Tuesday, June 20th

I am on the slowest internet connection in the world. I am not able to upload any videos because the connection is slow. Pictures are taking forever to upload.

Waking up at the Nova Jerusalem was quite an experience. Last night was the first night I haven't been roommates with my good friend Chris. It was quite different because we know each other pretty well after traveling to Ecuador and Brazil. We have also hung out several times in addition to traveling together.

Awww, look how cute

Breakfast was quite interesting. On the way to breakfast I heard a noise in the trees and looked up and immediately started screaming like a little girl. Monkey, Monkey,Monkey is all I shouted. People rushed around to make sure I was okay. This is all normal for me. I love monkeys! We saw marmosets all around. I was a boy in wonder. Next thing you know one of our guides was feeding one of them. I later got to feed some bananas to one of the marmosets. It was pure heaven. They are so cute these marmosets. They look like little gremlins. I even got to pet one.

After breakfast we visited the caatanga. The caatanga is undisturbed and virtually untouched. A wealthy man owns the land that is why the land is so undisturbed. He is even thinking of making it a nature reserve. The area of the caatange and this area is twice the size of France. We traveled there by 4*4 vehicles. Chris, LaRissa, Bruno and I jumped on top of the vehicle. Talk about an adventure. The caatanga is full of cactai, thorn bushes and scrub trees. When we left the road and drove through the wilderness we had to duck, swerve and lay down to avoid the flying branches of thorns. It was so much fun. Luckily Chris was in front of me so I grabbed his shirt and moved him from side to side to help me avoid the huge thorns. What a great friend I know. Seriously though it was a lot of fun driving through the caatanga. We got of the trucks and began the hike through the preserve caatanga. On our way we saw all these rocks. However they looked very different. Our guide mentioned his broken English fossil. At first it didn't hit me because I have never seen fossils in nature. I didn't expect to see them in the middle of nowhere and not in a museum somewhere. The fossils have been dated and are from the PreCambrian era.  The bones were from 30,000 to 50,000 years ago. The fossils were wooly mammoths, giant sloths, armadillos. Armadillos were about the size of a VW bug. I will  be able to use all of this in my World History class. The way that they dated the fossils is by using radio carbon, luminiscent and calcium carbonate. They use the enamel in teeth to date the bones usinng the methods just mentioned. We then hiked to some huge granite rocks. We had an amazing panoramic view of the caatanga.

Jerusalem, getting ready for the caatanga.

On our way back from the caatanga our 4*4 vehicle got stuck. No it was not my fault :) We ended up getting out trying to push and pull the jeep out of the mud to no avail. We tried building a ramp to get out but this did not work as well. One vehicle had to make a couple of trips to get us out of the caatanga. Another cool experience. After getting back to Jerusalem we went swimming. Wow was that relaxing on a hot day in a semi arid climate.

After lunch we headed to where I am now Triunfo. On our way we stopped at basically a shopping mall. I finally bought my Brazilian soccer jersey that I had been searching for. It cost only 20 real which is basically 14 dollars. I am glad I waited to buy this jersey in Brazil rather than the states. We had a long bus ride to Triunfo. I listened to some much that one of our Brazilian grad students let me borrow. Clara played some different types of Brazilian music for me. Bosa Nova was one of them. It was enjoyable. We talked to Diogo, Clayton, Ronaldo and Jonas. We talked about soccer, travel, schools and crime. We got into Triunfo and were exhausted after our long ride.

Off to the countryside

Hotel Nova Jerusalem

Today we left Recife and headed to the countryside. This is always a great thing in my eyes. I enjoy cities but I never feel like I get a good feel for the country until I leave the city and head for the countryside.

On our way to Nova Jerusalem we stopped off at a few towns to compare and constrast the difference between the caatanga and the coast. It is vastly different and visible the differences. The caatanga, meaning white forest,  starts 50 miles west of Recife. It is a semi arid climate that has a vegetation of scrub thorns. The weather is much more comfortable and less humid. The wealthier families in Recife have homes in this area to get away from the city. The economy in this area is vastly different as well. Rather than the sugar cane that you see growing you see much more of a diverse growing pattern. Pineapples are grown here as well. There also is a large amount of granite that is found here and sent to the cities as the foundation for homes. Cheese and grapes are also produced in this area. In fact some Swiss families immigrated here and began to produce cheese.

Leaving Recife, headed towards the caatanga.

Eating Coxinhas, fried chicken thighs. Excellent of course

Outside Caruaru, looking at the various artisans and their work. I wandered off into the middle of nowhere.

I wandered off and headed up this hill for an amazing view.

