Day 23 – Monday May 31

Wow, it is day 23. In some ways I cannot believe I have been here for 3 weeks and will be home in one week. Today we got a tour of city. We went to a couple of old houses or castle as they called one. They said the first one had been restored a few years ago. Unfortunately, they have not done so well in the upkeep department. It was still nice, but needs some desperate repairs. The second house, a guy built for his wife and even had her name carved into the stone on the front step. He carved his in the staircase so she would always remember who built it for her. Both places had neat staircases. We then went to a small museum. It was mostly about the people and culture of Campos and the history of the people. In the evening, Andre took me to his school where he works. It was large and very nice. The school was used as a college in the evening and a high school during the day. After that, it was time for us to give another presentation. For the most part, today was a slow day. Not much really seemed to happen. Guess I got tomorrow to look forward to, so good night. See ya, see ya, see ya!

Day 22 – Sunday May 30

Andre took me around this morning to show me some of the local parks. They were nice, but could be so much better with some TLC. The impression I got after speaking with Andre and others, is that the City built them because the people wanted the parks, but did not have any plans to maintain them other than picking up the trash. Of course if there was a place to play soccer, it was being played and the field condition was never an issue. At one of the volleyball courts, the people playing took it upon themselves to do some maintenance on the courts. I wonder if that would work on our fields. No, No it would not. One cool thing they do here is provide an open gym to the people. All the weights and sets are made of stainless steel and are free to use. Yesterday at dinner we saw a famous actress, today, we saw her again. This time we decided to get a picture of us with her. While at lunch, I got to meet up with one of our friends that came to the US in April. It was nice to share stories of our trips. After lunch we went for a walk and came across some street trees. Well, I spend my time fight for 7 foot tree grates or planting strips and here the concrete right up to the trunk. Glad I am not responsible for those trees. During our walk we came across a banner advertising the play the actress is staring in. That was kind of neat. The rest of the day was quite. Just spent some good time getting to know the family and went out for a nice dinner. Tomorrow we go for a tour of Campos. Have a good night! See Ya!!

Days 20 & 21

Day 20 – Friday May 28

One thing that is consistent about Brazil is the beaches. The beach areas have tended to be very nice, unlike other recreational areas. Boardwalks, benches, bicycle paths, shops and restaurants are common fixtures on or near the beaches. Macae had a nice area where the bay got closed off by a sand bar and has created what they call a salty lake. They built a common area with shops, restaurants and an overlook. Other than that there is not much to the city. We visited a college that was currently being expanded, an old house with some fruit trees and an old church. The church sat on the highest point and was built in the early 1600’s. We had hoped to go inside, but that did not happen. Macae was the first place that we really saw hotels like we have, and a Walmart. The Walmart was mainly a grocery store in a mall. But, they had good desserts, so all was good. See ya!!

Day 21 – Saturday May 29

Today we got a tour of Macae. We got to see a couple of things we did not get to yesterday. Saw an old wood boat that I thought my dad would like, so I took a couple of pictures of it, a park that I am glad is not mine and some neat graffiti. We did a little shopping, left our host and had a not so good pizza. Off to Campos we go. My host family is great. Andre, Marcelle, Maraya and Yasmin. Andre and I went for a walk to kill some time and the first place he took me was a chocolate store. I knew right then I was going to like him. We meet the group for dinner and just hung out and got to know everyone. While at dinner, a famous Brizilian actress was eating in the same restaurant as us. Not sure who she was, but the host families were excited. Both Andre and Marcelle speaks English and Marcelle speaks it very well. A pretty low key day for the most part. Good night. See ya!!!

Day 19 – Thursday May 27

Our time in Teresopolis was short, but we will be back before we head back to the States. So now it is off to Macae. We arrived in town in time for lunch on a wet rainy day. Interesting restaurant, they had large barrels of a Brazilian favorite liquor called cachaca. Erik seemed to like it, as he was caught with 2 small cups of it. On our way out, they gave him a 2 liter of it. After lunch we visited a fairly new park along a beach. They had a neat whale sculpture and I saw the biggest snail that I had ever seen. Thanks Erik for pointing it out. We visited some small shops and then off to our hotel to chill before the presentation that night. The presentation was well; just imagine 12 people huddled around a laptop at an outside restaurant on a windy night. 6 of those peoples were us. They did not have a projector and it was a small club. The fed us, so no complaints. One of the members took us out to a club that night. It was interesting to say the least. Drunken people can be very humorous and stupid. I am so glad I do not drink. The band was pretty good and once again, they played a lot of American music. Now if they just served ice cream. See Ya!

Day 18 – Wednesday May 26

Futbol or soccer, is absolutely huge here in Brazil. The World Cup Soccer is about to begin and the Brazilians are ready. They have had their team picked which was the talk of the town for about a week. Now, green and yellow ribbons are going up everywhere. Flags, clothing, signs, banners and whatever else can be colored green and yellow is for sale everywhere you look. They tell us that during a WC game when Brazil plays, the streets are empty, people do not work and the bars are full. So, let’s go to Rio and watch the oldest rival in soccer play. When we got into Rio, the traffic got a bit heavy as usual. The interesting part is that people walk through traffic on the highway going car to car selling stuff. I am not just talking one or two, I am talking dozens. Our first stop was at the Maracana stadium for a tour. Outside the stadium they have plaques on the ground commemorating the great soccer players from Brazil. They were imprints of their feet or the hands if they were goalies. From there it was off to the top of the stadium to get an overview of the place. It will seat around 70,000 people. Our tour then took us through the locker room and on to the field, well almost. We were confined to a small area where a former player did some tricks with a soccer ball. As cool as this was, we meet up with a couple from Concord, NC. They spent the day with us. They hosted Alexandra when she came to the US. I was wearing my Ohio State shirt and the lady said, “Hey, Go Bucks!” As it turns out, her brother was a place kicker at Ohio State. Ok, so we leave the stadium and head over to a nearby college to get some lunch and visited the place where the vaccines for malaria and bubonic plague. It was a very neat building built on the water front which is now a kilometer away. After that we had some time to kill, so we decided to do it at a mall and grab some pizza for dinner. Then it was off to the game between the Fluminese and Flamengos. There were only about 15,000 fans there, mostly Fluminese who showed up with flares and sparklers they set off in the stands. I was told that with a large crowd, it was best to leave my camera in the van. I did, and wished I had not. Small crowd, no camera, me bummed. The Fluminese won 2-1 in a good game. It was a great experience thanks to Alexandra and Roberto for taking us. Until the next adventure, SEE YA!!