings with various people, and so on and so forth. We usually do not get home until 1130 or 12 midnight every night so that makes for two tired guys from NC. Jimmie has contracted a little head cold (which has almost completely dissipated) so other than that it has been smooth sailing.

On Saturday we toured the outskirts of Sao Paulo and visited an older city called Embu das Artes. It was a cool artsy town with many shops. There was a big street market where people sold different forms of arts and crafts. Here you could buy anything from hand made leather sandals to and assortment of candy roasted nuts.

On Sunday we went to Campos do Jordao, a quaint town located in the mountains about 2 hours north of Sao Paulo. It had a very European feel and to be honest reminded me a lot of the North Carolina mountains. If all the people would have been speaking english I would have thought I was in a larger version of Banner Elk or Blowing Rock. Campos was having a Winter Festival that weekend and we were able to check out a performance by the Sao Paulo Symphony as well as walk the streets to window shop and sample some more excellent food. After touring the town Valderes drove us to the top of one of the highest mountains in the city. As you can see from the pictures the view was definitely worth the trip. We were about 6000 feet above sea level at the highest point so it was about like being on top of Grandfather Mountain. We headed back home after eating in a small town outside of Campos do Jordao.

Class has been going really well for both of us. Our students are top-notch and it has been a pleasure getting to know all of them. I had one of my students ask me about what the word "Ain't" meant. That was an interesting conversation. When I was explaining how the word was used and giving examples it half way sounded like a rap and country song mixed together. I wish I had that on video. Many of them have expressed interest in coming with the next exchange group in January, hopefully Jimmie and I both will have the privilege of introducing them to many of you when they come to visit.

Jimmie and I are heading to Belo Horizonte on Saturday evening then off to Vicosa, Jimmie's home town. I am looking forward to seeing a different side of Brazil. More updates to come.

Here are some more pictures for you all to check out. Hope you all are doing well.

ArtTown

CamposPics

Hard at Work

Lunch at the Market

Friday was a busy day. Both Jimmie and I woke up excited knowing that a) it was Friday and b) we would be going to the Sao Paulo Central Market for lunch. Valderes and his family came by to pick us up around 11am that morning. Traffic was bad as usual but I think once you understand that it is like that all the time you just tend to deal with it. The central market is an indoors and has a variety of booths or shops that sell anything from fruit and vegetables to meats and ice cream. Basically a farmers market on steroids.

We took a tour of the market sampling everything we could. I would call most of the fruits I tried exotic but most of the ones I tried were grown somewhere in Brazil so if you put it in prospective it was just sampling the locally grown foods. Tons of pictures taken here but we are just going to give you a little sample today. I plan on doing separate posts on some of the amazing foods I have had the privilege of sampling and will need Jimmie's help for the names. More on that later.

After walking through the market we went to an upstairs balcony that had several eateries to choose from. We ate at the famous Hoca Restaurant where we tried their signature sandwich, the Mortadela and a couple of different pastels. Pastels are folded bread with stuffed meat inside. We had the shrimp, codfish (bacalhau), and mortadel pastels. All were very good. A must have if you ever visit Sao Paulo.

After lunch and the market we went straight to the school to prep for the night's class. We met up with some old friends and students who visited us in North Carolina this past February. It was great to see Wendel and Jullian again and to receive a brief update on how they were doing. After class Jimmie and I met up with Ana Paula and Trey to unwind. We hung out at Grazie A Dio and got to check out a samba rock band "Club do Balanco". A typical Friday night out in Sao Paulo so to speak. There we met several locals and two guys from San Francisco who were on their way to Rio. A fun night but Jimmie and I both are walking zombies today. We need to rest up. Who knows what tomorrow may bring.

Market Pictures

Rain, Rain - Work, Work

The postings on the blog are going to have to be short and sweet my friends. The week has been hectic - full of meetings, business, and lets not forget the class we teach every night. Some of the pictures will show you some of the places we have been meeting. Most of the day yesterday was spent tour Impact's 3rd campus with the school's founder Celio. By the time the meetings and greetings are complete it is time to battle the traffic for about an hour and head about 2 miles down the road to the other campus where we are teaching. Class lasts from 7pm to 10pm and we usually leave the school and get back to the hotel around 1130pm or so. We try to call home via the Internet and talk to friends or family then go to bed. That is pretty much been a typical day this week.

A cold front has taken hold of Sao Paulo. Now when I say cold, that means Brazil cold which is about 55 degrees. It is winter here after all but it feels more like Fall in North Carolina. They do not like the cold here at all. I see people everyday where heavy ski jackets - nothing like this past winter in NC thats for sure. It actually feels rather nice to me - a relief from the heat that has its grip on the south. Jimmie, being a native Brazilian, does not share the same sentiment. It has been raining almost all week as well but it hasn't really affected anything we have been doing since we spend most of our day indoors. We are hoping the we get a break from the rain this weekend however. We have many options to choose from so we are just going to go with the flow and see what the future holds.

Classes have been going very well. We have a great group to work with. The picture of Jimmie shows an exercise his class placing famous people on a card and sticking it to their forehead. The person then has to guess who they are by asking simple questions like, "Am I tall?", or

"Am I an actor or a singer?" They do this all in English. Jimmie was Faustao, a famous variety show host here in Brazil.

A fun game that helps everyone learn how to ask basic questions in English. In my class we discussed the differences in the education system between the US and Brazil and had a great conversation on the advantages and disadvantages of public and private schools. Everyone seems to really be enjoying themselves so far. Week one is almost complete!!!

