Ripplefxs.....what have you done to make the world a better place today?

Photos from 20th Cuba Caravan Launch Party Portland, OR July 5, 2009

2009-07-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this man?

To see more of him and the rest of my travels to and from Cuba come back for more photo album links or follow my travels on Facebook. The first album is available at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=139949&id=636875419&l=e739ddbb54

Check out the link to see the bus painted by volunteers in Portland, OR and now well on its way to Havana! I'll meet up with it on Saturday, July 18th in Houston or McAllen, Texas and continue the story from there:)

My mom and I were the first two people to sign the bus headed to Havana.

Symbols....

Destination Cuba.

2009-07-04T14:42:00.000-07:00

Thursday July, 16th I fly to Houston, Texas to spend time with family for a few days before heading to McAllen, Texas where I will spend a few days with others traveling to Cuba as part of the 20th Friendshipment Caravan to Cuba, http://www.ifconews.org/CubaCaravan, organized by Pastors for Peace/IFCO (Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization).

In addition to photos I have posted on Facebook from the launch of the Caravan bus from Portland I will put others up so check back periodically or subscribe to my blog to get updates. I will be posting photos on Facebook but publishing the links here so you can see them even if you are not on Facebook.

Photos, stories and more to come shortly!

Casa de Barro and nearby scenary.

2007-06-17T18:17:00.000-07:00

In a magestic valley far far away lives a simple and good people who live off the land and work hard to survive. To outsiders their life is romantic and fascinating and touring this incredible area to see the lovely landscapes complete with magnificant mountains, sweeping skies, wild waters, friendly folks and beautiful beasts brings pleasure to visitors. If you want to come remember that the only thing you should take with you is the memories.The approach to Robin and Binka's house called "Casa de Barro" which in English means House of Mud/Clay.
This picture was taken in early August when it had only rained once in the previous two months and thus you see a lot of dry and barren ground and wilting plants.
Once you come though the main entrance you are between the library/living room with high arching ceilings.
Facing the library/livingroom with my back to the kitchen and door to my right I took this picture. You can see the "Portuguese" tile around the arch of the ceiling and running up the left side.
A view into the kitchen from the courtyard.The courtyard which is surrounding on four sides by the house.
This door might look short but in fact it is probably 10 feet at its highest point.

Starting to feel more like a castle now?

Who wouldn't want to have this view out the living room of their house?
Some more cool tile on either side of the front door.

Time to head home.

Red, green and blue my favorite colors in the rain forest.

If you think getting your ear pierced with a piece of plastic is bad enough you should see the numbers (brands) burned into the heads of these little guys.

Curious? Robin told me that each calf, cow, bull is different and that there is always at least one in every herd that is a trouble maker and is constantly trying to escape. They even have to tie wood to these adventuresome ones to keep them from getting out of the pen and running off.

If you think this is lovely you should see the real thing!

If I could I would make my home in this tree to so that I could hang out and see these awesome views day and night.

Festa Junina

2007-06-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

A traditional cultural festival on June 15th in Rosario da Limeira like hundreds of others held during this time of year throughout Brazil. Complete with music, line dancing (square dance type), hot Quintao (alcoholic cider), bonfire, pork rinds and more.
The crew upon arrival in Limeira heading to Junior's house to leave Lucy and Gustavo's bags as they were traveling the next day.
All dressed up in their festa best with pigtails and plaid.
Some traditional dancing with cowboy/girl getups and all.
Boots, jeans and cowboy hats.
Gustavo getting his groove on.
Jeh getting down with his bad self.
Lucy and Jeh playing "pull my finger" with Marlon looking on in shock and Matthieu "dancing" in the background:)

The crew (minus Lucy). Matieu, Jeh, Bobby and I in the back row and Marlon and Gustavo in front.

Marlon and Daiane shaking what their mammas gave them!

Once last dance for Lucy and Joao.

Matt, Matthew, Mathieu, Mateus or Frenchy cutting a rug.

The boy on the right liked taking pictures and having his picture taken.

Gustavo, Bobby and Matieu hamming it up for the cam.

More "forro". This is not what people normally wear.

Where are all the guys?

This was a pic of the performers on the stage before I got invited up to photograph not really the best vantage point.

This was a larger crowd in Rosario da Limeira then I had seen at Carnival.

Women do seem to outnumber guys or maybe it is just that the guys wanted to drink and not dance.

Burn baby burn.

A toast to great friends.

I was invited up on stage to take pictures. I am not sure if it was because I was the tall gringo or because I had the nicest camera at the festa but either way it was cool to get pics of the performers and audience from above the crowd.

Saying goodbye to a good friend is never easy so it was nice to get this photo a few hours before Lucy and I had to say bye. Shinning happy people everywhere!

Dawn Trail: hiking in the dark to watch the sunrise!

2007-06-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

The following pics were taking at the top of the Dawn Trail/Trilha Alvorado when I hiked it yesterday with Marlon, Lucy, Matthieu and Jeh. It was a good time but the sunrise was not as exceptional as I had hoped. The view from the top of this trail is amazing and a perfect place to watch the sun come up and this is probably why:) it is known as the Dawn Trail.

I didn't take any photos of the actual sunrise as I left my tripod at home but I surely plan to return at least one more time before heading home to get more/better pics.

Deforestation anyone? I wish I could go back and see how this was before man intervened or better yet turn the clock back and leave the land untouched as it was.

Itajaru climb.

2007-06-09T21:47:00.000-07:00

The next most famous mountain in the area must be Itajaru. It is actually slightly higher than Graminha and requires some more treacherous climbing. We climbed yesterday but I was too tired to post the pictures until today. Graminha is more famous to the locals but on the way down from Itajaru we met two guys from Muriae (about 75 minutes by car) who were coming to hike up Itajaru and stay for the night. One of the two had done the hike 18 times and had stayed at the top on various occasions too.The crew prior to starting the hike. Blake, Bryan, Toni, Jeh and Matthieu (back) and Marlon, Gustavo and Lucy in front. Thanks to Robin for taking the pic and Matthieu for posting it on Facebook so I could steal it:)

Some of us caught a ride out with Robin while Matthieu, Toni and Marlon chose to walk the first part and wait for us to meet and get them for the last part of the drive.

For the first part Toni (the only person in our group to have already been to the top) led the way. In this picture you see Bryan and Toni is the one in front of him.

The trail got narrow at times and in fact near where this photo was taken we were almost run off the road by a herd of half a dozen or so cattle. They came bounding through the closed in woods and when they got near those of us at the front of our group they got spooked. We had gotten out of their way in time but had to warn the others and by yelling made scared the cattle even more thus they increased their speed but fortunately no one was hurt and the men tending the cattle caught up to them and calmed them down.
Cool lichen on the side of this tree.
Our final chance to fill up on water before we began our ascent to the top of Itajaru. This clean and clear water was very refreshing. It also meant we were almost out of the forest cover that had protetected us from the beating sun.
Each time we looked up and thought we were seeing the top we realized we were not near the peak but still had another climb to do.
As you can see our hard work was rewarded with amazing scenes such as this.
Graminha is the the mountain on the left.
Graminha is in the center of this photo. I was standing near where the landslide happened on Itajaru and photographing the valley and waterways running between it and the landslide at Graminha.

Intrigue in the forest!!!! According to legend the crosses mark the grave of a "wild" boy who had some sort of a disability and grew up fending for himself in this area. From time to time food was left for him and when he died and his body he was found he was burried under this tree. Who was this boy? Why did he live on his own? What made his family leave him in the woods?

One lovely example of forest flora:) I saw better flowers but wasn't able to photograph them.

Lucy tired but happy after our hike:)

Lose these?

Mt. Graminha climb.

2007-06-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

On May 18th I climbed to the top of Mount Graminha along with a dozen or so other volunteers and staff from Iracambi. We were led by Clovus who helps with Thursday tree plantings (cleanings, fench fixing, etc.) and is the husband of our cook Carminha.Mount Graminha is the highest point in this picture. The community at its base, which is one of the main two communities that Iracambi works with, shares its name.You may recall my post from March 3rd which was about a Land Rover ride with Robin to know the area. It explains the reason for the white streak on the side of Graminha.

The British triangle....Neil (foreground), Lucy and Brian. The sun did actually set on the British Empire for a few weeks after Lucy left and before Rachel came.
As you can see rains have not only washed out part of the hill higher up but also down below where I took this picture. The ground in this area seems to be fairly unstable.It was a mostly clear day but the clouds did limit visability as you can see.What a glorious place to live!!!!Toni (Spain/Catalonia) calls this "digital syndrome". He was referring more to the need that people feel to photograph everything they see/do not only to record their memories but also to be able to prove that they did something such as go to Brazil, climb mountains or hang out with friends.Here is the streak closer up and from a different angle.It was really cool to see Iracambi and surrounding communities from high up and see better how it is all laid out and where places are in relation to one another.
The crew at the top. From left to right: me, Lucy Bryan, Fabio, Clovus and Toni.
Rob Roy anyone?Alive and on the way home after an awesome climb.

Frei Galvao canonized while Pope Benedict XVI visit Brasil in May.

2007-06-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was searching for a museum in Sao Paulo and it turns out that it was under construction but on the same site one of many (probably 100s) of celebrations was taking place in honor of Frei (Friar) Galvao. Galvao was canonized on May 11, 2007 in Sao Paulo by Pope Benedict XVI. This was just a little over 10 years after Galvao was beatified on April 8, 1997 in Rome by Pope John Paul II. So when I turned the corner to enter the grounds that housed the museum and the church below I was suprised to find a long line of people lining up (queing for my British friends) to go through the gate. I found out that this was in celebration of Galvao. I guess when your country of over 180 million people has its first saint declared it is a pretty big deal. Saint Galvao also known as Saint Anthony de Saint Anne-Galvao was of the Franciscan order.
The photos below are from the grounds where the church and musuem are located. Also, for more information check out the following links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frei_Galv%C3%A3o
http://www.saofreigalvao.com.br/

More 100 Walls Project

2007-06-07T13:41:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of photos and info I posted June 1st and you can visit that entry here if you want more information.

Free concert at Praca de Se in Sao Paulo.

2007-06-04T19:00:00.000-07:00

On Sunday (Mother's Day) after church and before heading back via bus to Iracambi I went with Flavio and his cousin (the end of our walking tour) to see a free concert in Praca de Se. The concert was at the steps of the massive Catedral Metropolitana (Metropolitan Cathedral) and started around 4PM and went much later than I could stay and still make my bus home. Believe it or not I saw about four different acts amongst walking around, taking pics and people watching and I don't even remember who they were. I will have to find out from Flavio!

We arrived with just enough time for me to take some pictures before it got to dark. If you were wondering I had my nice new digital Nikon SLR with me all this time taking pictures in "one of the most dangerous cities" in the world. I am not showing off or saying that I visited all parts of the city at all hours of the day but saying not to always believe the hype and just be smart while traveling and you too can have a peaceful time.

Yes, prior to seeing these giants I was one of the tallest people in the crowd. This group of stilt walkers and guys with metal springy legs were doing a team cheer before descending upon the crowd to give some added entertainment during the concert. I have been to hundreds of concerts of all sizes in different venues but never seen a crew like this amongst the onlookers before.I wonder what the cops were thinking! White men can't what? This guy had mad hops!!!!

I think drinking and operating these things might not go hand in hand. Seriously though these guys and girls had amazing balance and control.

They really did look like they were having fun!!!!

Sao Paulo behind the scenes with Flavio. Pics of me, just for mom!!!!! And don't forget the Pope.

2007-06-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

I'd like to think of this entry as "bookends" as it starts with a picture of me, has one in the middle and ends with one too. In fact an Oreo would be more appropriate but I don't like/eat Oreos, especially as that creamy white part in the middle is made from COW'S feet.

Flavio and I were at Principia together for a year, my last and his only, and hadn't seen each other in almost seven years. As we are both Prinos, photographers, travelers and speak Portuguese we just had to hang out again. This picture was taken outside of First Church of Christ Scientist, Sao Paulo on Sunday the 13th of May.

Later when Flavio and his cousin took me on a tour by car and foot of Sao Paulo they told me that this square and more particularly the white church to the right was where Sao Paulo started. Not surprisingly a missionary was the person to "start" Sao Paulo. Here is the church from a different angle.

Yeah mom that's me!! And you guessed it I am standing just below where Pope Benedict XVI stood a few days before this lovely Sunday afternoon.

I chose not to take my picture with Herr Bush as the can stank just like he does. By the way, the sign reads "Get rid of Bush". I sure am glad I didn't vote for that guy and always remember to tell people that when they talk about "our" president. I sure am glad he ain't my prez.

The building to the left and in the reflection was the first building of its size built in Sao Paulo. I can't remember the actual number of stories or year it was built but I guess it was a real shock back in the day. It may have been the first such building built in South America even. Flavio told me that when it was first built people were afraid to go near or in it for fear that it would come crumbling down. In fact maybe that is where the phrase "crumbling down" came from. Now of course it is towered over by many buildings in the downtown alone.

Just like a story book(end) ending you find me with downtown Sao Paulo providing a nice back drop. Thanks Flavio for the tour and taking this photo. You are great at both.

More murals, sculpture and other art.

2007-06-02T13:09:00.001-07:00

Below you will find murals, sculptures and other art from around Sao Paulo. The photos below the three mural ones were all taken at the Pinacoteca do Estado. A metropolitan city such as Sao Paulo despite its size, pollution, traffic and crime does allow for a much wider and deeper variety of art for its people to enjoy.

These murals have an eerie colonial feel to them. I am guessing that they are from the late 1800's. You gotta wonder who these guys were marching to see a king or "natives" who they needed to conquer, save or tame."Smoking Prohibited"
This is the kind of art that I find interesting but don't really get. Maybe one is not supposed to "get it".

More by the same artist. I think he just wanted to replicate his college dorm but maybe it is supposed to say more than this.

Spiderman?

He must work out!

