Goodbye Concordia and hello Joacaba!

04-Apr

Our last night in Concordia was special.  We met the Rotary club members Wed evening for a potluck BBQ, gave our first presentation, and exchanged club banners.  There was live music and many in the room partnered up to dance.  The whole GSE team participated as invitations were extended from members of our host families.  We weaved around the tables with our Brazilian partners without any real order at first, but eventually (and quite organically) a trail around the room was created and the leading couple would form an arch with their hands for the following couples to pass through.  It was super cute and the room was buzzing with good energy.  Even though our stay was brief, we really connected with our host families and saying goodbye this morning was bittersweet.

GSE team pictured with Erin's host family in Concordia -
The Luchezi Family

Once we said our goodbyes we were driven to the town of Joacaba, located about an hour and a half east of Concordia, where we were greeted by our new host families before having lunch and going on our site visits.  In the afternoon we toured a water treatment plant (SIMAE) and the Engineering department of the local University - UNOESC (University of Western Santa Catarina, a highly regarded non-profit).  This evening we had dinner with the Rotary club members and presented our sponsoring club banners.  We each received a gift bag which included a T-shirt and CD of music played during the 2013 Carnaval hosted in Joacaba.  You may be more familiar with the festival in Rio de Janeiro, but Joacaba's annual event seems like a real contender!