SUNDAY FUN DAY

Everyone has gone to bed and I can hear the boys laughing away and giggling in their room. The girls are in our room as well probably talking about something hilarious. It is passed my bed time and I am usually the first one to sleep, but after our long day we just spent in Sao Paulo and some evening coffe I am not quite ready to go to bed yet.

We had our last "free day" before debrief today (wow does time fly!). On Wednesday Katie, Tom, Sarah and Kevin went to an english school in a neighbouring town pretty much as a show and tell. The students asked them questions about Canada and held conversations with them and in true Brazillian fashion they had breakfast prepared for them when they arrived. The english teacher was really nice and invited himself  over to our base. Said he would show up on Friday and was here on Saturday (Brazillian time). So we all met Clayton and his partner Ronaldo. They were nice and kind enough to take us to some interesting places in Sao Paulo today.
Along with those guys showing up came a real surprise. Pedro, a funny YWAM (Youth With A Mission) guy we met at the Sao Paulo base, showed up unexpectedly. We were out hacking away at the hillside with our hoes and shovels when all of a sudden we hear ROOOBHINNO and Pedro comes running out with hugs and kisses for everyone. It was a short visit and I think we might get to see him again next Saturday before we leave but it was so nice to see a friendly face and crazy to think about all of the amazing people we have met so far.
Today we all woke up early, had breakfast (buns with butter and coffee), and went to test the waters of taking the bus and train sans translators. As you can tell by this blog entry we made it.. Hip Hip Hoooooorayyy. Ronaldo and Clayton met us at one of the train stops and hopped in our cabin. They brought us chocolate, that was delicious, and then took us on the subway to a HUGE park. This park had museums and entertainment. Tonnes of people were trying this new trend called running. Oh and I forgot one of the best parts... Before we got to the park there were a bunch of people protesting (peaceful protesting). They were protesting against the government's green policy. They had t-shirts with the brazillian flag showing more green on it. There was music and and banners waving, it was great. Now, in the park we got some sort of Acai berry smoothy for a snack, delicious, and went to this really interesting Afro-Brazillian museum. We learned as much as we could, in portugese, about the slave trade and Afro-Brazillian culture, and saw some amazing photography and art. After this we took a bus to the Japanese part of the city and had lunch at a resteraunt there.. Yummm. couldn't move afterwards. We walked through the market after this and then went back to the train station to head home. We were so greatful that these two strangers dedicated their day to us. I'm sure all of us are going to go out of our way now to do the same at home. Brazillian hospitality is nuts.

One thing we do here with our team is tell our life story. Every 2 nights someone gets a turn to tell their whole life story to the team. It can be kind of nerve racking, but it is interesting to hear where everyone comes from. Tonight was my night and it went well, but I much prefer to listen to everyone elses. Each one of us is shaped so differently and it's so neat to see where people get their morals and values from, we have 3 left to hear and I can't wait.

We have one week left at this base before heading to Ubatuba for debrief/relaxing at a hostel before heading home. We are going to be working hard to finish as much of this soccer field out back as we can. It is going to take a lot of effort as we have to pick away at the dirt and carry it off in a wheel barrow. It will be so rewarding to see it finished though. I think the hard part will be dividing up time between labour work and hanging out with the kids, which is just as important. Although the kids will usually come hang out with us in the back, sometimes helping, but mostly making fun of us. These guys have such character, I love it. I look forward to the last two soccer sessions and the activity days this week. I have to remind myself to cherish those moments because I know I'll be sad to leave them behind once it's time to go home. It's so hard to leave behind these strong connections you create and as good as these social programs are for these kids you have to wonder how they feel about people coming for 3 weeks only to leave again. I understand why many people just see money when they see us. We come, try to learn and create brief relationships, bring  some donations and leave. It is really good though that Global comes in yearly and it is something to be relied upon. We are told that the social aspect of what we do here is greatly beneficial to the community as well. With Francisco Morato being the poorest city in Sao Paulo and they average yearly income being about 5000 real per household I just hope that these kids we see at the base everyday are positively influenced and can in return influence those around them and their children to live a healthy educated drug-free lifestyle.
Well final week.. Bring It On!

LOVE
Annessa Nina :)