Day 11 - Thursday, May 28, 2009: Guarapari and Farewell to Vila Velha

by Tyler Williams

GOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!! And as if one drawn out call was not enough, the commentator of the soccer game I was watching started up again - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLAAAAAASSSSSSSOOOOOO!!! The Brasilians love to be active and love to have a good time doing it. As my host Camila said when she described the way English and American soccer commentators announce a score (with a simple, boring, almost depressed “GOAL!!”), “Where's the fun in that? Let's commemorate!” Her shoulders and arms began to move as if dancing when she said this because sitting still was just not an option.

When I looked down on the beach from high above in my room for the week (thanks again for the hook-up Camila and family!), I saw the athletic nature of the Brasilian people immediately. The walking trail was anything if not crowded as plenty of locals were running, biking, and even skate boarding. Beach goers were playing soccer-volleyball and paddleball, and there was no shortage of runners along the meeting point of sand and water. Apart from Brasiĺs love of soccer and Steeler-esque domination of World Cup titles, its people simply love being sportive.

We embarked for Guarapari around mid-morning. Guarapari is a famous beach in Espirito Santo; we settled in Meaipe at the beach for the day. Once there it took only moments for the soccer ball to come out. Although this was my doing, a couple of our Brasilian hosts joined me very quickly for a juggling session. Trying to mesh in with the Brasilian way, several of us ventured over the soccer field on the beach to play some futebol. Many of our students started a game of our similarly-named version of the game after lunch. While they were playing, another soccer game broke out amongst some of the locals, and younger kids were enjoying the surf with wake boards.

Following our day at the beach, we returned to our hosts’ homes, changed for the night and met together at Shalom’s rooftop for our class/seminar for the day. We had a lot about the differences between the Brasilian legal system and our own in the United States. We discussed the similarities and the glaring differences between the Civil Law system as practiced in Brasil and the Common Law system practiced at home. Brasil seems to have recently adopted a new, hybrid approach that more often pays attention to precedent. The seminar was engaging and we enjoyed hearing the perspectives of the six or seven Brasilian students that joined our discussion that night.

Following seminar, I was not surprised to see that the Brasilians even convert a night out into an exercise of, well, exercise. As soon as we entered Sao Fimino night club with our UVV friends for our last evening together, the hips, feet, shoulders, and arms started moving to the music. The Brasilians seem not to be able to resist their inherent sense of fun and movement - especially when live music is involved. Everyone enjoyed our last night at the dance club (cough cough prof. cummings cough we all saw cough cough you dancing cough), and it was difficult to differentiate between the Brasilians and the Americans at times. The way the Brasilians move is incredible and healthy apparently. One student thought it so odd that my hip could crack. She was dumbfounded.

Our last night with our hosts was a memorable one. They had been so hospitable and warm; it was nice to enjoy one last evening. The Brasilians seem to incorporate an element of activity or fun in everything they do, and our friends from Espirito Santo were no exception. Thanks again to everyone back at UVV!!