Future Keith Moon at work

Local hat in the back country. I purchased it of course. Although the leather stinks like you wouldn't believe. I was made to put it in a zip lock bag and under the bus.

Marketplace in Caruaru, huge market

On our way to Nova Jersualem we stopped at two towns. The first was called Gravata. It is an economically vibrant, prosperous town. The town had a large middle class population. We then visited a town which is known for its artisans. There were trinkets and pottery of all kinds. The clay that is used is found in the nearbly flood plains. The countryside is great, people are very friendly. I was not into the shopping so I went on a walk down some back alleys. It was not sketchy at all. I was in a small town and knew I was safe. It was nice to get away on my own for a little bit and explore the area. I also got some great shots on camera.

The third town we visite was Caruaru. We visited a marketplace and I bought a traditional Brazilian outfit which I will have to share. This town was busy and the people seemed to be doing well financially as well.

Nova Jerusalem is very interesting. It is the site where the Passion of Christ play is performed. There are huge stages and a hotel that is incredible. The scene is out of ancient Palestine. There are large stone walls, beautiful gardens and ponds. I felt like I was transported to Jerusalem thousands of years ago. We got there later at night so were not able to explore quite as much. We had a wonderful

Tour around Old Recife

Today we took more of a detailed tour around Old Town Recife. We first visited an old prison that has been transformed into a market. We then had a professor from Recife named Nilson Corccia give us a walking tour of the old part of the city. Lastly we boarded a boat and had a wonderful time cruising the Capybara River. I certainly saw some images that will last with me a very long time. We then came back to Old Town and discovered a wonderful fair or festival occurring. After dinner we went out and watched a band and experienced some wondeful music and dancing.

As mentioned our first activity of the day was to visit an old prison that once housed criminals from Pernambuco and neighboring states. The pententiary was built in the 1800's and was shut down in the 1970's. The prison intentionally segregated prisoners so that they would not be influenced or be able to learn from prisoners that committed different crimes. At the bottom of the prison would be what we would consider as solitary confinement. However this was even worse than being locked up by yourself for days. The bottom floor had a door that would allow water into the prison cell. The prisoner would be tied up and be subjected to rising waters when the tide from the ocean would come in. Chris and I were hypothesizing that with water this could bring wrinkley and decaying skin. River rats, snakes and fish could peck at that person creating severe pain and fear. There was a local railway that was built by the British in the 1800's as well. This was beneficial because prisoners could easily be transported back and forth. The railway went through several transition periods from being private to nationalized back to private then nationalized and finally run down and completely out of use. The prison is now a market with shops. It was rather weird walking through former prison cells, visiting what are now shops. If only the walls could talk? Actually thank goodness they do not.

After the prison or market tour. We walked around old town with Nilson and Reynaldo. Reynaldo in particular has been a huge help. He is a professor along with Antonio. He is young and really helpful. I give him a lot of credit handling our group. As you can imagine with a group of 18 teachers there are plenty of questions and conversations. He should be commended for a job well done.
We learned that people in the past identified or told others about where they were from by mentioning their local church. The church owned most of the land and the people would pay the church rent to stay in their particular house or dwelling. Franciscans was the most prominent religious order. We also learned that the Catholic church is only open during mass. The Protestant church on the other hand is always open. This has actually resulted in some Catholic worshippers converting to Protestantism.

After lunch we said good bye to Lucas, Lacrissa and Bruno. The playoffs started today for their favorite soccer team, Santa Cruz. Chris and I really wished we could go and we made a joke to Bob our group leader about it. However as he pointed out, if we went, everyone would want to go and that would cause a problem. I certainly would've loved to see a local soccer match. The more I thought about it though, I am sure our graduate students were looking forward to a break from being with us. Just to have a sense of normalcy and speak in their native tongue. I will be interested to hear how the game went tomorrow. I also hope they stayed safe. There are fights that occur inside and outside of the stadium. That is why they forbid alcohol from being sold inside the stadium. Anyways I digress once again. Our second activity of the day was taking a river cruise around Recife. I really enjoyed the relaxation and the ability to observe. As I have mentioned previously to most of you what I really love about these institutes is that the learning is done while participating in activities. What I mean by that is we are for the most part not sitting in classrooms listening to presentations. We are outside observing, listening, responding and most important moving around. This is how I learn best and I feel like the rest of the group would agree.

