A Month Later...

and our crew has scattered! Brandon's in Germany, Carrie in Oakland, the majority still in Boston or scattered along the East Coast.

I was all excited to publish a million photos, alas, my camera broke the third day of the trip. Not to worry, though, there are many MANY photos at our picasa site. Check it out!

To those of you who haven't uploaded your photos: please share!! Thanks!!!

All checked in...

Hello! I´m all checked in to the Maksoud Plaza hotel in São Paulo, and will be here through Wednesday afternoon...

Still Exploring

Sorry to all who have been keeping up with this blog... the posts lagged as our trip picked up its pace... and now the official portion of our travels is over, with some headed home already!

A few of us are still in Sao Paulo, safe and sound and exploring this amazing and enormous city.

Two Amazing Days

I need to be brief on this post, as I just popped into a internet cafe before we head off to dinner, but we have had an amazing two days...

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to tour favelas and tenaments (there is a portuguese word for these... I´ll get back to you on that one) in Santos with the fabulous people of Elos Institute. The visits were definitely an eye-opener, with many of the homes of the favela located in stilted homes above the river, and the urban buildings holding up to one-hundred people and thirty children in a small apartment building. The people were welcoming and happy to show us around, and we were amazed by the community initiatives to brighten the common areas of their neighborhoods.

After the amazing interactions we had in Santos, we were sad to leave our new friends from Elos behind, but we headed back on the bus (you remember Club Menudo?) through the rainforest towards Paraty. By what must have been the alignment of the stars, we ended up at this little oceanfront resort town on the final weekend of a ten-day festival. The streets were filled with people, market stalls, food and music - including an 80´s cover band singing bon jovi, the eurythmics, and lots of other favorites in the town square. Apparently tonight a different band will be playing brazilian dance tunes... can´t wait!

This afternoon, we caught a chartered boat out into the bay, where we soaked up sun, played in the surf, stopped on an island restaurant for some amazing seafood, and a few of us even jumped off a cliff into the sea. (Don´t worry, mom, I´m fine!). Unfortunately, I don´t have my camera with me tonight to upload pictures, but I assure you there are a lot of great ones. I´ll post some from Rio - tomorrow!!

Day Two: Bradesco Foundation & Magneti Marelli

Another day in (rainy) paradise... though I have it on good authority that the sun is supposed to come out tomorrow. Hooray!

Yesterday, we went to the Corsini HIV/AIDS project where we visited and learned about the health clinic and childrens´ shelter, and met with the founder (see right)! We heard news of a set of orphaned triplets who were to arrive later that day, and ended our visit with an eleven year old young man who was a hit with the ladies.

Last night, we had the opportunity to visit our brazilian host´s home in Campinas, where we met with the President of Grupo D´Paschaol, the number one tire distributor in South America. He spoke to us about social responsibility, and his efforts in advancing the educational system in Campinas through a network of educational NGOs. Due a generous initial endowment, the foundation is able to take donations for its associated NGOs, and pass on 120% of the donation!

Today we visited the Bradesco Foundation. The foundation owns 46% of the Bradesco Bank (weird, huh?) and is responsible for a network of privately owned schools that provide education, health and dental care to low income youths across brazil. The organization also provides professional education to adults, and we met with several groups going through training during our visit.

We concluded our official day at Magneti Marelli, an electronic car parts manufacturer that specializes in Flex Fuel technology, and is host to a Programa Formare site that provides year-long technical education to local at-risk youth. The company donates the time of its own employees as volunteer professors, a system that the students were very enthusiastic about! The CEO of Magneti Marelli Brazil was kind enough to give us a background in his company´s involvement in the biofuels industry, after which we toured the manufacturing facilities, heard a lecture on the technical aspects of Flex Fuel technology, and in a few cases, test drove cars yet to hit the markets!

Speaking of amazing vehicles, some of you may be wondering how we are getting around Southeastern Brazil... we´ve dubbed our ride (see right) Club Menudo, and it is one fine ride. It has reclining seats upstairs and a dining car/bar on the main level. Our trip tomorrow from Natura to Santos will take us through a rainforest (though we´re far from the Amazon) and we can´t wait to see the views from our rolling penthouse... now if we can only get the radio to work!!!

Landed and Checked In!!

Good News! All landed safely, on time, and with luggage!

After a rainy two-hour bus trip from Sao Paulo, we have landed in Campinas at the Tryp Campinas Hotel and have gotten all checked in!

After naps, showers, and lunch we plan on visiting the Corsini HIV/Aids Project, an organization that provides services to those dealing with illness, followed by a welcome reception at our Brazilian host's home!

...we'll keep you posted!

Brazil Blog Up and Running!

Hey all! It's Harmony, and I've now officially created our official Brazil Blog!!

I'm hoping that we will have access to update this blog as we go along our travels, so post to it if you're on the trip, and check it out if you're just keeping track!

Take care and safe travels!!