Sao Paulo Day
Greetings from Brazil!
Yesterday was so amazing! A few of us went into São Paulo to encourage some of the members of our church who work in the city during the week. It was such an eye-opening experience for me in a lot of ways.
The first thing when we got to Sao Paulo was get lost. Actually, we didn't really get lost, but we took a wrong turn and since the roads are so poorly planned, it took us an hour to figure out where we were and get back to where we started. The plus side was that I got a little tour of the city! I couldn't believe how it just kept going and going, building after high rise after high rise, and they tell me I only saw a teeny portion of the Sao Paulo.When we passed some of the favelas (slums), it was overwhealming to try to take it all in. Not so much living conditions, but the sheer number of people there were. I don't have any pictures of this. I couldn't help but think about how places like these in Brazil birthed the samba schools. The most significant and important forms of Brazilian music and dancing came from the poorest, least educated people.
The second thing we did was visit a church in the city that was rebuilding itself (inside and outside) after having a rough past.
Then, we went to a churrascaria for lunch! Let me tell you how it works: First of all, there's a salad bar that includes things like dumplings, fried chicken, stir fry, raw ground beef, veggies, rice, and fejoada. Then, you get to your seat and these guys come around with huge stakes of meat. You just tell them which one you want, and they cut it right there on your plate. For those of you who know how much I generally dislike meat, you will be proud to know that I even ate half of a chicken heart (now I'm really a Brazilian!)
After lunch, we made the drive to another part of Sao Paulo to a church member who hosts a college Bible Study each Wednesday night. A lot of the church members go to school in the city, so this Bible Study is a good way to break up the week and help students keep on track in their walks. We talked about what it means to remain in Christ. Since coming here, I have been on "Brazilian Time," which means that everything has a laid back, it-happens-when-it-happens attitude. After spending most of my life as someone who had a heart attack if I was 30 seconds late for class, it is an unexpected surprise that Brazilian time doesn't bother me at all. In fact, the best thing that happened to me was having my watchband break in the Miami airport. I never know what the exact time it is unless I dig my watch out of my pocket, which maybe happens twice a day. But that's how things go here--everything is chronological, but not according to a scedule. It's not about getting things done, it's about developing relationships. And I'm realizing that because I'm not so stressed out about DOING stuff and GOING places, I can spend as much time as I want KNOWING people...most importantly Christ...more and more. This is the foundation of remaining in Christ.
At one point, some of us went up to the roof of the apartment building. No matter which way you turned, you were looking at São Paulo. A concrete rainforest of building after building after apartment building that stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. If you click on the photo, you can see how the buildings just keep going! So many people--I can't even begin to fathom the 20-30 million people that live in the São Paulo area. (Just imagine the rush hour congestion if they all had cars!) The sunset from up there was gorgeous--the pollution made for lots of different colors!
So that was yesterday (Wednesday). Today, I tried to catch up on some backlogged e-mail, and I gave 4 private lessons in the afternoon (tuba, trombone, flute, and saxophone). They all went pretty well, especially the tuba and trombone. Thank you to everyone who helped me get a crash course on these instruments before summer started! It's really helping!
Tomorrow we're going 4-5 hours into the interior of Brazil to an itty bitty church where we'll run a music clinic. I just found out that my responsibilities will include teaching a 4-hour guitar class (how in the world am I going to teach a 19-person guitar class for 4 hours straight without any books or materials and only 3 guitars? Any ideas? Please e-mail me quickly!) and a similarly long but bigger recorder class with just as few recorders. We'll probably also do some singing and playing at the church service.
Please pray for supernatural teaching abilities. To me, especially after just having finished an $80,000 band budget project for a class at UM, the task ahead of me seems beyond impossible, especially with no preparation time (and the car ride is going to be too bumpy and windy for me to do any work without getting sick). But I know that this is the Lord's work, and He will provide a way for me to pursue it with excellence because He has chosen me for this job. I am still clinging to His promise to make His strength perfect in my weakness.
Yesterday was so amazing! A few of us went into São Paulo to encourage some of the members of our church who work in the city during the week. It was such an eye-opening experience for me in a lot of ways.
The first thing when we got to Sao Paulo was get lost. Actually, we didn't really get lost, but we took a wrong turn and since the roads are so poorly planned, it took us an hour to figure out where we were and get back to where we started. The plus side was that I got a little tour of the city! I couldn't believe how it just kept going and going, building after high rise after high rise, and they tell me I only saw a teeny portion of the Sao Paulo.When we passed some of the favelas (slums), it was overwhealming to try to take it all in. Not so much living conditions, but the sheer number of people there were. I don't have any pictures of this. I couldn't help but think about how places like these in Brazil birthed the samba schools. The most significant and important forms of Brazilian music and dancing came from the poorest, least educated people.
