Stoptional

Riding to the airport this morning, I was reminded that I wanted to blog about driving in Brazil. Now, I've been driving for 21 years, and I like to think I'm fairly intelligent, but I cannot figure out (a) if there are traffic rules, and (b) how there aren't accidents left and right.

My husband has a running joke that he taught a friend of his how to drive, and he explained to her that if a stop sign has a white border around it, it's a "stoptional" - an optional stop. That's a joke in the US, but it's actually pretty dead-on for Brazil. Pare (Stop) is more a suggestion than the law. If there aren't cars in the intersection, you can breeze through.

White lines are similarly treated as suggestions for lanes. Some drive directly on top of the lines - as though they are a cable car. Others weave back and forth, indecisive about which lane they prefer. And of course, when the roads are bumpy or pitted, it's quite acceptable to drive in the oncoming lane. Motorcycles are exempt from lanes - they can drive between vehicles at any rate of speed and despite have zero clearance on either side.

Roundabouts are everywhere. But whereas our rule is that the person in the circle has the right-of-way, here it's questionable. I haven't figured out when the person in the circle has preference, and when you need to stop to let others enter. There are also half-rounds that are used to make a left turn off the highway. Instead of turning left from the lane, you take a small turn to the right, where the street loops back to the highway, and you wait there for the opportunity to cross both lanes of traffic to make the left turn.

And as far as pedestrians - forget about it. You're on your own to cross the street. There's no right-of-way, even if you're in a crosswalk. Just look both directions (even on one-way streets), and make a dash for it.

Amazingly though, despite the appearance of chaos, I didn't witness any accidents. Pretty impressive, I'd say. Or, it's just a country of very lucky drivers.

Still workin' (or not)...

Boa tarde! We have arrived at the District Conference in Avare, marking the last leg of our journey. As we begin to reflect on the amazing whirlwind of adventures, we also prepare for a killer weekend with friends from all over Sao Paulo state. The conference promises to be a supremely enjoyable few days with a healthy dose of hugs and greetings and a dash of "this is your life" from our journeys through Brazil.

But before we head out to spend time with our most gracious hosts once more, I will take a quick look back at some of our recent visits. If you don't hear from us for a day or two, you know we're having an awesome time :)

Here follows part two of my series on people working. And maybe a couple not working so hard...

Training the administration users on new software in Bofete

Starting the process to roast and package the coffee beans at Jaguari in Ourinhos

 

Surveying the next move while mudding the new outpatient facility at Santa Casa in Avare

 

Folding and pressing the laundry at Santa Casa, Avare

 

A different kind of laundry, at a commercial laundromat in Avare

Cloning orchids in Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo

Drying coffee beans the old-fashioned way at Melitta, outside of Avare

Fishing on the riverbank in Santa Cruz, naturally the Rio Pardo

 

Putting finishing touches on the chocolates in Santa Cruz

 

 

Happy Friday tomorrow. Keep on keepin' on, wherever you are and whatever work you do.

 

-Mark

 



 

A Coffee for Every Moment

Melitta Brazil (tagline - "a coffee for every moment") has a facility here in Avare which we were able to visit today with our Rotarian hosts.  We tracked coffee production from start to finish beginning in a relatively small field of coffee plants and ending an enormous (enormous) roasting and packaging facility.  In between we visited a family farm where they process coffee as they've done for decades.

Beans on the plant.  Both ripe and green beans are havested, depending on the taste desired.  All of Melitta's coffee is harvested by machines now.  Two large forks grab the branches and shake.

One of Melitta's tasters (forefront) lead our group and a host Rotarian (blue shirt) was kind enough to translate into English for us.  As an aside, all of us (to various degrees) understand the idea of a straight-forward few sentences in Portuguese but a translation delivers important details.

 

Banana trees are planted as windbreaks.  They don't compete with the coffee.  The bananas are harvested for commercial use.

 

It doesn't hurt to pray.  A pretty little chapel on the farm.

 

 

Coffee beans are piled on a "parking lot" and raked daily for a week to promote drying.  At night it's piled up again and covered with a tarp to keep it dry.

 

 

A raked Day-One pile

 

 

Inside the barn where the farm's processing equipment is kept.  It's old, wooden and wonderful--and still in use.

 

From the farm we traveled to Melitta's facility where truckloads and truckloads of coffee are roasted, packed and shipped. About 20 percent of Brazil's coffee is exported to the US--another 20 percent to Europe.  Europe gets the smoother flavors--we get (because evidently we like it) the more acidic. 

 

Lunch afterwards included coffee...a generous gift of coffee.  Thanks Avare Rotary and Melitta Brazil.

 

 

An Important Vocational Post

I would really, really, really, really, really, really like to have a maid.

Recharged, restocked, and ready for our last week!