100 Walls Project in Sao Paulo with mosaics on 100 walls.

2007-06-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

O Projeto 100 Muros or 100 Walls Project provided me with interesting art to look at and enjoy and also photograph during my time in Sao Paulo. The project is a collaboration between the Projeto Aprendiz (Learning Project), Bank Boston Foundation and Fiat. The objective is to "work during two and a half years with the cities population to discuss the themes of citizenship/being a citizen that are on the mosaic panels covering 100 walls throughout the city." The mosaics were collaborative efforts between citizens and artists who spent time discussing various themes some of which can be seen in photos below and other entries to come. For more info (if you speak or can read Portuguese) go to http://www.museudapessoa.net/hotsites/vmadalena/celia.htm 100 Walls Project: Collaboration between the Projeto Aprendiz (Learning Project), Bank Boston Foundation and Fiat.This one reads: "The world is not a TV (See/watch reality)"I can imagine that before the wall was very bare and boring and now has been spruced up by collaborative community work discussing important issues such as education, culture and crime that are prominent issues in the the lives of many citizens in Sao Paulo.

The streets of Sao Paulo.

2007-05-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Having been in the "middle of nowhere" (I really don't like that phrase as it is always so disrespectful to people from "nowhere") it was strange to be seeing the big lights and tall buildings of Sao Paulo. I have always found architecture photos interesting and especially enjoyed playing with the wide angle lens on my new (well only 5 months old) digital camera.

Rather colorful if I do say so myself. Of course these smaller buildings are probably older and will at some point be torn down and replaced with dull behemoths.Hard to see from this far away but this is a two story wedding dress store.

Somewhere between Iracambi's single lane dirt roads and the eight plus lane highways (one way) in Houston. I think the short buildings on the left must be older than the tall ones on the right.

Nice framing of the building using these Palm Trees if I do say so myself.

I felt like I was back in Rome:) I guess maybe features such as this fountain and the fact that the Pope was in Sao Paulo during the same week that I was could be the reason for having this feeling.

More scenes from Parque da Luz.

2007-05-28T18:33:00.000-07:00

It was nice and cool but a bit smelly inside the "cave" which I looked out from to take this picture. Landscaped features such as this waterfall can be lovely but I prefer the real thing back at Iracambi or near Portland.

A lot of meticulous work went in to work such as this path with stones used to make designs for those walking on it. You have to wonder how many people actually look down to admire the ground beneath their feet.

Estacao da Luz (Light Station) in the distance and part of a whale like looking sculpture in the foreground. Estacao da Luz was once a busy train station but now is mainly used as part of Sao Paulo's metro rail system.
Here fishy fishy!

Parque da Luz, Sao Paulo, Brasil.

2007-05-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

Pinacoteca do Estado, the State Art Gallery, is surrounded on two sides by Parque da Luz or Park of the Light, which is a large park including natural (landscaped and thus man made) and man made features such as a pond, waterfall, bridges and sculptures. The few hours I spent at the park after visiting the stadium I saw all kinds of people enjoying a lovely afternoon in the park playing, taking pictures, listening to live music and napping.

No, this is not one of my necklaces or bracelets from Africa strung up between these two trees.This Terminatoresque metal sculpture had a lot of grit and texture.

I had fun taking pictures to try and catch different reflections in this sculpture.

Parque da Luz's very own Gipsy Kings or Buena Vista Social Club.

Reminiscent of East Berlin or some Soviet Era military symbol.

Tiles, trees and more art in Sao Paulo.

2007-05-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Plastic flowers don't die.....

Roses don't talk.

Japan and Brazil have strong ties as illustrated with this tile art.

Living Town Project. I found various trees like these in Vila Madalena in Sao Paulo. It has the name of the tree in Portuguese, the scientific name, countries where it comes from and info on sponsors. In a big city such as Sao Paulo it is nice to differentiate between the neighborhoods and good to have green spaces to be able to "get away".

Cemetary photos in Sao Paulo

2007-05-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

For many years now I have enjoyed taking pictures at cemeteries that I have come across during my travels. I visited a rather big and old one while in Sao Paulo to take some pictures while trying to respect the dead (and living as in family and staff) but also get a feel for how a Brazilian cemetery looks. This was an overwhelming cemetery in terms of religious icons, large head stones and other pieces made out of marble and ohter materials and it was interesting to see the range from care to disrepair.

The name on the grave above which is very Italian was not a surprise to come across. At times in Sao Paulo I had to remind myself that I wasn't in Italy. The way Portuguese is spoken, the architecture, food and more were really reminiscent of my three weeks in Italy in 2000.

Very pious....almost reminds me of a Mel Gibson movie.

Not as over the top as others in terms of materials used but you can see that this one does not get visited as often as there are no fresh flowers, plants, etc.

A more obvious state of disrepair. Was this person trying to get out or was someone trying to get in?

You know your family is dead and gone, has left the country or doesn't care when your grave turns in to the cemetery trash dump.

At least something is growing but it looks like the family went to Europe on vacation for a few months.

This is more like it, simple marble work, little well pruned hedges, well kept flowers and a vase.

And finally just to make sure you don't do anything bad once your body is dead here is Jesus to watch over you.

Textures of life in Sao Paulo: mosaics, art, architecture, landscapes, people and more.

2007-05-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Sign indicating one of the many entrances to the Metro in Sao Paulo. Mass transport from buses to subways is rather good and really important in one of the largest cities in the world.Someone lose their shoes?Not exactly what I had in mind for dinner. Fish for sell at a local farmer's market.This farmer's market held every Saturday was just around the corner from where I stayed in Sao Paulo and had a pretty good selection, mainly food stuff but also some arts and crafts.I bought hot sauce from this stand to take back to Iracambi as the "hot" sauce we have in my opinion (and the opinion of others) is more adequately called NOT sauce. I am very disappointed at the weak and tasteless sauce we can get from town.

Sao Paulo Graffiti pictures take III

2007-05-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Sao Paulo Graffiti pictures take II

2007-05-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

Who said graffiti isn't social commentary? The almight dollar seems to rule , but where did the might old US of A go? (and Canada too)"Parking Prohibited!"

I am not sure if this is graffiti or a sculpture painted by the artist.

Sao Paulo Graffiti pictures take one.

2007-05-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Sao Paulo, like NYC and various other cities big and small around the world, is well known for its street art, graffiti or murals. These pictures are rather self explanatory so I won't make many comments but let you enjoy them. I took most in one neighborhood of Villa Madelena near where I was visiting my friend Sandra. I guess if you want to live in one of these areas and don't want your wall, door, garage or sidewalk to end up like a work of art or vandalized property, then you better move out soon.

Deforestation and global warming.

2007-05-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

My aunt forwarded an article to me which is relevant to me as I am in a tropical rainforest but particularly relevant to us all as the effects of losing this forests are not only felt here but around the world where ever you may be. Please read the following article from The Independent.

Deforestation: The hidden cause of global warming

New news at Ripplefxs from Iracambi and Sao Paulo with more to come soon!!!

2007-05-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hello all. I am really sorry for not having many updates these past few weeks. The internet has been fine but I have been really busy with work, my capstone proposal and traveling to Sao Paulo to renew my visa, change my plane flight home and do a little sight seeing. I got back from a week there on Monday and was glad to get out of the big city and back to the forest. I love this place and got a glimpse of how I will miss it when I leave in August.

As you will see if you go back to last month I have put up many new postings these last few days. I still have gaps to fill in such as cool pics of graffiti, mosaics and other sites in Sao Paulo and other pics and stories from here at Iracambi. I finally came through and put up pics from when we had incredible rains that turned our normally quiet river/stream into a raging river. I will try and put more up over the weekend and the next couple months of course till I sadly will have to leave.

Have fun reading and please send your questions so like I answer them like I did for my aunt Sarah! Have a great week and look for more news to come!!!

Justice in Brazil. The man who arranged for the murder of Sister Dorothy Stang gets a tough but right sentence.

2007-05-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

A little over two years after Sister Dorothy Stang's brutal murder in rural Brazil the man who ordered her to be shot a point blank range received a 30 year prison sentence. I remember hearing about her murder in February of 2005 and now that I am in Brazil this story is closer to home for me especially as Sister Stang was working in the Amazon protecting the forest and the small land owners living in the area.

Binka, one of Iracambi's founders and directors was at this trial in Belem, being invited by Sister Stang's compatriots, and it was through her and her husband Robin that I first heard the news. I have found a few sources so that you can read more about her murder and trial. I sure hope this leads others who would think to do such a terrible thing as the assassination of a person who dedicated her life to social justice to think twice.

From Green Peace you can read about her murder:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/nun-assassinated-defending-ama

From the International Herald Tribune you can read about the recent verdict:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/16/news/brazil.php

From Wikipedia you can learn more about Sister Stang and the judgment handed down:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Stang

Questions answered on Iracambi, newsletter and more.

2007-05-09T20:12:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned when I posted the entry about the newsletter I would be answering some questions that my aunt Sarah had after reading the newsletter. Some of these questions come from the newsletter and others from her feeling "out of touch" with my experience and figured it would be good to share with you all at the same time:)

Q; "Are you riding a horse?"

A: Unfortunately laziness and lack of time has not made this possible yet. Not that I don't know how to ride a horse it is the whole getting it ready part that is foreign to me, plus hearing my colleagues complain of the slowness of the horse available to us and smell that one has after riding her I have not been truly inspired to date.

Q: "Who is Tigger?" (from the newsletter).

A: Tigger is one of the two boxers owned by Robin and Binka, Iracambi's founders and directors, and we have been told he was quite a killer of cats, birds, etc. in the past but more recently was blinded and thus is more tame. He also has quite a hard head as he seems to run in to a lot of things but has an uncanny knack even only after being blind for a year and a half of finding his way around and knowing where people are.

Q: Have you managed without insect repellent? Are you just putting up with getting bitten? Are there other biting insects besides mosquitoes? (She asked this as I refused to buy or bring any repellent. I did this for two reasons, I can't stand wearing/smelling the stuff and no repellent is clearly better for the environment).

A: Short answer, I have managed. That said the mosquitoes aren't so bad, compared to Mozambique, parts of Oregon and other places I have visited or lived in but the real problem comes with the "no seeums". These annoying little bugs are so small that they are often not visible and they don't an annoying buzz like mosquitoes so often their presence goes unnoticed until a bite is felt or small area of the skin turns red at which point they have usually moved on. They are particularly annoying around my house from about 10 am to 4 pm each day and have now started following me to other places around here such as the classroom and main dormitory.

Q: What's been the best part of being there?

A: Being away from all the "modern conveniences" that are often more inconvenient, unhealthy and wasteful than we realize. I see cars once or twice a day at most and a motorcycle four or five times a week. We don't have a microwave and do just fine, our blender is broken but Brian has been making some amazing hand squeezed juice and aside from my laptop, the internet and my iPod I have very little need or use for electrical appliance. It is great to just sit around talking, go for a hike, enjoy a sunset or watch the stars. Speaking of stars, they are absolutely amazing here as is the moon and the night sky will truly be one of the biggest things I will miss when I leave here.

Q: What's been the hardest part of being there?

A: Lack of vegetarian options such as tofu, soy, various vegetables and fruits, and other vegetarian foods/alternative. That said we are blessed with quite a selection considering that most people around the world survive on beans and rice daily (a staple for us here too) and we can always use our own money to augment the food that comes from the nearby communities and is mostly organic/natural and the food that is purchased in Rosario da Limeira. Also, in these situations one is just forced to be more creative and try things they wouldn't normally have tried and quiet often we find that our untested meals turn out really well.

That is all for now but I would love to answer more questions that any of you might happen to have. I could of course have just done this for Sarah and sent her and email but it seemed more appropriate to share a little more about my time here with all of you! Thanks, Sarah:)

Quarterly Iracambi Newsletter now online!!!

2007-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

For all interested the latest Iracambi Newsletter is available online at
http://www.iracambi.com/english/downloads.shtml under News Briefs as Latest Newsletter. It includes photos from various events, updates, articles from volunteers, researchers and staff, including myself In an upcoming entry I will answer some questions raised by my aunt Sarah after reading the newsletter. Thanks to all who put it together especially Alana who took charge, solicited the stories, editing and layout. Another one should be released shortly before I leave here at the end of July/early August.

Brad Newsham, impeaching Bush and social change in a cab.

2007-05-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

It is easy to meet cool people everyday but it is not everyday that you meet someone who is as earnest, honest and brave as Brad Newsham. If anyone has ever told you that cab/taxi drivers are not worried about issues ranging from global warming to war then this person clearly had not met Brad Newsham. I have never met Brad but remember first hearing about him from my aunt Sarah many years ago, read his book Take Me With You, read about his initiative Backpack Nation and until recently hadn’t heard more about Brad. Then I got an email forwarded by Sarah from Brad about Bodies Count, which you will have to visit and read about to really understand. In an act of solidarity as part of the impeachment movement against “our” president 1,500 of citizens in San Fransisco showed their dislike for the current regime in charge of the White House as part of a larger impeachment movement through groups such as The People’s Impeachment Movement, and Impeach07 with which Bodies Count is affiliated.

All in all I love how Brad who seems to be your typical American (United States Citizen to be more accurate and PC) does such great work and doesn’t let his day job stand in the way. Brad is the example of someone who has decided to continue doing what they do, drive cabs and write books but change the world in their own way at the same time. I hope to dedicate my life, as I have these past years, to serving others and somehow earn a living doing this but there is no reason that we all in what ever we do in life can’t be more active, civic minded, politically involved and caring towards others. If Brad could use his cabbie’s salary to bring a Filipino to the US, who had been such a gracious host to Brad when he was in the Phillipines, just to show him his home and take him around the States then there is no reason we all can’t do more for others each day.

For more on Brad, his initiatives or organizations with which he is affiliated you can check out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Newsham

driving a cab in San Francisco (a number of stories) . http://www.bradnewsham.com/cab/
memorable encounter . http://travelerstales.com/carpet/000129.shtml
heartwarming . http://travelerstales.com/carpet/002148.shtml
Brad's home page . http://www.bradnewsham.com/
a heroic project . http://www.backpacknation.org/
http://www.beachimpeach.org/ . leads to same sight as bodiescount.org

I'm rich!!! Help me decide how to spend my new found fortune.

2007-04-30T14:31:00.000-07:00

******************************************

Your refund for ICANN Fee overpayment

******************************************

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Good news. You have been credited $.03/yr for each domain name you registered or renewed dating back to July 1, 2006* -- $.03 has been placed into your Go Daddy(R) account with this customer number: #######.

