Mother Nature Gets the “Last Laugh”

Focus.  Planning.  Mental preparation.  Coordination with your teammate and the NGO.  Look ahead, but don’t wish the week away.  Check & recheck the daily calendar.  These are all thoughts that continue to swirl around in my head.  The “finish line” is less than 6 days away.  Sunday’s activities are critical and will contribute to a successful week and a successful month in Uberlandia.

Members of the CSC Team had plans throughout the entire day and night, but I felt it was critical, for me, to be “uber” productive on Sunday.  (Pun intended.)  When I awoke, logging on to LotusNotes and wading through my IBM e-mail was the first order of business.  (Checked that task off of my “To Do” list.)  After that, I caught up on my blogs.  Saturday required two separate blogs, Part I & Part II, because it was chock full of activity.  (Check.  Done.) 

In lieu of taking a bunch of laundry to the lavanderia around the corner from the hotel, I opted to do some hand washing in my hotel room.  Since my big travel weekend back to Tampa was less than a week away, I just needed to clean a small load of laundry by hand.   (Another "To Do" marked complete.) 

At 11:30AM, having been up since 6:30AM BST, it was time to make a run to the supermarket.  (Ironically and interestingly, the grocery store is located on the bottom, bottom floor of the local shopping plaza.)  When I left the hotel, it was a bit overcast, but also partly sunny too.  To get to the market only requires a brisk 12 – 15 minute walk.  When I went into the building, the weather was dry.  When I came out, the skies opened up and I had no choice but to head back in the rain. 

Here’s the “gotcha” part of my story.  When I was packing in Tampa, prior to even getting on the plane, my wife told me to pack my rain coat (i.e., a wind breaker, of sorts).  For the first 23 days, it was hot and dry, hot and dry, and hot and dry.  There may have been a little bit of rain sprinkled in here and there, but I never had to wear my rain jacket.  Well, on Sunday, M.N. (Mother Nature) got the last laugh.  When you least expect it, she’ll get ya’!!! 

It was about 2:30PM BST when I finally arrived back at my room.  From that point on to when my head hit the pillow, (other than when I Skype’d with my wife and 2 daughters for about 90 minutes), I was working on our documents and deliverables for the Ipe Institute. 

Our last Monday in Uberlandia is "right around the corner"...   

Evening Sky Over Uberlandia:

      

          

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R & R, Friends, & Frivolity (Sat., 9/28/13 - Part II)

At about 12:30 local time, I bid my fellow CSC team members farewell, and it was off to the next event.  Toni & Camila were both celebrating their birthdays because coincidentally, they had the same birth date.  Initially, the get together was scheduled for Ipe’s main location, but the location changed to Camila’s & Itamar’s house.

       

Surprisingly, Uberlandia is a very walkable city.  If one chooses, he can walk for 20 – 25 minutes to get from the hotel to downtown.  However, being prepared for walking, in the middle of the day, requires hydration and sun screen; and I had neither.

       

When I arrived at Camila’s & Itamar’s home (Rua dos Girassois, 185, in the Cidade Jardim), I paid the cab driver $22 Reais and rang the buzzer.  After about 5 minutes, Toni opened the gate and let me in.  Their two boxers (Shrek & Amigao) greeted me with deep, intimidating barks.  Fortunately, in their case, they are very playful and their size isn’t matched by ferocity.   (Amigao  =  Big Amigo)

Throughout the course of the afternoon and evening, there were a lot of laughter, eating, and good times.  Our comida (food) was prepared “tropeiro” style.  According to Itamar (my walking, talking encyclopedia of knowledge), tropeiros are a type of Brazilian cowboy.  When they are out in the countryside, they make meals out of whatever they have with them:  beans, farina, meat, vegetables, etc.  (I’m kicking myself for not taking a picture of the food we were offered.)

This was the only time I was at their house during the day.  (The 1^st time Hajira and I went at night to kayak under a full moon.)  I marveled at the different types of fruit trees on their property: mangoes (multiple varieties), cacao, tamarind, citrus (not sure what type), coconut palm, and the list goes on.  Additionally, they had a huge, white ipe and several other flowering trees. 