Hard at work....Testing and teaching in progress!!!

There hasn't been much time to do much of anything other than prepare for each day's lessons lately and as always in dealing with our friends from Brazil - things are always changing. I think we are used to this by now since we have been working with them for so long but it makes for a little more work while we are down here. No worries though, Jimmie and I are both enjoying the students and are trying to makes things easier for those who visit in the future.

We have close to 20 students in the class at various English levels and all of them are happy to be there. Here are a few shots from yesterday's class.

The World Cup in Holambra

Sunday was another eventful day. We took a two hour trip to Holambra, a small Dutch community which lies on the outskirts of a larger city named Capinas. Valderes's son is a big Netherlands fans so the family decided to take us to watch the World Cup championship game there with the locals. It was a very small community compared to Sao Paulo - you know, almost every community in the world is small if you compare it with Sao Paulo.

The streets were full of crazy Dutch soccer fans so we decided that after some shopping we would go to one of the local restaurants to eat and check out the game. Here are some of the visual highlights.

On a side note, the Netherlands lost to Spain 1-0 (just in case you don't pay attention to that sort of thing) so the craziness was tame this time around.

2010-07-13

Our first visit to Impacta and a run in with some NC locals!?!

As Jimmie and I continue to recover from the initial journey to Sao Paulo we both are beginning to feel a little more comfortable with our surroundings. Today, Valderes and his family took us to visit the campus of Impacta, the school we have been working with for about 2 years now. Teaching English to Impacta's students via video conference has had it challenges so it was nice to finally see the classrooms and technology first hand. We were able to talk to a couple of students and now understand how they have their classrooms set up.

After taking a tour of Impacta we ate at Casa da Costela which translates to house of ribs. Basically they bring 3 to 4 different types of rib meats on hot skillets and place them on the middle of the table on a flat stone so they don't burn a hole in the table. The condiments bar which looks like a salad bar in the states is more like a "sides" bar where you get your rice and beans to go along with your meats. A great meal with great company!

The journey continued when we took a longer driving tour throughout the city. We got to see the old downtown, historic district, and Sao Paulo's version of Central Park. Once we finished the tour we went back to the hotel and Jimmie was able to get a hold of some old friends who from Boone who now live in Sao Paulo.

You would think a small world in a city of 20 million would be hard to find but somehow we were able to find it. Trey and Ana Paula both used to work in Asheville. Ana Paulo is from Sao Paulo - she and Trey were recently web and now both live here. Trey as a matter of fact, worked with the City of Lenoir in helping develop the different GIS maps of the city back in 2006. They came by to take us out for drinks and listen to some music. A fun night was had by all.

2010-07-11

Who is Jimmie???

Let me introduce you all to Jimmie Griffith. I first met Jimmie many years ago when he was playing some music at Berkley's. He now teaches Spanish at Gamewell Middle School and has been working with me on the Brazil exchange since the Fall of last year. Jimmie grew up in Brazil most of his childhood and moved to the US after high school and graduated from ASU. He has been a tremendous asset by teaching ESL to students from Impacta and translating all of the meetings we have. He does all of this after he teaches middle school kids all day!!! On top of that he and his wife Carrie are not even one year into the baby thing. One more thing, he's working on his Masters. Can you believe he agreed to come with me to Brazil for 3 weeks!?! Good grief. I am very grateful to have Jimmie here to help me understand the culture and the language. You will be hearing a lot about Jimmie as we continue on with the adventure.

We made it!!!! Sao Paulo is big..............

After a 2 hour flight to Miami and an 8 hour one to Sao Paulo both Jimmie and I were pretty beat. We both were able to get a little sleep on the plane and knew that was needed because our friend Valderes would have a full day planed for us.

They picked us up around 9am and took us into the heart of Sao Paulo which was about a 30 minute drive from the airport. This is a very big city!!! To put it in prospective, New York City has a population of about 8.5 million. Sao Paulo has over 11 million. If you include the metropolis and suburban or outlying areas the population climbs over 20 million. A bunch of people and a bunch of different ethnicities. We drove around the city and saw many different cultures and areas of the city that are devoted to a specific people such as the Japanese and Italian areas of Sao Paulo.

After a brief tour of the city we headed to the hotel to unpack and get cleaned up. Jimmie and I both had the travel funk going on so it was nice to take a shower and relax for a bit. The hotel is located on the edge of the Italian district in the heart of downtown. It is a safe area with several shops and several bakeries.

Check out some of the pics of the trip and the hotel room.

Flight and Arrival

Almost time to go...........

After many months of planning and preparation we are finally all set to leave for Sao Paulo Brazil this evening. Last minute details include last minute packing, gifts for our friends at Impacta, and, oh yeah, a life insurance physical. Fun stuff.

I am excited about the opportunity to teach and help strengthen the working relationship we have with another school outside of the United States. It's really cool to be the only community college in North Carolina to have an exchange program like this but it has been and still does require a lot of work. The purpose of this trip is to help strengthen the foundation that is already in place by learning how they do things on their end. We will also be training their instructors on how to test students to get into our ESL classes as well as understand the culture and customs as much as we can. Hopefully next summer we will be sending our students to take classes there.

I dread saying goodbye to the wife and kids. Three weeks is the longest I've been away from any of them. Better go and hang out with them before we head off to Charlotte.