Your in-store credit will be applied to your purchases at GoDaddy.com(R) until it's gone or for up to 12 months, whichever comes sooner. If you have any questions, please contact a customer service representative at 480-###-####.

As always, thank you for being a Go Daddy customer.

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Bob Parsons

CEO and Founder

GoDaddy.com

Tempestuous times at Iracambi with heavy rains and raging rivers

2007-04-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been following my blog lately you have seen what I believe are two promises of photos of recent "floods" we had in the area due to torrential downpour and over flowing river banks. If you don't believe me after the photo above take a look at the next few. The first in each set was taken on Tuesday the 24th and the second few days later from about the same position. The rain that produced the first of each set was rather hard and lasted for about an hour and it was amazing to come down to the kitchen area and see how the river was being swept away. A few days later when I made the trek down to Casa do Barro I saw that one of the foot bridges we use had been clearly moved by the floods.

As we are in autumn heading in to winter the rain is supposed to lessen and I wonder if this was the last real rainy week I will see here at Iracambi. The bridge we use to cross and head up the hill is almost not necessary as seen in the above photo.

I sure wouldn't have tried to cross this frothing waterway on this day, especially as our foot bridge which is barely visible (mostly underwater) in the middle patch of trees near the far side of the bank, was inaccessible and in danger of being swept away. The furor of this normally calm river (almost stream) was quite amazing.

The group of trees almost to the far right of this picture is the same one where the footbridge was during the above shot and amazingly enough it survived. I stood in almost the same position to take this photo and if I didn't tell you there was water coming down you almost might not believe me.

This is the path we walk across to get to the viveiro (nursery), some trails, and head to part of the community and on this day it was only crossable in boots or bare feet but even then moving rather swiftly from left to right.

Here is that same path!!!! These final two were just some of the calm after the storm which gave a good sign that drier more peaceful times were on their way.
What a lovely way to end a photo story almost as nice as a sunset!

Offline and doing just fine....in fact getting a lot done on my capstone proposal and more.

2007-04-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

Since last Tuesday, not counting today, we have had internet at Iracambi for just 24 hours and although unwanted and a pain at times it turned out to be a great help for me at least. I am in the midst of my capstone proposal for The School for International Training which I plan to have done and off to SIT in a week. While I did need the net to do research especially for my literature review and bibliography I really didn't need it to distract me with my blog, Facebook, MySpace and more.
The internet returned this morning and was off through a combination of company banking error as they thought we hadn't paid our account and thus they cut us off and technical mess up here as a cord was not properly in place. It is nice to be back online but in truth it was good to have less distractions than normal this past week as I was working on my proposal. Now, I just have to make sure not to get too distracted now that I am online again. As I promised a week ago the pictures of Iracambi's raging river and flooded areas will be coming up soon as I sure haven't forgotten. I just need to get some of the "drier" times here so that you can appreciate the bubbling, red, fast moving river we experienced after a drenching downpour.
In other news Alana, who has been helping me a ton with my proposal, taught me how to make eggplant Parmesan night for dinner, which was enjoyed by all and is one of my favorite dishes. Tonight we will be making "couve" Mocambican style complete with ground peanuts and coconut milk. It will actually be my first time trying this dish outside of Mocambique and will be complemented with equally nice tomato and coconut rice which is ohhh sooo nice. If it goes off well then Carminha our great lunch time cook has asked me to show her how to do it too!!! YUMMY!!!!

Impeaching Bush just took a step in the right direction or left however you see it.

2007-04-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard the Vermont Senate made a great first move in the chess match of a lifetime to get impeach President Bush and his little friend Dick. I am proud to say that I lived in Vermont for 9 month doing my on campus portion of my masters degree. I must say that other than Oregon Vermont is one of the best States to see Subaru Outbacks, socks with sandals and Progressives. One of my best memories was the Al Franken show live in a theater in Brattleboro where I lived. At this show people were talking to Al about such moves towards impeachment and I am glad to see it has come to fruition. For more you can read this article from the Vermont Guardian. Go Green Mountain State!!!

Lost in Translation..a gay mixed race couple in South Africa?...Afrikaans to Portuguese to Dutch to English to Portuguese.

2007-04-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

I am not afraid to say that I love this guy and he is one of my best friends in the whole world but this blog is all about Marcilio's stubbornness which must have provided and still be providing laughs for Afrikaans speakers in South African.

For those of you, like me, who can't read Afrikaans that is ok because my friend Ruud from the Netherlands, who left us here at Iracambi on Sunday to return home, graciously agreed to translate the shirt into English. In Afrikaans it reads "Vanaf 25/06/2005 geraak ik die vent niet meer kwijt." In English this means "Since July, 25th, 2005, I can't get rid of this guy anymore.” Which Ruud surmised must have been a “fun wedding present for a bride” a good guess if I say so.

This might explain why Marcilio and I got such strange looks at the “Joburg City Day” concert we went to together. Can you imagine people at the concert who were able to read Marcilio’s shirt and wondering whether the guy he hasn’t been able to get rid of since July ’05 was me? They must have found us to be an unusual couple for sure. Yes, Marcilio you owe me an apology because I warned you on multiple occasions to not wear the shirt without knowing what it means but in retrospect it was a great shirt to wear and I think you should continue to wear it. What a cool international shirt for sure from Afrikaans to Portuguese to Dutch to English and back to Portuguese for me to explain to Marcilio.

A great weekend to you all and don’t forget it is important to have at least one person in your life who you can’t get rid of but also can’t live without like my great buddy Marcilio.

Blacked out, off line and out of touch. Electricity and internet back, still waiting on the phone.

2007-04-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

If you are one of the many visitors from Canada, the US, UK, South Africa or Australia or myriad of other countries who has visited my blog in the last few days you might have wondered why I haven't updated my blog since Sunday. Well the reason is simple, Tuesday around 1:30 PM a rain storm descended upon Iracambi with thunder and lighting and when it was over some 45 minutes later we were without power and internet and later in the evening when the battery had died out telephone as well. As you might guess this made it just a bit hard to update my blog and hence the 3 day hiatus.

To be honest I don't have much to share other than that we now have internet and electricity the two necessary components that when added to my laptop make this entry possible. Our telephone is a different story as it is a "rural cellular" and the receiver is located on a hillside above us. Yes, any of us could walk up there to reset the switch and get it back on but that would be too easy. So, why haven't we? Well, it is simple the key to open up the receiver is with one of the people who works for the "fazenda" (farm) and as far as I know he has yet to bring the key by so that we can open the box, flip the switch and get our phone back. In fact I spent over three hours this morning going around the property to get to a phone that worked, call the internet and telephone people, find the guy, Joao, with the key and try and get us back online. Tomorrow or over this weekend you can look forward to pics I took on Tuesday of the river below our kitchen running very high/flooding after the rain that took out our communication tools. With pics that compare how it looks today and how it looked after the rain you will see that the river after the rain really was overflowing, fast and muddy. Gotta run as I am off to cook dinner with Gustavo.

Possibly the first and last Brasilian wedding I will ever attend or the longest of Blake's rambling rants ever.

2007-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

I love new experiences which is one of the big reasons that I love to live, work and travel abroad but seriously by the end of this grueling day we were at the point where we could either laugh, cry or get really upset and fortunately we chose to joke about the ludicrous happenings of the day. This might be a good time to remind you all that "this website does not represent the views of Amigos de Iracambi, its founders, staff, volunteers, etc."ONLY MINE, BLAKE H. SCHMIDT.
Myself with the groom, Fabio, and one of his relatives. We are at Fabio's parent's home a few hours before the wedding for lunch and this is the room where the wedding loot was being torn into as the guests were waiting outside for food to be served. The bride wasn't even here to see the present be opened. Not exactly as I have seen it done in the US. The painting was done by Toni, one of our long term volunteers, from Spain (Catalonia) who spends part of his time painting (to bring in some income) and the rest of the time in the nursery and overseeing reforestation projects. All of us from Iracambi (staff, volunteers and researcher) who went to the wedding contributed to buy this painting from Toni and give it to the lovely couple.

"Hurry up and wait" seemed to be the theme of the day and those without patience were basically doomed from the start. The scene before your ideas is of people milling around the tables where food was "soon" to be placed so that the over hundred people at the lunch before the wedding could dig in and fill their faces. For those of us that call ourselves vegetarians we had the choice of beans and rice or pasta which aren't bad options and heck beans and rice is the main staple for what I would imagine is the most of the world's population. That said in Mozambique at weddings I went to even veggies normally got more interesting food or at least something more than beans, rice and pasta. The worst part might have been the dish I served myself having been told it was vegetarian and then finding out after a bite that I had most likely consumed at least a bit of intestines. When you haven't eaten meat in 7 years the last thing you want is the entrails of some unidentified animal for lunch.

From left to right, Rosa Virginia, Ruud, Bryan and Lucy. Rosa Virginia is from SIT (born in Venezuela and now living in the US) getting her Masters in International Education and helping with our Environmental Education program here. Ruud, who sadly enough just left today, was here for six weeks on his vacation from his job at a "handyman" store in the Netherlands to do a ton of carpentry work, step building with rocks, wood and dirt, and more here. Bryan, from the England, is our resident ornithologist and cake/bread baker and it is always fun to tease Bryan by describing some "exotic" bird you have just seen and pointing him in the direction of it and seeing him run off to see it. Lucy, also from England, is a long term volunteer doing grant writing, using her skills as a sound tech, helping Ruud build stairs, Toni and others plant trees and much more. This will serve as our before picture, although I don't have an after, when we were still happy, clean and full of food.

Some of the forms of transport used to get to the lunch. Not pictured horses, cars, a bus and feet. By the end of the night most all of these vehicles would be obsolete as they would be stuck in the mud or overcrowded with those trying to reach home without taking a mud bath. As lunch was finally being served (it really wasn't that late) it started to sprinkle and then rain rather heavily and then after everyone had eaten, chatted and was ready to head out to go to the bus to travel to the church, head home to change to get other transport to the church or go home having enjoyed a free meal it the heavens opened and it began to pour. It came down heavily for a good 45 minutes and when the leprechaun and pot of gold had finally come out most people were gone and those of us that remained started to slow head to the bus. At least it let up long enough to get there but if the muddy roads were any indication what the rest of the day would bring and we had really been thinking we probably would have headed home and called it a day.

Binka, one of Iracambi's founders, along with Alana, a volunteer helping Iracambi and me greatly with volunteer coordinating. Binka is very boisterous and forward thinking person who has written books, had at least one adapted into a radio piece, worked on National Geographic documentaries, founded a growing and successful NGO, Iracambi, lived around the world and much more. Alana, other than being a Florida Gator alum and fan is a great person and has really brought a great spirit to Iracambi not to mention excellent baking that has made most add one or more notches to their belts.

Some scenery after the first rain shower when it was still daylight and could dry a bit and between lunch, wedding and the day that would never end.

These ugly mugs, no not the guys below, are one of the main reasons that this area has been deforested. But we have to live and work with some of the same people that caused the problems Iracambi is working to reverse and this includes keeping our friends close and our enemies closer.

Gustavo, Virgilio (a former volunteer who just came for the wedding), and Rosa Virginia in the background waiting for the bus. As I said below wait was the "word of the day" as Pee-Wee Herman used to call it. Of course the last person to show was the bus driver, 30 minutes late.

The main square in the small town of Belahorzario, where Fabio and his bride ???? got married. I know it is rude to not know the bride's name but I hadn't even met the groom until earlier in the day and supposedly we were invited by him. To be fair his brother was working here up until the end of last month, his mother is our cook and he has other family that works for Iracambi. In fact their family makes up over half of the family in the community of Graminha which is one of nine that Iracambi calls its neighbors and with which we are trying to work to fulfill our mission "to work with the community to make the conservation of the forest more attractive than its destruction."

More pics from around this little town. It was clear that the wedding was the "thing" happening last night. I think that many of the people in the church were most likely neither friends of the groom or the bride but those who decide to join the wedding and see what the "fun" was all about.

This building with the radio antennae is where Iracambi's weekly radio program, written and recorded by Junior, is broadcast each Thursday. Supposedly it (the radio signal, not our segment) is only supposed to cover a small radius but illegally reaches far beyond its boundaries. Lucy who is our "Coordinator of Fund Raising and Sound Engineering" is working with Junior to improve the quality of our segment and also get it up on the internet in Portuguese and English as a "podcast".

Lucy and Alana having a snack before the wedding still on a honeymoon of sorts where the idea of attending still sounded like a good idea. Oh ye of little premonition.

The blushing bride and her father (I assume) but like most of you I have never met him and only said "ola" and "parabens" to her so I honestly don't know their names or much more about them than you at home do. Now I know this might not seem very SIT (my very politically correct grad school) to say this but at 16 years of age how the heck does she know that she is in love let alone have the education and life skills to get married. Just something to ponder and her, now husband, is only 20 so he is not far ahead. Really though it was great to be invited and involved and the alternative would have been sitting home emailing or doing something else "outside" of Brasil and it was good to have this cross-cultural experience as painful as it might have been at times.

We weren't really sure which side to sit on so we choose the right which might have actually been the wrong side but since many of the events of this wedding day were different then what most of us were used to it didn't seem to matter anyway. The part that I haven't photographed mainly as mud, rain and an expensive digital camera don't go well together happened after the "reception" at the bride's parent's house. We were told to get on the bus immediately after the ceremony so 45 minutes later when the driver started the bus we dashed on only to wait a few more minutes for those who obviously didn't take the driver revving the engine as a sign that we were leaving. Then we rushed to the bride's parent's home only to wait about an hour for the bride and groom to arrive, take photos for over 30 minutes and finally almost two hours after getting there start handing out the BIGGEST cake you have ever seen in your life. At least it wasn't chocolate but it also wasn't moist. When it became clear that food, drink and entertainment was hours away, that is if it was even going to come, we thought to leave. We found the driver who was also thinking to bail, rounded up the rest of the people who had ridden with us, said our goodbyes and got in the bus. Upon entering Ruud was good enough to point out that our bus was nose to nose with another bus on a road just barely big enough for one road to go down. This was perfect as that bus was loaded and it began to rain. Now rain, dirt and two big buses facing each other on a hilly rural road with not enough room to pass each other go really well together. For a while we followed the other bus (which was in reverse) until surprise surprise it got stuck. A heroic effort was made by some (not us as we knew it was impossible with out a tractor) to push the other bus and get it going and after playing "10 fingers" for about 45 minutes we decided to walk home. 10 kms, 2 plus hours and lots of rain and mud later we made it home and I haven't risen from my bed since. J/K (just kidding). In fact Rosa Virginia and I got a ride about half the way home but the others spent another hour or so walking. It sure wasn't we had bargained for or envisioned and I am sure we each could come up with a list of all the "important" things that we could have done with our Saturday instead but really it was a day we can't and don't want to recreate, won't forget and really couldn't miss. From noon on Saturday until almost midnight we were "victims" of circumstance and complaints aside, while I wouldn't choose to do it again, this was the kind of thing that I came to Brasil to experience. Best to the bride and groom!