         

After patiently awaiting all day long, I finally was able to get some pictures of native Brazilian parrots, that periodically would stop by at Camila's & Itamar's back yard and eat mulberries.  

   

(NOTE:  This was definitely the wrong day to wear white shorts.  After walking in the city, sitting in the Mercado Municipal, and playing with their two boxers, my white shorts showed streaks of dirt and dust.  UGH!  They required about 20 minutes of attention and lots of “elbow grease” when I got back to the hotel.  When I arrive back in Tampa, I’ll give them a good soaking in bleach.)

   

After a long day of being out in the elements, the CSC Team headed back to the hotel at about 9:00PM.  Lucila graciously agreed to drive us back because she lives near the hotel.  (This was a blessing because last time we called a cab to pick us up, it took almost an hour for it to arrive.)   

        

                 

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Shop 'Til You Drop? (Sat., 9/28 - Part I)

Today was the last day our CSC team members could finish personal tasks, i.e., go shopping, relax, recover, and enjoy the sites.  Larissa graciously offered to be our own personal shopping assistant.  About 8 of us met in the lobby downstairs and piled into 2 cabs.  Our Saturday destinations were Praça Tubal Vilela and Mercado Municipal.  (To walk from one area to the other, you only need about 10 - 15 minutes.)

Praça Tubal Vilela is one of Uberlandia’s many plazas (praças) and it sits in the middle of a 10 – 12 square block area which includes 75 – 100 different stores.  Larissa thought the density of stores would help those of us who wanted to make a day of shopping.

(For the rest of this blog, I’ve decided to use fewer words and provide more pictures.  My intent is to give you, the reader, a better visual idea of what downtown Uberlandia looks like.)

Here are some photos of the main plaza: 

        

        

(NOTE: The view from high above the plaza is courtesy of Google Images.)

               

Olaf, Robert, and I happened to meet up around 10AM because none of us was having any luck finding special things for our family members back in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Netherlands, and U.S. respectively.  As we walked larger concentric squares around the plaza, it was apparent to all of us that Saturday is a big shopping day.  The locals were pouring in and out of many of the shops and just about everyone seemed to be on a mission. 

The day was hot and dry.  We knew, even before we arrived at the plaza, that we would be doing a lot of walking.  After following what we thought were the right directions to the Mercado Municipal, we ended up asking 3 different local people how to get to the Mercado.  When all 3 locals gave us similar guidance, we agreed to move in that direction.

           

The Mercado had a peaceful ambiance to it when we arrived.  However, that wasn't a surprise because we arrived early (by Brazil standards).  It was only 11AM and the rest of our team wasn’t supposed to show up until about noon.

     

To be continued...

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Plans Are Coming Together

Daniella, Jun, & Luchino all came to the Ipe today, even thought Dani and Jun were still fighting the flu.  We hadn’t seen any of them this week because they have been dealing with a nasty illness.  (Fortunately, no one had to be hospitalized.)  Neither Dani nor Jun were close to feeling 100% better, but Friday was a day where many questions had to be answered to finalize the Ipe Atelier’s business case.   (Remember, Ipe Atelier is Ipe’s eco-fashion start-up business.) 

For about 90 minutes, Toni, Dani, & Luchino discussed the logo, Twitter account, and business model with Paul & Leslie.  While they all gave the Ipe Atelier their undivided attention, Hajira and I continued to fine tune and finalize our 8 – 10 deliverables. 

           

Toni juggled many things on Friday:  an RFP (Request For Proposal) which was due at City Hall by 5PM BST, an upcoming community painting event where the CSC Team spends a half day (Tuesday, 10/1) at a local NGO, and planning his birthday event.  The RFP was assigned to Marcela (Chiago’s wife).  If this didn’t get submitted by 5PM to City Hall, then Ipe wouldn’t be eligible for special funding next year (2014).  If the paint didn’t arrive on Friday (or Monday, 9/30 at the latest), then the community service project would probably have to be canceled.  As for Toni’s birthday celebration, Toni and a small group of his friends were planning on going to “Club London” in downtown Uberlandia.  However, the fun and revelry weren’t going to start until about 11PM.

