No Place Like Home

We're back in Canada!

Thursday morning saw us packing up to leave for the last time. Our flight didn't leave till the afternoon, so Joseph led us on a walking tour of Ibirapuera Park, where there was a museum of African history and art and places to find lunch. Next we toured the Estaciao da Luz, Sao Paulo's old-fashioned train station, where we found a piano in an open area and did a sort of flashmob, singing a few songs and ending with 'O Canada'. Across from the station is the oldest park in Sao Paulo, where we took another walk. Joseph pointed out various trees, like strangle-figs, jackfruit, and what is called an Amazonian telephone tree, used to send signals across distances. We tried to find the sloths that apparently live in the park, but were unsuccessful. A man-made rock formation held caves in which we found aquariums with Amazonian fish.

Saying goodbye to Joseph, we disembarked at Sao Paulo airport. Our check-in wasn't for a while, so we held our last choir meeting and then went to find food. The flight we caught to Toronto was held up at the start, so we missed our connection to Edmonton, but were all thankfully put onto the next flight out. We arrived in Edmonton Friday morning, tired and happy to be home.

As a choir, we've seen a lot of growth over this trip to Brazil. We've experienced a bit of the world, especially for those who haven't had the opportunity to travel much before. We've seen some of the wonders of God's creation, especially in places like Rio at the Christ Redeem statue, where you see the work of man pointing to God and then can turn and see God's work all around in glorious panoramic views. And we've come down from that mountain and witnessed some of the poverty and problems in South America - homeless people sleeping on the street or digging through the garbage for recyclables, barbed wire, gates and fences to keep people out. We've struggled to reconcile the two. We've brought our music to the people in Brazil, and they welcomed us with warm hearts and hugs and smiles. Music is one of the ways we can reconcile those two clashing worlds - we were able to bring Jesus to our audiences, and that is one of our major goals as a choir. We try to be "servants for Jesus' sake."

Many thanks to our leaders, our families and friends, those who supported us throughout the year, all those who showed us such amazing hospitality and generosity over the past two weeks, and all of you who have been following our adventures, praying for and thinking about us. We could not have done this without you. Muito obrigada - thank you so much.

We Came, We Saw, We Concertoed

Today was a full day in São Paulo. We started the day off by taking a bus and walking tour of the city, led by our guide Joseph. He shared with us some stories and some of the history of Brazil and São Paulo. One interesting thing we learned is that São Paulo has both a large Italian and Japanese population. We also learned about some of the political history in Brazil. The tour included walking the streets of São Paulo to see Japanese town, a large Catholic cathedral with magnificent architecture and stained glass windows, the opera house, and various important buildings. It was all amazing and interesting, however, most of us determined that we prefer some of the quieter, less busy cities.

For lunch we had the opportunity to visit a market. We were immediately overwhelmed by the smell of meat and fish when we walked in. We discovered various stands with fresh fruit, tried some unique juices including acai berry, ate at some good restaurants, and looked at various handmade goods. After lunch we headed to the University od São Paulo for a tour of the campus. They have various faculties including music and the campus is huge, almost like a small city. USP actually has a mayor. Following the campus tour we were shown to a space above their library to hang out before rehearsing for the concert. It was nice to relax and prepare ourselves for the emotions of the final concert.

We sang the concert in an auditorium with a lot of wood panelling. The concert was quite long as we sang almost all of our pieces. The crowd was small again but still enthusiastic. The university was celebrating 500 years of German influence on the city. It was unique to be able to be apart of that celebration since Concordia also has German roots. Everyone sang their hearts out and several of the senior members who are leaving as well as others were crying by the end, though some may try to deny it. It was a great final concert and a wonderful way to close out the singing portion of our tour, or at least the concert. On the bus Fernando and Joseph sang and taught us various Brazilian pieces.

Supper was at a place in the heart of Little Italy. We enjoyed a change in cuisine eating various pastas and other Italian food. We used the time to debrief and talk about favourite songs, memories, comments, and how we had changed. The unanimous decision seems to be that Brazil and the people have provided a life changing experience.