Petition to get rid of Wolfowitz

2007-04-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Paul Wolfowitz, once a top Bush aide on the Iraq war, has been an ineffective president of the World Bank--and now he's been caught in a corruption scandal. Sign the petition calling for him to be fired.

Paul Wolfowitz -- architect of the Iraq war, president of the World Bank, and self-styled scourge of corruption -- has been caught red-handed in corruption himself, arranging a huge pay raise for his girlfriend and hiding the evidence.

Wolfowitz's rigid ideology, unilateral decision-making, and domineering style have demoralized the Bank's staff and undercut the Bank's efforts to reduce poverty. This corruption scandal could be the last straw. World Bank board members are deciding on his fate now--and a massive global outcry could ensure that his presidency comes to an end. Add your name to the petition below: (This text was taken from Avaaz.org, click here to sign the petition)

Imus is done, for now, shouldn't others be told to hit the road? Try Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Savage and the other racist, sexist media types.

2007-04-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

My dad just forwarded me an email from Media Matters for America which quotes David Brock the President and CEO of Media Matters on Don Imus being fired by CBS. Part of the text from that email is below and you can visit http://mediamatters.org/ to sign up to their mailing list and learn more about the state of our media today.

“Washington, DC - In the aftermath of CBS Radio's decision to cancel Don Imus' syndicated radio show Imus in the Morning, David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America, released the following statement regarding the overall tone of talk radio and cable news today.”

"I applaud CBS for listening to reason and canceling Imus in the Morning. Viewers and listeners sent the clear message that they would no longer tolerate bigotry on America's airwaves," said David Brock, President and CEO of Media Matters for America, the organization first to post on Don Imus' racist comments of April 4th. "It is our hope that this incident will begin a broader conversation about the responsibility that news corporations, journalists, and media figures have to the American public. This is an opportunity for the media to truly raise the bar to a higher standard and return to the fundamentals of journalism."

For more you can also visit the following link with the entire email my dad forwarded to me or this one which gives an even more complete set of examples of how Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Savage and others have truly gotten out of control. Aren't there enough problems in our world today without these idiots sitting in front of the mics and cameras and filling our heads with such hateful speech?

Become a Republican

2007-04-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
I know that many of you think that I am a progressive liberal loving lily-livered socialist who bleeds blue but that is just not true. I love the dream of a small federal government so by cutting social security, Medicare, education and more down to the core and increasing our spending on stealth bombers, ray guns and invading sovereign nations. Hell if we ain't gonna police this planet that God put us in charge of who is? I say we should mount a posse, yell our war cry "yippee kaye mother f@c&er" and take over all countries from Cairo to Capetown, Bangladesh to Brasil....you get the point.

So if you want to join me in a crusade to liberate ourselves from the evil ones go to the following link and learn how to "become a republican" We sure can't celebrate being red, white and blue before we turn that blue in to red and celebrate monochromaticness since white isn't a color and we sure don't want any diversity in our nation. BTW, by the way, WE the world's policemen have the right to make up words like monochromaticness because if anyone gets in our way we can just blow 'em away. And better yet if it already is a word we can just claim it is our own and sue those jerks who are stealing our original idea. Isn't America great!

Bleed red with me,
Blake H. Schmidt

Not trying to take Nate's job as funny man of the family but sharing a "knee slapper" with you all.

2007-04-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks Sherwood for sending this joke out via email about a month ago around St. Paddy's Day time. I add this "tongue and cheek" email to my blog knowing that the reality about the subject joked about below is devastating and too close to home for many thousands of people each day around the world. Don't worry Nate I won't be trying to take over your stand up/improv spot in the family so for now you can rest well as the thrown remains yours.

"At a U2 concert in Ireland, Bono asks the audience for some quiet.

Then in the silence, he starts to slowly clap his hands.

Holding the audience in total silence, he says into the microphone..."Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

A voice from near the front of the audience pierces the silence..."Fookin' stop doin' it, then!"

Sick to my stomach and he calls himself a "good person". Don Imus you should be ashamed of yourself and out of a job!!!!

2007-04-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Again out of the loop thanks to being out of the country which with stories like these sounds better and better each day. Why do these idiots have jobs let alone the kind that let them influence hundreds of thousands if not millions of people. It is too bad that sex, inuendo, discrimination and just plane bad taste sell because if people didn't tune in and turn on these jerks then they wouldn't make money and would be out of a job and doing some real work for a living. And then those of us with a conscious, sense of decency, interest in colors beyond the green of dollars and concern for our fellow humans and the planet could have the helm of these instruments that disseminate information to the masses and influence opinion and action.

Wouldn't it be great for the leader of an organization in Washington D.C, Johannesburg, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong or Kiev doing work to help people get skilled up to get better jobs, volunteer to help others, clean up dirty river beds, fight forest fires, etc. had the mic instead of Howard, Don, Rush and the rest of these people who use phobias, mis/lack of education, isolationism and more to create legions of mindless viewers, readers, listeners who in an attempt to mimic their "role models" wreak havoc in the life's of others and the one and only planet we can and most likely will be able to inhabit. Isn't it funny how people hide behind "our" free speech protections when it is convenient for them. Enough of my diatribe now on to the reason I began writing this in the first place which were the recent racist, sexist, completely inappropriate and stupid comments that Don Imus, his executive producer Bernard McGuirk and sports announcer Sid Rosenberg, made on Imus' show. For more I suggest you read these three articles from ESPN.com which will surely make you want to find more at Salon, BBC and where ever you get your news from.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/070410

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2831636

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=keown/070410

The World Bank and State Department corrupt...no can't be. Well actually just ask Wolfowitz and his girlfriend and you might get a different answer.

2007-04-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

My uncle Terry again alerted me to an article from Salon's "War Room". This one was published on Monday and is called "A very expensive neocon love affair" and no it is not about the alleged affair (unless it was proved when I was out of the loop) between our President and Condi but in this case it does show that Miss Rice is being screwed in another way. It appears that the "architect" of the Iraq "war", who for the record I wouldn't pay to design a pillow case, used his power and position to get a new job and pay raises for a "friend" a.k.a lover. For more you can read the article here at Salon. A teaser is below with another link to the article:

"...World Bank employee Shaha Riza was assigned to work at the State Department in 2005 after it became known that she was romantically involved with Wolfowitz, who had just become the bank's president.' For more visit this link. After you read the article you will understand why my uncle ended his email saying"And for those of you looking for the hypocrisy hook, remember that the World Bank often conditions aid to a developing country on the country showing progress in curbing governmental waste and corruption."

Spending the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) selling out to Myspace and Facebook....all 2 bring more visitors to my blog, pathetic maybe.......

2007-04-08T08:55:00.000-07:00

.....but my hope is that it will prove to be effective and increase the traffic to my blog. As I mentioned a few days ago, a week ago to be exact, I have posted over 100 photos on my blog, now closer to 140, and numerous stories about my work, colleagues, cultural experiences, etc. and especially for all those of you who email and ask me how it is going and for those who will be dazzled by another one of my infamous slide shows when I return the blog is a great way to know more about me and whet your appetite.

For those of you who subscribe to my blog through Feedblitz of which there are a dozen of you it may have come to your attention that you weren't getting your daily email summaries from my blog. That is because sadly enough prior to today many weeks if not months have passed since I wrote an entry on the actual day it was dated for and only those entries written and posted on the same day get emailed to you. I am sorry for being so busy but at least I have caught up with the past few weeks worth of stories and photos for you all to enjoy.

As I mentioned above I have spent many hours this weekend working on adding friends and setting up a new account from Facebook which I did for two reasons. The first was to appease my coworkers and volunteers here at Iracambi who have started our own Facebook group including a cat named Tripod. The crew here was harassing me to join and share photos, etc. so I acquiesced more to promote my own blog than anything and plus on my blog they can find plenty of great photos! As of now 48 hours after being created I have 63....no make that 64 friends. Then once I got the hang of Facebook and had a ton of "new" friends I decided to work on my MySpace page which I created last year but really never used. I only have 10 friends in the less than 24 hours since I started it but it is a good start and I am sure that once my friends get done with their Easter egg hunting they will surely accept my generous offer to be online friends. If you want to see my MySpace page you can go to http://www.myspace.com/ripplefxs and if you want to see my Facebook page you can go here.

In the end I think this will be a good way to keep in touch with the hundreds of friends in almost 30 countries around the world or at least pass a rainy weekend in the middle of the Atlantic Forest.

A great guy!!!

2007-04-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Just a quick shout out to a great guy who I have had the pleasure of working , playing, talking and living with during my first two months in Brasil. Sadly enough Alexandre can't stay with us forever as he has his studies and ironically enough I don't think any of us are going to realize how much we will miss him until it is too late and he is gone. People come and go here at Iracambi and for someone like myself staying for at least 6 months these arrivals and departures become normal but at the same time it is not always easy to see people go, especially the irreplaceable ones like Alexandre who are artistic, culinary geniuses, team players, creative, willing to self sacrifice and always looking to make others happy. Thanks Alexandre, travel well and do keep in touch!

Coverup...Tllman.......

2007-04-04T11:14:00.000-07:00

Using the fancy search engine embedded in my blog I type in Tillman and came up with two entries I wrote in late October last year which both made mention Kevin Tillman the brother of former NFL star and Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan by friendly-fire. Well here is another posting about Kevin and the cover-up that went higher up in the D.C. food chain then the general public knew before. In fact according to the Scott Lindlaw of the Associated Press a "general tried to warn bush about Tillman" and surprisingly enough "our commander and chief" didn't heed this warning but went on lying to the family, pubic, etc. This article can be viewed at Oregonlive.com. One teaser from the article to peak your interest is "The Tillman family has charged that the military and the Bush administration deliberately deceived his relatives and the nation to avoid turning public opinion against the war." Hmmm can you imagine our government doing this?

Kenya update: This Duck isn't a chicken.

2007-04-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

You may recall last month that I wrote about how many from the US were electing not to compete probably as they were worried a US bomber flying back from bombing raids over Somalia or might drop its load in the middle of the race. I wrote about it here. Well fortunately a few US runners did go to participate among them a fellow Portlander.

It takes a brave Oregonian and a Portlander none the less to compete in Mombasa, Kenya is what Kenny Klotz of University of Oregon recently proved.Klotz representing the UO Ducks was the leader of the (US) American (junior) team who competed at the IAAF Cross Country Championships last month in Mombasa. My dad forwarded me an article from GoDucks.com with this story which you can read if you want to know more.

Regional Medicinal Plants Workshop in Rosario da Limeira

2007-04-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend interested groups and individuals from throughout our state of Minas Gerais and the larger region descended on the small town of Rosario da Limeira (a few thousand inhabitants) for the 3rd Meeting about Community Work with Medicinal Plants and Homeopathy. It was held Friday through Sunday, they easily had the 200 participants that they wanted (200 was the cap on participants) plus some of us who came to visit for shorter periods of time. I went along with Robin, Binka, Alana, Jim and some visitors who had come to talk about potential funding for Iracambi and wanted to talk with community members who have worked for/with Iracambi and some of these people were at the meeting. Below are some photos I took from the meeting of workshops, our booth, volunteers/staff at the meeting as well as visitors from the meeting who came to Iracambi on Sunday to walk on our "medicinal plants", visit our nursery and generally learn more about what Iracambi does and offers to surrounding communities.

Alexandre is to the left pointing and behind him with the teal green shirt is Everaldo who works for Iracambi doing maintenance and more and also sells us eggs and cheese from his farm.Our booth at the meeting with posters designed by volunteers Hannah and Joanna, soaps by Everaldo and Alexandre and wooden boxes and other containers by Alexandre.

Rosa Virginia and Alana smelling some of Alexandre and Everaldo's soaps made from honey, citronella and other plants/ingredients found/produced at Iracambi or by others locally.

From left to right, me of course, Rasmus, Andreas, Alana, Hannah, Joanna, Claudio and Alexandre.

Visitors from meeting walking our medicinal plants trail which I walked on for the first time while taking these pictures although it is just a few hundred yards from my door. I have no real excuse other than being busy and lazy. I have hiked few trails here but figure I have lots of time to do them all.

One of the plants marked with this sign to tell its name (common and scientific) as well as what illnesses/diseases it can be used to cure.

Marcelo who I have mentioned in other entries who is our resident tree and plant expert, great link to the community, great baker, guitar player and all around nice guy, pointing out some of the plants/trees to the group as we walked on the trail.

The entrance to the viveiro/nursery which is run mainly by a volunteer, Toni, with help from volunteers and community members. This is where the seeds are germinated and seedlings raised that we use in our reforestation work. Toni is looking for a helper (no real experience needed) if any of you are interested!

Group discussing what they had seen on the trail and exchanging ideas on medicinal plants, Iracambi, etc.

One of the bamboo tables with various plants in different stages of growth under a makeshift roof out of sacs from rice, cement, etc.

Some of the little guys doing their best to grow good and strong.

One of the greenhouses with wood piled up outside being used to construct new tables and repair old one.

Some of the ground beds where seedlings are transfered and experimentation takes place.

Plants!

Robin, one of the founders of Iracambi talking with a visitor from Limeira.

Fooled ya......

2007-04-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

http://ripplefxs.blogspot.com/

What better day to shamelessly promote my own blog on my own blog through this entry!

Sorry I have been so delinquent in updating my blog these past few months but there is a lot of work to do here at Iracambi not to mention my responsibilities with my capstone for SIT, staying in touch with family and friends around the world, involving myself in the community here and much much more!

