Final Days - District Conference

We arrived in Linhares on Friday evening and were surprised and pleased to find out we would all be staying in a great hotel, Linhatur, not far from the conference. In fact, the hotel is owned by Kristy and Hillary´s host stay parents in Linhares!

We had some time to freshen up and then head over for our final presentation of the trip!! Yay! We were also lucky enough to meet the outgoing team from Brazil to Oregon and see their presentation with pictures of their trip.

After the meeting, it was on to an amazing dinner banquet. We of course ate way too much and were able to connect with the Rotarians we had met throughout our month in Espirito Santo. It was quite a fun reunion for the team. But by 1 a.m. we were ready to hit the sheets.

Day two in Linhares we were able to sleep in and do some walking and shopping around Linhares. Then it was off to social hour and an elegant dinner with dancing! It was the perfect last big hurrah before we say goodbye to Brazil. The party included good friends, good food, good dancing and good cerveja -- everything we love about Brazil!!! It makes it all the harder to say goodbye. Today we had a final bbq in with the Rotarians and headed back to Vitoria.

Now its a mad rush of packing and organizing to make sure we can get all our souviners in for the long trip home! Cross your fingers that there will be no broken cachaca in our bags when we arrive in Eugene. See everyone soon!

Back to home base... for a few days

Well, it has been a flurry of activity with little time for rest or updates. After three wonderful days in Venda Nova seeing the beautiful Pedra Azual, giving a Rotary presentation and visiting small family farms (all while expanding our waistlines trying everything from home made cheeses, meats, coffees, and cachaca) we bid our fabulous host family goodbye and made our way back to Vitoria.

It felt like a homecoming of sorts for us to be renunited with our families. We had a busy three days in Vitoria. Our first day back we visited Rotary Club Vitoria Mata da Praia a new club that has only been in existance for 1 year but you would never know it from their warmth and passion for service.

The next day was spend visiting ArcellorMittal steel plant. The company is worldwide and produces the largest percentage of steel in all of Brazil. They have a wonderful company headquarters campus which includes a beautiful green space with ponds and their very own alligator!

After learning the ins and outs of the local steel industry, we headed out to Marca Ambiental, Vitoria´s landfill and recycling center. We saw some very interesting recycling projects including the re-use of plastic bottles into bristles for brooms, clay brick making and the use of shredded coconut shells for soil errosion coverage on hillsides.

The day was topped off with a dinner presentation at the join Rotary Clubs of Praia Jucutuquara and Vitoria-Praia Comprida.

The following day the group had a morning of free time followed by a visit to Acacci - Association Against Child Cancer, a wonderful Non-profit organization that help provides housing and services for familes of children who are recieving cancer treatment at the hospital in Vitoria. Next it was onto Vale Mining company for a informative session on the mining industry.

Friday the team was able to get some sun time on the beach before heading to the Rotary District Conference in Linhares.

Next stop Venda Nova!

After an 8:30 breakfast with our hosts, we leave Guaçui at around 10 for the 36KM drive to Venda Nova Do Imigrante. It is Sunday and we arrive to a champagne reception at a large and beautiful home owned by Rotarian Ana Lucia and Deorgens Perim where will all be staying. The fist time we are all in the same place together.

Venda Nova is the capital of agro tourism and carries the title of best little city in all of Brazil. 90% of the residents are of Italian decent. The main industry - agro tourism - consists of many famliy owned businesses growing and producing coffee, cheese, cachaça, wine and palenta. If you´re looking for a great place for a honeymoon, vacation, or whatever, this is the place to come. It is also the home to Pedro Azul, Espirito Santo´s most famous peak. We visit Pedro Azul after being treated to lunch at Fazenda Saude where the food is prepared over wood stoves.

We relax with our hosts and then have a pizza dinner at a fabulous restaurant. More later...

Our Time in Guaçui

As has been everywhere we´ve been, we recieved a warm welcome to Guaçui by our hosts on Friday afternoon after a stop in Alegre to meet the mayor, visit local Rotarian businesses and a fabulous lunch. As we travel further inland, the towns are smaller and the principal industry is agriculture. We started our afternoon in Guaçui with a tour of the Coca Cola distributor - Aguicol - owned by one of the club members. Then it was off to Colagua, a local milk cooperative. Next stop was to the second Cristo Redentor erected in Brazil. We had a quick tour of the town and dinner with our hosts ending a very long day that began at 8 and ended after 11.

