Hei Norge! (Hello Norway!)

On Sunday, June 27, I landed in Norway. After a ten hour flight from Sao Paulo to Germany, a 7 hour lay-over in Munich and a 2 hour flight from Germany to Norway, I had arrived. That afternoon, I set foot on the land of my ancestors...good old Norway.

It was an interesting feeling. A bit uncomfortable, a bit exciting and a bit adventurous. As I stepped off the plane, I was among a sea of blondes, something I had certainly never seen in Brazil, and maybe hadn't seen to that extent in my entire life. And that's when it hit me... I was in Norway!



I will be here for six weeks, taking courses at the University of Oslo along with 600 other students. As many of you know, I am here on a Peace Prize Forum scholarship covering the fees for my room, board, airfare and tuition. I was one of 10 American students to receive the scholarship.

At the university, I will be taking an intensive course in Scandinavian Politics every morning from 8-10. In the afternoons, I will be attending a seminar for Peace and going to guest UN lecturers and visiting UN sites. It's quite the program!

Here is a picture of the dorms I live in... beautiful!



While I am currently antsy to get home, I think this time in Norway will be a great adventure for me. It will be a time for me to look at the politics of a different country and really see how the UN is playing a role in world peace. I'm hoping to really learn and grow from this experience.

See You Later Brazil...

It was a Saturday afternoon. After a full year in Brazil, it was time to say goodbye. Or, not necessarily a goodbye, but at least a "see ya later." Adriano was busy with an event he had been planning for months and my host mom had to go to work, so I was heading to the airport alone. Or so I thought. At the last minute, me friend Leo came all the way to accompany me to the airport and send me off.



A year. A year is a long time. And yet nothing. It flew. And yet was cram packed with memories. In a year I learned so much, grew so much, changed so much, matured so much. I'm not the same person I was when I left. And I'm okay with that.

A year. Wow. It was a hard goodbye. A lot of hugs. A lot of kisses. A lot of tears. But it was a necessary goodbye. It was just hard to leave the place I had loved for 12 months...

It's good for me to leave and have the opportunity to see if Brazil is really what I want. It's important for me to finish my college education. And, of course, it's going to be great to see my family and friends from back home again. But it was hard... very hard to say goodbye.

As I said goodbye to Leo, I cried. As I worked my way through security, I cried. As I got my visa stamped and worked my way through customs, I cried. As I boarded the plane, I cried. As I took off, I cried. But they were good tears, full of all the great memories I had had in the past year. And, thank goodness, I know I'm going back.

As I left Brazil, Leo left me with a note talking about our friendship and my time in Brazil. And the last lines were the lyrics to the song "Wheel" by John Mayer. They fit the situation perfectly so I had to post them for you.

"And airports
See it all the time
Where someone's last goodbye
Blends in with someone's sigh
Cause someone's coming home
In hand a single rose...

And if you never stop when you wave goodbye
You just might find if you give it time
You will wave hello again
You just might wave hello again"

I'm starting a new phase in my life, being in Norway and traveling through Europe. I'll be finishing up college and concluding some research projects. And... I'll be hopefuly starting out on my own again in Sao Paulo.

It was a great year. And hopefully just one of many more to come.

Dad's Reflections

As Erin’s father, I am writing this article as a follow up to one I started a couple of months ago but never sent in for her to post. In March Marlene and I were privileged as Erin’s parents to visit Brazil and see the place and the people with whom our daughter Erin has spent the last year. It has been a wonderful year for her – filled with new places, people, ideas and passions. From a distance we have read of her exploits and on Skype we have been able to see her, hear her or chat with her. By the time she returns home this summer she will have turned 21 and in some official way become an adult. With her brother in Germany as a foreign exchange student this year – it has been a year of change for our family – our kids venturing out to new places and we as parents learning a new chapter in our own as empty nesters.

Our time in Brazil was a great experience. We saw Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, some of the surrounding countryside and some of the beaches. We learned much about Brazil – a rapidly growing economy that looks like a world leader in many ways – and a developing nation with much left to work out in others. We saw more motorcycles on the roads than we’ve seen in other places. We saw lots of efficient cars and lots of luxury cars. And Sao Paolo must be one of the capitals of the world for high-rise buildings. There are tall buildings everywhere! And Rio was beautiful and fun and we enjoyed a tour of the city, beaches, food and bossa nova music.

A few weeks after we returned to the United States, we heard of floods in Rio. The areas where poor people live, called “favelas,” had been washed away in some places. Many homes were destroyed and many lives were lost. These areas are places where people build their homes on poor quality land, often with beautiful views, but literally stacked one house on top of another (sometimes seven stories high!). When the rains came, the poor quality of the ground meant buildings collapsed and lives were lost. Had we not just toured these communities we would have hardly noticed the story on the news. But since we had just seen these places and met some of the people there, the story of the floods took on a new image and significance for us. It is a good reminder of how traveling opens our eyes and our minds to whole experiences and ways of life that we might otherwise miss.

