Gramado and surroundings

Hi there!

Just a short update of the last days we've spent in Gramado. We arrived here at wednesday and had a relaxing afternoon. Just walking around, eating and having fun. Gramado is a small village that looks like the villages in Austria and Switserland, only then in a warmer climate. We ended that day with a cheese fondue, meat fondue and for dessert a chocolate fondue. Eating is a big part of our schedule of the day.

Gramado

Thursday we went to Taquara and Parobe and visited a university, shoe factory Bibi and a factory where they metalize plastic items for shoes, bags, etc. That evening we presented ourselves and the Netherlands at a joint meeting of the two Rotary Clubs.

At friday we met Irina. She is the coordinator of our exchange in Brazil and she took us to a wonderful waterfall in Canela! In the afternoon we visited organizations connected to our professions, such as a school, a sports club, communication agency and the local government. At the school in Canela there were at that moment no classes Geography unfortunately, but I met two teachers and we had a discussion about the school system in Brazil. We agreed that there is a need for improving the quality of the teachers and students. Especially in the public schools. Furthermore, they wanted to know a lot about The Netherlands and Europe. As a present I received a school book from one of the teachers. I had a good time, so thank you!

Waterfall Caracol

After the vocational part we visited a social project where they give poor children in Canela the opportunity to play music, play football and have extra reading lessons. The project is sponsored by Rotary Club Canela.

Today was a relaxing day. We stayed in Gramado and we visited the local fire department. Wouter climbed up the pole in stead of going down... After that, we went to the Zoo, a beautiful place with animals from all over Brazil. In the afternoon we went to the house of Santa Claus. In summer time, when he doesn't have to work, he lives here. It was really strange to learn that Santa lives in the south of Brazil and not on the North pole!

Tomorrow we will go to Novo Hamburgo. Tonight we will have a goodbye party with our host families with a BBQ.

I hope I can upload some pictures soon.

Greetz, Jo-Anne