Brazil 4- 14

Final day of the business conference today. Many testimonies were given. Unfortunately i did not understand very much. As the expression in English goes, "I am caught between a rock and a hard place. Continual translation means that i would never learn; in the meantime i miss a lot. There was translation set up for eight or nine Spanish speakers, but i was the only English primary speaker. Several of the organizers and leaders of the conference paid me honor. i really don't understand why. Interacted with a number of individuals who indicated a desire to continue communication. i gave my card to all, and will see what transpires. Spent the afternoon and evening with my host family. They have two children, a boy aged 15, and a girl age 12. She is quite outgoing, and studies English at her regular school, and then again at a private English school. She started six years ago, and has the critical ingredient, a desire to learn. We traded various idiomatic expressions. In English we say it is "raining cats and dogs." Who knws why. In Portuguese they say it is raining switchblades. She also plays guitar, and is learning songs in both English and Portuguese. I asked if she had written any songs, and sure enough, she had written one in English, which she played for me. The interaction between generations is one of the best things about my experience here. Our time on the veranda and the dining room, with her parents, and her cousin coming in and out, was wonderful. Tomorrow i head north, with another friend, a doctor who treats patients in an adjacent state. The church which started in his living room twenty or so years ago, now has four hundred people. I visited once before. The group is very energetic and animated, with very few English speakers, which is good, because i will be forced to learn. In my current location a number of people prefer to practice English with me. Although i personally have never had a problem there is a lot of crime in Brazil. The cousin of my host family, whose age i don't know but could have been 14 or 15 said that she had already been robbed twice. Apparently the schools in Brazil do not have their own busses so students have to get to school on their own. Since most Brazilians don't have cars this means that the children must walk or ride public transportation with everyone else. This makes them easy prey. Very sad to know the innocence and purity is driven away at such a young age.