Another piece that was important for us was that this was a time and place where we visited our daughter on her turf. She knew the place, the people and the language. She was the knowledgeable one. We were the guests and she was the guide. It was nice to see what a capable woman our daughter is becoming and to see her talk to people in a language she didn’t speak just a year ago – and to do it well.

Erin is leaving Brazil this week. She won’t be coming home to us but is heading off to Oslo for another adventure as part of the Nobel Peace Prize forums in Norway. More new places, people and stories. It will still be a few weeks before we see our daughter but it is nice to know she is growing up with her eyes and ears and heart open to new people and experiences. It is a different world than the one we grew up in just a generation ago and she and others are preparing to lead it – and I think they are going to be ready to do it well.

Birthday in Brazil

21 years old. On June 25, I turned 21 years old. Because I didn't get to celebrate my birthday with friends or family the year before, I wanted to make sure to celebrate my birthday this year.

And celebrate I did! My host mother made homemade pizza and cake for my birthday. We had a variety of family friends come over to join in the fun. Starting at 8:30 that night, the people began to pile in. We enjoyed a late night of food and and good conversation. It was a happy birthday!

It's a Date

Well, I waited a while to post this... but I'm officially dating in Brazil. His name is Adriano and I met him last September. However, we didn't start dating until this Spring.



While the distance is far (me in Norway, him in Brazil), we'll see if it can last. He's currently planning to come visit me over Christmas.

Hmm... let's see. The usual questions are:

How did you meet him? We met at a concert/club last September but didn't keep in touch well.

How old is he? 23. His birthday is May 12.

What does he do? He is an English teacher at two high schools. He is also finishing uop college and will be done in December.

Any more questions? Ask me in a few weeks... I'm almost home!!!!!!!!

Mato Grosso do Sul, Saturday & Sunday (Part 2)

To learn more about the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, the five students headed to the public university early Saturday morning to take a class on the history of the state as well as learn some information on the native populations in Brazil.



It was really interesting for me because I learned a lot about the background of the area and how the history is affecting the current conditions in Brazil, especially in places outside of the major cities in Brazil, which are less affected by globalization and more affected by the past and traditions.



After the class, we headed to a fish restaurant. And, like the night before, we ate and ate and ate. It was quite a meal.



Following the meal, we headed an hour away to a private area where a man was able to take us out on a tour of the lake by boat. The boat was small so we had to separate the group into two. Here is a movie of the tour:



Finally, we closed out the day going to a local family’s home and eating some snacks and conversing with them. It was a great way to see how life in the vast, hardly inhabited state of Mato Grosso do Sul really is.



On Saturday, we slept in a bit more and then headed to the local water park. Every day up until then had been beautiful weather so we were so excited to finally be able to enjoy the sun and soak up a bit of a tan. However, the day quickly turned cloudy and cool, making it a chilly day at the pool. Here is a picture of me being attacked by a bird at the beach. I don't think I've ever been that scared before in my life... Haha.



We ate a delicious lunch. Here is a video of the lunch we had with some traditional Brazilian music:



We finished out the day heading back on the bus and arriving in Sao Paulo the next morning at 6am. Overall, it was an interesting experience and it was great to see how the countryside of Brazil lives, something I had not yet experienced in my year here in Brazil.

Mato Grosso do Sul, Thursday and Friday (Part 1)

Mato Grosso do Sul (The thick forest). Two weekends ago, I ventured out of Sao Paulo. It was one of my first trips outside of the city in a long time. It had been a while since I had last traveled across the Sao Paulo border, but it was a good chance to escape the city air and light pollution for a bit. And escape it I certainly did. Mato Grosso do Sul is the bunt of a lot of jokes in Sao Paulo, being known as a hardly populated, back-water state. I went to the city of Tres Lagoas, a “large” city of 80,000 there. The trip was coordinated for the Americans who had stayed in Brazil an entire year, making the total 5 students in all.



While it was a good experience, I’m not going to lie… I missed Sao Paulo shortly after leaving… However the good thing about the state is that it is much warmer than Sao Paulo. The cold Sao Paulo winter (okay, 50s and 60s are cold for me...) is certainly not my idea of the Brazilian paradise.



To arrive at the next state over, I took a 9 hour overnight bus. I left Thursday night and arrived early Friday morning. Unfortunately there were a number of stops on the way so every two hours a large group was leaving and a new group of people was entering, making it impossible to sleep. Lights on, people yakking, it was not a pleasant night's sleep.



Friday morning I dined at the hotel and then my group headed out to the local hydraulic power plant. It was terribly. A six hour tour of the power plant and surrounding local projects left me exhausted and in a somewhat grumpy mood.