Cachoeira--waterfall

2007-03-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the day before Hannah, Joanna, Rasmus and Andreas left Iracambi they plus Alana, Rosa Virginia, Ruud, Brian and I headed down to the waterfall or cachoeira surrounding by bamboo and other forests to take a much needed dip in the river. Yesterday was also my 7 week anniversary here at Iracambi and amazingly enough the first time that I made the time to go swim at the wonderful natural pool near that we call the waterfall. 7 week!!! That is crazy or at least I am and now that I have gone and loved it I will surely go back again. I have to go at least a few times a week especially as cooler weather is on the way and soon it might be too cold to go. Alana and a crew of volunteers cut up tomatoes, cheese, bread, onions, etc. before so that we had sandwich materials and we all made our own sandwiches, etc. to take with us for a little picnic at the falls. As you can see from the previous photo and the ones that follow this area is not only lovely but also fun and a great place to chill. The waterfall part of the name is also a bit over exaggerated but whatever you call it is worth the visit. Just hope another 7 weeks don't pass before I get to do this again!

Bombs away British Bryan!

The Flying Dutchman, Ruud!

Blakeman having left his cave to swing like Spiderman.

More scenery around Iracambi.

2007-03-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

A great writer, thinker, visionary, spiritual seeker and leader once wrote about "sunny tropics, giant hills, winged winds, mighty billows, verdant vales, festive flowers, and glorious heavens, — all point to Mind, the spiritual intelligence they reflect." This author was Mary Baker Eddy who is known as the "Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science" and I am sure she would have appreciated the beauty, bounty and biodiversity found in Brasil, especially the Atlantic Forest and around the world as well and been at the forefront of protecting the precious and needed places. Also, below is Ruud standing in a avocado tree where we grabbed over 30 large avocados and took them back to the research center with us to make avocado deserts, guacamole, etc. Umm I love fresh vegis and fruits!!!!

The Flying Dutchman decides takes to climbing to get as many avocados as possible.

Almost another full moon....just a few days to wait!
For the record I didn't play with the colors on these above photos so you can see that the skies here are amazing and just one great reason to be here!

6 1/2 weeks without leaving the municipality of Rosario da Limeira

2007-03-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not yesterday was my first time leaving the county or better yet municipality of Rosario da Limeira for 6 1/2 weeks since I arrived on the 9th of February. I almost made it two months but I needed to go to Muriae for work to visit a English/Spanish language school partially funded by the US Government where Iracambi is interested in having a stronger connection. I went with Alana and Claudio in Robin's Land Rover and we got to the town of almost 100,000 just after 10 in the morning. Robin gave us a brief car tour to help orientate us (not Claudio as he is from these parts) and then left the three of us off near one of the main squares.

Alana, Claudio and I went to ICBEU (Instituto Cultural Brasil Estados Unidos), one of many located around the country, to meet Sergio the director and head teacher at the Muriae branch. Sergio was a very friendly and welcoming guy, with great English especially considering he has never been outside of Brasil, eager to organize cultural and linguistic exchanges between Iracambi and ICBEU and most importantly willing to come out to Iracambi once a week and teach Portuguese to interested volunteers and researchers. Sergio is in his early thirties speaks Portuguese, English, French and Spanish fluently and teaches English and Spanish. He will be teaching basic survival/conversational Portuguese to Iracambistas 3 Fridays a month and the fourth Friday anyone who is interested will travel the hour or so 50 plus KMs to Muriae to do more practical lessons with him at the restaurant, grocery store, etc.

After meeting with Sergio the four of us had lunch together at an "all you can eat" buffet style place where there were more options than I can handle. The food at Iracambi is generally tasty and quality and ORGANIC but being able to have more than 3 or 4 choices was a bit shocking. I was really blown away when for the first time in 75 plus days I saw Sergio not only pick up but also use his cell phone to make and receive calls. What a blessing it has been to be without here!

After lunch Claudio went his way and Sergio helped Alana and I find solid glycerin to make soap and helped orientated us a bit further and then headed back to work. Alana and I did some shopping for ourselves and Iracambistas who had given us money and purchase requests. It was weird walking in to grocery, stationary and other types of stores and having so many things to choose from. During this 6 1/2 weeks I have only been to Rosario da Limeira with only a few thousand people on two occasions for Carnival when most stores, of which there are few, were closed and thus this was really my first time "shopping" in over 1 1/2 months. Along with being overwhelmed by the selection, etc. it was great as Alana and I were able to see what food items we don't get on a regular basis are available that we might buy individually or see about getting through Iracambi.

After a while we sat down near where Robin had dropped us and pulled out our books but ended up talking for at least 1/2 when a guy stopped in front of us, asked if we were from Iracambi and began to talk to us. At first we were a bit weary as Iracambi is fairly well known in the area, we didn't know who he was and we didn't want to be taken advantage of. Then he said his name was Ozeas, he was one of the original volunteers at Iracambi, had worked/volunteer here for over 4 years, was a great friend of Robins and had talked with Sergio earlier in the day about us being in town. He sat with us and we talked in English for about 20 minutes before I started to talk to him in Portuguese and tease him for not asking earlier if I did. I had let us talk in English for Alana's benefit but throughout the day he and I continued to converse in Portuguese from time to time. He is a self professed tour guide, told us about the places he could take us, what we could do there, etc. and was a really jovial and pleasant person to be around. He also asked if we had seen the movie "Hitch" where Will Smith's character Hitch works for himself in helping men get women as their girlfriends, wives, etc. Ozeas said that he is the Hitch of Muriae and is very well known around but just like Hitch he himself doesn't like to date or have much success with it but he has helped "hook up" many people. He said he even introduced a former volunteer to a local Brasilian and now they are married. Then he asked me if I didn't want a girlfriend and throughout the afternoon continue to give me "tips" and introduce me to his female friends as he took us on a tour of his town. It was very humorous and fun and a bit embarrassing too when he would say things like "look now", "only look for a second and then look away until she makes eye contact" and "did you like my friend?". At least when he did this in English most people probably weren't able to understand. He is even coming to Iracambi next week so I am sure he will insist on continuing the lessons!

Another "new" experience was having to go from looking down at my feet to make sure I don't trip on branches or roots, spiders, snakes, leaf cutter ants, etc. to looking up to make sure I didn't step in front of the cars, motorcycles and occasional bikes that were driving around Muriae. I found myself wishing that there was a pedestrian area more than I think I have ever thought of that before. I really am glad that I stay on the farm and in the wood for such a long time and only emerged for a few hours in the smelly, hot, dusty, sticky and fast moving city of Muriae. It is not often that we get chances to get away from what is so familiar to us and really get away from it all so I am glad that in part Iracambi has given me a chance to do this. What an absolute difference from South Africa especially the Johannesburg area where I lived for over five months. I am so blessed to have this diversity of places to live in, languages to practice and learn, cultures to experience and more. Recently a good friend from Kenya asked me (in an online conversation) if I feel homesick and I honestly told her that while I love home (Portland) and would love to end up there some day and while I really miss my friends and family I love being, traveling, working, learning and living other places and I guess it is thanks to things such as this blog that I am able to reduce the distance,loneliness and absence of loved ones while having a different experience then I can have at home.

Spectacular scenary.

2007-03-26T07:43:00.000-07:00

The photo above and the following were taking around the Iracambi property. In case I did not previously explain it, Iracambi means the "land of milk and honey" or "terra de leite e mel" but I am not actually sure what language this is in as I don't think Iracambi is a Portuguese word but most likely an indigenous one. Enjoy some more scenic views from around the gorgeous place where I work and live!

Dancing machine.

2007-03-23T06:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is me "dancing" as we like to call it with Carol who is smiling like I am or maybe she is winching in pain as I am stepping on her feet with my two left ones. Either way we were having fun and after a few goes I actually got better at dancing "forró"which is a popular Brasilian dance that you can read more about at Wiki our "favorite" collaborative website. In another shameful promotion of Calabash music who I am not paid by you can also visit them (Calabash) to find out about their selection of forró music. You can also visit AllBrazilianMusic.com for a more complete explanation and history of forró which is probably where the Wiki pirates jacked their info on forró. Additionally there is an interesting article at NY Times Travel section from last year on, everybody together now, forró!

As is normally my MO I took a long time to warm up to the idea of learning Brasilian dancing and I am not saying that I do it with regularity or expert execution but I am more in to the idea of learning, of course it is easiest to learn in a small group or by candle light so as to not be the joke of the dance party. It also helped that Carol is nice, patient and almost 6 feet tall so that our height difference was not so great and I didn't have to bend over to dance and she didn't have to crane her neck to look up at my overgrown grinning goatee. I think the OOC (out of control) facial hair must be a topic for a future blog and don't worry mom I have no plans of not cutting it long before I come home but right now it comes in handy to provide shelter for spiders, storage space for "left overs" and much needed warmth as it only averages high 80s to low 90s here everyday!

Earth Hour....participate by turning off your lights and other electric appliances for one hour...support our friends in Sydney and around the World!

2007-03-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

EARTH HOUR - 7.30pm to 8.30pm* - Saturday March 31, 2007

Earth Hour is a fabulous opportunity for you and your family to do
something about climate change. On one night, in one hour, more will be
done, more will be demonstrated, and more will be learned than through a
hundred 'talk-fests'. And you can help make it happen.

What is Earth Hour?

It sounds simple, but it is very, very dramatic. At 7.30pm on March 31st
2007, we will be encouraging companies, government departments,
individuals and families to turn off their lights for just one hour. If
we meet our objectives during the first Earth Hour, the savings in green
house gas emissions will be the equivalent of taking 75,000 medium sized
cars off the road for one whole year! Now that's something worth doing.

Why?

The facts are alarmingly clear:

* The climate is changing! The 10 hottest years on record have
occurred since 1990. In fact 2005 was the hottest year since record keeping
began.

* More than 95% of the Great Barrier Reef will have been destroyed
by 2050 if carbon dioxide emissions aren't reduced. (WWF-International)
* One million species worldwide are facing extinction due to
climate change.

But not everybody listens to the facts. Earth Hour is your opportunity
to demonstrate how a simple change in our way of life could change, and
help save, our planet.

The goals of Earth Hour:

Households : Most of us use unnecessary electricity. Appliances on
standby, old style light bulbs, lights left on when we're not using
them. Earth Hour will help us all to realize just how simply we can make
a dramatic impact upon global warming (and our own power bills). We will
see it in action.

Companies : We want companies to be involved. If every company turned off its lights when the buildings weren't in use, and
combined it with energy saving technology, we would save between 2 and 4
million tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. Earth Hour will show
companies just how easy that is.

To make it an annual event : Out of the 8,766 hours in a year, let's
give one back to the earth.

What you can do:

Sign up to Earth Hour and Pledge to turn off your lights on March 31st
from 7.30pm to 8.30pm by logging onto www.earthhour.org

You will receive all the information you need to make Earth Hour a great
success (and to cut your own energy bills in the long term). Pledging is
free.

Get off standby : Turn off all the electronic equipment and appliances
in your home that are not being used or are on standby. Computers,
televisions, stereo equipment, phone chargers, DVD or video equipment.

Tell a friend : Spread the word about earth Hour by involving your
friends, family and workmates. Get them to pledge at www.earthhour.org and
most importantly, turn off the lights at 7.30pm Saturday 31 March 2007 .

Spread the word - Once you have signed up for Earth Hour tell a friend;
spread the word at work; tell your boss; mention it at school, at your
local sports club or society group, you can even run it past your
neighbors!

Make it an event . Get your family and friends to switch off their lights as well;

Take some binoculars and look at the stars; sit and talk by candlelight;

Explore your backyard by torchlight;

Have fun with sparklers; or just do something non-electric as a
family;

Have a picnic-at-dusk; pretend you are camping; or have a candlelight dinner.

For more info on Earth Hour, check out www.earthhour.org

EARTH HOUR. MAKE IT HAPPEN.

* I just wanted to mention that when you click the Earth Hour link it takes you to an Australian website as this is an initiative coming from WWF Australia and others so if you want to participate you should figure out what time in your area would be equivalent to Sydney, Australia at 7:30 PM Saturday night! A good place to visit is http://www.timeanddate.com/. Also once again I am making a plea to see "An Inconvenient Truth", visit http://www.climatecrisis.net/ and do your part to protect our planet, reduce waste, drive less, etc.

Mocambican’t! Run your not-so amazing race elsewhere.

2007-03-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

The only time I watched this “reality TV show”, Amazing Race was once a few years back at my sister/brother-in-law’s apartment with our friend Tessa who lived in Peru for many years and the episode was taking place in Cuzco the city where she had lived. Thanks, Ash for letting me know about the show but I am about as unimpressed as I was when we watched with Tessa.

Ali, The Interpreter, Blood Diamond and Catch a Fire are some of the most recent/popular movies that were filmed partially or entirely in Mozambique, especially the capitol Maputo. I don’t really know that I want anyone invading Mozambique be it USAID (United States Agency for International Development), Will Smith or the Amazing Race crew. I guess my fear is that those idiots at Survivor will come in and decide to take over one of Mozambique’s pristine beaches, cut down some of the virgin forests or one of many other neo-colonial activities.

Yes, exposure, especially positive is good for Mozambique and many countries particularly in the underdeveloped world rely on tourism as a major part of their economy. Yet, had I seen these idiots filming when I was in Mozambique a few months back I would have done something, such as run naked through their set, to try and muck up this filming. The last thing the world needs is tourists, “development” experts and others to parachute in, take some pics, hand out some (band)“aid”(s) and then shoot off to another “disaster” only to return when the next flood, elections, casting call or USAID call for proposals (worth millions if not billions) goes out. Please visit, enjoy, interact and take home memories but don’t think for a second that you know the solutions to a people’s problems better than they know them.

Now, I know I am getting a bit off track and probably loosing some of you with my mad ranting but I know I am not the only one that thinks this way and that is how I sleep at night. Back to the show that was filmed in the Maputo area and I understand aired last Sunday. Even though I am not a fan of such programs I would be willing to watch this one for two reasons. It was filmed in Maputo a city that I know well, where many of my friends live and where I have spent many great times. And second, because it highlighted the work of an organization called Apopo http://www.apopo.org/newsite/content/index.htm which a good friend actually works for. Alfredo who taught Shangaana, to Annie, Charles, John, Nanosh and I, who is quite a linguist, father of two and a nice guy has been working for Apopo for some years now. I will have to get in touch with him and see if he was around on the day that this show was filmed at one of the fields where Apopo works training mine sniffing rats who detect mines and alert de-mining crews. This is a much smarter/safer technique then using dogs or people to detect mines as rats are light enough that they can’t set off the mines but sensitive enough that they have an amazing success rate in finding mines under the ground. It also seems they are using these rats to detect TB (tuberculosis, you know that thing that Val Kilmer/Doc Holliday was suffering from in Tombstone.

