I woke up around 5:30 this morning and pretty much couldn't go back to sleep. The sun shines pretty directly into my window and I can't really think of anyway to avoid it.
I volunteered at CADEC at 8:00 - 12:30, but there were no kids today. We were supposed to wash all their uniforms and get the school ready for about 80 kids on Monday. We started off the day with some really strong and really sweet coffee that is popular here. I felt like I was developing diabetes immediately after drinking it. I decided to just start doing some outside work since I still don't really know how to ask permission to do it. I pulled all the weeds out of the cracks of the children's small play area and then swept the area. The play area surface is only half-way completed with interlocking bricks and the other half is just dirt. I saw some extra bricks underneath the porch, so I went about laying down the bricks and extending the pavement across the dirt section. I laid about 30 bricks and significantly extended the pavement in about 2 hours. I'm glad that I found this project because it gives me much more purpose than cutting out foam decorations for classrooms.
While I working on this project in the sun, I got the strangest looks from the staff. They were very appreciative but couldn't imagine why I would want to work out in the sun. Daniel told me that this is very strange for them because, "Why would I do it when someone else can?"
Geli, Nicole, and I went to the Garoto factory after lunch. The Garoto factory makes chocolate and was recently bought by Nestle. It is located in Vitoria and employs 3,500 employees. The whole area surrounding the factory in downtown Vitoria smells like chocolate 24/7. We scheduled a tour and our tour guide knew a little English. At two stations throughout the factory we were allowed to eat as much chocolate as we wanted, and we took full advantage of this. This chocolate had been made earlier that day and we very fresh and flavorful. As seen in the picture we had to wear sterile clothes and I even had to wear a beard net. I felt like I was eating chocolate and being prepped for a sterile OR at the same time.
After Garoto I had my first day at school. It was almost like I was a freshman again but much more confident. My teacher speaks only Portuguese and doesn't know any English.... very interesting. She is very animated and somehow I understand her very well. The first 2 hours are private tutoring and then I am in a general class during the second 2 hours. Nicole and I are in the basic class and Nicole is probably one of the best speakers. After hearing other people's Portuguese I felt a little better about my current level.
I got back to my house around 8:30 and went on a quick run and then ate some dinner. I spent the rest of the night talking on Skype and reading The End of Poverty for class
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