However, I did learn one interesting tidbit on the trip: In Brazil, during a major soccer game, the power plant has to have extra people watch the energy usage. While the game is playing, the energy usage is fine. However, during a commercial break, all of the people using the power from the plant leave their televisions on during the commercials and use the bathroom, pop popcorn, etc, draining all the energy stores! I thought that very amusing.



In the middle of the tour, we stopped for a much-needed lunch break. Here is the movie I took of us eating a traditional Brazilian lunch and listening to Brazilian music.



That night, we took a tour of the downtown of the small town of Tres Lagoas. Then the group headed out to a Churrasco. It was the best Churrasco in town and it was packed. A Churrasco is a Brazilian BBQ. We ate. And ate. And ate. There was beef and chicken and fish. There were beans and rice. There were salads and bread. And for dessert, there was baked ice cream. It was a meal meant for royalty. And it was delicious.



Following the dinner was the option to visit a dormitory to meet college students. However, after the long night of now sleep from before, I was suffering from a terrible cold and could not go out. I enjoyed a good night’s rest though.

The Job Interview

So I don’t want to leave Brazil. After 12 months here, it’s my home. I speak the language, I know the bus routes, I walk the streets at night, and the people I spend my time with are here. This truly is a place I am happy at.

But, I guess you can’t always have what you want. My visa is expiring. I have school to finish in the U.S. I won a scholarship to study in Europe. I have a lot of neat opportunities ahead that don’t involve Brazil. So what’s the second best alternative? To move back after graduation in January 2011.

But how will I do that? Well contrary to popular belief, gaining a visa in Brazil for an American is not an easy thing. By no means is it a walk in the park. And besides studying, there are just three ways for an American to live in Brazil: 1) Have a Brazilian baby 2) Marry a Brazilian 3) Be contracted by a company in Brazil to work a job that a Brazilian cannot work. At this stage in my life numbers 1 and 2 do not seem like good options so I am going for number 3.

And today was one of my first steps in that process. I have been working for over a month now on perfecting my Portuguese resume and, finally, it came of use. On Tuesday, a friend of mine at my university told me that she had mentioned my name at her work, Rockwell Automation, and that they were very interested in me. As an American, I would be an asset to the Brazilian branch of the American company.
So today, very excited, I made the trek to the other side of Sao Paulo. It was over an hour and a half and, fortunately, since it was the day after a holiday, there was almost no traffic to worry about. It was a journey in and of itself. But it was a good journey, well worth the time.

At Rockwell Automation, the company works to import finished manufactured products and sell them within Brazil. They are looking for someone to work within the logistics department working with the shipments that are coming from the United States, especially Chicago, into Sao Paulo. As an American, I would be an especially useful asset for them. While I do not really understand much about logistics, I would be able to learn to work with the transportation of products and importation of the finished products coming to Brazil, as well as work competing against other companies to receive the products.

While this may not be the job I choose to take next January, it is a neat opportunity I am excited to think on.

Black, White and Grey All Over...

It’s not just black and white in Sao Paulo... there is a bit of grey too. The people here are a range of any possible color from the varied European, Native Indian and African groups. The buildings range from red to yellow to blue. But, for some reason, the cars lack any sort of creative color... In Sao Paulo, there are three car color options: White. Black. Grey.

But why is that? In the U.S. we have red cars and green cars and brown cars and blue cars. Not to mention the crazy colors that come out such as unique oranges, yellows and purples that some people purchase. Well, I haven’t done any research, but this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. Why in the world does Brazil not have colored cars?



And there are two things I can think of. First, Brazil’s over-filled streets used to be fairly empty not long ago. Only recently have Sao Paulo and some of the other big cities in Brazil, such as Brasilandia and Rio de Janeiro, been able to afford cars. This idea of each family having access to a car is very modern as Brazil’s economic strength in the world is also a new concept.

As cars became more and more popular in Brazil, a few cheap models have flooded the streets. Everywhere you look, there are the same three or four car models. The car model companies sell cars cheap and in the same color, so there aren’t options for people to choose from.

However, I think this lack of car color goes beyond the fact that these three colors are affordable cars. I think colored cars come with a status. Someone with a car with color, therefore, is seen as someone who can go above and beyond the average car and therefore has an excess of money. And in Sao Paulo, no one wants to be seen in the street as having an excess...

My hypothesis is that this lack of color out and about on the streets has come about as the majority of people have purchased the same color and those who can afford to purchase something different don’t want to stick out. In the U.S., it is normal for people to have any color, so the car does not stick out as much. Here, no one wants to be the odd man out, the yellow car in the sea of greys or the orange car in the wave of blacks. Being the odd man out in Sao Paulo risks being the person whose car is vandalized, robbed or attacked. And, as far as the streets are concerned, “blending-in” means living with a sea of black, white and grey.