First Impressions

My supervisor and a co-worker picked me up from the airport and I got a very brief driving tour of the Brasilia on our way to have lunch. The first thing that struck me was the diversity of the people I saw walking on the streets. Brazilians are of all complexions and tones, the country is so diverse. I felt like I am getting a glimpse into how heaven will look.


Another thing that fascinated me here was the size of the cars. Most of the cars are hatchbacks. After living in the US for so long I got used to the people driving large cars like SUV, Hummers or sedans. In the US, the policy seem to be the larger the better. In Brazil and many of the other Latin American countries I visited, the opposite is true. It seems like the smaller the car the better the car. It makes sense with the current gas and economic situation affect our world, but it is definitely something to get used to.


It also seems like the speed limits here are more lax or non-existent. The drivers here drive their car really fast. The road signs are another thing, my supervisor was telling me that the stop sign mean slow down and nobody actually stops at them. That just gets me a little worried.


We had lunch at Brazil style Italian Restaurant/Hamburger Restaurant. This restaurant catered to vegetarians which was good. I was fearful that I would have difficulty finding something to eat given that Brazilians eat a lot of meat. This is one less thing to worry about here. So far food has not been a problem here. The school cafeteria only serves vegetarian food and I much say they have a wide variety of foods, with ample fruits and vegetables. I have not yet had a typical Brazilian meal.



The drive from Brasilia to IABC- The Central Brazil Adventist Institute is approximately 1 1/2 hours. Even though I was tired and was fighting to keep my eyes open, I was able to appreciate some the awesome scenery. The highway is a winding with many sharp curves. The view on either sides of the highway was magnificent. First of all these areas were lush. For miles on either side all I saw were hills, mountains and valley all covered with trees and shrubbery. Many of them are fruit trees, that area of Brazil has a lot of fruit trees. Along the highway, were many fruit vendors, selling a wide variety of fruits, including pineapples, oranges, mangos, melons, strawberries and grapes. Many of these fruits are in season and can be bought for very little money. I was told that I can get 10 pineapples for 2 reales, which is approximately $1US. That just blew me away because in the supermarket one pineapple cost $3.

When we got to IABC, we entered what looked like a university campus. There was a big gate we had to go through which had a security who would let people in. The institute sits on a large property and there are several buildings spread all over the campus. There are is a large male dorm and large female dorm on either side of the campus. There is a gymnasium, a restaurant/cafeteria, indoor swimming pool, church, school building housing all the classrooms, an administrative building and a church.



On campus, there is also faculty housing. There are several houses, approximately a 5min walk away from the academic buildings. From what I have seen so far, married couple have their own house, while single staff members live in houses separated by gender. I on the other hand live in one of the studio apartment designated for language teachers closer to the academic buildings.


The campus is very impressive. There are also many trees of different varieties and many grass areas. I was amazed at the different types of mango trees; it reminded me a lot of being home in Jamaica. I could recognize many of the different varieties. The school is very big on keeping students and staff active there several basketball courts and football fields. Most evening after dinner, the staff and students play friendly matches with each other.

Well that’s all from me for now.