On Saturday we were out by 8:30 and drove to a hydroelectric facility - Bem Vino - a 55MW facility completed in December 1999. As is with many such visits, we travel about an hour over dirt roads to get there. We are then treated to a relaxing afternoon lunch at vale das Quaresmeiras, a quaint resort nestled in one of the many valleys surrounding the town.

We arrive back at our host families in time to shower change and get ready for the club meeting for another presentation. The meeting begins at 8 and Rotarians from Allegre have driven up to see our presentation. There are over 60 in attendance for a club that has 30 members. The meeting lasts until after 11, and by the time we return to our host homes, re-pack to leave in the morning, none of us gets to bed before 12:30. In the morning we will leave for Venda Nova at 8:30, so it is another long day followed by a short night. But it has been worth it. We find out we are the first GSE team to visit these clubs and our hosts are more than gracious with their time, treasures and talents.

Our time in Cachoeiro

Our last few days have been spent in Cachoeiro, the name of the city comes from the Portuguese word for "waterfalls". The city is inland and surrounded by beautiful mountainous landscapes. A river runs through the center of the city and the temperatures are known to be very hot. Lucky for us, we are visiting during the winter so the temperature has been in the 80s. In the summertime it can get up into the 100's.

The morning of our first day was spent doing vocational visits. Hillary and Kristy visited the Gazeta affiliate station in Cachoeiro, Paul visited an insurance company and Luke and Marc were off to the firestation, which we discovered had a cobra as its mascot.

Then it was off ot the town of Mimosso do Sul to meet the local rotarians and tour the city. The tour included a visit to the old historic city where Mimoso was originally founded. It had beautiful architecture and the feel of a small European city. There we were treated to live traditional Brazilian music with accordian and guitar.

Later that night we had our first presentation at the Rotary Club of Cachoeiro - Oeste.

Our second day in Cachoeiro we toured a Rotary school in one of the poor neighborhoods of town, visited a marble factory and then took a drive out to a hydroelectric plant build in 1912, with a beautiful waterfall nearby called Cachoeiro Alta. That evening we had our second presentation of the visit at the Rotary Club of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim.

The third day, we visited Incaper Farm and Burarama Agriculture Research Center where the farmers use practices that decrease the amount of farmland used and help re-vitialized the forests for natural animal habitats. On the farm they also grow coffee, guava, bananas and produce milk.

Then we had lunch with the Roatry Club Cachoeiro de Itapemirim- Sudeste which is only one year old and one of the few lunch time rotary groups. Tomorrow we will say goodbye to Cachoeiro for a busy day of stops in Jeronimo Monteiro and Alegre before ending in Guacui.

Team x-tudo passes the half-way mark in style...

Team x-tudo is now 18 days into our trip with only 16 days remaning. It's hard to believe we've fit so much into so little time...and even harder to imagine how we will fit the rest in before we leave here in a few weeks.  To "celebrate" our mid-way point, the team had a few days of relative rest. On our way back to Vitoria from Aracruz, we were invited to an incredible BBQ at Aloisilo's country farm.  It was really more of an ESTATE than a farm, and there our team enjoyed life music, more excellent churrasco food and many drinks and dips in the refreshing pool.  The scenery was stunning...just what the doctor ordered.

After the BBQ, we headed back down to Vitoria where we met our wonderful hosts and trip organizers Michelle,Thompson, and Helvio for our mid-trip meeting. We discussed how things were going and how they could make improvement to increase our enjoyment of the trip. Overall there are very few complaints.  We've all had our rough moments (err...days), but in general we are in good spirits and are still ready to tackle anything that comes our way. Well, ALMOST anything :)  After the meeting, we headed to the local artesans market where the team purchased and split our VERY FIRST X-tudo hamburger.  Thumbs up all around.

