I'll fly away
Suddenly as people here realize that I'll be flying to the U.S. in a couple of days, the requests are beginning to pour in for things to bring back to Brazil for them, from deoderant to electronics. The other times that I've visited Brazil, I only knew one Brazilian couple well enough to bring stuff from the U.S. for them. Now, I have quite a few colleagues here that are hoping to be able to take advantage of the cheaper prices and greater availability of certain items in the U.S.
I'll be mostly visiting family and my home church in North Carolina, in addition to giving talks in other churches. Most of the journey will be with my parents in their motorhome, which will be a new experience for me. After seeing Brazilian urban traffic on a daily basis, seeing U.S. traffic should be relaxing (even if my dad, a.k.a. Mario Andretti, will be driving...:).
Two of the pastors that were on the recent Volunteers in Mission work team from the Virginia conference talked to me about the possibility of attending seminary. I explained that I'd tossed around the idea before, but that the idea of more formal schooling, particularly in the area of theology, is not particularly appealing to me. But, I added, I would think about it. Living in North Carolina was also not particularly appealing to me when I interviewed for the job there almost five years ago, but it was where I needed to be. So now I'm adding the seminary possibility to my previous option of applying to become an actual missionary.
It was good to interact with the Virginia conference team during their stay here. I was particularly impressed by their lack of complaining, even when they had good reason. For example, the water got shut off in that part of the city for a whole day, so they were able to only take limited showers, etc. until the city restored the water late that night. (It was the first time I'd ever heard the phrase, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.") That is why everybody seems to have "water boxes" on top of their houses. They are not cisterns to catch rainwater as I originally thought, but they receive water pumped in by the city so that whenever the city water goes out, you have some reserves. One thing I've noticed is that the water has gone out twice in the São Gabriel neighborhood since I've been here because of a major construction project, but never in my nearby middle class neighborhood, which is currently experiencing the same construction. Coincidence? I think not...
The team also showed remarkable spirit when they spent several days painting a mural in the cafeteria, only to accidentally cover it with a non-transparent sealant early on their last work day. Once the mistake was realized, everybody pitched in and started all over again, finishing in one day what had previously taken several days to complete.
This was the first time that a team was hosted in the community center itself, so this was the most interaction that the Brazilian staff at São Gabriel had ever had with a work team, and they really enjoyed getting to know the various team members. When people were sitting around at lunch today, they were remembering the team and remarking how much they missed having them here.
My big accomplishment for the day was obtaining a Brazilian social security number (CPF). I want to buy a health plan here, which is much cheaper than the health insurance I purchased last year in the U.S., but you need to have a CPF. You also need a CPF if you want to buy: real estate, a cell phone, an airticket online, etc. I only found out on Friday that I would need one to get the health plan, so I immediately went into panic-mode trying to figure out how I could get one. In some of my online research, it looked like you'd need to present your birth certificate or other original document with your parents' names on it, and I realized that the birth certificate that I have in my possession does not list my parents' names. Then I realized that my parents probably still have the original with their names on it, but they are currently on the road in their motorhome. After much prayer and a few phone calls, it seemed that I might not need the birth certificate and that I needed to start the process at a Bank of Brazil branch, so I went to the one in our neighborhood. Once I went to stand in line, I saw the sign that said they only do CPF stuff on Tuesday through Thursday, and, of course, it happened to be Friday. Thankfully, like many rules in Brazil, it was not strictly enforced, so after waiting in line a little bit and asking the guy who just went on break, I was able to go to the inner offices, help the guy fill out the computer form, and go upstairs to pay the fee (a little more than US$2). That was the first step, and you can only complete the second step on the next business day. This afternoon, I went to the Finance Ministry office and stood in a surprisingly short/quick line to get the number and code to wait for the actual person who could help me, and that went surprisingly fast, too. As a matter of fact, the woman spent more time slyly eyeing her colleagues and text-messaging on her cell phone than actually helping me, but it's all water under the bridge when I was able to leave there in less than 45 minutes with the prized CPF number. Record timing for any Brazilian bureaucratic procedure!
The kids are back at the projects after a short recess marking the end of the folklore festival. We were discussing today what to do with the English classes, and the newest volunteer, David, opted not to teach them by himself while I am away, so the classes will resume when I return in September. The other volunteer, Chris, is about to take off to do his originally planned travel through Brazil.
When I was talking to the educational coordinator at São Gabriel today, she mentioned that the program always has to keep a few slots open for children who are placed by a government program for kids who were working illegally (when they were too young). I asked if any of the kids were currently from that program and was given a few examples. I was imagining that the kids might be forced to be street vendors, but the teachers said a few of them had actually been doing very difficult jobs (e.g. mason's apprentice). Apparently this is a significant problem here in Brazil because there was also a rally at the Sunday street market downtown against child labor.
I was able to see my first films in Brazil this weekend, thanks the free independent film festival. I actually got to see "Born into Brothels," which I'd been wanting to see since it was released in the U.S. I really enjoyed it, and it was especially interesting to be watching it with a Brazilian audience, who reacted audibly to a few things familiar to them--kids flying kites, waiting in bureaucratic lines, etc. I could completely relate to the narrator's attempts to equip the prostitutes' children with the tools and opportunities to be able to improve their lives and escape poverty, because it's a hope we experience everyday for the children in the Shade and Fresh Water programs.
