The wait will soon be over and we will be heading to Curitiba. It's a weird feeling as I have just visited St. James' Park to watch Newcastle lose 3-0 to Everton for the last time in 2014. The next live game I will watch is likely to be Iran v Nigeria in the Arena da Baixada (unless we get tickets for either Atletico PR, Coritiba or Parana).
A full range of emotions as we enter our last few days in Newcastle. Happy to finally be starting the next chapter of our journey. Nervous about the challenges we are likely to face like the language. Anxious to start the project work and make lasting impressions. Excited to have the opportunity to be in a World Cup host country. Sad to leave family and friends behind. Ecstatic to not have to watch NUFC in person again for a while....
The current playlist that we're flicking through to keep us going include:
"Everything happens for a reason, things work out the way they were supposed to so go with the flow. Keep it fresh!"
We've linked songs over the last year to our mood, feelings and events that we have been doing. For whatever reason some songs have just stuck. For example:
When we climbing Ben Nevis this Curtis Mayfield tune seemed to fit. It also reminded me about when I did Machu Picchu and as a group we decided to wake up at 3am to run to the sun gate at 4am which would make us some of the first people to arrive before the other 500 tourists.
We had the Get Lucky - Daft Punk ft Pharrell tune which was a constant throughout the summer and our beach event, but also the Brazil Days.
One of the Brazil Days went absolutely crazy when Fuse - Antenna came on the shuffle. It made the event though as pupils and staff just broke out in dance!
Of course there have been other songs that stick out across the year, but these were the main ones. We are still waiting for the VISA and hopefully we have some good news in the next few weeks. There are two songs at the moment as we play the waiting game including a Curitiba inspired video!
Obviously we are both relieved that Curitiba remains a World Cup city after FIFA confirmed the stadium would be ready. It was always going to be our city, but now we can use the World Cup to help create positive memories!
What a week it has been! Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have helped support the Brazil Day's: Les, Barbara, Luiza, Julianna, Isabela, Mare, Michael, Ryan and Ryan!
It is hard to put them into words because each time we do one they get better and better. They have all been fantastic and it is brilliant to see the schools embrace Brazil! Fordley Primary raised £355 and Forest Hall Primary raised £256 to go towards the project. The best thing about this week has been the children's interaction with the students from International House. They have been like celebrities to the pupils and the feedback from the girls to us has been fantastic. We are very proud that they have had an excellent time and hope they remember the day for a long time!
Our Facebook has lots of photos and video's from the days. My favourite has to be one of an impromptu dance lesson by the Brazilian students for the pupils which is amazing!!!
We released a promo video yesterday which has footage of the Brazil Day at Holystone. The main video which explains Project Curitiba will be out next week.
We have also featured in the News Guardian today. You can read that here:
Our first Brazil Day has been completed at Holystone Primary and what a day it was. It left me quite speechless because after all the planning and organising for the event I don't think it could have went any better.
The idea of a Brazil Day came as an opportunity to share our NewcastletoBrazil aim and thankfully schools have taken the idea on to help support us and the project. Sadly the weather was typical North East England weather with a cool wind and rain, but the enthusiasm and excitement from pupils made this a day to remember. Just before the day we prepared a presentation which explained the purpose behind the day, but actually made us minor celebrities as children recognised us as we passed through the school.
As we approached the school to setup for the day they proudly had a Brazil flag on show next to a union jack flag. We delivered futsal tricks with an inflatable pitch, they school organised WorldBeaters to come in and teach pupils music. We managed to have some Brazilian students come along and meet pupils to give them the opportunity to ask question, learn some phrases and culture.
Overall the 480 pupils were absolutely fantastic and really took to the day helping to raise £383. I can't thank them enough for the support and hope to create a link between a school in Curitiba for them. The carnival they finished with was brilliant and hopefully we should have a video appearing soon.
The main thing was for pupils to enjoy the day and two quotes stick in the mind "we should do this every Friday" and "best day ever!"
The end of May and June are going to be exceptionally busy for us. An idea we had was to create a link between our current home and then our home for a year. Due to our links in the community we have managed to agree with schools to host a Brazil Day. The schools that have confirmed so far with specific dates are Holystone Primary, Fordley Primary, Forest Hall Primary, Redesdale Primary and Excelsior Academy. There are more schools interested and we are working on those to incorporate them into our program.
Each school will be different, but the core idea is to share culture and understanding potentially creating a legacy beyond 2014. We will go into each school for a day and deliver some sport, music, a visit from Brazilian students thanks to help from International House and the teachers can deliver lessons based on the country. Pupils also have the opportunity to wear non school uniform on the day and hopefully this can help create a carnival atmosphere.
Each child will donate £1 with the option of voluntary donations, but every little helps. The main aim is creating a fun day, shared learning and the opportunity to create a link from Newcastle to Brazil.
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