The Week We Just Had

A huge blog update mainly taken from our other social media to save time...

Tuesday

Bom dia! Yesterday was a busy day for us. We picked up our cars that we will be using to drive around Curitiba. We had a meeting with Paloma from Impact Tours to discuss how tourists can offset their carbon footprint when they visit Brazil. It was very positive and also how local people will be helping tourists who will be helping local people in return. Definitely worth following the progress about how they are looking to help people and the planet.

We spoke to our taxi driver who was taking us to a meal only in Portuguese and what a guy he was. We explained in Portuguese what we were doing and he loved it. It was an honour for him to meet us. It really is quite surreal the appreciation you can receive even if you don't speak the same language!

We met with teachers from Maria Augusta Jouve to have a meal and they could speak with us in person. It's quite strange to meet when it has not been through email or Skype, but it was great even if our Portuguese is not quite good enough yet. The teachers explained that the children were very excited to meet us at the school and that we have become idols to them. It is very humbling (orgulhoso) to us since we never expected anything like this to happen. To be described as an idol is a huge honour and we look forward to arriving at the school.

Today another day that is likely to be busy, but exciting!

Wednesday

Today we had a meeting with the president of the Parana FA and the head of security for FIFA to talk about Lionsraw Brasil and it was very positive. It was also the first time to try a Churrascaria here in Brazil. Delicioso!

We collected some footballs from One World Football that we will use on projects around Curitiba. Craig also filmed a short piece that will be part of the Lionsraw social media in an area outside of the Centro.

Tonight we spent some time watching our first football game in Brazil as we watched Parana Clube in the Copa do Brasil. It was 3-1 to Parana and it had a cracking atmosphere. There was goals, a band, yellow cards and a red card. What an introduction!

Saturday

Today we met with a community group in Cajuru where there is the possibility to get involved with the local team who have a fantastic setup and facilities. They have even offered to sign us to their team!

Michael and the other volunteers visited Maria Augusta Jouve who had a community day at their school for young people to get involved in sports. We might even get an Easter egg off one of the pupils!

This afternoon we both spent time in Uberaba with Futebol da Rua. Great experience meeting the guys who run a successful project and the young people that access it.

It was also the first time for us to drive in Curitiba. It's different but we can get used to it.

Bom fin de semana!!!