To energize. I had a wonderfully relaxing soak in a whirlpool at the spa yesterday (at Aguas de Santa Barbara), and my choice of bath salts was one of the "energizing" options. As I reviewed some photos this morning, I thought back to how we have found ways to re-energize ourselves along the way. We have just hit our three-week mark - remarkable how quickly time passes! The excitement and fun and enjoyment has been a thrilling ride, but keeping up that pace can be difficult from time to time.  Each new Rotary club in each new city has the same strong desire to engage and learn and teach and exchange as did the first few in Sorocaba.  I try to take a step back, exhale and inhale deeply, and consider how I can be just as enthusiastic and outgoing on the next day as I was on the past day.  While I can only speak for myself, I do have a few ideas on what has energized some of my fellow team members.  I caught a few more memorable glances during some of our recent adventures…

We had just one day in Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, but we saw many interesting sights.  One of these was the orchid laboratory.  This is a fascinating operation, and we got to see and understand it effectively start to finish.  The lab workers start by isolating cells and creating the initial stage of cloned plants.  These grow in a medium of nutrients in a sealed jar for a couple of months.  They are then opened, separated, transferred to another jar, and resealed.  This process is repeated one more time, eventually resulting in a jar of 27 individual orchid seedlings that can be sold and subsequently planted.  Really cool stuff.  Upon asking, I was informed that they are able to patent any new species they create - which they do - but do not currently license others to clone and produce their flowers.  The head researcher and director of the lab also described the difficulty in obtaining new strains from abroad to use in cross-breeding, as other countries are concerned with the current level of patent protection here in Brazil.  Another small but curious insight into our global marketplace.

 But that is off topic!  The flowers themselves, and us walking through the extensive and eye-popping garden of "mothers" after a few morning showers was a wonderfully revitalizing experience.  Here are a few of my own favorites.

 

The day before Santa Cruz (Wednesday this past week for anyone keeping track) was our first truly "free" day.  Our incredibly gracious host Fernando and his lovely wife Mariangela brought us to their lake house on a large reservoir near Ourinhos.  The beauty and perfect weather (for Wisonsinites at any rate) provided a much-needed opportunity to just kick back, toss a frisbee, and relax.  The smiles speak for themselves.

 

Back in Santa Cruz, we continued our day-long tour with a visit to a local school for underprivileged children.  This facility provides all-day school, while public schools tend to conclude in early afternoon. They provide three meals per day to the students, though they do not offer housing. One very interesting aspect of the organization is a "chocolateiria", where several older teenagers work as apprentices, and many volunteers contribute to the making, decorating, and selling of Easter eggs. You should also recognize that Easter eggs in Brazil are not small things you hide around the house.  They are gigantic chocolate eggs, sometimes as large as 500g of chocolate (more than one pound for all the non-metric folks out there).  That's pretty much the size of an American football.

After the school, we visited a youth shelter that does provide housing for at-risk children and teenagers. After dinner, the young girls in particular were eager to engage with the group. Karen jumped in and appeared to have a wonderful time dancing and talking to the excited youngsters.  I can only imagine this was energizing for her...

 

 

While I am the only one in our group without pets back home, I do recognize and understand the joy of spending time with animals. Melissa is particularly excited when we are surrounded by nature and have a chance to see the fauna.  Here, however, I managed to snag a rather priceless shot of Michael just after our arrival at Fazenda Santa Cecilia, the home and farm of Maria Christina, one of our hosts here in Cerqueira Cesar.  Hard not to enjoy this one!

 

For me personally, it's hard to pick something out. The new friends and new experiences around every corner are plenty to keep me going.  That said, I did particularly enjoy the chance to hop into an eighteen-wheeler last week. Boa noite for now!!

 

Spa Day

Despite what you might think about this trip based on this blog, we have actually been working hard - constantly on the go, having vocational visits, giving presentations, and hauling around a lot of heavy (and getting heavier) luggage. So, one of Cerqueira Cesar's residents and former GSE team member to Georgia (US), arranged a well-deserved spa day for us.

We went to the nearby town of Aguas de Santa Barbara, where there is a spa resort outside of the city. It was a beautiful day in the low 80s. We arrived at the resort and the place was EMPTY. We had it all to ourselves. Apparently it was too cold for the Brazilians! They're entering their winter, so this is chilly to them.

 We robed up and hit the saunas and wading pools, lounged in the suns, and took thermal baths... There was no stress to be found, and our muscles thanked us for it! So, to our hosts in Cerqueira Cesar - THANK YOU!! Their city moto says Here you will find friends - and we have certainly found them.

   

Boat Ride!

Fernando took us on a boat ride during our free day... The lake was amazingly beautiful.

The Hunt Is On!

Wisconsin’s culture of hunting is a sharp departure from Brazil’s hunting and gun laws.

Any species native to Brazil is illegal to hunt. Only recently did they allow hunting of the destructive wild boars that were brought to this country.

Guns are difficult to procure. There is an extensive background check and getting the license is also challenging. If you plan to travel with your gun, you must get a pass for the specific date and time that you will be traveling with it. If you are caught traveling with it and you do not have this permit, you will spend the next 5 years in jail. (See the Law post to compare that to the murder sentence!)

It's the Law

The legal age in Brasil is 18. For everything – drinking, driving, and going to jail. Let’s talk a bit about that last one.

