Books for all!
Children in the library in the community of Soure (in the state of Pará)
Since February I have been building a relationship with an NGO here in Brazil called VagaLume (the site is only in Portuguese unfortunately). This organization was started by three young women who were travelling to the Amazon and wanted to take something for the communities they would visit there. After some thorough research, they decided to take … books!
The Amazon (like the Canadian Arctic) is massive and extensive travel is required by boat or plane to reach many communities. There are no roads –which is a good thing!
So these young women started this organization because it turns out that books are expensive and they needed support to make this mission come true. Although illiteracy is a problem in the Amazon (and many other parts of Brazil) the organization trains local volunteers to read the books aloud for all who would like to listen. The project helps in this way to improve illiteracy rates although this is not the primary goal of the program.
Looking at the beautiful high quality children’s books, I remembered how much I loved to read these colourful and imaginative stories…
My plan is to work with the organization to complete one or two international funding application requests in the coming months. Looking forward to it!
A little bit about Thailand…
So as you may know, I have entered a contest to win a trip to Thailand to volunteer for one month.
However, not ever having traveled to Thailand, and not really being that familiar with the issues that are currently affecting the country, I thought I would do a little research and share my findings.
Thailand, just in case you were not sure where it was!
FIRST: Environmental issues and concerns: Approximately half of Thailand’s lakes and rivers are of poor water quality and almost all of the country’s forests have been decimated. Also, the country’s eco-systems are threatened by climate change and rising ocean levels. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with Thailand’s government to improve environmental governance. Reducing the negative environmental consequences of development through planning is extremely important as the country continues to strive for improved economic conditions and growth.
A new volunteering adventure… hopefully!
Having enjoyed my first volunteer experience SO much, I have decided to try and win a trip to Thailand for a four week volunteer experience. However, I need your help to win. Please click on the link below to go to my page and vote for me. Also, you can leave a comment which increases my chance of winning!
Here is the link:
http://www.justmeans.com/competitionidea/18513/promoteidea.html
Thank you so much for your help!!
Picture courtesy of my friend Amber...
Exploring Brazil’s most beautiful, and most expensive, vacation destination…
Oh so beautiful...
Ok so yes it was expensive… but it was worth it! The water is so clear and so beautiful. I flew from Sao Paulo to Recife in North Eastern Brazil and then on a smaller plane to the archipeligo of Fernando de Noronha. About a half day trip altogether and I arrived in humid and warm Fernando de Noronha. I headed down to the nearest beach called Praia do Cachorro at sunset to check it out. I stumbled around the rocks and say hundreds of crabs that kind of looked like tarantulas in the almost dark. It was a silly idea actually to go walking on the rocks in the dark but I made it back up to the little village safely with just a few scratches on my ankles and some fresh mosquito bites.
The next day I headed out on a boat trip with some new friends –it is such a small island you cannot help but make friends– and we saw dolphins! So many dolphins! They came up to inspect the boat. Then we did a tour of one coast of the archipeligo. It was a beautiful morning and I was luckily wearing lots of sunscreen. We got to do some snorkeling. THEN, I went scuba diving! Also a rather expensive endeavour but SO worth it. It is surprisingly easy to do and you can see corals and fish so much closer than when you are snorkeling. The colours are amazing. Overall it was a great way to spend the first day. I finished off the day with a my new friends and a really nice dinner of the island’s specialty fish cooked in banana leaves.
See that hole in the rock... it looks like a dolphin!
Ouro Preto, a European village nestled in the heart of Brazil
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- little town… lots of churches…
In a strategic move, I abandonned Sao Paulo the weekend before all our final exams and papers were due to see the small town of Ouro Preto over Easter Weekend. Charming, sweet, sunny and well… a little dull. Twenty-three churches but they are all the same… very hilly, good exercise I guess if you like that kind of thing. I was surprised at how European it looked, somehow out of place in this landscape of greenery and rolling hills. A mere 12 hour bus drive from Sao Paulo, it was a nice little getaway and we did find one diamond in the rough. Chocolates Ouro Preto was bustling with people buying spritely packaged eggs for the holidays. I sampled the chocolates and they do not nearly compare to Purdys so that was a disappointment, however, they did have some delicious petit gateaux with chocolate delicious goo inside and vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. Oh it was good and I went back for seconds!
Friday Night Feast…
Some people enjoyed this beautiful meal... I had a risotto...
