MORRO DE SAO PAULO

To start where I left off a week ago…

The island (called Morro de Sao Paulo) was absolutely, insanely beautiful, like a picture out of a storybook. This must be the place photographers go to capture those perfect shots of sunset beaches & slanted palm trees swaying slightly in the light, salty breeze. We arrived on Friday night via “big fast boat” – according to the portugues translation – but in my opinion, the boat was not exactly what I would describe as “big”. The ride was about 2 & a half hours of crashing through the ups & downs of ocean waves, but most of us took Dramamine before the ride & thus crashed into a somber sleep for the journey. We found a quaint little hostel with hammocks on every porch & a swimming pool, which was quite a feat for only 25 reais per night (about $15). Pizza was our “gourmet” dinner before hitting the night life, which consisted of disco euro-trash type dancing & clubs & watching Capoeira on the beach. It rained on & off the next day but we still got some amazing hours in the sun, however, food was a bit of a problem because I couldn’t understand anything on the menus & therefore didn’t know if any of the entrees were vegetarian or not. One of the girls was getting over a terrible reaction to the water, & we both ended up too sick to move out of bed on Saturday night which definitely sucked, but I haven’t been sick since & I’m counting my blessing because lots of people have dealt with the worst of the worst in that regard. Although I must say, I did venture outside on Saturday night to gawk at the stunning starry sky, second only in my life to the stars I saw in Utah last summer. Sunday morning, we poorly chose to take the morning boat home & despite the Dramamine, I still helped Jill puke into a plastic bag the whole ride home. After the fact, we discovered that the morning sea is always 20 times rougher than the afternoon water, but hindsight is always 20/20, right? Still, despite everything, I’m so glad that I was able to visit such a breathtakingly beautiful place.

Monday morning it was back to the “grind” so to speak, but I don’t think I can even call it a “grind” because I’m still going to the beach almost every afternoon! It was great to see my kids again, but they didn’t give me any lesson plans this week, so I’ve just been trying to make up activities that I think two-year-olds would like. My class has been much bigger this week for whatever reason, topping out at 29 kids on both Tuesday & Wednesday! 29 toddlers + 3 teachers is quite a handful, which makes planning activities challenging because it’s impossible to watch everyone all at the same time. Markers, paint, glue, etc. are definitely out of the question, but we do a lot of coloring, singing & dancing. They LOVE playing the portugues equivalent of ring around the rosie! However, the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve been trying to pinpoint something that makes the classroom experience very different than a similar class in the states, & I think I’ve finally nailed it. There isn’t an emphasis on the concept of “fair”. There simply are not enough resources for everyone to have one of everything, so if Kamela has a car & Michael doesn’t have a toy at all, it doesn’t really matter where she got it, it’s hers. If you don’t eat your bread or your bowl of rice, the teachers only sit around for a minute or two trying to get you to eat it, & after that, it goes to someone else who is still hungry. At two-years-old, it’s already every man for himself, which kind of makes me sad & kind of makes me wonder. Maybe, because of the world these kids live in, that’s the mentality they need to survive. Life isn’t fair for anyone, especially these toddlers, so why make the classroom a fantasy world where fair exists?

I’m still loving life here in Salvador, but as the homebase is getting quieter, I can’t help but become sad for the goodbyes I will be saying within the next 2 weeks as some of these wonderful people pack up & head back to their respective homes. Although most of the people I have been hanging out with are 3-4 week-ers, there are also 2 awesome girls who are staying 8 & 12 weeks, so I’m stoked about that. Plus – we get new volunteers next weekend! I’m looking forward to sleeping in this weekend if my body will let me, because waking up at 7:15am hasn’t been the easier adjustment ever. Unfortunately, we’ve had some mishaps around the center with girls getting robbed, so chances are I will never carry a purse anywhere again, because that makes you an automatic target. Personally, I’ve never felt even remotely unsafe, but you have to be aware of your surroundings & money at all times. Luckily, taxis are cheap, very safe, & our usual mode of transportation. WHEW – that was a lot, I’m heading down to the beach. Tchau!