2011-04-18
Several months ago, Joselito Crispim, the director of Bagunçaço (and Mike’s host dad) finished writing a book about the after-school program he founded nineteen years ago. Last week was the official book opening, held at an artsy bookstore within an upscale movie theater. Joselito hired a bus to transport some of the kids to the...
Read More2011-03-28
Every month the Fellows get together for a two or three day meeting in which we talk about our living situations, apprenticeship progress, and various cultural, historical and social issues. I’ve found that the most important aspect of the monthly meetings is the opportunity to spend time with the GCY-Brazil team, and that’s exactly what we...
Read More2011-02-15
Last Thursday, with a full day ahead of me and an agreement from our last monthly meeting to step up efforts on the blog front, I set out to work with a flip camera in hand, ready to capture whatever the day had to offer. The footage is here, but without explanation of what viewers...
Read More2011-01-07
It’s been two weeks since I moved in with my new host family in the inner-city neighborhood of Baixo Petroleo in Salvador, and I’m starting to wrap my head around what life here will look like for the next three and a half months. I live on the top floor of a three-story concrete building...
Read More2010-12-07
Living in the city of Salvador has presented the greatest challenge for me thus far. As an enthusiastic hiker and camper, I’ve been having nature withdrawals in this crowded, polluted, and relentlessly noisy city of three million people. I have yet to spend a night in Brazil in which I do not fall asleep to...
Read More2010-11-21
I was recently invited to go to the mall with Laura’s host-sister and several of her 15-year old friends. I eagerly accepted their invitation because I had not yet had the opportunity to spend time with Brazilians close to my age and learn about Brazilian pop culture. I’ve never been a mall person, but disregarded...
Read More2010-10-22
Last week we were fortunate enough to be invited to tour the palefitas in Salvador. Palefitas are similar to favelas in the sense that they are quickly constucted slums, but palefitas are built on wooden stilts over water. Needless to say, these are not sturdy homes. Walking over the planks residents have placed between homes...
Read More2010-10-14
After roughly 28 hours of traveling we arrived in Salvador and immediately began to soak up our surroundings. We sat down for dinner at a few plastic tables situated in the middle of a street, but before we could order we were engulfed by a political parade. I honestly thought that the stories about Brazilian...
Read More2010-10-04
Earlier this week the fellows journeyed to San Francisco to learn about empathy. We spent six hours exploring the often-avoided Tenderloin neighborhood to talk to people and to hear stories in order to better understand homelessness and some of its causes. As a native of Petaluma and frequent visitor of San Francisco, I was somewhat...
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