From the very moment we began, hugs for everyone. There is a lot heart going into the program at Mais Caminhos and you can see it in the way everyone greets everyone when we pick of the kids. This is a short recap of first three days as a short term volunteer.
Day 1: Beach Day
What a great way to start off our week of activities. We also had a side project to collect recyclables for our special guest and project the next day- more on that next. Beach time was a blast- my only regret- not being prepared with my suit. I so wanted to jump in with the kids and they wanted me to play too! As we walked back to Caminhos, one girl decided to dub me “Tia Girafa” or Ms. Giraffe because of my height. I guess if I have a nickname, I’m in!
Day 2: Wilson: Surf Artist Extroidinaire
The artist from Vidigal, know as Wilson, brought a calm demeanor to our day. Not big on words, but his art spoke volumns! With plastic bottle spiders climbing the tree, and ‘robozinho’, the surfing robot made of spray cans by our side, we dove into our recycle art project full of enthusiasm and creativity.
Day 3: Wilson 2.0
Wilson is back and we have a larger crew of young artists to take advantage of this amazing opportunity to work with such an inspiring artist. Hot glue guns, bits of plastic, and scraps are buzzing in a jubilant frenzy of creative mania. The results range from fish, to other sea creatures, to all sorts of zany wearable trash-fashion. The day was also bittersweet as we had to say goodbye to a beloved long term volunteer.
We ended our week, much as we started, with loads of hugs all around.
I was also reminded several times to bring my bikini. Tuesday is beach day, you know!
Até Terça!
by Janelle Sowers, volunteer
Learn Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro at the Caminhos Language Centre.
