Report From Portugal

Team Four in Beja, Portugal

Monday, Sept. 29
Bom Dia! We had our first breakfast at the hotel before we set out for our various assignments. Scott and I had a walk of ten minutes or so to our school. In our first class, three girls were selected to show us around the school. One, who came from Mexico, had a good command of English. Perhaps being bi-lingual already made it easier to pick up another language. When we returned to class, we found that they were learning about choosing foods from a menu. Maria asked us the name of a food she described and drew on the board—sort of a pasty with one side scalloped and the whole deep-fried. It didn’t look like anything either Scott or I was familiar with.

After this class, we went to the cafeteria for lunch—We came back to school to a most interesting 5th year English class. It started out with an open discussion of the roles of parent and child, and led into the responsibilities of parenthood. Then our teacher gave each pupil a slip of paper with a problem a parent might face—“Your teen-age daughter is pregnant”—“Your son was caught smoking a joint”—“Your child wants to drop out of school”—and the student had to tell the class how he/she would handle it. In all the classes the students were very interested in the American presidential campaign, and wanted to know who we favored. They were overwhelmingly Obama fans.

On our way home after school, we found a group of our teammates enjoying afternoon tea at an outdoor café near our hotel, and joined them. Later, we had a discussion on the goals for our team. Paula came in to inquire how our first day at school had gone. Everything was great until we turned on the TV. Most of us were quite disturbed by the news on CNN of the failure of the congressional bailout, and the plunge of the stock market. Boa Noite!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008
It's Tuesday of our first week in Beja and most of the team members are already familiar with their schools, assignments, and schedules. Michele and Paula have worked hard building this young partnership with Beja while the City's (and the country's) educational system has been dealing with its own challenges brought on by some new and controversial changes. In the classroom however, the students and the volunteers focus on the task at hand - improving conversational English and gaining a better understanding of each other and our cultures.

Loretta, Eileen and I arrived at Mario Beirao Middle School at 10 a.m. and they were quickly whisked away to teach an 8th Grade class. My 9th Grade class began at 10:50 and we spent the full 45 minute period discussing all aspects of the United States and its similarities and differences to Portugal.

After class, an excited student came up to me to say she had recently visited Mexico. I was pleased to have this additional conversation with her -- but I was even more thrilled several hours later when we recognized each other as we were passing on the sidewalk in a different part of Beja. Her face immediately lit up and she said, "Hello!" as her friendly smile welcomed me to her community. This small but significant gesture, from a 9th Grade Portuguese girl on a narrow cobblestone sidewalk 3000 miles from my home, will stay with me long after the trip is over.

This evening at dinner, Michele finally got her broccoli, we identified SOME of the delicious seafood we were eating, and Brian provided a wonderful spontaneous tableside serenade at Susie's urging (and Eileen's embarrassment)!

As the night air finally began to cool, a Port wine nightcap and some interesting conversation with teammates at an outside café was certainly a fitting end to another great day.

Wednesday, October 1
A new month has begun. Things seem to be going better. Some of the glitches have been worked out or worked around. The Volunteers are becoming more comfortable with their assignments.

In the morning, we heard about a possible teacher strike. No one reported cancelled classes. However, Eileen and Susan both went up to the castle in their free time and it was closed because of a strike! Several folks have taken advantage of the Lavandaria and it is reported that the owner speaks French – a help to those who “nao falo portugues”.

Late morning found Dennis, Beau and me in a vocational class with Ines. These are young adults studying Information Technology. We asked where they were born and most were from Beja, but there were also several from Cape Verde and one young man from Ukraine. We invited the students to return for tutoring at 17:15 and several said they would. We were talking to some of the students in the hallway after class when students from another class joined us. Beau and Dennis’ enthusiasm enticed one of these students to join 5 of the class at the tutoring session. We thought 6 a nice turn out for an afterschool class and we were able to encourage 1:1 some of the more shy students.


Friday, October 3, 2008
One week of teaching has gone by in a flash. Beja continues to reveal itself as a beautiful city inhabited by warm and friendly people. Loretta and Scott walked this afternoon to the super, supermarket in the shopping center to see Beja's interpretation of the American Dream. Huge food market with a very interesting meat and produce department--you can just about buy anything there.

