A final blog from Brazil

My final full week began with a common Brazilian theme - football. I went to the Pernambuco Arena with the some of the boys and staff from Hope House to see one of the local team's final game of the season. Sport (the name of the team) were playing São Paulo (from the Capital) who finished second in Brazil's top league. Anyone interested in world football might be aware that Kaka, one of the best players in the world a few years ago, has been playing for São Paulo this year. Unfortunately, he was not playing but I enjoyed the game, although one of the staff, Flavio, and one of the boys enjoyed seeing Sport win more as they support the team. It was a good goal to win the game (see link below)

Sport Recife 1 - 0 São Paulo

http://youtu.be/eZcvzT8_Z5I

This week seems to have been a week of parties - we have been to three!

Party number 1: This was arranged by a church community in Recife. They put chairs and tables out in front of a church in central Recife and encouraged street families to join them. During the evening, they danced for them, sang to the people, and gave out food including a little bit of cake. 

Party number 2: It was the final week of the English class for girls and to celebrate the end of term, we had cakes, ice cream, drinks and more cakes. We also watched 'Despicable Me' in Portuguese. Luckily for me, we had English subtitles. It was amusing this way as when the minions spoke, the subtitles simply said 'talking gibberish'. At the end of the party, gifts were presented to the teachers of the group and we were surprised to be included too! We have a lovely card from many of the girls although I need a little help reading it as it is naturally in Portuguese.

Party number 3: On Saturday morning, we had the biggest of all the parties. Almost all of the boys who attend the football project, came to the base for the Show de Bola party. It started rather early with the boys arriving from 8am - yes, 8 in the morning! Lots of activities were available including painted tattoos, trampolines, candy floss, playing in the swimming pool and even a couple of football tournaments - well, you can't have 100 boys who love football at a party without football!

In the morning, one of the staff, Frank from Senegal in Africa, who lives here with his family, organised two tournaments. I played in the African Cup of Nations tournament with my team. It was great fun but tiring and hot in the Brazilian sun. My team played really well and we won the tournament. It seems that playing with Brazilians has helped my football skills!

The boys all seemed to having a great time and really enjoyed playing in the pool. However, they then decided that they wanted to throw all the staff into the pool...including me! It was all done in good spirits and just for fun, although I am glad that they considered my lack of swimming ability and so they put me in the shallower end of the pool.

After lunch, the boys sat down for a presentation. During this time, they gave out gifts for commitment/attendance, and all of the boys received a gift too. The staff, including me, were also given a present.

It was a fantastic party and I will miss working with the boys. It has been really good to have had this opportunity and when I have seen the boys in and around the local community, they seem to have been pleased to see me too. 

In action!

The party in the pool 

The gifts ready to be given out

The presentations for Show de Bola

This coming week, I will be landing at Gatwick Airport, and I'm sure that I will see lots of signs of Christmas on my journey home including lots of Christmas lights and trees - things that are familiar to me regarding Christmas in the UK. Some of these customs also exist in Brazil, but Christmas here does have some differences:

Father Christmas, or as he is known in Brazil - Papai Noel wears red silk because it is too hot for him to wear the same clothes as he does in the UK. In Brazil, Santa Claus is called Papai Noel & Bom Velhinho (Good Old Man). 

There is a very common tradition among friends and families, called amigo secreto (secret friend). At the beginning of December, participants in the game write their name on a piece of paper. Each participant takes a paper (but does not reveal the name of the person on it). During the month there are exchanges of correspondence among the participants who use apelidos (fake names). At Christmas, family and friends gather to reveal their secret friends and offer them a special gift.

Favourite Christmas foods in Brazil include chicken, turkey, ham, rice, salad, pork and fresh and dried fruits.

Also, many people start the Christmas celebrations on Christmas Eve with fireworks and a big churrasco (barbecue).

Finally, there are many, many things that I will miss about Brazil but there are many things that I am also looking forward to about returning to the UK. Here a just a few of them:

I will miss being able to wear shorts day and night. 

I am looking forward to the weather being more like that associated with Christmas. Hot sunny days do not feel too much like Christmas.

I will miss the children we have met in both the projects and the on the streets.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at West Leigh again and meeting 6W properly.

I will miss being able to get Guarana almost anywhere - I don't think I would survive here without it!

I am looking forward to getting fresh milk. In this area of Brazil, fresh milk is less common; it would go off very quickly in this climate.

I will miss the friends we have made here including one incredibly friendly Brazilian who is originally from the Amazon.

I am looking forward to seeing my family, especially as it will be nearing Christmas.