After a short night with our families in Vitoria, and ANOTHER repack of all our gear, we headed out the next morning for Guarapari.  We had heard nothing but raves about the place and the real thing did not disappoint. There are 55 beaches there...each one more stunning than the next. We only had a chance to visit 9 so we will need to return as soon as possible to see the rest ;)  Thanks SO much for our local rotary hosts who recognized how exhausted we were and cancelled many things on our never-ending schedule to allow us some SOLID relaxation time.  More beautiful people. More beautiful places.

After as much beach and sun time as we could manage, the team headed off to Cachoiero, where we will be for the next four days. We have four club presentation while we are here and our schedules look pretty packed.  More updates when we have completed our days here. Below is a view of the famous rock in Cachoiero named "The monk and the nun." I think you can see why.

More Photos From Aracruz

Photos from Aracruz

Update from Aracruz: May 14, 2010

Our Visit in Aracruz began in the evening after a half days travel from Linhares . We were welcomed once again by very warm and friendly families of Espirito Santo. The team was introduced to their families and then attended a delicious barbecue with more than enough food for all. It felt like a family reunion and gave us a chance to meet the Rotarians of this local district. THe next day started with a visit to a Zen Budhist Monetary; a remote area in the mountains with fresh water springs and a very relaxing vibe. We where shown around by a monk who gave us some insight on the budhist way of life- very relaxing. He explained that military and Fireman spend several days to meditate and train their mind.

Our next visit was to Granitos Litoral http://www.granitoslitoral.com.br/ where Director Adelio Cecato gave us a tour of their granite production facility. The buy granite from all over Brazil, cut, polish and sell mostly to the US which is 90% of their market. Their business is down by over 40% due to the slowdown in the states. It has leveled off and they are optimistic that things will improve. Espirito Santo is a major producer of granite slabs. They have 48 employees and it can take between 15 - 25 days to produce a slab of granite. Blocks of granite are loaded into large cutting machines that operate 24/7 and can take up to 48 hours to cut using a blade that cuts with steel shavings and a chemical compound that mixes with water.

After a quick lunch, we head for Metso http://www.metso.com/ that is a machine shop producer of industrial control valves and automation systems for oil, pulp, and natural gas companies. With oil being big and the largest pulp processing and shipping industry in all of Brazil here in Aracruz, they are very busy. They have 100 employees.

Next stop Fibria- Producer and exporter of eucalyptus pulp. We first stopped at the Portocel, where the Fiber is exported by massive ships the our loaded by the thousands of tons. Then into the actual plant itself. The smell was very similar to Albany on a hot summer day. The plant is responsible for more than 27 % of the global supply of the product. The Pulp exported is used to make paper products, i.e. toilet paper. That's a whole lot of wipe. The Pulp is obtained from 279,000 hectares of eucalyptus plantations and intermingled with 154,000 hectares of native forest reserves. We made a quick stop into check out the plant fire department which was manned by 10 firefighters 24 hours a day. That would be one nice working fire if some one happened to flick a cigarette in the Plant. Overall a very impressive company, on a very large scale. check their site out @ www.aracruz.com/home.do?lang=2. Tomorrow is back to Vitoria for a mid-term meeting and a repack, then off to Guarapari.

Vocational Visits Paul

Without daily access to a computer I've got some catching up to do! While back in Vitoria on May 5th, I visited another agency broker, LIG AVitoria http://www.ligavitoria.com.br/ My host was Eduardo Bossanell Araujo, a former exchange student to White Salmon Washington 4 years ago, who now works in Insurance. His company is similar in organization to a cluster group, where mutiple independent agents cluster together to have better economies of scale and access to markets, sharing overhead, but still owning their client base within the group. This gives each member the chance to run their own business they way they want. Some operated with a single employee, some have many.

I also visit the office of Jose Marcio, the Director President of a branch of Banestes Bank http://www.banestes.com.br/ The are having a tough sales year for stocks, because interest rates here are paying 9.75% and are expected to go to 11% before the end of the year. In addition to talking with him about his work, I tell him about The Great Rotary Duck Race Sponsored by Firt Tech Credit Union. He is excited about how it works and wants to start a race here. Maybe I'll come back and help him do just that!

I also visit Sincor http://www.sincor-es.com.br/ . It is like our Professional Insurance Agents Association but it is not a lobbying group per se, like our PIA. I meet with Jose Romulo da Silva, the President. He shows me their resource library for agents, companies and consumers, a code of ethics for members as well as an intership program they run to educate kids in the insurance business. It is very impressive what they have done.