In conclusion tread lightly, respect others, get off you’re A$$ and see reality for yourself. It is silly to rely on others to bring “reality” into your living room so that you can be an armchair explorer. Granted travel is not always cheap, affordable, easy, etc. and I am not advocating for mass travel to “exotic” places as increased carbon emissions is the last thing we need but coming face to face with reality is as easy as heading to your local community center, volunteering at a school, offering to take someone shopping, etc. It may not be as sexy or intriguing as the stuff we are spoon fed on people but it sure is more rewarding and lasting. I do advocate for your to live vicariously through me as you know I try to bring important, interesting and educational information to you about my travels, studies and work at home and abroad. P.S. if you do want to visit Maputo/Mozambique at some point I would love to be your guide on the “off the beaten path” tour that Lonely Planet doesn’t give you.

Mission accomplished: 112 saplings, 12 willing workers, 8 photos that tell it all, 6 AM start, 3 hours and 1 goal met!

2007-03-16T09:07:00.000-07:00

Pardon another sky shot but the sky especially at dawn, dusk and night is one of the most beautiful and amazing things around here. This picture was taken at 5:50 on Thursday the 15th, as I was leaving my house and heading down to meet the 11 other volunteers to plant saplings.

Here is a before shot of the area where we 12 of use planted 112 trees in just a little over three hours. We were motivated to work fast because we were told that by nine AM the sun would be baring down upon us. I have mentioned/showed photographs of this area in previous blog entries. We were doing our part to try and slow down with the ultimate goal of eventually stopping the erosion in this area.
“Ja” clearing grass in the foreground with a hoe to make a spot for trees to be planted with Andreas behind here doing the same thing.
Joanna, Lucy and Rosa Virginia (from left to right) planting saplings in the wholes that Carole and Alana in one team and Hannah and I in another were digging.
The pieces of bamboo stuck in the ground are to mark the spots where we had already dug holes and placed saplings.

A more or less after shot with a few bamboo markers visible. I will go back in a few months and photograph the area again to see how much growth has taken place. We hope that our work has a kind of ripple effect on the area that our trees help to hold the ground while also motivating others to replant/reforest.

Members of our tired crew resting after three plus hours of hard labor clearing, digging, planting, etc.

Our Swedish, Catalonian, US American, Brasilian, British and Venezuelan crew of Iracambistas in a celebratory pose after planting 112 saplings in just over three hours.

Medicinal plants workshop at Iracambi with the community, pharmaceutical students, Iracambi volunteers, researchers and staff.

2007-03-11T06:04:00.000-07:00

The medicinal plants workshop was a joint collaboration between Iracambi staff/researchers/volunteers, three agro forestry students from Vicosa, community members from Graminha and other areas around Iracambi and pharmaceutical students from Muriae studying at a faculty called FAMINAS. This was the first time to get all these groups together and these workshops will be continuing periodically over the next years.

From left to right we have volunteers and staff Alexandre, Toni, Gustavo and Marcelo. Alexandre is studying classical music at a university near Sao Paulo and has been here volunteering for about two months. Toni is from Catalonia and has been here for since August running our nursery, coordinating tree planting with help of staff/volunteers and cooking some great meals. Gustavo is our volunteer coordinator and in addition to this working on starting and promoting ecotourism in the area. He comes from the south of Minas Gerais (state where Iracambi is located) and doing this as part of a year long paid internship. Marcelo is our medicinal plants/forestry expert and has been with Iracambi for two years working on improving Iracambi’s work with/in the community and much more. Out of the 50 plus volunteers/researchers, staff, community members and students from the two institutions we were broken into two groups each with two note takers/recorders, a photographer, team leader, specialists on the plants/trees from which collected specimens and observers. Here were some of the members of the group I was involved in observing one of the trees from which we cut bark. Alexandre and Sr. Joaquim discussing where to cut a bark sample from this tree. Sr. Joaquim is one of the community members that participated and he did most of the work in our group such as cutting bark samples to later be tested by the FAMINAS students. One of the great things of joint efforts like these is that the community members see how outsiders such as volunteers from overseas and students from nearby educational institutions find value in the knowledge possessed by the rural communities and the plants/trees that the know about. It boosts self worth and gives incentives to the locals to protect the forests and pass down their knowledge of the forests to future generations. Sr. Joaquim carefully cutting the bark to be removed and later tested for its medicinal properties. Medicinal plants/trees can heal people, provide incomes through the sell of the medicines and help with ecotourism by bringing in interested researchers and tourists who can pay to participate in the selection, collection, preparation, etc. of these plants and trees. At each tree/plant from which we collected specimens we took various measurements such as height, width, girth, etc.
One of the FAMINAS students along with Sr. Joaquim and Alexandre discussing the tree before cutting the bark. This FAMINAS student was boosted up by Alexandre to take some leaves from the tree. After getting to specimens from the lower part he had to kill multiple ants which were biting him. Alexandre climbed a nearby tree to take a leaf from the top of our specimen to compare this leaf with the lower ones already collected.
Alexandre will soon be leaving us at Iracambi which is sad as he is a very nice, modest, helpful, funny and selfless person. We will miss his humor, bread, smile and much more.

After collecting the specimens and knocking the remaining ants from them we left the nursery to return to the laboratory.

I snapped this pic on the way out of the nursery to show you our compost which is part of our eco friendly system to get rid of our waste/leftovers. With between a dozen and two dozen persons here at any given time we produce a great deal of waste and when used this compost is used by Toni as food/fertilizer for his seedlings/saplings.
Guides to Brazilian trees/plants were available for consultation in the laboratory so that any remaining questions could be answered.
Members of another group went to work taking the leaves off of the branches so that they could be weighed, packaged, labeled and transported back to Muriae for the FAMINAS students to study further.
Yet another group weighing specimens they collected. Once back in Muriae the then dry weight will be taken to compare it to the weight upon initial collection.

Alexandre weighing one of the branches that he took from the ant infested tree.

Packing of leaves in paper to be transported, pressed and dried back in Muriae and then further studied.
A packed and prepared specimen ready to be taken.
The “crew” enjoying some coffee, juice and snacks at our kitchen after a hard afternoon’s work.
Fun and games a.k.a. an icebreaker after the work was done. An anticlimactic time to do this if you ask me once everyone had gotten to know each other but a way to celebrate the communal effort As I often love doing I was able to avoid participating in this by being the photographer as I find it much more fun to be behind the camera than in front.

Mr. President please stop following me it is getting pretty eerie and really annoying.

2007-03-10T03:44:00.000-08:00

Don't worry friends I am already basically certain that I must be on a FBI or CIA list somewhere thanks to my time working for the US Government as a Peace Corps volunteer in former communist friendly Mozambique, traveling to visit my cousin in Sarajevo during Thanksgiving 2000 or any other number of places I have been, people I have met or books I have gotten from the library. So my following comments although they will most likely be found by some supercomputer in Quantico and be deemed subversive or maybe even "un-American" or un-Patriotic need to be said no matter what un-marked prison in the underground network our wonderful government has helped to increase around the world I might end up in.

Dear Mr. President,

I go to Europe to backpack around for 3 1/2 months over late summer/early fall 2000 and all I hear is about the upcoming presidential elections, I get to Salzburg Austria giddy as a school girl to do the Sound of Music tour and there you are starting to cause confusion and chaos over some chad things, then I go home in late November and who will be the next president is still up in the air, then I escape, ASAP, to Mozambique in 2001 and soon after you visit me on your "African" tour and I am pretty sure you came back again at some point during my over 3 years in Africa (waiting for regime change before returning home) to attend another conference or something of that nature. Then I come here to Brasil and you are here also. At least the Brasilians like the other South Americans you will be running into these next few days know that you are the king of jokers, the shame of the "Lone Star" state, the emperor who has no clothes or brain for that matter and the next newest ex-President, a moment that couldn't come to soon. As a matter of fact your majesty according to my "The Out of Office Countdown, 2007 Calendar" that I got as a present from my father you Mr. President only have 22 months or more specifically 682 days to see how much you can ruin the world for the rest of us to clean up the pieces when you leave office to enjoy the riches from your investments in oil, arms and the rest.

So I humbly (look up humble in the dictionary, to do this you need to get a dictionary, so ask that secret service agent named Roger who you have wittily renamed Bub to get you one and then open it and go from a to b to c to d to e to f to g and don't go to i before you come to h and then using the same challenging alphabetical skills go to near the end of the h's till you find the word spelled h.u.m.b.l.e) ask you to stop following me around and read the following stories to see what the rest of the world, what I mean to say is the majority of the world thinks about you and your dynasty. Dynasty brings to mind another cheesy nighttime soap you might recall called Dallas in the land of your Spurs, Rangers and Stars where we would love for you to return and stay for good. Although you really aren't a cowboy but just play one on TV and in your head, we will let your imagination stay in control as long as it keeps your finger from the button and you from following me. How far do I have to travel to try and escape Coke, McDonald's Nike, Starbucks, the Bushes and the rest of these "Made in America" cysts growing abnormally around the world and forwarding the cause of globalization, global warming and neo-colonialism.

Finally, Mr. Prez, I know that you only talk to the MAN and don't have time for listening to "your" people or heaven forbid reading what the "leftist" media says about you but you might be interested in reading what your "fans" from Al Jazeera and the Latin American News Agency have to say about you. First, Al Jazeera published an article today called "Bush arrives to Brazilian protest" could it be sir that you weren't welcomed with open arms or as a "liberator"? Then your friends in Cuba, there must be at least one, oh yeah maybe those guys on that base that starts with G.u.an....something, from Latin American News Agency published an article entitled "LatAm Readies to Unwelcome Bush" To your credit you were probably already gassing the chopper to visit your buddies in South America before these stories were published, Only if that Minority Report movie were true you could have seen your being "unwelcomed" before jumping on your high horse, spurring it, yelling "yippee kaye mother f@c&er" and heading down to find Butch, Sundance and Chavez somewhere in the expansive continent of South America.

With warm regards your loyal (thanks for the craniotomy ala Hannibal) subject,

Blake H. Schmidt

Even Diesel knows that this 10-gallon wannabe born in New England and transplated to the land of the Mavericks, Spurs and Rockets can't take the Heat!

2007-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

My uncle Terry alerted me to this story a few weeks back and I thought you would find it humorous and disheartening to see "our" commander and chief making an ass out of himself once again. Such an ass that maybe he should be a democrat so he could have the donkey as his mascot. An unfortunate dig as in trying to insult Bush I seem to have insult Democrats at the same time and while I don't agree with all Democrats I would be much happier to align myself to them then to Republicans any day.

So, for those of you who didn't hear our president can't dribble, only just realized Shaquille O'Neal is tall and sadly enough didn't get Shaq's vote as president.

Terry is a big fan of Keith Olbermann's countdown and regular reader of the Tim Grieve's "War Room" and it was the following article called "One of these things is not like the other" that alerted me to the fact that our commander n cheat is not Einstein. Ok that is not true it has been obvious to many of us for some time now that Bush ain't as cool as he would have you believe.

Grieve wrote

"What George W. Bush said Tuesday about the Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal: "Standing next to Shaq is an awe-inspiring experience."*

What Shaquille O'Neal said the other day about getting a spot in the NBA's All Star game having played only a handful of games this season: "I'm like President Bush. You may not like me, you may not respect me, but you voted me in."**

In addition to this Terry said that Olbermann in his countdown "showed video (ironically enough I got this from Fox News) of Dubya posing with the NBA champion Miami Heat, and failing to notice (until he tried to dribble) that the basketball he was holding was not really inflated.

*FYI in case you didn't know Shaq is listed as 7 foot, 1 inch tall and 300 lbs.

**Fans recently voted O'Neal onto the NBA all-star team even though he has only played six games this season.

Finally, not surprising but still unfortunately true Heat Coach Pat Riley in an AP article was quoted as saying "I voted for the man. If you don't vote you don't count." This after giving Bush a Heat jersey.

Later Riley denied adding politics to the ceremony and said "I'm pro-American, pro-democracy, I'm pro-government," the coach said. "I follow my boss. He's my boss."

Why am I not surprised that this greasy guy would not only be a fan of Bush but say such comments? Then again his freedom of speech is protected just as much as mine.

Running away from races rather than running in them. I was just in Kenya and find the excuses used to not compete in Mobassa offensive.

2007-03-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

This is an older story that my dad shared with me a few weeks back but which I felt would be interesting to share on my blog. As my dad rightly predicted I was very annoyed and frustrated by the reasons these cross country runners have decided not to compete in Mombasa, Kenya later this month. Cowardly, ignorant and unfair are the reasons described below for not attending. I think the US Embassy/government is using this as a chance to push its policies and politics in eastern Africa. If the bombing along the Somali border wasn't disheartening enough when I was there this story is. Kenya's for some reason seem to revere the US or maybe more accurately US citizens (not Americans as Americans go from Patagonia to the top of Canada) while remaining skeptical about the US Government. This is one of those times when the terror in terrorism really wins out. Have fun sitting at home and watching your fellow runners compete from the comfort of your homes, you arm chair chickens.

The first story in its entirety comes from the Oregonian but another from the Florida Sports Magazine speaks further as to the reasons runners have chosen not to compete.

Running notebook Klotz plans to race in troubled Kenya Monday, February 26, 2007 DOUG BINDER The Oregonian

Less than a month before the world cross country championships in Mombasa, Kenya, many of the top U.S. runners have declined to make the trip.

Oregon freshman Kenny Klotz, a qualifier for the national junior team, remains in, but Adam and Kara Goucher of Portland have opted out.

Although huge crowds are expected for Kenya's first IAAF World Athletics Series event, the risks can't be taken lightly, Alberto Salazar, the Gouchers' coach, said.

First, there is a risk of illness. Vaccination for yellow fever is mandatory, and seven other immunizations are recommended.

"I've been to Kenya twice and came back with a gastrointestinal bug both times," Salazar said.