Once again, TGIF. Much excitement is generated by the team in planning for the weekend. Going to the ancient city of Evora is planned already (thanks to Helen), along with the possibility of going to the south coast. Since we're a "trusting, tolerant, patient and flexible team," whatever plans are implemented will result in a lot of fun. A Haiku is offered:

Be that as it may
Language can be difficult
For us to convey


Saturday October 4
After breakfast, we were off for a day of sight seeing. Roy and Suzie stayed behind in Beja to tour the city while the rest of us boarded a bus bound for Evora. Thanks to Helen with the assistance of Hugo, the desk clerk arranged the bus and a tour guide in Evora. Our first stop was the villa Romano Pisoes; Roman bath ruins located a short distance from Beja. We marveled that thousands of years ago people walked on those same mosaic tiles. We also were fascinated by the snails that covered the stalks of grass surrounding the ruins. A couple of motorcyclists stopped as we were leaving to check out the ruins as a possible stop for an upcoming trip for their motorcycling group. We traveled through scenic fields of cork and olive trees and arrived at the Esperao Winery which was surrounded by hectares of grapevines, according to Ruth much larger than the vineyards in California.

We arrived in Evora in time for lunch. Evora is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. We met Maria our tour guide after lunch. Maria grew up in Evora, studied tourism in Lisbon, and now gives Evora city tours. She guided us through the Church of St Francis with its Chapel of Bones, the Cathedral, and the Temple of Diana. The grounds around the Temple offered a panoramic view of the Roman aqueduct and the surrounding countryside. The walk back to the bus through the narrow streets gave time to window shop and purchase postcards and purses made from cork.

It was a sleepy bus ride back to Beja. We ate at the Restaurante Churrasqueira where we feasted on plates of salad, pork chops, salmon, sole, and grilled chicken. After dinner, some retired to their rooms while others gathered at a local café for port and dessert.

More to come soon!!

Global Volunteers
Hanoi Diary – July 27-Aug 8

Millennium Development Goals Achieved by this Team:
1,980 students and 30 teachers taught English language skills
390 hours of English language instruction provide by volunteers

On our first work day, we gathered in a room where we met the headmaster and English teachers and Joe presented opening remarks along with the headmaster. Spirited music from the Bridge over the River Kwai and the theme from Rocky accompanied a video introduction to our new school. The staff and students are very proud of their school and want us to be happy during our stay. As honored guests, we were assigned one of only two air conditioned rooms in the entire school.

We were greeted in each classroom with smiles and open hearts that more than compensated for any temporary inconveniences. We enjoyed lunch served to us in the staff dining room with the best saved to the last – ice cream cones! Sheer luxury on a sultry day.

Thought for the Day: In New England, the settlers enthusiastically took to their new lands and started plowing only to discover to their dismay, large rocks in their way. They dutifully piled the rocks into walls surrounding their fields and continued plowing. Each season, there were fewer and smaller rocks and the plowed fields finally yielded to the crops for which they had been planted. Today these rocks have become the unique fences that charm visitors to the region and the plows upturn only pebbles. Be a plow. Start a legacy.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
It’s the second full day of teaching and we are in the thick of it! Newness jitters are starting to fade and we are truly starting to operate as the team we need to be. It’s impressive to see how far this group of former strangers has come in such a short time.

Gone was the dread of the unknown – we knew we at least had a sense of what today would bring and we were prepared to face it, together. You could feel the increased sense of confidence in the air. Most of us then went off to teach – Rebecca and Leah spent two periods with the same students while Bob, Joan, Claire, Barbara, Norina and Brownson did their best to engage a group of VERY rowdy teenagers while Joe observed the classes, got to know the inner workings of the school and the teachers a bit better. We are feeling more in synch with local culture and this was evident during lunch/rest time. All the mats were filled with volunteers resting, while others relaxed on the desks. Still others spent the break preparing for the afternoon. Leah, Rebecca and Jessica had a detailed conversation with Ms. Ngoc, one of the teachers, really trying to understand more about teaching methods, and how we could help. Claire, Barbara and Joan held a strategy session on teaching the concept of volunteering – getting ready for the 11th graders that afternoon, with input and wisdom from Joe. Norina was deep in conversation with Ms. Hong, planning and sharing ideas.

The afternoon went by very quickly. Songs were sung, we danced, laughed with the children, taught what we hoped was close to curriculum and generally did our best. It was all about teamwork, and having fun along the way.
Thought for the day: “The high note is not the only thing.” Placido Domingo

The first week:
This week is supposed to be focused on “higher education”, a topic we tried to explain anew in each class. One girl said she wanted to be a singer after graduation and delighted her class and the Global Volunteers – Barbara, Norina and Claire – with her perfect American accent and stunning voice. We are learning that one of the best opportunities for communication with the students is simply be available in the hallways. They were very eager to take photos of us with their phones. Most of us are discovering the value of the noontime nap which really energizes us for the afternoons. While waiting for the van depart, Bob and Janelle played jump rope with the students to the delight and amusement of all.

In the spirit of environmental consciousness and conservation, the electricity is sometimes shut off in the afternoon. This gives us the opportunity to be flexible, with no electricity to make photocopies, use the CD player for music and songs, or cool our sweat-drenched bodies under the ceiling fan – just like in the good old days. The air-conditioned van and cool hotel rooms are a welcome relief at the end of the day.
Thought for the day: “The visitor might knock on your door, but you can choose not to let it on. You can decide to be happy or not to be happy. Which do you choose?”

