January 23, 2011

Whew!! It’s Sunday evening after an exciting weekend. Everyone is unwinding this afternoon after unpacking and having a huge meal at lunch. Let’s see if I can do a virtual excursion of the week. The week started with the students having class with Shirota. Feedback was great!!. They were interested in what he was teaching and liked his organization. Tuesday we were to do a service project painting three new houses in Piracicaba but it rained on Monday so it was postponed until Wednesday. It rained on Tuesday so it was postponed and rescheduled for tomorrow. The students were really disappointed as they enjoy helping others.


Tuesday evening we decided to go out to dinner at a new Japanese restaurant near the hotel. Shirota joined us and sushi was the most popular pick for the meal and then noodles with chicken, beef and vegetables was a very close second. Wednesday and Thursday were spent in class and then Thursday the Brazilian students took the American students to a dance club.

Friday bright and early we left for Sao Paulo. You could tell they had rain but we did not see the damage that I expected to see. Our first visit was McDonald’s Food Town in Osasco which is a division of Braslow. Apparently between last year and this year Braslow must have been purchased by Seara. The location we toured made hamburgers and chicken for McDonalds. We were able to see the processing plant in action which was very interesting and even had samples of the chicken pieces at the conclusion. Hmmmmm good. We learned how they have to slaughter the animals differently when producing for the Middle Eastern Countries (Muslim/Islam). When producing for these countries it is done first thing in the morning when the equipment is clean and sterile and nothing else can be produced those days. From there we ate lunch at McDonald’s to compare American and Brazilian McDonald’s. You will have to ask your student the results of the comparison.


In the afternoon we went to Rabobank which is a bank that services the agricultural sector originally developed from a group from the Netherlands. It was located in Sao Paulo in a gorgeous, modern, tall building. One speaker discussed the history of the development of Rabobank bank and the other featured Brazil as an agriculture superpower and the limitations hindering Brazil from making greater strides more quickly in agriculture. Excellent presentations. While we there it poured rain. We were several stories high and the conference room looked out over one of the major rivers that runs through Sao Paulo. We could see the water drain into the river and watch 11 lanes of traffic slow to a crawl.







Friday night was samba dancing and the dress rehearsal for Carnival. It was an awesome experience for the students. It got raving reviews last year and was just as much fun this year. In the short version explanation we went to one of the community dance group hall locations. Apparently they meet twice a week throughout the year and prepare for the celebration of Carnival. A theme is picked each year so their costumes change from year to year. Carnival is the beginning of March but Friday night was their dance rehearsal. So this dance club with all their members (several hundred) and all their musicians and dancers, leave the dance hall location, walk out into town and then parade back to the dance hall dancing the samba to their native song that is sung at Carnival. By the time we get back to the dance hall we are exhausted, hot, sore and happy all rolled into one.




Saturday morning we slept in (on the bus at 8:30) and headed to the Sao Paulo zoo. We had a gorgeous morning to visit the zoo. It wasn’t too hot for most of the morning. We saw lots of animals and it was quite relaxing after the samba experience the night before.


Saturday afternoon we visited the Ipiranga (Independence) Museum which highlighted the important years in Brazil’s thrust for independence and then there also is a gorgeous monument which also depicts Brazil’s independence. Then last night we went to a soccer game with Sao Paulo against Independence and Sao Paulo lost . Only one goal was scored the whole evening. It rained between the museum and the soccer game.


Today we loaded the bus at 8:30 am and went to the Hippie Market. This is the best place for buying souvenirs. Again, we had gorgeous weather for an outdoor market. It is a cultural experience to see all the musical instruments, jewelry, blouses, dresses, gem stones, hammocks, leather goods, paintings, trinkets etc that are sold. The diversity of people both buying and selling is remarkable.



Then lunch. The students had already heard so much about this lunch. It is a typical Brazilian Sunday meal. Shirota told the students they had to do better than the Missouri group. No matter how much they heard about it I don’t think it really hits them until they really see it in action. There are 22 different cuts of meat served, plus salad, shrimp, fish, tomatoes, cheese, french fries, bread and then a salad bar. The waiters come to the table serving the meat until you can’t eat any longer. Shirota encourages the students so they eat and eat and eat and eat. Then they sleep all the way home on the bus.

After we returned this afternoon it rained a good bit so at this point we do not know about the service project for tomorrow. Take care.