Brazil Immersion

2015

Diego Ibarra

Mr. Marrion, Ms. Wilson, Owen, Christina, Clarinda,

Kelly, Heidi, Diego, Rohan, Isabel, Aiden, Kelly,

Franchesca, Lisa

8:00 Am June 14: the students Saint Francis high school

embark on their long journey to Brazil. Although the original

plan was to fly to Newark, wait 3 hours, and then fly to São

Paolo, the squad would face multiple speed bumps to

complicate their journey

The Journey

Good start. Everyone made it to

Newark without a problem and the first

7 hours of the journey went smoothly.

However, once they disembarked,

upon checking the flight board, they

were met with their first hurdle on their

journey to Brazil, a cancelled flight.

Refusing to be deheartened, the

SFHS squad stayed Strong and

battled boredom with group activities.

A scavenger hunt organized by Ms.

Wilson and multiple UNO games

made the 7 hour wait in the airport

bearable while Mr. Marrion patiently

waited for United´´s customer servisse

to attend him. Luckily for everyone,

the Warriors game was played in a

nearby bar and they were all treated to

drinks by Jesus working through an

anonymous stranger. Once Mr.

Marrion was attended, the students

went from the airport to a nearby

hotel, where they would spend their

first night without their luggage. The

students would take the opportunity to

sleep in a bed, but not before playing

a legendar game of Uno.

Day 1

Rough start to the morning. The squad

arrived in the airport, and instead of

flying to Brazil, would have to fly to

Chicago first. Still with no luggage,

they remained hopeful that they would

soon arrive at their destination. About

to embark on the second leg of their

journey, they learn that their flight had

been delayed another 3 hours, enough

to put into question their ability to

make the next flight to Brazil. It looked

as if they would for sure lose their

flight, they still had hope because

Chicago was experiencing bad

weather and the plane could possibly

hold the flight back to wait for the Saint

francis group. With that sliver of hope,

they boarded the plane and were at

their peak when, for a brief tem

minutes, were under the impression

that they would make the flight.

Ultimately, this would prove to be false

information, as multiple flights had

been cancelled that day due to

tornados, including the one to São

Paolo, There were no open hotels in

the vincinity so as a result, they were

forced to spend the night at the airport.

It was a rough night, all of them

longedfor their luggage, a bed, and

clean clothes.

Day 2

Day 3

After barely sleeping, the students waited and were finally

told that they would be able to board the plane to São

Paolo at 11 AM. With high spirits, they were, again, let

down when United delayed their flight another 45

minutes, this time due to the lack of a flight crew. Never

the less, they were finally able to fly and arrived in São

Paolo early the next day.

Day 4

At 1 Am in the morning, the squad arrived, exhausted, but

overjoyed to finally make it to Brazil. Although they did not

have their luggage, and would not recieve it for days to

come, finally making to Brazil was worth it. They quickly

made their way to the Brothers residence where they

would sleep for two hours and then Wake up to go to

CECOIA to help out. They thouroughly enjoyed playing

with the children, especially when the Saint Francis

Lancers beat the Brazilian players with a record of 8-1.

Since they did not have any luggage or toiletries, they

went to a supermarket to buy fresh underwear, shirts, and

socks. Exhausted but relieved to finally have arrived, the

Saint Francis student went to sleep in the brother’s

residence.

Day 5

The students woke up bright and early in order to take a

tour of the campus of colégio de Notre Dame. The

similarities between Saint Francis and Notre Dame were

vast. After seeing the Brazilian counterpart of Saint

Francis, the students made their way to the parish of

Santa Clara where they were treated to a delicious

Brazilian meal. The most impactful experience, however,

was going to visit sick parishioners in the surrounding

neighborhoods.

The following day, the students

went to a diferente public school

located in the heart of a beautiful

park. There, they were

introduced to the brazilian

version of cricket and dodgeball.

After saying goodbye to their new

friends, they returned to Notre

Dame to have lunch. Although

some sof the brazilian tudents

were unimpressed by the food

offered, all of the Americans were

blown away by the taste. They

would switch their food for Notre

Dame’s food any day. With a

satisfied stomach, the squad

embarked on the next journey of

the trip, the elderly home. It was

beautiful to see the happiness

thta visitors brought to the elders

and playing bingo with them

definately helped close the

language barrier.

Day 6

After completing some service,

the squad went back to school to

play soccer and have a Brazilian

barbeque. The food was amazing

as always and the soccer was

extreamely fun. There was not a

single boring moment in the

whole day.

Day 7

Festa Junina! All the hype

surrounding the festival did not

dissapoint. The dances were

amazing and there are not

enough words to describe how

delicious the food was. From the

churros to the meat sticks,

everything blew the sudents

away. To cap off the day, the

fireworks made sure that no one

would ever forget this trip.

Day 7

The trip to the aritsan fair was

enjoyed by all. However, had it

not been for the students of Notre

Dame, the experience would

have been very diferente. Thanks

to them, the students were able

to comunicate and bargain for

lower prices. After the fair, the

studetns were joined by

members of the Notre Dame

community for a traditional

Brazilian lunch.

Later, they had some down time

whiel they waited to attend the

evening mass. The mass itself

was a beautiful experience and

was made all the better by the

welcoming community. Hopefully

one day the Brazilians will be

able to join the Saint Francis

students in Californiaç.

Day 8 (Final Day)

With heavy hearts, the students

packed their bags and ate their

final breakfast at the Brothers

residence. As they walked out

the door for the last time,

everyone knew that they would

miss this incredible place. Thank

you for everything Brazil and you

are always welcome to our home

in America.