My Life in Brazil: Bye to Fortaleza

So the Evangelistic Campaign has come to an end and it is time to move on. I truly enjoyed working with the ShareHim group. Even though ShareHim is based in the US the participants were from all over the world. The majority of the group was from the US but we had two Europeans both Portugal, a Canadian, two Brazilians and a Jamaican (me). The participants were also had occupations and were of different age groups. It was a very diverse group but we got along very well.

~A group of us at the beach~

All the participants except for one came on the campaign to be a presenter but since only two persons out of the group spoke Portuguese, our first assignment was to find interpreters for the non-Portuguese speakers. This was easier said than done. Very few people speak English and have the ability to interpret on the spot. We had trials for interpreters and at the end we fell short so I had to be an interpreter for the first few nights. Eventually, we had enough interpreters and I became basically a fill-in interpreter along with my other duties as an assistant to the person in-charge.

~ Last night I interpreted in Fortaleza~

My "fill-in interpreter" role also extended to a fill-in presenter also. One of presenter lost her voice and I had to fill-in for her. That day was probably one of my most stressful days because I found out that I had to fill in for her on the same day and I had to go to the airport to pick up several persons so I was not very prepared. The night went well thanks to God.

Other highlights of my time in Fortaleza included visiting the beach, doing a day tour to Morro Branco, a famous tourist location in Ceara. Morro Branco is popular for a variety of reasons including the beach, the colorful sand area, high sand dunes and buddy rides. I really enjoyed the day trip and enjoyed the adrenaline pumping buggy ride over the sand dunes.

~ All ready for buggy ride~

~ Views along the way~

The northeast region of Brazil has a lot of sand areas especially close by the beach and many of these dunes are very high so locals gain extra income making buggy rides of the area tourist attractions. These buggy rides over the dunes are not for the faint of heart because the drivers go really fast.

~ Colorful sand of Morro Branco~

Ok, I was happy to be by the beach but was a little disappointed with the beaches I visited in Ceara. Before going to the Northeast, everyone described there as the Caribbean of Brazil so I was expecting the beaches to be like the Caribbean. I guess this mindset somehow fueled my disappointment. The water was different. It wasn't the blue-green color or the warm calm waters that I was used to. As result, even though I was close to the beach I went into the water probably 2/3 times.

~ Beach of Ceara, beautiful but not as beautiful as Jamaica~

~Another beautiful view of the beach~

One thing I liked about visiting the beach was the unlimited supply of coconut water. I was in heaven drinking coconut water. I must give Brazil kudos because the country has master the art of selling coconut water every and anywhere. The abundance of coconuts and the demand for the product has also led to wide price range for the product.