Tchou Rio!

Back in São Paulo for the third time! This time we've actually left the airport. We said goodbye to Rio this morning with a number of us walking down to the beach at 6 am for a swim. It was magical to watch the sun rise over the city while waves rolled in. We left our mark in the form of a maple leaf sculpted in sand on the beach. Those of us who had opted for less sleep in favour of the beach got back to the hostel in time for breakfast, sticky, sandy, and happy. By nine we were all ready to leave. Though we managed to fit in shopping, sightseeing, and swimming, we could have easily spent more time there.

Another flight took us to São Paulo, where we were met by our guide Carlos. As we drove through the city in yet another bus, he entertained us with fascinating stories about Brazil's and São Paulo's history, as well as interesting facts about the city. São Paulo is home to 11 million people, and 11 million more come in to work during the week - as much as the entire population of Canada. The roads, because the city is also home to 7 million cars, are as bad as Edmonton's, which made us feel right at home. We drove down one street that specializes in chandelier shops - this kind of specializes street is apparently pretty common.

We settled into our last hostel, which is very nice - koi fish pond by the entrance, twisting hallways and staircases, rooms with balconies, and an open-air courtyard. Some of us rested while the rest went out in search of grocery stores and did some exploring. There are a lot of hills here! We're spending the evening relaxing around the hostel, anticipating our last day in Brazil tomorrow.

We Found Jesus...For Rio!

Today was a whirlwind day of experiencing Rio. Our tour guide kept saying we needed a week in Rio but he was going to try and share as much as possible in one day. We were all wide-eyed and perky when we got on the bus at 8 AM...mostly wide-eyed from the bright sunshine. We set off at what was supposed to be a break-neck pace but quickly turned to a crawl due to crazy Rio traffic. We didn't mind the slow pace as there were beautiful beaches and yachts to look at not to mention the mountainous scenery. We finally arrived at our first destination...the Christ the Reedemer statue. We took a train up to the top to see one of the seven wonders of the world. It was indeed wonderful and magnificent. Several people attempted to take a selfie with the statue but weren't too successful. We learned that the statue is 38 feet tall including an 8 foot chapel inside the bottom. While the statue itself was great it was the view from so high up that was truly amazing. It was a 360 panoramic view of the city. Buildings, mountains, water, and beautiful beaches could be seen from all around. We took many photos that will make our families jealous when we get home.

After the Christ statue we were off to the Sugar Loaf Gondola. It was another chance to take in the beautiful scenery of Rio as the gondola took us up and across the mountains. We snapped a few pictures of climbers on the rock face. We took pictures of the beautiful greenery, the ocean below, and the white sandy beaches outlining the ocean. We then descended the mountain and headed for lunch. Lunch was on a military base but more importantly...a beautiful beach. Several people declared that coming to the beach was one of the main things they'd been looking forward to and immediatley headed for the sand and the water. The beach did not disappoint. The water was a beautiful temperature, not too hot and not too cold. It was blue and green with white foam. It was also very salty as some people discovered when they divided head first into the waves. Many people went fully into the water and enjoyed a rare chance to be in the ocean. Others stayed on the beach, worked on finally getting a tan so people will believe them when they say they've been to Brazil, and searched for shells.

After a thoroughly enjoyable trip to the beach we headed back to the hostel to prepare for our evening concert. Our concert was hosted at PUCS Rio and was about a five minute drive from the hostel. Once again the short drive was dragged into a long one, 30 minutes, due to Rio traffic. We finally arrived and were shown to our venue which had great accoustics. It was a unique experience because the crowd was the smallest so far, around 50 people, and we followed the PUC choir. We were a bit concerned by the size of the crowd and following a very good and very different choir from our own. Once again we were blown away by the Brazilian crowd. After one song it was clear that a small audience did not mean a low energy level. The concert went wonderfully and we had a chance to meet some of the choir members afterwards.

Our evening concert was a little earlier, 6 PM, so we headed to a night market to do some shopping. It was a good chance to get some souvenirs, experience some local night life, and enjoy a relaxing evening. We then headed back to the hostel to grab dinner and begin the nightmarish task of repacking our suitcases.

