Today, after culture class, we went to Peixinhos, a low-income community about 1/2 hour away from where we live. We met some of the members of the organization we will be doing volunteer work with (CCJ) and it was really fun. Ou cultural interaction included talking about recycling, getting information on the different projects the group is involved with and we even talked about soccer and american football! The next 5 weeks will be fascinating as we work with this group.
As they talked about recycling and reusing pretty much everything people own, I was reminded (maybe felt guilty?) of how much I throw away, from food to household goods. Sure I donate to DI and MSS but I can do so much better in not wasting so much.We felt so welcomed by this group, I know I will learn a lot from them as we work together in improving the lives of the members of this community.
After our little get-to-know you meaning, we walked through town to find a place to eat. I have seen some poverty in the States and Europe, but what I say here was quite different. The food stores looked nice, but there were dozens of street vendors that parked on the side of the road and tried to sell their goods. The houses were more like shacks made out of different materials, from metal to brick, the roads were not well kept, the sidewalks were made out of broken up cement, and there was quite a bit of garbage spread out in certain corners of the town. The people though, seem to be decently dressed, clean and generally happy. There is one constant of what I am finding in Recife; the poor and middle class have a smile on their faces and they are willing to help us out all the time. For example, every time we get on the bus and ask for instructions on where to get off, two or three people start talking to us to help us out. It's so nice. Also, those that have a place to sit on the bus, volunteer to hold the bags or purses of those standing up! At first I felt a bit reluctant about doing that, but now I am used to it, and I even offer to hold people's stuff when I have a seat and they don't.
My favorite part of the day was talking to little kids!!! My family and friends know how much I love little kids and today I got to talk to them and they were so cute and friendly:)
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