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May/June Archives |
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Back to S�o Paulo -- this time to stay... |
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OK, so here�s a funny language story to get the ball rolling this month. I have been to several masses with Maryknoll Fr. Dan McLaughlin (hahaha, yes, funny coincidence) and every time, he likes to introduce me, and any other people who are visiting, to the congregation. Well, he likes to start out his introductions with a little joke, usually something like, "I�d like to introduce you all to my granddaughter, Sarah McLaughlin...". This last mass I visited, along with the two girls from Notre Dame (on the right), Dan started out his introduction to the congregation with, "You�ve all heard of the Three Kings, right? Well, I�d like to introduce you to the three queens...". This may not sound very funny when I recount the story in English, but in Portuguese, the word for queen sounds very similiar to "hyena" in English. So I�m standing up front at the altar, dying of laughter on the inside, trying to keep from bursting out laughing as Dan (with a completely straight face) introduces me to the whole parish as one of the Three Hyenas!! :) |
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Marcia (middle) and Colleen are doing a two month internship with Maryknoll as part of a summer program with Notre Dame college. We are visiting Nossa Senhora Aparecida, one of the largest Catholic churches in the world. It is famous for its depiction of Mary, Jesus� mother, as a black woman. |
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Just a quick wrap-up on my language school experience: I finished my language course in Bras�lia on June 9th, having completed 596 hours of Portuguese classes -- and that doesn�t count the daily masses in Portuguese, the discussions during meals, or the conversations I had with my Brazilian friends... All in all, I learned a whole lot! All the Brazillians I talk with say my Portuguese is great!! But from what I�ve been told, you know your Portuguese is good when Brazilians stop saying you speak Portuguese well!! ;) I will be continuing language lessons in S�o Paulo with a private tutor once a week, and of course learning vocabulary is a daily endeavor. ie: Peacock --> pav�o. Who would have guessed I�d need to know the word for peacock? |
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S�o Paulo, Center |
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Left:The view from my window in S�o Paulo. No, it�s not pollution you�re looking at, it�s genuine fog. Below: A more panoramic view from the same window. These are "working class" apartments, pretty standard in this area. |
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I arrived in S�o Paulo on June 12. Fortunately, I was not traveling on the 13th, the day that Brazil played its first World Cup soccer game. During a game, everything in the city shuts down, nobody goes to work, buses pull over so the drivers and passangers alike can watch the game, and I think the domestic airline carriers are authorized to make emergancy landings on any runway that gets Brazil�s equivalent of ESPN. But by the time the first game was underway, I was happily arrived in the center of S�o Paulo. |
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I am currently living with two other Maryknoll Lay Missioners, Heidi and Joanne, in their apartment in the center "zone" of the city. The center is the primary financial district, and most people come and go just for work. There is, however, a large population of street people (and street kids), women in prostitution, and very poor families living in slums. This is the population that Heidi and Joanne work with, and the people I�ve been meeting as I visit the different ministries.
I�ve spent some of my time visiting four women�s prisons, mostly just talking and visiting. It has been a pleasure to talk with the women, and time and again, I am thoroughly amazed by the friendliness and openness of the women I have encountered. They are capable of sharing their story in a ten minute conversation, where it would take me ten months of getting to know someone and evaluating whether or not the person was trustworthy for sharing my personal life story. Despite the horrible overcrowding, the un-nutritious food, and the sheer boredom of being in prison, these women have shown me a kind of friendliness that has really impressed me. Click here for more News |
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Please visit the Praise and Prayer Requests page to view my recent requests and thanksgivings!
Click Here. |
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