FROM AMERICA TO BRAZIL written by Kelly Park
SAINT FRANCIS HIGH SCHOOL, MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA
MS. WILSON, MR. MARRION, ISABEL, MARISA, AIDAN, OWEN, CHRISTINA, CLARINDA, KELLY, HEIDI, DIEGO, ROHAN, KELLY, FRANCESCA, LISA
The Journey On 8am on Sunday morning, I arrived at the airport with my parents. Although they went to my high school, I did not really know my classmates that well,
so I was a little nervous. That quickly changed throughout our long journey to Brazil. With several cancelled and delayed flights. We all bonded during
our long hours in the airport and
spending
the
night
sleeping under the benches. Soon, I had 13 new best friends. We finally arrived in
Brazil on Wednesday morning at 1am. Even though we were tired
from
our
3
days
of
travelling, we were so excited to start our work at CECOIA. None of us were prepared for how much fun we would have.
CECOIA We started our work at CECOIA
on Wednesday morning after
getting 2 hours of sleep. Although we were pretty exhausted, we were so excited to start working with the children. We started by playing some games like musical chairs and a relay race. Then we played some “duck-duck-goose� which was really fun. We finished our session with the younger group by dancing around. We
separated the group into boys and girls and had a competition. We danced until the music stopped and then we had to stop in place. If someone moved, they had to leave the game. Which ever team had the most players in the end, won. Because there were about three times as many girls and boys, the girls won. I had a really
great time getting to know some of the younger children and getting to experience their culture.
America 8-1 Brazil Then, the older children arrived at CECOIA. We started by playing a little 3 vs. 3 soccer game. I have played soccer since I was 5 years old and love to play. I have also been offered a scholarship to attend Boston University to play soccer for the school. I was so excited to play with these kids. In the first game, Diego, Aidan, and I had not figured out our team chemistry yet, so we lost our “warm-up� game to the Brazilians. Starting after that, we stepped up our game and scored three goals very quickly. The kids kept subbing in and out of the games. We played a total of 9 games, and only lost the first one. Our goalie, Aidan, was solid and did not let anyone past him. Diego, our center mid, was skilled and kept the ball as well as scoring lots of goals. As the only girl playing, I was a little nervous. I do not think that the kids expected me to be good. They were definitely suprised when I scored 8 goals on them. All the boys started cheering and my teacher said that they all had a crush on me. That was probably coolest thing I have ever done. I absolutely love playing soccer and it was amazing for me to see children at such a young age in a country where soccer is so popular. I will never forget that experience or my time here in Brazil. I hope to visit again some time in the future.
Day 5 On Thursday, we went to Colegio Notre Dame and toured the campus. It was so fun to get to see how another Holy Cross school works. Then we went outside and watched their band perform “Holiday� by Green Day. It was so good! Then we got on the bus and I sat next to Mari, we got along very well. We went to Paroquia Santa Clara and ate lunch with some Notre students. Then we split up into 4 groups and went to the houses of people in the community who were sick. The woman I visited was named Navidad and was so happy that we came to visit her. It was a truly powerful experience that I will never forget.
Day 6 On Friday, we woke up early and headed to a public daycare with some Notre students. We got a tour, played some games and made posters. They taught us how to play “bat� and Brazilian dodgeball, which is much different than American dodgeball. Then we came back to Notre for lunch, which was amazing. With a new group of students, we went to visit an elderly home. We asked the
residentes if they wanted to play BINGO with us. Then we wheeled them to a room where we brought them hot chocolate and snacks. It was so nice to hear the stories of these people. Even though we had trouble communicating with them, our Notre friends helped so much by translating and helping us have conversations with them. I
am so thankful that I have met so many great people here.
FESTA DE JUNINA I had heard so much about the Festa de Junina from the Notre students but I hadn’t expected that it would be this amazing. I tried so many different kinds of Brazilian foods, but the pastel was
definitely
favorites.
I
one
also
of
my
loved
the
french fries, they were much better
than
the
ones
in
America. I had so much fun
spending times with my new Brazilian
friends,
especially
Joao, who translated so much for us and was fun to be around. By far, the best part of
the night was the fireworks. They were the most amazing thing
I’ve
America,
ever the
seen.
fireworks
In are
never that close so it was so
cool to see them so clearly. I had an amazing time.
Feira de Artesanato On Sunday, we woke up early and went to the Artisan fair. There we met Catarina, Carolina, and Joao. We split up into groups and
made our way around the tents. Our group stopped at the second stand we went to and spent about an hour there. There were so many beautiful bracelets and necklaces. The owner was also very funny and helpful. We each spent about 60 reals there. Then we found out that we didn’t have much time left, so we sped around
the park trying to look at all the stands. I bought an elephant figurine for my mother and a Brasil soccer shirt for my father. I also bought my sister several bracelets and a tie-dye sweatshirt. That night, we went to mass at Colegio Notre Dame. It was a little hard to understand but very nice. At the end, Marisa, Christina, and
Clarinda sang “Send You Out”, a very popular song at our school liturgies. It was a very fun day and I enjoyed experiencing the Brazilian cultures.
Our Final Day Today is our last day at Notre Dame and in Brazil. I am going to miss all the amazing friends I have made on this trip. I’d like to thank all the faculty and staff, students and other people who made this
trip so much fun. I hope to keep in touch with all my new Brazilian friends. I will never forget them or the time I have had here at Notre Dame. Ciao!