During the river cruise I saw some images that were encouraging and discouraging, just like in any other area. I however have never seen images of poverty which I witnessed today. Some of those images will stay with me the rest of my life. Anytime I feel the need to complain about not having this or that I need to think of the scenes from today. We literally saw the smallest shanty structures I have never seen. I have witnessed poverty in Jamaica, Ecuador and Cuba. This ranked up there or even more so with some of the worst poverty I have ever seen. One image will always stick out. The people around here are very friendly. We were crusing along the river passing one of the shanty structures and we saw a little boy who was maybe two. The little boy had a diaper on and his pacifier. He waved to us and screamed at us. I do not know what he said but he ran along his house following the boat. I could not help but feel bad for this boy. Will this boy have the opportunity to raise himself out poverty? Will he have the chance? Does generation after generation experience this in this shanty area? I also could not help to think and contrast this boys life with my niece's life. The are both around the same age but yet their opportunities to succeed are in my mind so vastly different. This weighed on my mind for quite some time, thinking about this little boy and his future.

After turning into a tomato on the river cruise we docked at old town and began to walk to the area where the synagogue was that we visited the other day. We looked around in amazement in how vastly different the scene was. All of this on a Sunday night. The place was packed and full of people. There was a huge street fair taking place with vendor of all sorts. There was music, magicians, comics. It was booming. Chris and I decided to visit a restaurant and just observe the scene. We both want to hold off on buying things so we don't have to cart them around for two weeks. Some people have been shopping up a storm. Most of the vendors were selling products that catered to women anyway. So Chris and I just sat back and watched the scenes unfold. All of a sudden we hear booming drums coming from the distance and inching closer and closer. We walked to the area and noticed maybe 30 drummers doing their thing and doing their thing quite well. It was awesome seeing this drumline. I could not help but get my groove on.

Lastly Mike, Kelly, Donnika, Chris and I decided to walk along the beach and head to a park nearby. Kelly and Donnika had visited the park and led the way. We arrived and there were people everywhere. There was music playing in the distance and we of course headed in that direction. We then spent the night listening to the beautiful sounds of Brazilian music. If you can not move to Brazilian music than there is something wrong with you. The music is lively and full of life. There were people gathered around a circle listening to a band do its thing. Inside of the circle couples and others were dancing the forro, merengue and salsa. It was great to watch. I also didn't feel like I stuck out so much as a tourist. It is obviously much easier and more comfortable traveling in a small group. I certainly felt like I had a wonderful cultural experience.

Tomorrow we will be leaving Recife for five days. I am not sure about the access to the internet. So you may not hear from me.

Sugar, Sugar and more Sugar!

Today was another interesting day. Our first activity was visitng a sugar cane factory and plantation in the state of Pernambuco. We then visited the town of Vicencia and observed local market trends.

On the ride to the sugar cane factory I was able to talk to our Brazilian tour guide, who is a professor, about some interesting subjects. I had wrongly assumed Antonio was of Portuguese descent, never assume. Antonio's family actually came from Italy to Brazil in 1910. It was much easier for immgrants from Italy to adapt to Brazilian culture than most immigrant groups. The reason being the similarities between Italian and Portuguese culture. His family made copper cauldrons which were then used in the sugar cane plantations.
I also learned that after the slaves were freed in Brazil the plantation owners searched for other ways to find workers. Their solution was indentured servants. Many Japanese and Italian immigrants signed contracts to work for a number of years with the intention of eventually being granted citizenship. I was fascinated to learn this. Eventually the process of indentured servitude ended in the early 1930's. Back to the Japanese, the place with the most amount of Japanese people, other than Japan, is Sao Paulo in Brazil.

I also found out that Brazil trades a lot of its products with Middle Eastern countries. In fact a good deal of chickens raised in Brazil are sent to Saudi Arabia. Brazil also exports a good amount of automobiles to the Middle East as well. I was told that Brazilian construction workers and engineers went to the Middle East to help build that regions infrastructure- roads, bridges, dams. I wonder if this is how the contacts were formed that eventually led to trade partnerships.

After about an hour and a half ride to the northern part of Pernambuco we arrived at the sugar cane mill. The name of the sugar cane company is Laranjeiras. The plantation is from the 16th century. The family that presently owns the plantation bought it in the 1950's. Before I forget, I had no idea but the reason why the sugar gets its white color is that they mix the sugar, chemicals and cow bones. The mill also has an alcohol distillery. The alcohol is not used for drinking but rather it is used as another energy source, ethanol. Ethanol is very popular in Brazil now.

The fastest growing market right now for Brazilian sugar is Africa. The plantation employs a total of 4,000 workers. Many of these workers are seasonal and only work when the cane is harvested. 800 workers are full time employees, they mainly work in administration and maintenance. The workers that work in the fields are guaranteed a minimum grower wage. In Pernambuco that wage is 615 real a month. Coca Cola is one of the biggest buyers of sugar in this region.  Pernambuco is the 2nd largest producer of sugar in Brazil. However some of the western states are beginning to provide more competition. These states are offering incentives for sugar companies ,in the east, to relocate to their location.