And so we say goodbye. In a couple of days, we will be back home. Whether we return again, or keep in touch another way, it has been a very special time, and I am glad that I have been able to share it with you also.

Tchau!

A busy week...

The time here in Brazil has had ups and downs, and sometimes I have felt challenged by whether I could really help or not. Let me explain about one such time...

On Monday, I was helping in Hope House. One of the boys had some homework to do and was reluctant to do it. Eventually, he sat down to try it but it seemed difficult. I sat down with him and had a look at it. It was maths so it should have been well within my understanding but, even to me, it seemed to make little or no sense. At this point, I felt a bit helpless as I couldn't easily communicate with him due to my limited Portuguese and I didn't really know how to help him. At this stage, we could have both given up but we persevered. I got him to show me what he understood by the questions and even then I was still unsure. Using all of my mathematical understanding, I began to try what he showed me with numbers of my own and realised what was required. We proceeded to work on the questions together and got through them.

Something lovely happened the next day: I was approached by the same boy who wanted to show me something. He handed me his test that he had taken in school. Using what we had learned together, he had performed really well in his maths test and subsequently he felt proud about himself. The fact that he wanted to share this with me was touching. Don't underestimate the power of helping people. It was a challenge but, in the end, he felt good about himself and that is fantastic!

On Thursday, the English class for girls was a little different. Instead of the usual format, we spent the majority of the time playing games. This was one of the last sessions with the group before a break for Christmas. We played many fun games, some of which I may use in the future - they were great ideas. One idea that was not so great for me was a competition to build the best statue. My team wanted me to be their model and I said' yes'! The pictures below explain better than I could.

Deciding what to do!

Making a start.

On Friday, we once again visited homes in Recife. This is quite likely to have been our final home visit during our time in Brazil. During our time visiting, there were two things of great interest:

1) The mother was busy making jewellery using a range of materials including recycling aluminium cans. It was highly intricate work and she was creating beautiful products. She does this so that she can sell them to help support her family. Despite this, she wanted to share her work with us and gave us all a free gift of a bracelet which, considering her life and how much money she has, was an incredibly generous gesture.

2) There was a little girl (probably about 3 years old), who was sitting quietly. I approached her and offered to help her as she was trying to put a simple toy together. At first, she did not really want my help most likely because she did not know me well, but soon she accepted it. Soon, we were playing a game together using a few counters and a little plastic football net. During this time, her imagination came to life! She was pretending to be Brasil, then Germany, and in the end, even England. She was having great fun and so was I. Once we finished playing, she wanted to show me something. I eventually realised that she wanted me to cover my eyes as she wanted to surprise me. When I opened my eyes, she showed me a doll's basket and a pram. She obviously felt proud of these toys, and although the pram was broken, she really liked them. We continued to play and, despite the fact that her home would seem unbearable for us to live in considering our expectations, joy can still exist in that place if it is given the chance. I just hope that she has the opportunities that all of you have as she grows up.

And so, as we draw closer to Christmas, I want to challenge you yet again. This week, we also saw many families in a new location on the streets. They were on a busy corner near a bus station, with buses coming around the corner incredibly quickly and often dangerously. Here is where many families have set up for Christmas, where children are playing, where they will sleep and eat. They know that at Christmas, more things will be given to them by Churches and charities and that is why they have chosen this spot. As you approach Christmas, consider others, and try to avoid too many 'I wants'; many of you will know what I mean. Instead, try to spend time with others and enjoy their company - play a game, talk to relatives, listen to your grandparents' stories, offer to help your parents. Perhaps you can think of other good ideas too.

This week, I also had another great opportunity - to attend a football final for the project's under 13s football team. The final was held in a small local stadium and even though they lost 1-0, I was impressed with several things: how well they played, how respectful they were in defeat, the encouragement given to them by their coaches after the final, and their determination to never give up. It was how football should be and I saw many of the values in sport that I know we value at West Leigh also.

Preparing for the game

Where the boys usually train

Finally, in this epic blog entry, I want to share something fun with you. In Portuguese, the sounds of the vowels are different to those used in English. Therefore, reading words and saying them correctly needs  practice. One way of doing this, aimed at young children, is to use a song from an animated programme 'Galinha Pintadinha'. Why not try it for yourself. If you'd prefer, why not try the English version. Good luck - it's not easy! You'll see why!

Learning Portuguese sounds

http://youtu.be/0JkSpPZJDkE

English version

http://youtu.be/xdFCi4pRkDs

Until you read again (and my final blog entry from Brazil), tchau.