    

Just before lunch, Toni’s preoccupations were equally shared across all 3 items.  By the end of the day, all was well.  Everything that was worrying him just hours ago had been properly handled & completed; or at least well on the way of being complete.

The CSC Team shut down at Ipe a bit early (approx. 4:30PM) on Friday.  Itamar wanted to drive us to the hotel, but before going there, he wanted to show us some of the white ipe trees, that were in full bloom, near City Hall.  When we arrived at the stretch of road where the white ipe trees grew, we saw the trees, but none of the blooms.  Itatmar mistimed his drive to the outskirts of town.  Because the white ipe only holds its blooms for a couple of days, we must have just missed them in all their glory. 

One surprise made up for the lack of blooming ipe trees.  While driving in one direction on the road, I noticed a pair of corujas (a.k.a. burrowing owls) on the other side of the median.  One was on the ground right next to the road and the other one was in the tree.  On the way to the hotel, we were able to slowly drive by and take several pictures.  

I spent most of my night working on our deliverables and getting caught up on my blog.  Friday, 9/27/13 is now officially "in the books".

                     

This friendly lizard was sunning itself on Ipe's wall.              Amora sunning herself.

     

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Mingling with the "Locals"

After today (Thursday, 9/26), we really only have 5 more business days in which to finalize our deliverables.  Next Friday morning, 10/4, we close out our month long assignment with another visit to the mayor’s office.  All of the CSC Teams will be presenting a recap of their challenges, the objectives, what was done to address their challenges, the solution, and the potential impact. 

During the morning, Hajira focused on presenting a tutorial and some knowledge transfer on several sections outlined in our HR Framework document.  While she worked closely with Toni and Camila, I worked on tying up the loose ends.  Just like in may other areas of life, the 80 / 20 rule applies with our project:  (it seems like) 80% of our time, over the final 5 – 7 business days, will be spent on 20% of the work. The "little things" often take the most time.

As has been the case on many other days that we’ve worked at the Ipe, many new & returning visitors came through the front gate to see Ipe first hand.  In one case, a pair of brothers (Solomon & Adam), who Itamar has known for a while, came from a town approximately 150km away to see the Ipe in person.  (Itamar previously shared their story with me and explained they are part of a 15 person family who live on a beautiful piece of the cerrado.)  We also met Fernando who works as a biologist and a eco-construction consultant.  He was instrumental in creating the walls at Ipe which showcase creative ways to use recyclable materials.  (He has been a regular consultant with Ipe since 2008.)  

    

One thing I have observed first hand with regards to Toni.  When he finds someone who he knows, trusts, and is confident can contribute to the Ipe, he knows how to keep them engaged and committed to he cause for years and years. 

In the afternoon, we were invited by an administrator at  São Paschoall to visit.  This school regularly visits the Ipe and is only about 3 blocks away.  The purpose of our visit was to hear a presentation given by some young students in English.  These students had already given the presentation, in Portuguese, last Thursday, 9/19 to their parents and domestic helpers.  (During that session, they enlightened (and hopefully motivated) everyone to recycle, compost, and take better care of the cerrado.)  After our presentation, we took a 30 minute tour of the school before heading home at about 5:15PM BST.   

Ironically, the youngest students at  São Paschoall  were the ones who did the best with recycling.  (We knew this because on a large wall near the gymnasium, each class had a large banner that had stickers for each time a person brought in recycling, helped in the community, or gave money towards the purchase of a recycling truck for the Ipe.  By far, the youngest students had the most stickers.)

       

Instead of getting a ride back to the hotel, I opted to walk; which is something I normally do because the hotel is only about 2km from the Ipe. 

THE REST OF THE DAY IN PICTURES:

                

          

 

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