Dia 2 (19/6)

Today, we decided AGAINST walking  to ABA. (I still have no idea what the acronym stands for). Taking the bus was long, uneventful, and reminded me of when I was a missionary in Brasil a couple years ago. Today in class we learned about the jeitinho(jay cheen yo) which is the Brazilian way of getting through the red tape and cutting corners to make things more efficient. We use the jeitinho in the united states, but not to the same extent in which the Brazilians do.  We also learned about Brazil’s progress and that its recent improvement isn’t due to the world’s perception of Brazil, but more to the fact that the Brazilians’ perception of Brazil has improve. Brazilians are gaining more confidence and self-respect!

Halfway through the class, our teacher Vanessa told we were going on an impromptu field trip. We got 5 taxis and went to the other side of Recife, Recife Antiga, or “ancient Recife” to a neighborhood called Peixinhos “Pey sheen yoos”.  We stopped at a house which had been turned into a school. It turned out to be CCJ, another acronym which I will get back to you about.

One of the teachers from CCJ. This guy is standing next to his graffiti...ok well
that's takes first for unnecessary explanations of this week.

What they do at this school is amazing. They help young adults strengthen their skills with media courses such as Design and photography. After these young Brazilians finish this course, they return to their neighborhoods and try to make a difference there through their art. We met everyone and then they took us around the bairro (bye ho) neighborhood. We visited an old slaughterhouse which held the remains of several buildings, a large tower, and a lot of cool graffiti. 

Some of the artwork at the slaughterhouse. Not all of it was framed

One thing which was discussed today with these students was the significance of the kite in Brazil. It was interesting to hear some of the different responses. To some, it represented being a child, or youth. To others it was esperanca, or hope. One student even said that it was how he was able to financially provide for himself when he was younger. Wow, all I ever saw in a kite was about half an hour of fun before my attention span dwindled and I started craving some other material possession. Guess I have a lot to learn.

We will be working with these students during our time here in Recife. I look forward to getting to know each one of them more.

Ok, so I won't lie, we took this picture a couple times because we were trying to float but
all the pictures looked pretty hilarious so we just settled for this one.

Look how close my roommate Josh got!!

As we got back to the Jones’ apartment, my roommate and I decided once again that it would be great to go for a midnight swim in the freezing pool. After getting in, losing your breath and feeling in your body, and dunking your head under water, it’s totally worth it!

This was the closest I could get...what
if he was a poisonous frog?... and what if he was really a she?

On the way out we found a frog! My roommate Josh got a really good picture with it before the flash scared it away.

 Awesome day in summary. I hope yours is going well also!

Thanks for reading!!!