Marc & Luke Vocational Visit

Luke and I spent 2 days at the Corpo de Bombeiros (Fire station), learning, exchanging ideas, and training. We were first introduced to the Commander: Fronzio Calheira (Chief of the state of E.S.) An honor to visit with the man who is in charge of the fire department of the entire state. He was very kind and even invited us to have lunch with his family(The food was amazing!). we were then guided by a Major (Training Chief) Riberio, he showed us several fire stations, training grounds, and recruit training academy. maj. Riberio invited us to train with the recruits in water rescue, we of course jumped on the opportunity! it was great training we were both the rescuers and the rescuees. The instructors were impressed on our rescue efforts, being that it was our first time. We were given a thank-you from a recruit (in english) in front of the entire recruit class. It was an honor our us to be their guest.

Update from Colatina, Brazil

Yesterday we packed our things, said goodbye to our host families in Vitoria, and headed out for one a few more activities in Vitoria before heading north to the city of Colatina.

Our first stop yesterday was CAJUN in the neighborhood of Nova Palestine. CAJUN is a community center for at-risk kids in the area, with a focus on arts education. Our team quickly became celebrities for the day. Our business cards with corresponding autographs were highly sought after. Towards the end of the morning, we were even signing arms, hands and legs. There was a health fair that day and we all had our blood pressure and blood sugar measured.

After CAJUN we headed north on a three hour drive to Colatina. The landscape was rural with picturesque mountain views. Our rendezvous with our families took place by the Rio Doce (Sweet River) which runs through the city. We had a few hours to get settled with our new families before dressing in our tackiest garb and heading to Festa Cafona. Cafona means tacky in English.

Festa Cafone is a huge annual event which draws more than 6,000 movers and shakers throughout Espirto Santo and the neighboring states in Brazil. We arrived at 10 p.m. and had a feast for the eyes as bell bottoms, crazy wigs and people in 80´s outfits sauntered by. We were lucky enough to be invited to share a VIP cabin with the local rotary group where we had a bird´s eye view of the festivities. To get a better idea of the experience, check out the video on our Facebook page. We thought we had stayed out quite late, but found out that 3:30 a.m. is a considered a very early time to leave a Cafona party. Boring Americans! Today we were lucky enough to sleep in and then were treated to a traditional Brazilian BBQ, known as a churrasco at Paul´s host families beautiful house. We were also treated to a live preformance of Brazilian music by our hosts.

Tomorrow we are booked from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. but are looking forward to seeing various aspects of the city like the coffee plant and firestation.

Montanha de Esperanca Photos

Montanha da Esperanca - Hope Mountain

"In Brazil, there is a place called hope..."

This place is called Montanha de Esperanca, Hope Mountain in English (http://www.montanha.org.br/). The team had the chance to visit this very worthy program today. Founded 10 years ago in Cariacica, near Vitoria, Hope Mountain serves as both a school and home for abused, neglected and at-risk children from nearby slum areas.

Some of the children have no parents, some have been involved with drugs and some have been abused. The majority of them have no place to go other than Hope Mountain. The children range in age from as young as 6 up to 18. All of the children take classes in traditional subjects such as geography, Portuguese and mathmatics. Our team made guest appearences in each of the classrooms causing quite an uproar! Especially when Marc asked which children wanted to become firefighters. Those who rasied their hands were asked to come to the front of the room and lead in a round of push-ups by our own Bomberio, Marc!

In addition to classroom learning, the older students also learn specific trades. We visited the bakery to see a number of bakers in the making and were lucky to taste some yummy pasteries. (more pao de quejio!) Two of the students there actually have interviews for jobs in bakeries next week. There is also an auto shop where students learn how to fix cars and how to paint and detail the cars. The auto shop teacher told us that there is a high demand for the students that come out of the program.

Along with serving as a school for the apporximately 250 students, the facility also houses about 40 boys who would have no where else to live. They live in dormitory-style rooms each with their own, very organized, lockers. There are also "social parents" who live in the same buildings with the boys and serve as example parents for the children. Many of the children have been there for a number of years and will stay there until they turn 18.

