Wednesday in Manaus:
My Faculty Directed Practica today was called Rio Do Sol and Zoo Visit with cancer patients in Manaus.  There is an outbreak of something here right now, though, so the foundation’s doctor did not allow the kids to go to the zoo, due to their highly susceptible immune systems.  Back up plan was just as good though! We went to a home for mentally disabled children.  On our way to the home, our guide (a lady whose name I forgot but is traveling with us to Ghana) told us everything we needed to know.  It was both touching and very sad.  The home consisted of children, ages 0-38 (mind you they have disabilities so they are considered children), all of whom had been abandoned.  That fact hit me hard.  Every one of these people had no home or family, they had been left on the streets for the sole reason of having a disability, mental or physical or both.  The home had a nursery, dorm rooms, kitchen, and a few common areas.  Not big by any means.  After our tour we went to the zoo and they children met us there.  We gave them lunch (hot dogs and coca-cola) and balloons.  Then we walked around the zoo for about an hour.  Before leaving we all sang a song together and many hugs were exchanged.  To us, students, it did not seem like a very eventful or long day.  But to those kids, it was probably the best day of their lives.  They had so much fun and it was incredible to see them smile and how happy a simple hour at the zoo with college students can make someone.  On our way back to the ship the guide reminded us how much she appreciated that we took time out of our trips to do that.  What I thought was amazing was when she explained how traveling is not just visiting places and taking pictures.  Real travelers engage.  They throw their whole selves into an environment, comfortable or not, and experience it.  That is what I did in Manaus, Brazil: travel and experience.

Thursday in Manaus:
I finished up a little shopping and walked around the city again.  The language barrier is very difficult to get around here.  I've met some great people, though, and had experiences I will never forget.  Today I talked to Bill, the service coordinator on the ship about setting up some more service projects in upcoming countries.  I am really happy I got to talk to him because service projects are where you come out with the best stories and meet the greatest people.  I will hopefully have many more stories comparable to my village visit along the Amazon River and my zoo visit with mentally disabled children.

STAY WARM, WISCONSIN!

Hannah

PS It is like 95º here as we leave port