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Published: September 15th 2009
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Tom & Jackie arrive for the concert
Diomar took our picture in front of the banner for the concert. By now you get the picture. We came to Brazil for three purposes. The first is to attend Maria’s birthday. It is a big event in Brazil and we have been promising for several years that we would return for her special day. The second reason was to check in with Jackie’s doctor for a tune up. And the third reason was to experience again what I consider the most difficult of all of my job assignments.
Have you every climbed Mount Everest? I haven’t either. I often wonder if those that do ever wish to return. Those that have succeeded must have the urge to relive the experience. Those that failed either are no longer around or hope to never go back. Well, Jackie and I feel like we succeeded in our climb to the top. We know we had a lifetime experience that is difficult to explain. I want this blog to contribute to the explanation. The people of Brazil have a passion that must be felt to be fully understood. Many of my family and friends that visited with us while we lived here know what I mean. For those that have never traveled to Brazil, make
Belo Institute of Education
This is a beautiful building now used as elementary school. It was once the teacher's university. sure to add it to your “Bucket List.”
I will never forget the conversation that I had with my boss at that time when he offered me the position in Brazil in June, 1997. At the time I was happy with my position in Fredericksburg, Virginia. However, I did want to continue to expand my horizons which meant taking more career risks.
Of course, I wanted to go. But I had real doubts about my ability to succeed at the level that I had in the past at other positions. This was by far the most challenging and intriguing assignments of my career. One of my biggest fears was the language barrier. I can still hear the answer that I got when I asked about it. “Oh, don’t worry, most business is done in English, and when otherwise, you will be provided a translator.” Hey, I’ve seen video of the President of the USA speaking to foreign heads of state and they seem to do okay with simultaneous translation. So, why worry. Right?
Well, I soon found that I had a real challenge. No business was done in English and having a full time translator was out
Diomar
The program opened with a speech from Diomar announcing that the orchestra had just won a prestigious award. of the question. I was getting seriously concerned until I interviewed Maria for my position as Assistant. She had spent a year in Minnesota as a teenager. Her English was good and she knew her way around the company. She was the perfect person to help us climb the mountain.
Sunday
We had another full day today. We started by being picked up at the hotel by Diomar, Maria’s friend. He had told us on Saturday about the concert to take place today at the Institute of Education in Belo Horizonte. We left the hotel at 10:15am for an 11:00 concert. Giomar is the President of the Orchestra and had to arrive early. It worked out great since we could pick a good seat that would not give me claustrophobia. Maria joined us for the concert.
The concert was great. The first set was the German Carl Maria von Weber followed by Camille Sait-Saens. This set included a solo by a 13 year old artist named Lucas Barros. He played for 20 minutes or more without music. What a memory. Plus his playing was incredible. The last set was Edward Grieg, from Norway.
Afterwards, Diomar drove us
back to Maria’s condo. Then we decided to go to another of our favorite hang outs. This was the Mercado do Cruzeiro. There is a chic restaurant where all of the beautiful people go on Sundays. I took several photos for my Rich DeLuca file (he’ll get to see when we return).
Maria’s boss Alex was there with his wife and two kids. Like most Brazilian children, they were beautiful. Also joining us was Augusto, Maria’s brother, and her husband, Gilberto.
After many caiprinhas, we returned to the hotel for some sleep. Jackie could only drink water since she had an appointment with the Doc at 7:00am on Monday.
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sister patty
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wonderful description of your days
I love reading about your travels and adventures xox