The fact that I’ve learned here that surprises me the most is how criminal acts are treated here – especially for anyone under the age of 18. If you commit a crime, even murder, and you are under 18, even by 1 day, you get away with it. Everyone I’ve spoken with says that nothing happens if you are under 18. However, the law says you do get punished – you go to a juvenile detention center for 3 years. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first crime you’ve committed or the 10^th, you get 3 years if you’re under age.

After serving those three years, you are released and your record is wiped clean – there is no sign that you had done these things.

If you are an adult, you can receive a maximum of 30 years,  but the typical person serves only 5 of those due to various sentence reductions while imprisoned. Furthermore, while you are incarcerated, the government sends a stipend to your family of 900 Reals per child – which is greater than the poverty level.

Everyone I’ve spoken with agrees that their system is flawed, and the government is working on changing the laws. But like most things here in Brazil, I’m betting it will be a slow change to make.

Things are a Little Different Down Here

I am sure you could have guessed that, but did you really know for sure (QM).  This week (after 2.5 weeks here) we had our first FULL free day.  We could do whatever we wanted.  We chose to spend it at Denises lake house.  It was just what we needed to re-energize before we had to get back to work.

On Tuesday, we visited an Ethanol factory. You may be thinking to yourself that this is no big deal.  What if I told you that the whole process takes so many people that they have their own school for employees children as well as what seems like their own fire department (I might have made that part up, but according to the video, that is what it looked like.)  The family that owns this factory grow their own sugarcane.  They are the second largest land owners in the world.  They own 95% of the next state from where we are staying.

We have been visiting a lot of schools funded by different foundations and hospitals too. Tonight, we got to visit an orphanage for about 60 kids.  For the Brazilians reading this, I found this fascinating, because we do not have orphanages in the USA anymore.  We have a different system where children live with foster parents.  The children that we met all seemed REALLY well taken care of and REALLY happy.  Some of the kids put on a performance for us.  After dinner, we talked, danced and laughed with the kids.  For me, this was another difficult moment of the trip.  I fell in love with a little cutie, that is too young to know that her living situation is not the only way of life.  The kids made it hard to leave.  How are things different in Brazil besides that we have orphanages and the USA doesnt, you ask.  This place receives $500 a month from the city government to take care of the almost 60 kids.  It also receives some money from the state, but most of the funding comes from a foundation and an Italian mission.  I can not even think about these beautiful children in their previous living situations.

Another Week Gone, Another Round of Goodbyes

What a test of endurance this is.  I am not talking about all of the going, going, going that we do every minute of every day.  If you would have told me that in my 31 years, the hardest thing I would have to do would be to go to Brazil for a month, befriend some of the greatest people in the world and then leave them a week later, I would have called you crazy.  Well, as it goes, here I am with my third family already.  I can not imagine how hard this would be if my new family was not as amazing as the last.  I have only been in Ourinhos for 3 hours, and already I have made friends with the lazy cat, watched my Soccer team (Santos) lose to The Corinthians, and witnessed a Leopard adopting a baby baboon and protect it from a pack of hyenas.  Do not get all worked up, that was on t.v. too.

I have not had real internet for the past week, so I apologize for not updating earlier.  Also, do not forget as you read this, that the Brazilians apparently do not have quotation marks or question marks, so I type out things like (do not) instead of don~t, and I put things in ( ) instead of quotation marks.  I do not normally type this way.

Highlights from this past week:  Everything.

Being in the music capital of South America (I might have made that factoid up, but it sounds about right), we got to see a choral concert of Beatles tunes on Friday as well as a Saturday night symphony.  After the symphony, Mom and Mom let me have my friends over for another party including some delicious wine, some AMAZING tortellini, and the best people in the Tropic of Capricorn.

I got to see the difference between facilities with money and facilities with none.  This included schools and places for homeless elderly and people with disabilities.  One of the facilities I got a chance to visit houses 60 people.  There are about 12 people per room and the facility receives $800 a month from the government.  That works out to be about 43 cents per person, per day.  The rest of the money comes from individuals who care enough and believe that humans should be treated with a certain amount of dignity.  The local Rotary clubs are behind MANY of these facilities and their projects.  When I have toured some of these places and I see all of the Rotary plaques, I try to imagine all of them disappearing at once, and thinking about how sad of a place this would be.  The children on the playground with nowhere else to go but the streets, the elderly making crafts with nobody to help them live.  A very sad place it would be, indeed.

I do not even know where to start with the people of Tatui.  We were greeted by a family of Italian-Brazilians upon arrival in Tatui.  We got to know our new families over pizza and beers.  Enrico, our pizza chef, was my guide for vocational visits and has a special place in my heart.  Toss in Tambelli, Lu, my two moms, and the rest of the crew, and the people of Tatui give the Sorocabians a run for their money (Do not tell the people of Sorocaba).

Week two would not have been complete without a visit with the Mayor of Tatui, a visit to TV TEM, or a dance class at Delmas club, complete with a dance mix designed for the Americans!  And... Let us not forget our trip to the distillery where caçaçia is made.  This may seem like a fun thing to do (Are we really down here doing work), but I promise that taking shots of 151 sugar cane liquor at 10 am before a meeting with the Mayor, is not all it is cracked up to be.