I'll be mostly visiting family and my home church in North Carolina, in addition to giving talks in other churches. Most of the journey will be with my parents in their motorhome, which will be a new experience for me. After seeing Brazilian urban traffic on a daily basis, seeing U.S. traffic should be relaxing (even if my dad, a.k.a. Mario Andretti, will be driving...:).
Two of the pastors that were on the recent Volunteers in Mission work team from the Virginia conference talked to me about the possibility of attending seminary. I explained that I'd tossed around the idea before, but that the idea of more formal schooling, particularly in the area of theology, is not particularly appealing to me. But, I added, I would think about it. Living in North Carolina was also not particularly appealing to me when I interviewed for the job there almost five years ago, but it was where I needed to be. So now I'm adding the seminary possibility to my previous option of applying to become an actual missionary.
It was good to interact with the Virginia conference team during their stay here. I was particularly impressed by their lack of complaining, even when they had good reason. For example, the water got shut off in that part of the city for a whole day, so they were able to only take limited showers, etc. until the city restored the water late that night. (It was the first time I'd ever heard the phrase, "If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down.") That is why everybody seems to have "water boxes" on top of their houses. They are not cisterns to catch rainwater as I originally thought, but they receive water pumped in by the city so that whenever the city water goes out, you have some reserves. One thing I've noticed is that the water has gone out twice in the São Gabriel neighborhood since I've been here because of a major construction project, but never in my nearby middle class neighborhood, which is currently experiencing the same construction. Coincidence? I think not...
The team also showed remarkable spirit when they spent several days painting a mural in the cafeteria, only to accidentally cover it with a non-transparent sealant early on their last work day. Once the mistake was realized, everybody pitched in and started all over again, finishing in one day what had previously taken several days to complete.
This was the first time that a team was hosted in the community center itself, so this was the most interaction that the Brazilian staff at São Gabriel had ever had with a work team, and they really enjoyed getting to know the various team members. When people were sitting around at lunch today, they were remembering the team and remarking how much they missed having them here.
My big accomplishment for the day was obtaining a Brazilian social security number (CPF). I want to buy a health plan here, which is much cheaper than the health insurance I purchased last year in the U.S., but you need to have a CPF. You also need a CPF if you want to buy: real estate, a cell phone, an airticket online, etc. I only found out on Friday that I would need one to get the health plan, so I immediately went into panic-mode trying to figure out how I could get one. In some of my online research, it looked like you'd need to present your birth certificate or other original document with your parents' names on it, and I realized that the birth certificate that I have in my possession does not list my parents' names. Then I realized that my parents probably still have the original with their names on it, but they are currently on the road in their motorhome. After much prayer and a few phone calls, it seemed that I might not need the birth certificate and that I needed to start the process at a Bank of Brazil branch, so I went to the one in our neighborhood. Once I went to stand in line, I saw the sign that said they only do CPF stuff on Tuesday through Thursday, and, of course, it happened to be Friday. Thankfully, like many rules in Brazil, it was not strictly enforced, so after waiting in line a little bit and asking the guy who just went on break, I was able to go to the inner offices, help the guy fill out the computer form, and go upstairs to pay the fee (a little more than US$2). That was the first step, and you can only complete the second step on the next business day. This afternoon, I went to the Finance Ministry office and stood in a surprisingly short/quick line to get the number and code to wait for the actual person who could help me, and that went surprisingly fast, too. As a matter of fact, the woman spent more time slyly eyeing her colleagues and text-messaging on her cell phone than actually helping me, but it's all water under the bridge when I was able to leave there in less than 45 minutes with the prized CPF number. Record timing for any Brazilian bureaucratic procedure!
The kids are back at the projects after a short recess marking the end of the folklore festival. We were discussing today what to do with the English classes, and the newest volunteer, David, opted not to teach them by himself while I am away, so the classes will resume when I return in September. The other volunteer, Chris, is about to take off to do his originally planned travel through Brazil.
When I was talking to the educational coordinator at São Gabriel today, she mentioned that the program always has to keep a few slots open for children who are placed by a government program for kids who were working illegally (when they were too young). I asked if any of the kids were currently from that program and was given a few examples. I was imagining that the kids might be forced to be street vendors, but the teachers said a few of them had actually been doing very difficult jobs (e.g. mason's apprentice). Apparently this is a significant problem here in Brazil because there was also a rally at the Sunday street market downtown against child labor.
I was able to see my first films in Brazil this weekend, thanks the free independent film festival. I actually got to see "Born into Brothels," which I'd been wanting to see since it was released in the U.S. I really enjoyed it, and it was especially interesting to be watching it with a Brazilian audience, who reacted audibly to a few things familiar to them--kids flying kites, waiting in bureaucratic lines, etc. I could completely relate to the narrator's attempts to equip the prostitutes' children with the tools and opportunities to be able to improve their lives and escape poverty, because it's a hope we experience everyday for the children in the Shade and Fresh Water programs.
posted by Christine Piggee at
5:25 PM
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