The campus is somewhat of a santuary for the children. It is perched high atop a hill with lush mountain views and borders a nature preserve. You can instantly feel the calm and soothing vibe walking around the campus or down the brightly colored hallways complete with school-themed murals. In fact, when we asked one the students what he studies here, he simply replied, "peace".

Like many non-profit organizations, Hope Mountain is supported by donations, grants and money from Rotary International funds, but there will always been additional needs. Right now, girls are not able to live at the school because there is no home for them. The organization is waiting for money to complete a construction project for a girls´house. They already have at least 50 girls who would benefit greatly from living on the campus. The staff says while they have plans and money for a girls house, they don´t have the money to maintain the building or furnish it.

In addition, the facility has a room fully equipped for the children to recieve dental and medical treatments, but they have a very hard time finding medical and dental professionals to volunteer their time to treat the children.

In our short time at Hope Mountain our team saw what an amazing, life-changing program this is. You can see it in the children's smiles, their eagerness to learn and their desire to share with complete strangers how proud they are of something as simple as their bed and locker.
Our hearts were truly touched by this visit and we would like to ask everyone we know to consider donating to this worthy cause.

There is hope and because of Hope Mountain and in addition to hope many Brazilian children now also have peace. Please help this amazing cause.

For more information, or to donate:

http://www.montanha.org.br/

email: montanhadaesperanca@terra.com.br

Kristy Vocational Visit - 3/4

Non Profit Visits

During my second day of vocational visits I had the priviledge to visit two very worthy non profit organizations here in Vitoria.

The first is called, ACACCI, which stands for Assocation Against Child Cancer (http://www.acacci.org.br/). The organization is similar to the Ronald McDonald Houses that we have in the states. Their mission is to provide housing and support services for families who have children who are being treated for cancer in the hospital in Vitoria. In addition to providing free housing and meals for the families, the program also helps with transportation to the hospital, yoga and physical therapy for the children and many services for the mothers of the children. Many of the families live far away from the hospital and the mom often has to quit her job to go with the child for treatment. The organization helps the moms makes different things that are sold in a bazaar to earn money. They also do things to help the mom with self esteem, like take them to get their hair done, etc. One of the great side benefits of the program is when the mothers go back home, they often take new found skills and better parenting, hygiene and healthy eating skills to the rest of their family.

At the facility, I spoke with staff who plan the fundraising and events for the organization. Each year the organization plans an annual ball with music and dancing. Like in the US, they sell tables for 100 reals (about $50 USD) to corporate sponsors. They also sell individual tickets and often sells out. The event takes place in May.

The second big event for the organization is through a partnership with McDonalds where they have a Happy McDonalds day. The organization sells tickets for Big Macs and the profit from the sales all goes to the organization. The event includes all 5 McDonald´s locations in Vitoria and the surrounding cities and takes many, many volunteers to coordinate. But their efforts pay off because they raise around 90,000 reals (about 45,000 dollars) during this event.

The organization and its large number of volunteers with a passion and committment to the cause is impressive! The organization has been around for 22 years and I am excited to return later this month with the rest of my group to tour the entire facility as my tour was limited to the administrive offices and the role of those employees.

In the afternoon I visited APAE which is the Association of Parents and Friends of Persons with Special Needs (http://www.apaevitoria.org.br/)

The organization is a school for all ages with disabilities. I was able to visit class rooms where the students were learning computer technology and another great class where children entergetically pounded away on drums for a congo music class. The teacher is actually in a congo band and volunteers his time teaching the children different instruments.

In addition to classes and activities at the center, there is also a clinic where families can come and have their children tested for different things like hearing problems or genetic defects.

Again, many aspects of non profit fundraising and event planning are very similar to the US. And again I was floored by the passion, dedication and graciousness of all the people I met at the organizations. It was incredible and heart warming!

Vocational Visits - Kristy 1/2

Our first week in Brazil has been a flurry of activity. We´ve been very busy seeing the sights and learning about Vitoria and the surrounding cities. My vocational visits started on Tuesday with a packed day.

First I visited the communications department of Banestes State Bank. Banestes is a large bank with branches located throughout the state of Espiritu Santo. For such a large company I was surpised to find only two full time staff (called, journalists) work in the communications department.