The second week:
As we are now into the second week the days have become more routine, which is to say the scheduled classes for most of us are subject to change, and we adjust to the changes! A number of visiting teachers appeared to observe and learn, arriving from outside of Hanoi, I believe a place called Victory (??) having left at 5 am that morning in order to meet with us and our respective classes.

Leah, who teaches high school English in Washington, has been asked to teach a class of 40-50 students while about 10 English teachers observed. The students appeared enthusiastic and engaged, and the teachers intently scribbled notes during the class. My Quy later said her teaching was “excellent: and that the teachers learned much from her methodology and pronunciation.

We’ve been able to sample a new restaurant every day – several members of our group remarked that their clothes were starting to fit a little tighter than usual!
On Wednesday, we were picked up at 6:10 and taken back to the school for a farewell celebration hosted by the headmaster, Dr. Nguyen Van Hoa. What a lovely party. Tables were set up in the school courtyard and the school administration, English teachers and selected students were waiting to greet us. The Deputy Minister of Education, Mr. Hung, Mr. Hoa, Mr. Quy and the head of the English department, Mrs. Hong gave speeches expressing their appreciation to us in excellent English. Joe spoke on our behalf, expressing Global Volunteers’ admiration, respect and gratitude for their efforts to our hosts at Nguyen Binh Khiem school. Led by Rebecca, we then sang the customized version of “It’s a small world after all”. Our hosts graciously presented Joe, Dana, Brownson and Claire with flowers and the other volunteers with gifts. After many photos were taken, we sat down to a deliciously prepared selection of traditional Vietnamese food. It was a special evening and I think, a memorable experience for us all. Thought for the day: “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first and the lesson afterward.” Vernon Sanders Law.

Thursday and Friday:
A fond farewell was bid to Claire, the perpetual volunteer who is headed off to her next Global Volunteers assignment in the Cook Islands.

Even though there was rain most of the day (on Thusday), the humidity did not adversely affect the weather and everyone seemed a bit more comfortable. After their arrival at school, and careful planning for their day’s schedule, Joan and Bob were separated into two different classes for their first period. Both were turned away at the classrooms for the second period, so they were able to receive an expanded lunch period and double nap times.

Janelle, Brian, Dana and Jessica thoroughly prepared for a full day of teaching but their teacher insisted there would be no class at the end of the day. Their students prepared a surprise celebration and feast with lots of fruit and gifts.

In the van on the way back to the hotel, several people expressed frustration with the discipline and decorum in many classrooms, particularly those with older children. No true solution was found, but everyone will maintain an open mind while agreeing that ALL 15- and 16-year-olds want to express themselves and rebel a bit.
Thoughts for the day: When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
If you want happiness….
For an hour, take a nap
For a day, go fishing
For a month – get married
For a year – inherit a fortune
For a lifetime – help someone else!!
- Bob and Joan

While this group’s journey of waging peace comes to a close here, we watch while the world begins to come together in the spirit of friendly competition in Beijing.
The kindness and generosity of the people we worked with on this project and with the students we taught and learned from was remarkable. It will be my strongest memory and my greatest lesson. Thanks to everyone for all they did.
– Brian

South Africa as a "Lesson Plan"

My Global Volunteers Service Program in South Africa was a surprise 50th birthday gift to me by my family and friends. They knew that service to others is something that I value and that for many years I also had yearned to travel to Africa.
Six years ago, I embarked on the journey of returning to college while raising four incredible children. It was during this time I discovered a deep desire to learn more about Africa, a place and history of which I previously had known very little. The opportunity to delve more deeply into the intellectual study of Africa, its people, history, diverse cultures, religions, economic challenges, etc. presented itself and I became an African Studies minor while majoring in Religious Studies at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta. The one piece missing from my studies had been the experience of actually going to the continent. My senior thesis had been on South African feminist theology from a post apartheid indigenous perspective so when I received the Global Volunteers gift I at once knew that South Africa would be my first choice of where I wanted to go. Lucky for me, the organization was preparing to send their first team to Malungeni -- a rural village in South Africa. I signed up immediately and anticipated with great joy the July 2008 departure.

