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

Participants –

– Dartmouth 2004 Students: Brent Clayton, Jessica Elfstrom, Jordan A. Garrow, Shaina Landau, Amy Shaw.

– Dartmouth 2004 Director. Professor Piers Armstrong. <Piers.Armstrong@Dartmouth.EDU>.

– ACBEU Portuguese Program Coordinator and Family Placer: Professor Clara Ramos. Email: <clararamos@acbeubahia.org.br>.

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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>). If you are looking at them in a Word document, use Normal View mode rather than Print Layout (both in the “View” drop-down menu). In Word, you can enlarge or reduce the photos as you look at them by clicking and dragging...

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Various weeks - outings within Salvador

The program involves various educational outings within the city of Salvador. Certain events, such as the visit to a terreiro of Candomblé could not be photographed. These images are a pot-pourri.

In week 5, we visited an educational project called Cidade Mãe (Mother City) which offers children at risk an alternative curriculum focusing on a particular workshop activity for half the school-day, while the other half they attend regular classes.

We were shown various workshops. Here is the sewing one

The group we visited were in a dance class lead by Professora Fátima, a professional dancer.

The students were all girls, of a range of ages

The group performed two coreographies for us.

After that we divided into groups for a chat, then draw pictures.

By the time we had to leave, the kids had really bonded with the Dartmouth students

In fact the meeting drew quite a few curious onlookers from other classes

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Another day we visited the school of the famous bloco afro, or Afro carnival club, Olodum.

It was a day of celebration for the 20 years of the group, as the school teacher explained. On the board, along with Brazilians, were pictures of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and African revolutionaries

Part of Olodum’s curriculum is band-practice and dance, and after the lecture they paraded around streets of the historic center (Pelourinho)

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The Pelourinho is at the heart of Salvador’s cultural life. The handsome residences have been restored and converted to commercial and community use.

There are also many churches

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There are also many educational institutions at the Pelô.

Prof. Chico gives a field lecture with the old Faculdade de Medicina as backdrop

The adjoining Afro–Brazilian museum features some good background documentation on the trans-Atlantic African presence and cultural evolution in Brazil

It also present the magnificent art of the honorary Bahian, Carybé, depicting the deities of Candomblé

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We continue our tour of the historic area moving on to the house where Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands was filmed

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Just around the corner, lo and behold is Clara’s father-in-law’s house, and we are invited for a special lunch of cozido, or veggies stewed in meat broth, one of the great Portuguese dishes...

By the way, he was a desembargador, or high court judge... old school manners please!

On the back wall there, a serious collection of plates!

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OK, back to school!!

Here is our dia dos professores... – done with ACBEU profs and Dartmouth and U.C. students..

A nice time and a feed was had by all!

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Another outing is to the theater, where we see a performance by kids formerly “at-risk” from the Projeto Axé intervention project. They have preparing for 2 years! The theme of Iroco is time, in various aspects.

And speaking of time, ours is up... after just 10 weeks, with 8 in Salvador and 2 away...

GOODBYE SALVADOR...

On December 2^nd we hold our farewell dinner with students, families and teachers. Based on a student vote, we headed back to Boi Preto, the notorious all-you-can-eat restaurant we went to in the first week.

The photographer here is Amy... To protect the innocent no names are listed!

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Our last day of class in Salvador – Friday, Dec. 3, 2004. Despite the fatigue from various exams and essays due, or maybe because of it!, the class celebrates by building a human pyramid, which stays upright just long enough for us to get pix.

By-bye Brasil, até a próxima, se Deus quiser