Sugar Cane Mill-conveyer belt taking the sugar to be boiled

Sugar Cane Mill

Church at the mill from the the early 1800's. Sitting on top of the hill which is the custom. Catholicism is the major religion.

The factory we visited owned 10,000 acres of sugar fields, a massive amount of land. The workers in the field usually are only able to work 10 years. The reason is that they are often subjected to large amounts of smoke when the field is burned. They do not wear masks and of course their health is affected tremendously the longer they work. The cane is burned so that the layers of leaves are taken away making it much easier to cut and this saves time. I also learned today that not all of the sugar cane has the same quality. There is a tool used to measure the sugar level of each particular plant. Back in the day factory owners would send testers to fields and say the quality of the sugar was poor to drive out certain field operators that were uncooperative or wanted too much for their crop. The first sugar cane plantation was started in 1517. The sugar was brought from India and it took off in the New World. In September when the sugar cane is harvested airports are closed due to the smoke created when the burning of the fields occur.

Ouch that sugar cane is sharp! It grows over six feet too. What a terrible face.

In the particular town that you will see below the mill is original. This mill is from the 1600's. The slave houses that were once there are no longer there. However what remains are the trees. Where the slave houses once stood there are still the Baobo trees that were planted when the first slaves came. The trees are native to Africa. Why would there be native trees that only grow in Africa at this plantation? The trees were planted by the Portuguese to make slaves feel more comfortable. The slaves would hold ceremonies near the trees and perform traditional dances from their far away home.

Standing outside one of the oldest churches in Pernambuco. Think of all the history that this church has witnessed.

The domestic slaves would stay in these quarters.

Beaufiful view of the surrounding area. That is the original mill down at the bottom of the hill.

Courtyard next to the church

Inside of the church. A wedding was being prepared for that night.

Picture of the village back in history. I reflected a good deal on what went on here : (

I got attacked by bats, not expecting that one. I screamed like a little girl and ran.

The African Baobo Tree-planted by the Portuguese to make the slaves feel more at ease

Notice the trunk of the tree, enormous

I felt a wide array of emotions at the plantation. Me being the history enthusiast I am, I could not help but transform myself in time. Picturing and imagining what life must of been like at this plantation 300 years ago. Much of the area looks the same. The church at the top of the hill is original. The landscape has not changed much in 400 years. I feel so sad thinking about what those slaves must have felt and experienced. The Portuguese were very hard on their slaves. Just like most slave masters. The work of producing sugar cane is very labor intensive. I just kept thinking this is the same piece of land where domination, inequality and subjugation occurred. It was a very eerie feeling being there. I will never forget the emotions I felt on this day. The site of the plantation that has changed very little through time.

After the plantation we went to a small town for lunch. The food was amazing. However we had a little bit of an uncomfortable experience. There was one man that was extremely loud and obviously had had too much to drink. He was walking around and being a nuisance around other tables. Then he eventually made it to our table. The man approached my friend and started rubbing my friends head and saying certain things rather loudly. At first it was funny because it was just once and he left. But then he came back and would not stop. Eventually he left the restaurant altogether. Well wouldn't you know it but he comes back. He not only comes back but he begins to bother my friend again. At this point I am shocked and upset. I finally had enough and asked the manager if he could get rid of this belligerent man that was ruining our meal. The manager was very nice and understood. He took control of the situation and the man was asked to leave which after some persuasion he finally did. I am just really thankful that my friend kept his cool and the man left without something bad happening. It was really awkward and uncomfortable. It is a shame the great meal was overshadowed by this unfortunate occurrence.

Yummy, Yummy in my Tummy

The last activity was touring the town of Vacencia. We were divided into three groups. Our task was to go around the various shops and find ten different products and find out where the products were made. We found a good deal of American products. However the American products were actually produced in Brazil. What we learned was that Brazil produces a good deal of products in their own country. Certainly a positive thing for them. Antonio later told us that Brazil has strict policies on the importation of foreign goods. They are obviously trying to protect their own businesses. This of course makes sense, for it is more expensive to buy foreign goods so people buy Brazilian products for they are cheaper and more affordable.

This old woman was so sweet.

We made the local newspaper. Check it out this Tuesday. I will put a link up.

I love wandering off. I walked into an alley and found this little boy. I played soccer with him for ten minutes. What a cutie he was.

Here is his brother and grandma. You can't see the mother but she asked me where I was from and was very friendly just like all the Brazilians we have encountered.

Vicencia