Then, on Friday nite, I was invited out again this time to a restaurant called Le Roi… sounds french right? Well they serve modern cuisine whatever that means and there was some french flair. The problem with the name of this restaurant is that it is hard to pronounce in Portuguese and comes out like Leroy… which is not quite as elegant. The food was excellent as well, however we once again managed to miss the special restaurant week deal as for this particular restaurant the deal ended on Thursday. Ok we give up! But at least we were able to go to some new restaurants… Here is the website for Le Roi: www.leroirestaurantebar.com.br
Despite the fact that we were not really taking advantage of the good deals, we did go to some nice restaurants… which I love to do. So all in all, it was a success.
Sunday Spinach Salad…
Nectarines are in season in Brazil... in fact all the ingredients I used today were Brazilian products.
In a concerted effort to consume more vegetables (well and fruit I guess) , I…. have made…. a salad! Even more remarkable, I am eating it. This is one of my favorite salads, fresh baby spinach, sweet nectarine slices, a nice green avocado and toasted pecans with a light homemade vinaigrette style dressing. I don’t pretend to be a chef but this is pretty good… To be fair I stole the recipe from the Re-Bar cookbook. Thanks Re-Bar.
Normally I make this salad with a balsamic and olive oil and honey vinaigrette but I made the assumption that my roommate had balsamic vinegar –wrong assumption. SO…. I used the below mini recipe I found on-line:
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 tsp. grated lime peel, if desired
I think it is particularly funny that it says ten minutes preparation time because I spent about 30 secs. And it was pretty good although sweeter than the balsamic alternative. Here’s to salad on Sunday!
Impressions of a big city…
A forest of concrete...
Sao Paulo is the biggest city I have ever lived in… and yet, it does not seem so big when you stay in one neighborhood all the time. You get to know a few things in the area and you start to get the impression that you know the city. But, a city this large would probably take a lifetime and understand.
Sao Paulo, My New Home
The Wilson sisters during Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro 2009...
After some exciting adventures with my two lovely sisters in Sao Paulo, Paraty, Rio de Janeiro and Ilha Grande in the last two weeks, I am back in Sao Paulo to try and get settled into my life. There are the regular challenges like where to get a cheap manicure and where is the nearest coffee shop but once I have those figured out I should be ok. Turns out the manicure place is right across the street which my sisters and I conveniently found out. I think it is time for another one. The nearest coffee shop is also two seconds from my front door but it is one of those slightly dingy coffee places that South Americans (and Mexicans and Spaniards) seem to be so fond of. Come to think of it, I might be the only one who actually likes a nice clean, relaxing coffee shop where you can relax. One of the joys of living the middle-upper class Brazilian lifestyle is that I get to have a maid! Yay! Now relax, she only comes once a week and she cleans which is nice and she does my laundry which is also nice. It has been ridiculously hot this week – approximately 32 degrees everyday and night and honestly it is unusual for Sao Paulo. I guess I should not be complaining but it is ruining my hair all the time and the sweat is running down my legs as I walk the one block to my school. It would be nice to minimize the unpleasant sweating. Of course, I do have the option of jumping in the pool downstairs which is a good option. My internet at home is inconsistent and I seem to be able to access only certain pages so this has been a pain for sure. Hopefully, one day, I will get everything sorted out. Then I will start to feel like I am at home and have all the comforts I am used to. On that note, I have to mention that you can’t get the same chocolate bars here in Brazil that you can in Canada… the only one you can get is Hershey’s chocolate and M&Ms. A disappointing selection for a chocoholic like me! Well we all have to adjust to cultural differences when travelling. This will have to be my personal challenge.
backtrack two weeks back…
Two weeks ago today I was still in Salvador finishing up my volunteer experience. I had the strange experience of walking away from people knowing that I could and they could notwalk away from it because it is their life. After a crazy Thursday at the orphanage we decided to go back on Friday because we could not imagine these generous caretakers going through another crazy day without some support. So we went back and helped wash and dress the children after their nap and serve them some water and their little snacks. Thankfully for everyone, there were extra helping hands available on Friday because there are other volunteers that come to help with the children and the orphanage was almost like a different place… almost. In my mind when I think orphanage I think of this spacious old mansion like building that I must have seen in a movie or something, where all the children have their own beds and an outdoor play area where they can be everyday… my mental picture was flawed… but I suppose now I have something to replace it with! I am borrowing one of my fellow volunteer´s pictures because I did not take my camera to the placements. It made me uncomfortable somehow. So here is me and Taisa the program manager getting water for the children…. well some of the children are the in pic.
Waiting for water