Then, there is the heat. It is likely to be 90 degrees with high humidity for the March 24 races in Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast.

"Running in that kind of heat and humidity, even if you do prepare for it, is a crapshoot," Salazar said.

Security is also a concern. According to Reuters news service, hundreds of Kenyan Muslims marched in Mombasa on Feb. 18 demanding the release of Muslims they say are being held unfairly, and the protesters vowed to disrupt the cross country championship if the prisoners were not freed.

The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi recently issued a strong warning to Americans considering visiting Kenya, saying violent crime was on an upswing and that Kenyan authorities had a limited capacity to prevent it.

U.S. stars Dathan Ritzenhein and Alan Culpepper and Australian Craig Mottram have said they won't compete.

The United States will be among more than 70 countries represented at the event. Klotz, a former standout at Central Catholic who placed second in the U.S. junior 8-kilometer race Feb. 7 in Boulder, Colo., will get the opportunity to wear a Team USA jersey for the first time.

For the rest of the story visit Oregonlive

First Congress, now the airwaves. Progessive radio's rebirth. Time to take it back and not stop till we get the White House in 08!

2007-03-06T08:03:00.000-08:00

It won't be the same without Al who has left Air America to make a run to defeat Norm Coleman in 08 but Thom a recent Portlander has stepped up in his place and others are following suit. If the internet connection was better here I would surely listen to AA but for now I must revile in stories such as this one. Enjoy the new Air America 2.0.

Air America 2.0 Begins Today

By Mark Green, HuffingtonPost.com
http://www.alternet.org/story/48880/

Today my family formally purchases and takes over Air America Radio. Why? Because if progressive values were a stock, now is the time to buy.

That hasn't always been true, as the cycle of politics demonstrates. In recent decades, politics seems to have been governed by physics -- for every action, there's an opposite and equal reaction.

William F. Buckley Jr. started The National Review in the 1950s to rebut what he saw as the dominance of liberalism in the academy and opinion journals like The Nation and The New Republic. From 1970-72, Public Citizen, Common Cause and the NRDC were all created in reaction to Nixon's depredations. Similarly, People For the American Way grew out of the rise of the Religious Right under Reagan in the mid-80s.

New progressive think tanks over the past 10 years, most recently and prominently the Center for American Progress, were created to counter AEI and Heritage. And, of course, the Huffington Post and Air America were born in reaction to the electronic propaganda of Drudge and Limbaugh et. al.

Air America was a large, smart idea to counter the near-monopoly on talk radio by the far right. But like most start-ups, the business plan collided with reality. Six CEOs over its first three years -- and various missteps and misspending -- sent it into Chapter 11.

It's now ready to go from The Perils of Pauline to The Little Engine that Could. How? First, by focusing on the radio fundamentals of making a strong line-up even stronger; second, by connecting to other progressive membership organizations to be mutually fortifying; and third, by being a multi-media content company involving other distribution platforms -- Internet, blogging, audio and video streaming, mobile, social networks, and more. It's time to think outside the (radio) box.

The twin goals are to make it profitable and influential. One without the other won't work. If it's not a business, it'll go out of business.

But it'll be a business with a sharp point of view. The era of on-the-one-hand-on-the-other-hand liberalism is over -- or as Robert Frost once wrote, "a liberal man is too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel." For all those who worry about messianic misleaders governing on a right wing and a prayer, Air America 2.0 will be an answer. For all those fearful of plutocracy and theocracy, the pro-democracy hosts of AAR's programs will be an answer. If the conservative media continue to spout propaganda and call it news, there's now the alternative of truth, justice and the Air American way.

It's no longer enough just to hope that The New York Times will cover a rally or press release. The relatively new combination of The HuffingtonPost, AlterNet, Moveon, Center for American Progress and Campaign for America's Future, The Nation and The American Prospect, DailyKos and TalkingPointsMemo -- and so many labor unions -- means that Air America will be part of a larger progressive infrastructure heard by a widening audience. For if we can't grow and prosper now -- given the 110th Congress, given the unmitigated disaster that's Iraq, given a slew of top-quality presidential aspirants -- when will we?

So Air America will aggressively cover national politics and policies in ways that will be informative, opinionated and entertaining. All three. We'll be full of news and views. Two views especially. First, America should stop attacking Muslim countries in ways that multiply terrorism. Second, instead of only talking about exporting democracy, Washington should begin practicing it here at home, for example by making sure elections aren't auctions.

Speaking personally, my brother and I are excited by this important challenge and look forward to working with the Air America professionals -- in front of the mic and behind it -- who have held this dream together. Steve Green has been a very successful businessman accustomed to making money -- and he doesn't intend for AAR to be an exception. I've been an author, public interest lawyer and the NYC Public Advocate. For me this feels like a continuation of so much I've done in the progressive movement over three decades. Air America is like a public advocate for the country, exposing problems and offering solutions.

We're both optimists in the spirit of Walt Whitman, who wrote that "America is always becoming." Well, Air America too is always becoming.

But that requires a conversation called democracy. In the spirit that dialogue beats monologue, I am today contacting the New Hampshire Republican Party and the New York Post editorial page. Since the Democratic Party of Nevada actually invited Fox News to host that state's Democratic debate, I asked if Air America could host the first Republican debate in New Hampshire, assuring them that "we too can be fair and balanced."

And to Bob McManus, editorial page editor of the New York Post, I proposed that he come on Air America to discuss his views and that Air America commentators would in turn once-a-month write an op-ed on his pages, because "it's better to exchange ideas than insults." His 500,000 readers should hear from us and our 2 million+ audience should hear from him.

We have many fresh ideas for programming, for technology, for partnerships with sister organizations. But it's this conversation called democracy that's the cornerstone of Air America 2.0. We intend to listen to our listeners. To increase our listeners. To hope they will join our journey to better content, better programming, and a better country. To tell them that it's your America, and your Air America.

View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/48880/

Saturday night fun photographing the eclipse.

2007-03-05T08:32:00.000-08:00

One of the first pics I got after I ran up to grab my camera was this one. I was using a 18-55 lens and soon mounted my zoom which is 100 to 300 to take the majority of the rest of these pictures.After I had put on my 100 to 300 mm lens this is a pic I got of the eclipse almost complete.

It was interesting to watch how fast the moon moved over the two plus hours that I was tracking it and taking pictures and watch the stars that acted as escorts as it moved through the night sky.

Where did the moon go? All I see is a few stars!

Everything is okay as the moon is back again to illuminate our night sky for another day or night rather.

In the end I put my smaller lens on again and got one last pic from afar of the moon post eclipse.

What a surprise when you have no idea that there is going to be an eclipse.* That was the feeling last night when the moon came over the hill on the other side of the river and I soon realized a chunk of it was missing. Particularly strange as I thought it was supposed to be a full moon. It didn’t dawn on me right away what I was witnessing and I talked briefly with two people about the “strange moon” before a third said it must be an eclipse. We were so shocked as the calendar had shown that it was supposed to be a full moon and we had been watching the moon get fuller each night at dinner so when it came up and looked like the cookie monster had started to eat it we were rather speechless.

As soon we realized what was happening I grabbed the dinner that I had been preparing and got back to my room ASAP to grab my camera and tripod and spend the next few hours tying to photograph this not-so-daily phenomenon. In fact the last eclipse I remember really paying attention to was in Mozambique in 2002 when I saw it from Chibuto (near Chókwè) in Gaza province with friends and a fellow teacher who drove us to witness the solar eclipse. As follows are some of the over 60 pictures I took some in vain and some with decent results but I soon realized that my experience photographing eclipses, newness of using my digital SLR and quality of my equipment was no match for this celestial oddity.

*Having not watched TV (what a relief) or listened to the radio or read the (printed) newspaper in over a month it is hard to know what is going on in the world. I am not totally cut off having our satellite internet connection but it is slow and intermittent at best. But I still can’t complain. So this brings us to why the eclipse on Saturday was such a surprise.

Katrina, Iraq, Walter Reed....corruption, under cutting vital programs, over paying contractors, lying to the public, etc. This must stop now!

2007-03-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my dad for forwarding me this story from the New York Times so that I could post it on my blog. I can't say that I am surprised but my lack of shock doesn't equate to lack of anger. What is next from this government that is running the US in to the ground and taking the rest of the world with it? We need a revolution. I don't think we can really wait almost two years for regime change.

What a way to treat people you almost force to fight for "freedom" by cutting benefits to veterans. If this is how they treat the armed forces then how do they treat the rest of us pedestrians?

March 5, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist
Valor and Squalor
By PAUL KRUGMAN
New York Times

When Salon, the online magazine, reported on mistreatment of veterans at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center two years ago, officials simply denied that there were any problems. And they initially tried to brush off last month's exposé in The Washington Post.

But this time, with President Bush's approval at 29 percent, Democrats in control of Congress, and Donald Rumsfeld no longer defense secretary — Robert Gates, his successor, appears genuinely distressed at the situation — the whitewash didn't stick.

Yet even now it's not clear whether the public will be told the full story, which is that the horrors of Walter Reed's outpatient unit are no aberration. For all its cries of "support the troops," the Bush administration has treated veterans' medical care the same way it treats everything else: nickel-and-diming the needy, protecting the incompetent and privatizing everything it can.

What makes this a particular shame is that in the Clinton years, veterans' health care — like the Federal Emergency Management Agency — became a shining example of how good leadership can revitalize a troubled government program. By the early years of this decade the Veterans Health Administration was, by many measures, providing the highest-quality health care in America. (It probably still is: Walter Reed is a military facility, not run by the V.H.A.)

But as with FEMA, the Bush administration has done all it can to undermine that achievement. And the Walter Reed scandal is another Hurricane Katrina: the moment when the administration's misgovernment became obvious to everyone.

The problem starts with money. The administration uses carefully cooked numbers to pretend that it has been generous to veterans, but the historical data contained in its own budget for fiscal 2008 tell the true story. The quagmire in Iraq has vastly increased the demands on the Veterans Administration, yet since 2001 federal outlays for veterans' medical care have actually lagged behind overall national health spending.

To save money, the administration has been charging veterans for many formerly free services. For example, in 2005 Salon reported that some Walter Reed patients were forced to pay hundreds of dollars each month for their meals.

More important, the administration has broken longstanding promises of lifetime health care to those who defend our nation. Two months before the invasion of Iraq the V.H.A., which previously offered care to all veterans, introduced severe new restrictions on who is entitled to enroll in its health care system. As the agency's Web site helpfully explains, veterans whose income exceeds as little as $27,790 a year, and who lack "special eligibilities such as a compensable service connected condition or recent combat service," will be turned away.

So when you hear stories of veterans who spend months or years fighting to get the care they deserve, trying to prove that their injuries are service-related, remember this: all this red tape was created not by the inherent inefficiency of government bureaucracy, but by the Bush administration's penny-pinching.

But money is only part of the problem.

We know from Hurricane Katrina postmortems that one of the factors degrading FEMA's effectiveness was the Bush administration's relentless push to outsource and privatize disaster management, which demoralized government employees and drove away many of the agency's most experienced professionals. It appears that the same thing has been happening to veterans' care.

The redoubtable Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, points out that IAP Worldwide Services, a company run by two former Halliburton executives, received a large contract to run Walter Reed under suspicious circumstances:
the Army reversed the results of an audit concluding that government employees could do the job more cheaply.

And Mr. Waxman, who will be holding a hearing on the issue today, appears to have solid evidence, including an internal Walter Reed memo from last year, that the prospect of privatization led to a FEMA-type exodus of skilled personnel.

What comes next? Francis J. Harvey, who as far as I can tell was the first defense contractor appointed secretary of the Army, has been forced out. But the parallels between what happened at Walter Reed and what happened to New Orleans — not to mention parallels with the mother of all scandals, the failed reconstruction of Iraq — tell us that the roots of the scandal run far deeper than the actions of a few bad men.

Robin's Rover Ride on Rough Rural Rutted Red Roads aRound iRacambi

2007-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Here is another view of Iracambi from the hill on the other side of the river. My house is the farthest to the left of the three houses on the left side with a blue door and shutters. We hiked up the hill to meet Robin, one of the Iracambi directors for him to take us an an almost three hour Land Rover tour of Iracambi and Graminha, the nearby community.

I took some pics before getting in the car including these next few. If you look closely at the highest point on the rock face you can see some scarring cause by recent rains and mudslides.This is a closer up photo of the rock face with the white streaky scar where rains in January changed this rock face forever in a matter of minutes. There was a flash flood one night a few weeks back which changed the topography of the land, washed out bridges, flooded houses, etc.
Saying goodbye can be hard. Sally with the orange shirt and back to us was leaving and saying goodbye to fellow volunteers and researchers.
This is a waterfall hidden inside some forest, probably secondary. This is part of the Graminha river the source of which I will show in later pictures that runs it way through Graminha, past Iracambi and eventually in to Rosario da Limeira and Muriae.

This mill powered by the Graminha river is reminiscent of the way the people in this area used to get their electricity as well as mill produce, etc. before the government decided that it needed to "electrify" the area. Ironically enough the government is now trying to encourage residents to create this smaller scale/more sustainable sources of electricity in light of electricity shortages, having less impact on the environment, etc. I guess we could call this a step backwards in the right direction.

A lovely view from about as far as we went on our almost three hour tour with Robin. Only about 50 years ago this area was forested and few people lived here mainly living off slowly/selectively cutting trees and small scale farming. Now most land has been cleared for coffee plantations and since this is no longer a very lucrative endeavor many are letting their land go "wild" again or using it to graze cattle.

The crossroads at about the center of this picture caught my eye.

Here is Robin our fearless leader sharing the natural history, geography, politics, etc. of the area with us. It was great to get a quick trip around the "neighborhood" and learn more about the people who live here, ways we are working to protect and preserve the land, work with the community, etc. Nice to stop reading about it and get out and see it!

If you look closely again you will see what looks like a muddy wide river running steeply down the green hillside but now scroll to the next picture.

It starts to get clearer that you are not looking at a wild crashing river but rather another large swath of land that was scarred thanks to major raining and a giant mudslide.

This picture does the best of showing in detail the damage that the heavy rains this year which culminated in many landslides around the area and at least one flash flood had on the landscape. Robin, who has been living in this area for over 15 years was really shocked by the number of scars all around and extent to which they have greatly changed the look of the area not to mention destroyed forests, reshaped rivers, moved people, etc.

