First Days in Brazil

Samba Concert

My first days in Brazil have been a mixture of trying to recover from jet lag and to physically get use to a new environment as well as touring the city little by little.  My hosts Joanne and Heidi have been great showing me around, feeding me, and helping me to begin to understand my new home.

My first day I took a short walk with Joanne, Maryknoll Lay Missioners country coordinator in Brazil.  As we navigated the broken sidewalks we passed many small shops, a grocery store, a few restaurants, and the metro (subway) station.  I felt very comfortable on the streets, tons of people and a lot of similarities of places I have been before like Bolivia, Peru, and Mexico.  The first evening Joanne & Heidi took me to a museum for a free Samba Concert.  It was a fun way to spend my first day in Brazil.

On my second day Joanne and I went to the Cathedral and to walk around the city center a little.  However, our first stop was at a program that works with the homeless population in Sao Paulo.   The program has people go out to the streets and collect trash which they recycle and make some really awesome things which they sell.  The center helps the homeless get a job and also does some work with self esteem and has a process of moving people off the streets.  I wish I had pictures to show you however, the center is in a part of town which it is not good for us to take pictures.  The area of town has a lot of drug cartels and they are always watching to see who is in their area.  At one point Joanne said we would stop speaking English because we did not want to draw attention to ourselves.  Joanne had worked in the neighborhood for several years so I felt really comfortable.  As we walked down the streets we passed a house where one of the woman recognized Joanne.  We stopped and visited.  As I looked in the small home there were several woman and children.  The room was size of one of my very small apartment living rooms.  Apparently up to 20 people live there together and that is a common occurrence.

We see scenes like this everywhere.

What seems to have had the most impact on me thus far is the homeless on the streets. There are so many everywhere we go.  They seem to really suffer.  A few that I have seen up close have no shoes or just one shoe.  Their feet are so cracked, bruised, dirty and full of sores.  They sleep on little or nothing.  Many sleep under the by-pass to avoid getting rained on.  On either side of them a busy roadway passes by.

One of my major reflections for the past couple of days is how many things in my life have prepared me for my time in Brazil.  From trips to Mexico I learned how to throw my toilet paper in the trash so as not to clog the pipes, I also learned how to brush my teeth out of a cup instead of water from the tap.  My trip to South America  last summer introduced me to some of the issues in S. America.  My time in New York helps me travel on the subway.  All those little things I am putting to good use here.

Cathedral 

City Center Square

St. Paul (Sao Paulo)

Overall,  I feel really good here.  Sure there are moments of uncertainly but that goes away with the wonderful support of my fellow missioners.  And so I look forward to the days, weeks, months, and years ahead.

Joanne & Heidi's Apartment                

My Bedroom

Kitchen