Today`s blog title was created by Courtney and Randi

The Bus is Our Home

We're in Rio! Our billets brought us to the university in Ribirao Preto this morning and we said goodbye to each other with hugs and songs - and confetti! A bus rode took us to the RP airport, where we caught our plane to São Paulo and finally Rio, both short flights. We were able to see the famous Christ Redeem statue on our way in, as well as the beautiful waterfront. The humidity, much more than where we've been so far, hit us like a wave on the way in.

We were met by Fernando's family and a guide, who guided us safely through the crazy drivers and narrated the bus ride to the hostel. What we saw of Rio was beautiful - old buildings, parks, palm trees, glittering ocean, soccer games, the whole thing up against the mountains and cliffsides. There were streets lined with skyscrapers and trees, a glimps of the sea at the end like the end of a tunnel. The hostel's crammed between tall buildings, with narrow hallways and white stucco and shutters, and  actual key-shaped keys for the rooms.

After devotions in the common area, we split up,  some heading to a grocery store a few clocks away while others went out to experience Rio's nightlife. We were able to use the kitchen again to prepare food. We've enjoyed our few hours in Rio so far and are looking forward to a busy day tomorrow!

We Finally Get to Give an Ovation

Today was a late morning start which was much enjoyed by all. We met at the university at 11 AM and were off to a buffet lunch. We had a chance to eat lunch with some of our billets and it was fun to get to know some of them better. We also got to know our two guides a little better as they came along and shared more information with us. They were shared a mix of interesting facts and dry humour that kept us both informed and amused. The fun really began after lunch when we visited a samba school. The pounding music, fast feet and hip action where incredible and daunting to watch. Some people got in on the action. After watching the dancers perform we were encouraged to join them. Some brave souls tried it while others sat in chairs and filmed them for future blackmailing purposes. Those who joined in were enthusiastic but quickly discovered you can't learn to samba simply by watching someone do it. Overall it was a great culture experience.

After lunch we drove to Batatais to visit the Good Lord Jesus of Green Sugarcane Church (sugar cane is grown in the area). The church had beautiful artwork and stained glass windows of different scenes from the Bible. Outside of the church was a fare with women selling crocheted goods and food. We seem to cause a stir wherever we go and always know when people are aware of our presence even if they speak in Portuguese. Words like Canada and English could be heard from the announcer and soon we were asked to sing a few songs and of course take pictures.

Following the church tour we stopped at a mall for dinner. From there we walked to the theatre we had visited previously for one of the coolest experiences so far. We were invited to see the Symphony Orchestra of Ribeirao Preto and sing at the intermission. The concert featured a guest viola soloist from Canada. The music was amazing and I personally had various pictures of majestic animals, bright colours, calm breezes, and playful scenes running through my head. The orchestra was given four standing ovations and played three encores. The last encore we later discovered was dedicated to us. It was a samba piece and featured a fabulous trumpet solo. It was fun to be on the giving end of a standing ovation and to slowly transition claps into a steady beat to ask for an encore. We came out of the concert dancing, humming the music, and talking excitedly.

OIBO- Only in Brazil Once

Two posts in one day, since login issues prevented an update last night. Friday morning was spent touring the university campus and Riberiao Preto by bus, with two university students as our guides. Parts of the campus are wilderness fenced off with big, yellow signs warning to stay out because of giant, hairy spiders. After another buffet lunch, we had the chance to walk around a little, though it was really hot (+37!). Our billets came to pick us up and take us to their homes for a few hours before bringing us to St. Angela's, the Catholic Church where our concert was held. The space was beautiful- lots of light and an amazing reverberating space to sing in. The university choir opened the concert with a few songs and then we sang our portion. Again, Salve Regina got a standing ovation and the audience asked for two encores! The second one, a bossa nova piece in Portuguese nearly brought the house down. Dinner at a restaurant followed and then for most of us bed. Some people had a chance to experience a bit of the night life at a local pub as the next day was a late morning start. When in Brazil do as the Brazilians do! OIBO!