Muito Obrigado, Brasil, Tchau Tchau, Ate Logo

Farewell, Brasil, Te Amo

 

Foi otima a estadia, muito obrigado. Vou recomendar aos meus amigos. Obrigado pela hospitalidade. Loosely translated, that is thank you Brasil, goodbye, see you later, I had a great stay, I´ll recommend you to my friends. I am writing this on my last full day in Brazil, a quiet day with only a quick visit to the nearby Flamboyant Mall close to my hotel in Goiania and a long and leisurely stay at poolside. I have become somewhat reflective and a little heartsick as I end my two week stay in this wonderful country. I got to see alot and do alot and saw a lot of sides of Brazil that one normally does not see on the usual tourist track. There´s alot to this largest country in South America, alot to it´s politics, culture, cuisine, art, architecture, beaches and most of all it´s people.

I began my trip as an international volunteer, spending a week in Salvador, Bahia, a coastal city that served as the first capitol of this nation. My days were spent with the children of the Frutos De Maes Daycare School, assisting the teachers and caregivers in organizing activities including coloring, playtime, and serving the little ones their breakfast and lunch. I never would have thought that I, a 43 year old writer, advertising copywriter, cosmopolitan citizen of New York who spends most of his waking hours working with adults in the corporate business world would be doing something like this. What´s even more surprising is how much I enjoyed it and what a mind blowing experience it was for me. While I was soul-shaken by the poverty and conditions these children lived in, I was impressed by the purity of their joy and happiness and the love and care they receive from the staff. They may be poor in material wealth, but they have an abundance in joy and energy that is contagious. So to Tia Mira and all the staff of Frutos De Maes, I want to say thank you. Thank you for letting me be of service to your children and the gift that has given me. In my heart and sould I dound things that I did not know existed, or were frozen for so long that it took this experience to discover them. The simple act of coloring with a child or playing with them or comforting them when they were crying brought out a side to me that I never knew I had in me. My cynicism fell away and I felt compassion and honor, and I felt that I could perhaps survive the idea of being a father someday. If I can spend a week in a daycare center with 30 2-year old children and survive and thrive on that, I can perhaps open myself up to the idea of parenting. Or at least working with children, who are our future no matter where they are located . A role model is not something I ever considered myself to be, but perhaps I can evolve into one. So thanks to Fructos De Maes and Cross Cultural Solutions for allowing me to be of service and to find a place in my heart that I thought was gone, missing, or non-existent. I had to control my emotions on my last day of my volunteer work when I had to say goodbye to all the precious ones. I could feel the tears well up inside me and my heart ached as I said goodbye. But it won´t be forever. I´ll be back with more crayons, more stickers and lots of love

I also want to thank the people of Brazil for their warm hospitality. From Bahia to Brasilia, Sao Paulo to Goiania, I was greeted with nothing but friendliness and kindness . Your hospitality and warmth are genuine, and that is what makes you great. In 2008, Brazil celebrates the 100 year anniversary of the Japanese immigration to Brazil. I find it refreshing to be in a country that celebrates the immigration of a people to its land, rather than complain or demonize it.

I thank the staff of Cross Cultural Solutions Salvador for making our journey and service easy, and making us feel at home, from the warm hugs and greetings, to the home cooking, to the organized cultural activities, to helping us be better volunteers, you are special people and I thank you and will miss you. To my companions who I served with, I also say thank you. Most of you are in college or are just starting out your lives. You impressed me with your desire to make the world a better place. Your study plans, your life plans are an inspiration to me. Thanks for your friendship and not making too much of the fact that I was the old man of the group. You will do  big things in your lives, teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, international relations. This is your time. Embrace it.

To the friendly people of Bahia, from the newstands to the ice cream shops. Thank you. I can see why Bahia is called the land of happiness

To the staff of the Comfort Suites Flamboyant in Goiania, thank you for your hospitality and friendly attitude. You sure never seem to tire of the gringo with many questions. To the guy from the Goiania Museum of Art who called me a taxi because this New Yorker did not understand you just don´t flag them down, thanks. To all the friendly faces in the bookstores, restaurants and shops who bent over backwards to help me find what I was looking for, thank you. To the staffer at the Goiania Legislative Assembly who showed me around and explained what was going on in Brazilian politics, thanks for giving this political junkie his fix when he was far away from Obama and McCain.

So Thank you Brazil, not only for soccer (football everywhere else), the dental floss bikini and samba, but also for your culinary delights. I think the ice cream here is the best I have ever tasted and the Creme De Papaia Com Cassis was the closest thing to heaven I´ll ever taste. The fruit was like it was picked in the Garden of Eden. And thanks for the coffeem which is strong as Hercules, hot as hell and sweet as love. I am addicted. And for Guarana Antartica, which is made from an Amazonian berry and rivals Coca Cola and could give Red Bull a run for it´s money in the US for it´s energy boost, not too mention its taste. To Billy Deeter, I say thank you for showing me the World Heritage City of Brasilia, seen in a vision by Saint John Bosco, but born out of the vision of heroic President Juscelino Kubitschek, architect Oscar Niemeyer, Urban Planner Lucio Costa and landscape architect Burle Marx. It´s a city like no other in the world, an architectural gem and a centerpiece for the modern day utopian city. In Brasilia, Brazil has a gem for a capitol.

To Goiania, another planned city, thank you for your beautiful green spaces. I am impressed by your parks and how deeply you care for your green spaces. So I say goodbye, Ate logo Brasil. For two weeks, it has not just been a place where I went for vacation. It has been my home. May God bless you and your country, and may you continue to grow and prosper. You are the country of the new century and there is much you have to offer the world and much you have to be proud of. For the last two weeks, I have been proud to say “Eu sou brasilero“.

Ate logo, see you later, tchau tchau, saudades