Wild Ride

In the past few days, Belo Horizonte has gone from a very calm and tranquil city to a city of frustration and protests. Protests that began in Sao Paulo over an increase in bus fare have developed and multiplied into large scale protests over government spending all over Brazil, and recently, even the world. Places like France and Korea have joined in support of Brazil, whose citizens are asking the government to make responsible decisions with the spending leading up to the world cup. Raising worker wages, decreasing bus fares, repairing broken infrastructure and improving schools are just a few of the demands from the young and vigilant population. While the idea of having big events such as the world cup and the olympics is appealing, the reality of hosting these global events requires the funneling of valuable resources into stadiums and event centers. The Brazilian population is finally fed up with the high cost of living (which is quickly diffusing my funds!) These people are not satisfied with living worse as a trade for a soccer tournament....no matter how much they love futbol!

Saturday will be the biggest protest in Belo Horizonte. Over 200,000 people will join in the streets to voice their concerns to the government. I will be attending the Japan vs Mexico match that day, at Maneiro Stadium....one of the final stops of the protest. We shouldn't run into any problems, but I am excited with what I may witness on saturday.

I also think it is important to note the incredible organization that exists within this movement. The power of social networking is in display here. The Occupy Protests seem like a joke compared to these; with their demands clear, their protests precise and swift, and the government is actually taking some small measures to respond. (Rolling back the bus fare hike) It is yet to be seen how long this will last, but something tells me that the bus fares were just the beginning of the problem.

O SITIO!

This past weekend I went to my host family's farm, 2 hours away from Belo Horizonte. It was a great escape, the nature and tranquility actually reminded me of home in a way. The farm was amazing. When we first arrived, Lucas and Gabriel immediately showed me all the animals, fruits, ponds and other cool things they had. It is actually pretty incredible how self-sufficient this family is....they grow their own fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheese and milk. And I am fortunate enough to consume it all! Hah.

My host mom, Marta, cooked dinner on the fogão de lenha, an old school stove that uses wood fire to create heat. I don't think I will ever get tired of eating rice and beans, it is by far the best combination of food I've had consistently.

After dinner I went up on one of the hills behind the house and just looked at the stars for a while. Corny as it sounds, it was one of the most beautiful things I have seen. Away from the city, in South America, the stars are so much bigger and clearer. I took it all in, thought about how fortunate I was to be here and then hit the bed.

In the morning, Lucas, Marta and I went on a hike through their property as Gabriel did his homework. It was quite the walk, through the woods, up steep hills, through fences, cows, horses...everything. Afterwards, we had lunch and Lucas, Gabriel and I hung out before watching the Mexico vs Italy futbol match.

SEGUNDA-FEIRA

Monday we had the day off of work because Brazil had a futbol match....isn't that awesome? So myself and the other trainees headed to the mall to buy some tickets to the Mexico vs Japan match this sunday. There are a few things about Brazil, or Belo Horizonte that I am having trouble getting used to....service is often slow and casual...and being late is more than normal. We waited in line to buy the tickets for 2 hours....and there was maybe only 20 people in line in front of us. For some unknown reason they had one ticket booth open, and the ticket worker insisted on having in depth conversations with everyone. Ha, we all got pretty mad waiting so long but it was all worth it once we got the tickets in our hands. 

Afterwards we went to see the Hangover 3....and during the movie I forgot I was in Brazil because it was in English and I was in a movie theatre, a very familiar sight. 

WORK

Work is going very well, we are doing our best! Sometimes it is difficult to keep the attention of such young kids but they always enjoy our company and keep a smile on our faces. It can be frustrating at times because I cannot always communicate what I need to the kids, and I have to rely on people like Cheko to translate for me. But they are learning to understand my horrible portuguese. Some kids understand me better, and speak more clearly than the others; I lean on them to help me communicate with the other kids.

We taught them kickball yesterday, they liked it, but don't really understand much other than kicking and running...sometimes to the wrong base. I am not sure if I will end up teaching them American Football or not, it may just be too difficult for them to grasp. I will talk with the project managers tonight to see what they think. It is possible that I will teach a very simple version, more like rugby...

That's all for now.

Some cool pictures from the farm:

- Brandis