So what does my daily life look like? What projects am I working in?

I feel like I thought I'd feel more useful in the projects around here. I wanted to do this community work and volunteer work to see how much I can change, how big of an impact I can have on the lifes of those kids. Well so far unfotrunately I feel like in most of them it doesn't make much of a difference if I'm there or not. It's very interesing for me to get to know all the different projects, see the communities and get to know their habitants, but to be honest, I don´t really feel like it would make a big difference if I were there or not. Of course it's great that I can be with the kids and spend time with them, teach them things here and there but exept for one project I reckon they would get along very well without me as well.

I've already talked to a lot of other volunteers too, who came through an organisaton and had already everything organized. And I'm very glad I didn't do that. Because all of them arrived here and ended up teaching English an hour or two a day. Or they got put in a project where nothing was happening really and they just bummed around or went to the beach or whatever. So I think it's definitely better to organize something yourself. But maybe it's also a bit of a problem when you're doing that and no one is expecting you, they all are already organized so that the projects function without you. Which makes sense, since they can't rely on random people turning up and wanting to work as a volunteer.

So I reckon the projects are great, since they give the kids something to do when they're not at school. In the projects they have music classes, dancing classes, art classes, english classes... It's great, they can learn by having fun with other kids and volunteers, they are occupied doing artistic stuff instead of doing nothing at home. But I feel like to really make an impact as a volunteer one should already know a project in advance, organize and tell them what one wants do do exactly. Because one of the biggest problems here is definitely organisation. They don't know what to do with the volunteers that come here, they want to organise something, want to let them help but don't really know the best way to do so.

So since I feel like a lot of the projects are great but dont really depend on my held I decided to also do another internship at an architecture company. I got an offer and thought about it and decided to keep going with the projects, but to also do the internship. I'm starting monday.

So a normal week for me is: Monday mornings I'm at the botanical gardens, planting and watering plants and stuff like this, mainly because I really like the people that work there and because the botanical gardens are very beautiful=) Then Monday afternoons I'm at the architecture company. Tuesdays I'm at the architecture company the whole day, Wednesday mornings I'm at the project at the hospital playing with the kids waiting to be examined. Wednesday afternoons I'll be at the architecture company and Thursdays I'm at the Kindergarden, drawing, painting and doing any kind of artistic stuff for the kids, as well as taking care of them together with the others that work there. Also next week we're gonna start English lessons for them on Thursdays, which should be great. Fridays I'm at a project giving dancing lessons in a community center to the kids. It's there where I really feel like I actually have a responsability, which is fun. Also not easy though, since some of the kids don't really want to dance and I have to think of ways to get them excited about it. I'm still exploring the possibilities=)

Then the project with the solarpanells is starting this weekend and will keep going on the weekends as well, I'll be going there whenever I can.

Other than that I spend a lot of time with the Portugueses, go to the beach, go for runs, do slack line, thinking of buying a standup paddle board... Keeping busy as usual=)

I'll also be going travelling in April and May and at the end of June, which should be great=) Brazil's just got so much to offer, I'd have to stay for years to get to know it all=D

Oh and I booked my return flight to Europe, flying to a festival in Berlin on the 16th of July=)

Hope everything is going fine for everyone, Beijinhos, Bettina