The large red patch in the right third of this photo is similar to a picture that I took in my first blog entry about Iracambi but from a different perspective. This and the other scars from rain and mudslides that I have shown you seem to be a sign of times that are here and to come. These things are not just happening on their own. WE are responsible! The planet is not going to be able to tolerate the way we treat it for ever. Over foresting, overuse of natural resources, slash and burn, greed, etc. will be our demise if we are not careful.

Turning 101 and a scorpion's midnight visit.

2007-03-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

That's right my friends we at Ripplefxs are turning 101 today or rather yet we are publishing our 101st post. I know that TV shows, fellow bloggers, athletes, etc. usually celebrate 100 episodes, postings, games, etc. but to not be like all the rest so the executive decision has been made to celebrate turning 101. Looking back we are all really surprised that we have come this far. Others have tried and not all those who have set out on this path have made it this far. We don't plan on stopping here but continuing full steam ahead bringing you interesting and informative images and stories from around the world. We don't smoke so we won't light a cigar and we don't eat chocolate so we guess that cake won't do but we do like pats on the back so now you can imagine us patting ourselves on the back in honor of our accomplishment.

On to other news I had a midnight visit last night from a scorpion. I was really tired and set to sleep and I looked up on my wall and there a few feet above my head from where I had been sitting working on my computer was a scorpion. Many thoughts ran through my head such as screaming, running, getting help, sleeping on the bed in the living room and crying but in the end I choose to put on some shoes, get a broom and sweep the scorpion to the floor. Of course it fell behind my bed so I had to take off the mattresses, remove my bags from under the bed, find the scorpion, sweep it from under my bed, follow it in to the living room and sweep it out the front door. Why, you may ask did I choose not to kill it? Well I try my best not to kill things and while a scorpion is poisonous and some say it is either it or me I hope we can live peacefully together. Now mosquitoes and cockroaches are another story. I must admit I didn't sleep to well as I kept waking up imaging my little friend had returned but it didn't so I guess we are still okay.

More Iracambi images....

2007-03-01T12:58:00.000-08:00

The skies around here are amazing and with clouds, mountains, vegetation and rest of the landscape there is almost always something to photograph with the sky.

Here is Mike working on the solar water heating system he was installing to provide hot water to the three upper house, Blue, Orange and Red. A few seconds after this Mike actually submerged his head in the water to try and blow on one of the pipes to get the air that seemed to be blocking the water from moving to move. He really gets in to his job.
Mike and Jim discussing possible solutions to the very low water pressure for the showers since switching to the solar water heating system. After many hours, hard work, materials, water outages and more, Mike was unfortunately unable to get the system to work. As he describes in his blog, Chasing Aphroditie, plumbing is more basic here at Iracambi and since we get our water from a nearby stream and use gravity to move the water along and provide pressure for our showers, sinks, etc. it is not always a perfect system. Hopefully a future volunteer will be able to tweak the system and get it going.

Lucy, a volunteer from the UK, plays with Tripod, our resident cat, after dinner. Lucy has been here over a month and will stay till sometime in June working on fund raising, podcasting and more. Tripod got his name as he has four legs but only 3 feet and it is still a mystery as to why he only has three. Rumors around here blame his mom for eating it, a dog for eating it, a birth defect and human cruelty but no one seems to know the answer to "The Legend of Tripod"

Sally, left, and Severine, right, play chess, one of the after dinner activities that many volunteers, staff and researchers enjoy. Sally, from Chicago, has been here for a month and will leave soon. She has been working on fundraising, environmental education and more. Severine, from Switzerland, has been here two weeks and will stay another month plus. She is working on map making using GIS, GPS and more.

Alex, a former volunteer from the UK who returned for a few days to collect some things and say goodbye was showing us his head less pose.

One of the many amazing moths seen around the area. This one was in my house and I took it with this lens cap for a 55 mm lens to give you an idea of its size. Pretty big, wonderfully designed, etc.

Another wonderful Iracambi sunset to end another lovely day in Brasil!!!

Another perspecitve on Iracambi. A volunteer's blog including photos and stories from Iracambi.

2007-02-28T13:38:00.000-08:00

Michael Petrov a Russian born American from New Jersey just finished his month long stint volunteering at Iracambi. Mike was working on trail maintenance and plumbing. I will share some of his photos in a future blog but for now just wanted to share his blog address with you. Mike left today with his girlfriend and her friend to travel for another year or so throughout South America so his blog will become less relevant to you, as a comparison to Iracambi, as the weeks go on but for now there are some interesting photos and stories on the blog about Brasil in general and Iracambi specifically.

His blog, Chasing Aphroditie, is maintained Mike and his girlfriend Sasha and the link is http://chasingaphroditie.blogspot.com/. I will share more stories and photos tomorrow or later today if the internet is still up. Thanks Mike for you help!

Eat a cow kill the planet, eat a veggie burger and sleep better.

2007-02-27T08:20:00.000-08:00

Ok this might not be a completely accurate statement but it felt good to say and gosh darn it...this is my blog. Brad Knickerbocker a fellow Oregonian and father of a colleague from Principia College, wrote an article in the Christian Science Monitor on February 20th that I think it would be great for everyone to read. The article is called Humans' beef with livestock: a warmer planet and I hope you take a time to put down your burger, veggie or beef and take a look at this.

Some food for thought (from the article) to whet your appetite, "American meat eaters are responsible for 1.5 more tons of carbon dioxide per person that vegetarian every year."

"Arguably the best way to reduce global warming in our lifetimes is to reduce or eliminate our consumption of animal products," writes Noam Mohr in a report for EarthSave International.

Once again click here to read the story. Take it from me a vegetarian of 8 years now it is really a great change that makes you feel better, treats the planet better, introduces you to so many more types of foods and is the right thing to do.

Iracambi Trail Map---High Trail/Alta Trilha where I hiked Saturday, see photos below, is indicated in red.

2007-02-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hiking the Iracambi High Trail/Trilha Alta on a sunny Saturday in February.

2007-02-25T12:42:00.000-08:00

Brian, a avid birder from the UK who has been birding throughout Latin America, a bit in Africa and Europe took Sally, a volunteer from Chicago and Rosa Virginia a Venezuelan living in Massachusetts and like me studying at SIT, plus myself of course on a 5k or so hike up on the High Trail above the research center here at Iracambi. This took place Saturday morning and the following are pictures from this trip. I won't write much as they are pretty self explanatory and I am still getting to know the area so I don't know much natural history, geology, anthropology, etc. yet.

This sign just says "Iracambi Limited-Graminha Farm...It is prohibited to hunt, fish or cut trees." Reminds me of signs on my grandmothers 4oo plus acres of land in Maine that she wants to turn into some type of conservancy.

This sign says "Beginning of the High Trail"

Brian is in front, followed by Rosa Virginia and then Sally.

We did see some birds on our hike but I was not able to get any on film (digital) but I did manage to get some great scenic and wildlife shots still.Looks beautiful until you think that once all this land was forested and today so much of it has been cut for ranching and growing of crops such as coffee. Of course then the beef ends up at McDonalds and the coffee at Star Bucks. Globalization OOC (out of control) once again.Here again you can see how "development" has led towards bare hillsides, mudslides and more destruction of the planet.

I found a friend or better yet it found me. If you think it looks beautiful/interesting from above you should see it when it flies from the underside. I am not very knowledgeable about insects but they are very diverse here coming in all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes.

The road not yet traveled. And one our children may never see if we keep treating the planet like our play thing.

Carnival 2007 in Rosario da Limeira, Minas Gerais, Brasil!

2007-02-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I went to the opening of Carnival with Alexandre and Claudio and we stayed till about 2 in the morning and then drove/walked home and got to bed after three. The music was good, people energetic, weather perfect and atmosphere fun filled for the whole family. Very different I am sure (even though I have never been) from Carnival in places like Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. It was cool to see the whole family there from little baby to great grandparents. Then on Tuesday Claudio and I returned for the final night of Carnival with Rosa Virginia, Sally and Gustavo and we had a good time but I think the music wasn't quite as good as it had been a few nights earlier. It got so cheesy at points that I expected Fabio to get up on stage and strut his stuff. I was too tired from traveling these past 2 plus months to go any further than 40 minutes away for Carnival and it was a perfect speed for me with a more family atmosphere and unlike Mike who traveled to Bahia I didn't have to worry about people putting their hands in my pocket constantly trying to steal money, etc.

Gustavo and Rosa Virginia with two boys who were collecting aluminum cans which are worth money when sold to a recycler.

Stage where performances are held in middle of Rosario da Limeira the nearest small town/village to Iracambi about 40 minutes by car.

Ummm....wow that looks really disgusting. Sorry to pass judgment and while some of my friends at this "fast food" I choose to go without dinner.

Another picture of the main square/plaza from the street. You can see all the banners that were put up to decorate and the entrepreneurs making cash off of selling beer in the red tent.

Reminiscent of Marci Gras I imagine.

Uh oh might it rain?

Group consisting mainly of older folks who first paraded on foot and by car and then drove and walked into the central square to dance and have fun. Some men, like the man on the left with the peach shirt and bandanna, dressed in drag.

Red sky at night on this night meant our delight as the rain held off yet when we were heading back to Iracambi we walked through areas where it had recently rained. It seems it often rains up here but not down towards Limeira.

While the music and the crowd was entertaining and entertained I would have to say that most of the music tonight was rather cheesy love music and the dancing by the men and women was hilarious at times.

Who is this weird guy looking as if he is gonna eat the photographer?

Thats right all you Mozambique RPCVs and others who have traveled there, Mozambique isn't the only place where the locals love thumbs up. Rosa Virginia is on the left followed by Claudio, Sally and me.

Claudio and Gustavo having a great time playing the air guitar ala Scrubs and going thumbs up as well.

We left around 12:45 as we all had to get up and work the next day. Of course the last song was one of my favorites, in fact it is one that Heather or Anthony from SIT shared with me.

A wild past two months.

2007-02-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

You might be wondering what happened to me from about the 15^th of December until now. The truth is that I was in Mozambique as I told about in a few blog entries posted in early January and then went to Kenya on the 5^th of January and stayed until the 27^th before flying from Nairobi to Johannesburg. I was so busy in Kenya and most of the time in places with no internet or such slow internet that I chose to check email only sporadically and only wrote one entry, January 10^th, while on the road. I had a great time in Kenya traveling as far as Migori/Lake Victoria in the western part of the country and also getting to know people and places in an around Nairobi. I got a chance to spend some time at two schools started in Kenya by groups of Christian Scientists and it was nice to get to know faculty, staff and students at these schools. I was even asked, on the spot, to teach an English lesson to 5^th and 6^th graders at Petals bringing me back to my days of teaching English for the Peace Corps in Mozambique. I will try and edit some of the hundreds of photos I took in Kenya and Mozambique and post them over the coming weeks. As I am going in to my second week of work here at Iracambi things are looking to get busier and I already have a long list of work to do. Also, colleagues are starting to go on vacation for varying lengths of time so I will be covering for others over the next month while still trying to define my work as program coordinator. I start my official SIT practica this Friday the 23^rd and do it for three months. At the conclusion of this I will still have 2 ½ months here but will be one step closer to completing the requirements for SIT. These are exciting and busy times and I should get back to my work before the day is completely gone.

A little Iracambi orientation to better explain my next 6 months in Brasil.

2007-02-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

This post seems to have been added to by volunteers and researchers over the years who have come from various countries and continents around the world. If you figure Portland is about 10 hours to the north of San Fran you can see that I am about 11,000 KMS away from home.My house it the Casa Azul (blue house) on the left and to the right of mine is Toni's a Spaniard who is working in the plant/tree nursery here at Iracambi and has been here about 10 months.Here is my room which is not much to look at but certainly more quiet and private than my accommodation in South Africa but I don't have the fast internet access like I had at ETC nor do I have Doug or Ben to make me laugh.
This is the "living room to my house, my room being the one to the right and the other is where Muffi a volunteer arriving soon will be staying for about a month.Here is the glorious view from the front of the house. I can see this just by opening the front door and sitting at my desk in my room and working in my computer. You can see the large area where erosion is taking place. Erosion is a huge problem in Brasil due to deforestation and I am sure I will write more in coming blogs about this and what is being done to try and fix this problem.
Another view of the valley and hills across the river. This one is taken from the Centro (Center) which is the main communal space where most volunteers live. The greenish building to the left is the kitchen which has an open air but covered dining area on the far side that has a nice view of the river, pastures, etc.
This is Marcelo who is in charge of the medicinal plant project and has been working at Iracambi for about two years now. His wife and daughter live in Sao Paulo which is about 14 hours away by bus and he sees them about once a month.
Marcelo is at the far left and the other people are community members (plus one volunteer) who were attending last Saturdays medicinal plant workshop that Marcelo holds about once a week in which community members can participate. This is part of Iracambi’s community outreach and attempt to create environmentally friendly and sustainable alternative income generating projects for community members.

Alexandre is the volunteer on the left who is here for about a month from Sao Paulo and is studying music at university. In addition to being a musician he is an artist, creative and friendly person. In the middle is Gustavo who appears to be the person on the Iracambi staff who I will be working the closest with. He is from the south of Minas Gerais, the state we live in, and is here for a year as part of his university studies in ecotourism. The boy in the back is one of the community members who participated in the medicinal plants workshop on Saturday. On the right is Rosa-Virginia who is an International Education grad student with me at the School for International Training. She is here for a few months to help with the environmental education program that Iracambi does to increase the community’s awareness of our presence and get the community more involved in protecting and caring for the land, forest, etc.

Some of the participants of workshop weighing the leaves of one of the plants that Marcelo had been discussing.

Here is someone’s laundry being dried on the line with the hills across the way in the background. As long as it isn’t raining this method of drying is very effective and many of us also have lines in our homes in the event that it is raining. Here is a lovely sunset pic that I just took a few hours ago. I think it won’t rain tonight but the clouds with the last rays of sun hitting them looked rather lovely. What a difference a few thousand kilometers makes moving from Johannesburg, South Africa to Iracambi, Brasil. Here I see maybe one car a day, don’t really have to worry about personal safety or the safety of my possessions and get to breath fresh air most all the time