The second thing we did was visit a church in the city that was rebuilding itself (inside and outside) after having a rough past.
Then, we went to a churrascaria for lunch! Let me tell you how it works: First of all, there's a salad bar that includes things like dumplings, fried chicken, stir fry, raw ground beef, veggies, rice, and fejoada. Then, you get to your seat and these guys come around with huge stakes of meat. You just tell them which one you want, and they cut it right there on your plate. For those of you who know how much I generally dislike meat, you will be proud to know that I even ate half of a chicken heart (now I'm really a Brazilian!)
After lunch, we made the drive to another part of Sao Paulo to a church member who hosts a college Bible Study each Wednesday night. A lot of the church members go to school in the city, so this Bible Study is a good way to break up the week and help students keep on track in their walks. We talked about what it means to remain in Christ. Since coming here, I have been on "Brazilian Time," which means that everything has a laid back, it-happens-when-it-happens attitude. After spending most of my life as someone who had a heart attack if I was 30 seconds late for class, it is an unexpected surprise that Brazilian time doesn't bother me at all. In fact, the best thing that happened to me was having my watchband break in the Miami airport. I never know what the exact time it is unless I dig my watch out of my pocket, which maybe happens twice a day. But that's how things go here--everything is chronological, but not according to a scedule. It's not about getting things done, it's about developing relationships. And I'm realizing that because I'm not so stressed out about DOING stuff and GOING places, I can spend as much time as I want KNOWING people...most importantly Christ...more and more. This is the foundation of remaining in Christ.
At one point, some of us went up to the roof of the apartment building. No matter which way you turned, you were looking at São Paulo. A concrete rainforest of building after building after apartment building that stretched as far as the eye could see in all directions. If you click on the photo, you can see how the buildings just keep going! So many people--I can't even begin to fathom the 20-30 million people that live in the São Paulo area. (Just imagine the rush hour congestion if they all had cars!) The sunset from up there was gorgeous--the pollution made for lots of different colors!
So that was yesterday (Wednesday). Today, I tried to catch up on some backlogged e-mail, and I gave 4 private lessons in the afternoon (tuba, trombone, flute, and saxophone). They all went pretty well, especially the tuba and trombone. Thank you to everyone who helped me get a crash course on these instruments before summer started! It's really helping!
Tomorrow we're going 4-5 hours into the interior of Brazil to an itty bitty church where we'll run a music clinic. I just found out that my responsibilities will include teaching a 4-hour guitar class (how in the world am I going to teach a 19-person guitar class for 4 hours straight without any books or materials and only 3 guitars? Any ideas? Please e-mail me quickly!) and a similarly long but bigger recorder class with just as few recorders. We'll probably also do some singing and playing at the church service.
Please pray for supernatural teaching abilities. To me, especially after just having finished an $80,000 band budget project for a class at UM, the task ahead of me seems beyond impossible, especially with no preparation time (and the car ride is going to be too bumpy and windy for me to do any work without getting sick). But I know that this is the Lord's work, and He will provide a way for me to pursue it with excellence because He has chosen me for this job. I am still clinging to His promise to make His strength perfect in my weakness.
posted by Joy | 6:31 PM
5 Comments:
YIIIPPPEEEEEEE!!!!! Go trombone! I am really proud of you....
Oi amiga,
Estou orgulhosa de você! Vai dar tudo certo esse final de semana.
Até amanhã....
Beijos
Mi
Great posting!! You know we enjoyed the "food" descriptions the most. From what I have been reading, I think this trip is just what you were looking for when you originally had the idea. You are doing music, you are in a group with others your age, you are being challenged, and it is related to your Church activities. The pictures are great. How about one in your lessons with your students? Good luck on the drive to the country. It brings back memories of my stay in Colombia. Glad you are being adventursome with the food.
Aunt Sandy
You can thank Micheli ("Mi") for the photos! I discovered that I don't have to take my camera anywhere--she took 90 photos yesterday! She's a great photographer!
Hey Joy!
Greetings from Alaska! It's great to be able to hear and see how you are doing. Hope you continue to enjoy, learn, and grow from all this. I'll be praying for you and checkin in every now and then.
Peace!
Evan Privoznik
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