Many of my friends asked me what I hoped to accomplish by taking this trip. I replied that my desire was to learn what I was meant to learn from this whole experience. While this might sound a bit New Age it was intended to mean that I wanted to stay open to the people I would meet, places I would visit, and work I would be asked to do. Volunteering has been the primary way I have experienced being within a community during my life. From my earliest memories I can recall accompanying my parents as we helped in our schools, church, neighborhood, and larger community. To go to Africa was only expanding my scope of where my volunteer experience could take me

As the first team to go to Malungeni, I knew there would be some unique opportunities to help form initial relationships and discover a bit more about this place and its people than later teams might encounter. I found this an exciting prospect. What I discovered from my initial encounter with Michele Gran, our team leader, was that she had our backs covered during the entire experience. I have worked in many volunteer settings in the past, some with international components to them, but I have never before experienced the consistency of vision and commitment to both the volunteer and the host community in the way that that Global Volunteers does. Michele never once promised something that she could not deliver, either to us as volunteers or to the community that had asked us to come work with them. This provided the volunteers as well as the community with sense of safety all the while being embraced by a high degree of true integrity.

The community of Malungeni extended one of the most hospitable and gracious welcomes I have ever experienced. The entire village from the elders, their chief, to the teenagers and young children embraced us and quickly formed friendships that made our time one of great joy and real hope. Many meaningful projects were begun by the community and our team during our two week trip. I can confidently say that future teams will find this community to be one where good things will happen.

The part of the Global Volunteers experience that I was pleasantly surprised by was how our team quickly bonded and formed friendships that I know will extend far into the future. The ten of us were from all parts of North America with an age range from the late teens to the seventies but we found so much common ground that friendships were easily formed and the team quickly found ways to use everyone’s unique gifts and talents. I will never forget the laughter that my roommate and I often fell asleep to. While although I was far away from my family I had found wonderful people to share this journey with. The work and team time made the whole experience one that I will hold in my heart forever.

The community school was my primary work site. I assisted the grade 4 through 9 Social Science teacher. It was exciting to be teaching their curriculum of social science from a human rights perspective. I found the teacher and students to be engaged learners with the classroom being a place of respect. The kids were great students and have high hopes for their futures. I learned a great deal from them and have a new respect for how difficult it can be to live and educate children within a remote village when technology and access can at times seem very far away.

As I reflect upon the two short weeks we spent with the community. I find myself wanting to return. I found a strength and character in the people of Malungeni that I admire. The women are working so diligently to bring change and opportunity to their village. They have the same concerns and hopes for their children as my friends and I have here at home. The miles might separate us but our hearts hold the same desires for healthy, educated children who will have good opportunities for their success filled futures.

My college studies enabled me to understand some of the history of the enormous continent and more specifically South Africa while my Global Volunteers service gave me the opportunity to begin relationships which moved beyond the pages of books and into our big world where we are called to be global citizens. Waging peace is such a noble goal, one that Global Volunteers embraces, but it is only through the forming of human relationships that we can discover who each other really is. I am grateful for the gift my family and friends gave me to travel and serve in Malungeni and look forward to serving with Global Volunteers again in the future.

100th Team Celebration in the Cook Islands!

Kia Orana!

With over 100 teams of volunteers supporting the Cook Islands over the last ten years, we can truly say we've had something to celebrate.

Over 100 people joined together at Takitumu School last Friday evening to celebrate this wonderful milestone. The night was a brilliant success with community partners such as Takitumu School teacher, pupils and PTA, Te Kainga Mental Health, Cook Islands National Council of Women, the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation, Immanuela Aketemia School, Tereora College Learning Support Unit, the Red Cross, the Ministry of Health, the Disability Action Team, the Virtues Project, the Cook Islands Library and Museum Society, the Takitumu Conservation Area, St Josephs School, the Whale Research Centre, and Te Uki Ou School all sharing interesting stories of how Global Volunteers has supported their organisations in differing ways over such a long time.

We heard stories from painting the whole of the Tupapa Medical clinic, through to teaching reading in schools, to helping eradicate the Crown of Thorns starfish. Stories were told of doctors, dentists, psychiatrists, teachers, physiotherapists, mental health workers, speech language therapists, painters, plumbers, electricians, builders, journalists, magicians, students, children, elderly, librarians - you name it - people with those skills have probably been to help with one project or another!Photos were displayed on powerpoint reminding those present of the different teams who have contributed their time, energy, wisdom and service to the Cook Islands. The Global Volunteers goals of waging peace and promoting justice in the world were certainly met with the fun way Cook Islanders, Americans and Canadians all enjoyed each others company and celebrated the friendships made during the time that Global Volunteers has had the honour of supporting so many different partners in the Cook Islands.

The current team of 18 was thoroughly entertained with dancing from the Takitumu School cultural group, with parents supplying a string band and singing during the enormous kaikai. Global Volunteers wishes to thank all of the community partners who made the evening such a wonderful night, without you it would not have been possible. We look forward to continuing our work together in the future. Special thanks must go to Takitumu School and PTA for hosting the event and the Ministry of Health for their generous support for the kaikai!

Meitaki maata e kia manuia!

-Debi Futter-Puati, Global Volunteers Country Manager