TRAVEL DIARY – the Dartmouth College Fall 2004 Portuguese LSA + Program in Salvador, Brazil.

Participants –

– Dartmouth Students: Brent Clayton, Jessica Elfstrom, Jordan A. Garrow, Shaina Landau, Amy Shaw.

– Dartmouth Director (2004). Professor Piers Armstrong. <Piers.Armstrong@Dartmouth.EDU>. Tel. Office (Vitória Campus) 71-336-4411. Cell: (71) 9918 2536.

– ACBEU Portuguese Program Coordinator and Family Placer: Professor Clara Ramos. Email: <clararamos@acbeubahia.org.br>. Tel. Office (Vitória Campus) 71-336-4411. Cell: (71) 9982-3524

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Technical note regarding the pictures ... we are experimenting with formats to send these pictures back to Dartmouth.. if you are looking via the web and it is hard to see, please let us know by email to Piers (<Piers.Armstrong@Dartmouth.EDU>)

Week 1: - arrival

Saturday, Sept. 25^th - D-DAY !

Off to a good start: All five students arrived on the same flight on Saturday morning and transferred to the hotel. No pictures taken here – let’s allow for jetlag!

On Saturday afternoon, after lunch and a rest, we headed off for a walk along the nearest beaches.

A view from above along the city coastline..

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Down by the boardwalk....

A view from the balustrade toward the landmark Barra lighthouse

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Volcanic rock formations are fun to climb on....

They also make the waves crash. Fortunately the water is roughly the temperature of a tepid bath!

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Now its time to wet feet in the South Atlantic ocean for the first time....

First, our intrepid troop cautiously survey the scene and discuss the possibility of South Atlantic shallow-water sharks...

hmmm... the locals seem to be experienced in these matters...

Soon locals and visitors are all mixed up. Best of all, still no sign of sharks....

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At the end of the day, a tropical sunset completes our tour and it’s time to head back and try to get some sleep..

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Sunday Sept. 26^th.

Clara Ramos, ACBEU Portuguese Coordinator, arrives at the hotel and meets the students in the lobby..

Lunch follows. While Clara takes a call on her cellphone from the van driver, our Language professor, Maurício, can be seen at the back on the right... as for Brent, in front on the right, “lunchtime is the right time”

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Monday, Sept. 27^th

After our first classes we head off for a tour of the city focussing on the cultural heritage... we filmed this with a camcorder rather than with still shots. But we did get a few in the interior courtyard of the famous São Francisco Church....

Our tour guide, Fred explains the ceramics, called Azulejos, a Portuguese tradition. These azulejos were originally exported from Portugual direct to Brazil along with more basic building materials, including stone (used as ballast in the ships).

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Interestingly, the theme of the courtyard panels is not saints in heaven but rather a religious view of life on earth... we even see some 18^h century spectacles here...

Are those spectacles? Hmm... let’s get our glasses.... ah, yes, indeed!

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Camels represent the Portuguese experience in exploration of the Old world (Africa, Asia) rather than the Americas...

zoom out, zoom in; zoom in; zoom out – it’s all a question of perspective! ... here is the panel in full...

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Our tour was supposed to conclude at a famous restaurant, but we were diverted by a generous invitation from Jordan’s Brazilian grandmother. It just so happened that Sept 27^th was the feast day of the twins, São Cosme and São Damião. In Bahia, this is traditionally the occasion for a rich meal of 19 ingredients, which is offered to friends and relatives as a votive (religious) form of thanks to God... here we see Shaina and Jessica in the background exercising their social Portuguese while Brent and Jordan are in the foreground...

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What next? Tuesday –Thursday is serious academic action. This weekend we head up the coast to Praia do Forte, with a castle and sea-turtle protection program. And on Saturday night rumor has it it’s Shaina’s birthday!....

Technology permitting, we’ll see you all next week..!