Sunday, May 27th, 2012 On Sunday we had a gorgeously displayed lunch with the Cacique’s family and Dona Helena brought us to where the sugar cane grows.

While walking through the sugar cane we had to be careful of the leaves so that they didn’t cut us because they are razor sharp. We cut down one stalk and brought it back to feed the outer “bark” to the cattle and we sampled the raw sugar cane.

During this time we learned that the cultivation of sugarcane is a back-breaking process and that work conditions are very poor. We also learned that to have the snow-white sugar that we are used to in America, the sugarcane must go through a very long process that requires a lot of work. This makes me wonder how much sugar Americans would be consuming if we all knew how much work actually went into producing our obsession with sweets; if we all knew about the poor working conditions and back breaking labor. If an individual were to cut down and process just the sugar that they personally consumed, would they continue to use so much sugar? 25.8 million people in US probably would not have diabetes. (http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/ddt.htm ) Beth

Monday, May 28, 2012 On Monday (the 28th) during a leisurely walk, we were invited (very impromptu) to view the video-studio where some of the Xukuru youth make their videos to raise awareness for Xukuru Human Rights issues. This video studio was on the second story of the cultural center that the Xukuru had built for themselves. I was very excited to see this studio because I had seen one of the Xukuru youth filming during the mass and march the first day that we were here. We were shown some of the videos that they had made, and although I could not understand the Portuguese speakers, the videos were very moving and I could tell that they were very informative and important to the Xukuru people. The videos were well made and high quality and you could tell that they had worked very hard on these films. I am very proud of the young Xukuru people for taking a stand and working towards what they believe in. I only hope that my stay here can help promote the work that they are doing. Beth

Tuesday, May 29th, 2012 Today (Tuesday May 29th) was an exciting day for us because we started our service work with the Xukuru schools, something that I have been looking forward to since we arrived. Bright yellow was the color that we painted the outer wall of one of the schools. The color was so beautifully brilliant that when the sun hit it at noon it looked absolutely stunning. I cannot imagine going to a school with such bright colors, mostly because the school that I attended from kindergarten to twelfth grade was made of simple red brick with very little adornment on the outside (other than a garden in later years). It wasn’t only the bright yellow outer wall that stood out to me, but how every Xukuru school is painted tan with a rainbow border at eye-level that wraps around the entire school. Not only do the schools have pops of color, but, as I have mentioned before, almost all of the houses are painted different colors that are not commonly used on houses in America. The colors used in decoration make me wonder what effects these choices have on the daily lives of Brazilians? Do these bright colors invigorate and inspire their inhabitants, or are they used only to beautify an otherwise slightly plain home? Do the colors chosen reflect upon the personality of the painter, or are they merely a decoration with very little thought put into them? These are questions that I will have to ask while I am here. But for now I know that painting the surrounding wall of the school excited the students and community members and seemed to have a very positive effect on them.

We started our work with only a few of the community members helping, and overtime more and more came to help (including the students.) When we were finished with the school one of the ladies in town made us an enormous lunch. I can see that there is a very strong since of community here because of the help that we received and the lunch that was prepared for us. It makes me wonder how much more frequently community projects would occur at home if all of us stopped to help when we saw our neighbors participating. Would there be a stronger sense of pride and togetherness in our communities if we took an hour out of our day to help paint the school or plant a few trees? These are the things that I think about at night and I strive to live out during the day.

Beth

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012 Because today (Wednesday, May 30th, 2012) is a free day, I had the opportunity to work on this blog and invite others to view it using social networking site…. I also had the opportunity to drink coffee for most of the day. What importance does coffee have on a blog about human rights and to the work we are doing here you may ask? Quite a bit actually. On the day that Dona Zenilda brought us to the gardens and showed us all of the plants that can be used for medicinal purposes, we were shown a coffee tree, which was probably the first time for many of us. Naively, I had always thought that coffee beans were already brown when they were picked and that they grew from a plant similar to green beans or peas – one that is very short and dies every year. I was very surprised when Dona Zenilda pointed out the coffee TREE to me and the beans were bright GREEN.

