Day 4, School visit & presentation

Ola! We started the day off visiting a school and a university. The children at the school loved us for some reason. Mainly they wanted to hear us talk and take pictures with us. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with them. We experience our first bad lunch at the university. Only thing edible for me was the rice and an orange. I am stilled amazed of the beauty of Brazil and in awe of the poverty and life style some people have. We also gave our first presentation in Portuguese. It was dreadful. Looking forward to Sugar Loaf tomorrow. See Ya!!

Day 3 Fort Santa Cruz

We got a beautiful day on Tuesday to do some good site seeing. Since we all stayed with different families, starting off in the morning can be a long adventure. I was the first one picked up, so I get to spend a lot of time in the van. Our first stop was Fort Santa Cruz that was built in the 1600's to protect the bay leading into Rio & Niteroi. The road leading to the fort was narrow and was shear rock on one side and water on the other. We had a good tour, got sent to the prison, but released for good behavior and saw the massive number of cannons used to protect the inlet. From there we went to check out some beaches. Each one was better than the one before. Large rock outcrops, white sandy beaches and a warm breeze. We are becoming very spoiled by our host Sandra. She has been awesome. That's all for now. SEE YA!!

The arrival

We made it to Rio after our long 9 hour flight. Arrived around 8:30 am, made it through customs and was greeted by Alexandra & Fany. Had a great Brazilian fruit drink and some cheese bread puff things. We then jumped in a van and did a little touring on our way to see the Air Race in Rio. Drove by Capacabana Beach, was a bit rainy, so it was very quite. We then went to the Air Race only to see one flight before getting soaked. The race got rained out, so we went shopping, or at least Meg did. We ate lunch around 3:00 or so and headed out to meet our host families. I am staying with Flavia. She is a former GSE member who went to India. Today, we went to a hospital to see a Rotary funded milk bank for mothers. Also saw the ICU ward for premies. A set of twins and triplets. Had our first Rotary meeting with a good lunch. We then went to a factory where they make plastic covered wire. After that we got to see a private school that looked in disrepair. The kids were very happy to see us and even took some picyures with us. Did some more shopping, went to an 8:00 Rotary meeting, had some dinner and arrived back with my host family around 11:00 or so. Now time for bed. Get to do some site seeing tomorrow. SEE YA!!!

The Team from Brazil

Here are our new friends from Brazil. We got to meet and hang out for a few hours. It was nice to meet them and really made this experience feel much more real. They were very excited to be here and just as excited for us to come to Brazil. From left to right: Lucas, Maria, Marcella, Danielle, Alexandra and Walace. The other picture is both groups combined minus Tracy, She sneaked away somehow. More to come, see ya!

The trip is set!

We finally have all our travel arrangements. Looks like we got lucky and get a direct flight from Charlotte to Rio. We depart on May 8, at 10:30 pm and arrive in Rio at 9:10 am on the 9th. Hoping I will be able to sleep and wake up ready to go once we land. Upon our arrival we will attend a welcoming party and meet with our first host families in Niteroi. The next morning is when the fun begins. Here is our itinerary for trip:
5/9- Niteroi (coast)
5/13- Araruama (inland)
5/16- Cabo Frio (coast)
5/20- Nova Friburgo (mountains)
5/26- Macae (coast)
5/29- Cmpos dos Goytacatzes (mountains)
6/3- Miracema (mountains)
6/4- Teresopolis (mountains)
6/6- Travel back to Rio for a 9:05 pm departure back to Charlotte. We arrive in Charlotte on 6/7 at 6:00 am. Hoping to have breakfast with Kaila for her birthday. Until next time, See Ya!

Team Brazil

We continue to prepare for our trip. We now meet every two weeks to make sure we are getting our papers in order and we are doing the things we need to do. Here is a picture of our team. From left to right: Erik, Paul (our leader), Meg, Me, Nicole, Tracy and Kamilah (our alternate).

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Preparing for Brazil

Well, here it is, my blog. I am hoping this will help me keep everyone who wants to know, what is going on as I travel to Brazil. I am hoping to have time to update often as well as post some pictures. I have met my group that I will be traveling with and been through an orientation given by Rotary. This is an unique opportunity and I am grateful to be participating in it. I get to go to Rio for 30 days for the price of my time. Leaving the family behind will be tough, but I get to meet some new friends and make new ones in Brazil. I guess if I do that, I will just have to go back someday and take the family with. I leave on May the 8th and scheduled to return on June 6th. I hope you enjoy my journey as I know I will.