Dora Daimasio, a spunky woman who has many, many years of experience working for newspapers and companies, is the president of the communications department. Her role is to deal with all of the incoming media inquires. Anything a reporter might want in terms of information about the bank goes to Dora. She is described as ^The Voice of the Bank^. And like all journalists, when Dora got into the office, it was like a tornado of activity from the start. Checking emails and answering phone calls is non stop. The first call of the morning was from a tv reporter asking for footage of one of the bank branches that had been robbed.

Dora´s sidekick in the communications department is Juliana Rodriques. An entergetic young woman who has lived in both New York and Arizona and speaks perfect English. Juliana´s role in the company is to produce all of the internal communications for the bank. Each month, she puts out a company newsletter in addition to other communication bulletins.

Throughout the day a number of college students majoring in communications and journalism filtered throughout the office. The students work in the office, much like an internship, when they are not in school. They catalog articles and even do some of the writing.

The roles within the communications department are very similar to companies in the US, as well as the role of the journalists working in the office. Much time is spent on the computer answering emails, making calls and interviewing sources and of course, writing articles. Also similar to the states, the communications department was much smaller, with the corresponding budget, while the marketing department was much larger and a much bigger budget.

I asked Juliana, who is in the midst of taking courses related to social networking and journalism, if the bank uses such media as twitter and facebook. She said that they have talked about it, but their deparment is so small and there is just too much work to have someone dedicated to doing these extra tasks full time. Also similar to the US, Juliana confirmed that journalists who work for newspapers (in smaller cities) don´t make all that much money. But journalists who work for private companies can make a little more.

The visit was wonderful and a great peak into the world of corporate communications in Brazil. One of the highlights included a great mid-day lunch at a downtown self service restaurant with the best cheese crepes. Yum!

After spending 5 hours at the Bank (and writing a report for Dora about my day), I went to visit Rede Gazeta, a media company in Vitoria that owns newspapers, tv stations, radio stations and websites. Ahh... back to my roots as a newspaper reporter!!

The tour was very interesting to me and I was surprised to find it very similar to news organizations I had visited in Chicago like The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Times, NPR and CBS stations while I was in my journalism masters program. Of course the best part for me was seeing the buzz of energy that ignites a newsroom right before a deadline. People madly pounding away on their keyboards, finishing their edits and frantically calling to get those last minute quotes! I love it. The reporters sit very close together at long desks with computers at the ready.

I was suprised when our gracious host Leticia Lindenberg de Azevedo explained that unlike in the States the newspapers (2 under her companys control) are thriving. Rather than laying people off due to lack of readership, the number of subscribers has actually grown. One of the reasons Leticia gave for this is because Brazil is in the midst of change. More people are getting a better education which not only means more people who read, but also people with better jobs and more money. While these people might not yet be rich, they are a prime market for newspapers because they do not all have access to the internet, which has killed so many newspapaers in the US.

I was very impressed with both of my communications and journalism-centered visits. I can´t get over how gracious and wonderful the Brazilian people are!

My next visits will be to two non profit organizations. Until then....

First Vocational Visit - Paul

My first vocational on Tuesday is spent all day at Correta Seguros - http://www.corretaseguros.com.br/. It is owned by Rotarian Sergio Magalhaes who is also a city councilman. It is a big day for him as they are in meetings about their upcoming IPO. I spend the day with his brother Luciano. Their business has 40 offices through out the state and they buy agencies all through out Epirito Santo. As it is in the US, insurance is very competitive, but not mandatory. If you cannot or do not buy insurance, the government will privide you with a very basic limited policy for free. The largest part of their business is auto insurance, but they also sell home, business, life and annuities. I see the familiar names of Liberty Mutual, Met Life, Chubb and ING. There are also many Brazilian insurers here as well. Here, every agent is an independent broker like me there are no exclusives like State Farm, Allstate and Farmers. Here insurance is about 3% of GDP, where in the US it is 13%. They are confident it will continue to grow, and are poised to take advantage of this and have a very sophisticated and well drawn business plan that focuses on customer service, as the majority of their business is by referral. I can tell it is successful, they have over 50,000 policyholders. Insurance is expensive for cars (as are the cars themselves), but very inexpensive for property. They have the same coverage forms, but you must choose everything, not bundled like the US. Limits are lower and they have a very unique way of deductible options with the deductibles being a percent value of the car, not a fixed dollar amount.