I was told that the beans go from green (when they are not ripe) to bright red (when they are fully mature), and that the dark brown coffee beans are actually a result of them having been dried. We were then shown how these dried beans were prepared for the coffee ground that we know. Dona Zenilda placed them in a stone grinder, and hand ground them and then let us all try. She made it look very easy and went very quick. When I tried to grind the beans I could barely turn the grinder once. This is another testament to how amazing Dona Zenilda is. One thing that I found very interesting about the coffee in this region, is that sometimes our coffee is prepared and served with sugar already in it. I am told that sugary coffee is served this way in areas that manual labor is common because the sugar provides an extra source of energy that is very much needed. This is a great opportunity for me to tell you how hard the people here work. They wake up at five o’clock every morning, have breakfast with their family, go to work a hard manual labor job, drink sugary coffee to keep their energy high, and don’t stop working until it gets dark (which is around five p.m.). These people do all of this while still fighting for their land and fighting for their rights as human beings. This is why coffee relates to a blog about human rights, because coffee is helping these people push forward and carve out a better way of living for their community and it also provides a medium for social interaction among community members. Many times has an offering of a cup of coffee started a conversation with a local, resulting in a stronger relationship with the people here.

Beth

5/31/12 On May 31st the entire family – with the exception of the cacique – loaded up in Paulo’s enormous 15-pac van and drove two hours to the city of Caruaru for a day of shopping. On the way there we picked up a couple people who needed to hitch a ride. I didn’t know until today that Paulo has a [not so secret] job as a taxi driver by day… so in turn, maybe he’s a superhero by night? :) I say this job is a “secret” because none of us (the girls) knew that he left during the day to do this – we thought he worked in the village with the cattle because every time we’ve seen him during the day that’s where he has been. We went to this huge market district in the city; to tell you the truth, it was pretty overwhelming. It was so packed – there was hardly any room on the sidewalks, in the stores, and the traffic was crazy. Lee and Marcia said they didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary because they’re so used to shopping in Latin America, but to us it was a completely new experience.

I would use the word “chaotic” to describe the entire experience. Everywhere one turned, there was tons street noise and hustle and bustle. I’ve been to large cities in the United States before, but I don’t think even they would compare. The first time I was plowed into by a stranger, I was really surprised – no “excuse me,” or apology, or even the slightest recognition that they had run into me. I thought it was completely rude! But then I realized that this is totally the norm here – people run into each other all the time and apparently it isn’t a big deal; they just move on with their business. I’m trying to picture how well that would go over in Grand Forks (where I’m from), and I don’t think people would take to it very well. I’ve been wondering why things like this just aren’t a big deal here like they are back home, but I can’t really think of reasons why. I know that in the United States we’re uptight about a lot of things, but I can’t justify not using manners or common courtesy. I guess here they don’t consider it “bad manners” so to most people this isn’t a lack in common courtesy, but I flat out just don’t get it. I suppose I’ll agree to disagree and leave it as a clash in culture. -Shayla

6/1/12 Today some of us went into town with Helena, Isabel and the kids. I had only been into Pesqueira two other times before today. Once during the march and last Saturday to get our hair done. The colors in Pesqueira and many of the buildings here are beautiful.

You will see building that are pink or bright green, colors that might have a problem getting through zoning laws in the U.S. Helena and Isabel took us to a couple clothing stores and a perfume shop. I was surprised again how friendly and laid back everyone seemed. The kids were running around being kids, and instead of giving their mother and grandmother rude stares, they would get head pats and smiles. People seem much more laid back and not in as big of a hurry. It is more important to spend time with other people than it is to be somewhere on time. These stores are more focused on effectiveness than efficiency. For example in the states stores are focused on getting the most customers in and out in the lest amount of time. In Brazil, the cashiers are at the back of the store. They have desks and chairs so you can sit and pay. It is so interesting how things so simple can be so different from culture to culture.

Erin

5/30/12 We had another free day today… it was a good day to catch up on some homework, laundry, and soak up a little bit of sunshine. It’s hard to determine if time goes by slowly or quickly here. Each day seems to crawl by at a nice languid pace while one is in the moment, but come bedtime I’m surprised that another day is already over. We’ve only got one week left in the house, and I’m already missing this place and the people. It’s hard to explain the feeling of wanting to come back to a place I haven’t even left yet.

There’s something about this community that makes you feel so at ease. It isn’t like the United States where everyone seems to be in such a hurry – need to be at this place, at this time, no time to stop, always need to worry, can’t bother myself with your life because I have my own problems to worry about… things just aren’t like that here. There’s a flow in every movement of every being; everything is as it should be, everything falls into place. We learn about culture shock when being thrust into a new/strange place for the first time, but we don’t think about it in terms of coming back to our “own” culture. It’s hard to believe that one can have trouble adjusting to being back at home, but we’re not the same people we were before we left; adjusting back into my pre-Brazil routine is going to take some time and a lot of patience.

-Shayla