So many exciting and new things we have experienced this week. One of the highlights this week for me is meeting the Rotaract team (young adults 18 to 30 who are advised under another Rotary club). Their club president, Liz is part of my host family. There are areas in Brazil that are very poor and yet you truly see the Rotaract members putting service above self. Liz had the members over to the house and they filled bags with a variety of chocolate eggs, bunnies and candies, I even was able to participate and had brought along the very American PEEPS which were also stuck in the bags. The group brought me to the school the next day and they passed out the treats and introduced me in the classrooms. They explained where I was from and I was able to show them on a globe. The hugs we gave the children just melt your heart, they were so happy to see us and have us take their pictures. I was so touched when some of them gave me the special rabbit they colored. The school really makes many things out of very little and the Rotaract club helped secure some computers for their classrooms.
I had a vocational visit with Dr. Elizabeth who actually works in very much the same areas of work that I do. She is a psychologist at a clinic, however, her primary job is to provide counseling and support groups to people who have experienced a death of a loved one. She was very generous and allowed me to sit in on a presentation she gave to her support group. They gave me a wonderful plant and it was exciting to share information. She works in a private clinic, the state of Rio Grande do Sul does have hospice care, however, much of it is provided in the capital city of Porto Alegre. It is a new field here.
We moved on the next day and went to Tupancireta where we toured a mushroom farm and a large company that cultivates soybeans and many other agricultural products. Wow, who would have ever thought there was a very particular process to this that needs much care. Mushrooms are cultivated by using rotting straw as the growing mechanism. There are particular temperatures that allow for growth and a pasteurization process.
Quinn, Jill, James and I climbed up to the top of the soybean storage silo - it was so full with soybeans one felt like if the fell, they would be swimming in a bowl full of cereal. We capped off the day with dinner with the outbound team heading for District 5580 it is the first time in this district that inbound and outbound teams have met. We were able to share some things they might expect in coming to Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and in Thunder Bay, Canada. I have no doubt they will experience Midwestern and Canadian nice!
Another highlight this week was going to Sao Pedro do Sul, we toured a petrified museum, where we saw dinosaur bones that were preJurassic age, and antiques of many every day items for this Gaucho culture. My most memorable moment on this day was when we all were able to ride a Creola horse in Gaucho land. They felt I was holding out as I trotted the horse and led it in and around posts, they said I drove the horse with the comfort one drives a car. This seemed to be a pleasant surprise. I loved riding the horse. This particular horse was trained to provide therapy to children with Down Syndrome through riding.
Will leave a few more events to the rest of the team to continue the saga of Team Brazil!
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