More later on my visits on Wednesday.

Vocational Visits - Hillary

The last two days have been a whirlwind of vocational visits, van rides, and new Brasilian friends and contacts. The local Rotary chapter did an excellent job coordinating vocational visits for our whole team to help us understand how our jobs are done in here in Brazil. The team, in time, will all get to highlight their own visits. Since I have a great internet connection and a few moments tonight, I will take the liberty to go first:

Yesterday, my day began with a visit to MP Publicidade, a local advertising and marketing agency. My wonderful guide Liandra studied and lived in California for several years. It's always funny to meet people in foreign countries that speak your language with a very distinct accent. Hers was So-Call all the way. The agency worked VERY similar to those you would see in the United States. There was a graphics deptartment, film department, finishing department, customer relations dept. and media dept. They use the same type of software I use in my profession - InDesign, PhotoShop, Illustrator, Excel, Word, and Outlook for email. The office had a very fun design and mostly young employees. I could tell they have a lot of fun there, even though the work is stresfull at times. A big thanks to Liandra (pictured above in the pink shirt) and her team for taking time out of their busy schedules to host me. If you want to check out their business website: http://www.mppublicdade.com.br/

After a tasty lunch of beans, rice, steak, salad and the most heavenly chocolate cake pudding, I joined fellow teammate Kristy for a tour of the local news agency Rede Gazete. They control several newspapers as well as multiple TV and radio stations. They are the main news outlet for Espirito Santo. Leticia, Manager of Communications, was our wonderful guide and she toured us through the facility from top to bottom. We visited the news room, the radio and TV station studios, the printing press and learned much about not only how news is run in Brazil, but also about the local government. If you want the inside story on who will be elected the next president of Brazil...let me know ;) It was also interesting to hear they face the same challenges as many agencies in the United States in that newspaper sales are declining as more and more people turn to the internet for news and information. The one saving grace for this agency is that the lower class population that does not have internet access yet, is very interested in the tabloid newpaper they create. Subscriptions for the tabloid have increased while subscriptions to the standard gazette paper have declined.

TODAY I spent ALL day with the local power company EDP. They serve 1.5 million customers and have 900 employees. A little bit bigger than the 20,000 customer and 74 employees at EPUD ;) In total they have 78 substations and 355 feeders in their system. 50% of their load comes from big factories in ES and the other 50% is residential. 85% of their power is hydropower from Itapu Dam, 12% is geothermal gas, and the other 3% is solar, wind, nuclear and other various sources. The entire day was in Portugues so my brain resembles mush at the moment. Forgive any typos to nonsensicals in my post today please.

The General Director of EDP, Fernando, is in the local Rotary chapter and he arranged interviews with the Operations Manager Luciano, Control Manager Edson, Substation Engineer Lino, System Engineer Jose and Communications Manager Lorena. It was an incredible day.  I was VERY impressed at how automated their system is. They have integrated maps and digital diagrams that map where every line, subtation, transformer and recloser in located in the system. They have automated alarms when there is a fault or outage and each truck has GPS embedded so they can send the nearest team to fix the issues.  It was VERY impressive. For communication with the crews, the use radio and live chat on a handheld device issued to all employees. The number one cause of outages here is storms and wind, followed by trees and electric system failure, which is very similar to Oregon.

The communication department was also quite similar to my work. Some similarities include the challenges of dealing with disgruntled customers and getting a message out to everyone. She did say however that rising electricity prices are not such an issue in Brazil. Vitoria has has the lowest incidence of outages in Brazil, so they have pretty happy customers. They also deal with metal theft, and elecriticy theft is a big problem in some of the poorer areas of town.

After all the interviews I visited one of their newest substations. they have a problem with birds building nests in their equipment, as do all Oregon utlities, so they employ bird protective measures like the red coverings seen at left.

We promised to stay in touch as they had several questions I could not answer and I know my company may have more for them.  With my email addresses and Portuguese dictionary, we will stay in touch ;)

A BIG thanks to the local team for organizing these experiences. I have several more before the end of the trip and they have all been excellent experiences.