Here's a question ...

Would you like to come back to Brazil? What would you do and why?
Katie R's Answer:
After having spent a week exploring the Pantanal and experiencing some of the rustic Brazilian culture I can say that I would love to take a return trip to Brazil. This has, without a doubt, been the most amazing experience of my life and I have seen so many things that I never thought I would be able to see. If I am ever able to return to Brazil later in my life I think that I would want to spend a bit more time with the local people so that I could really get a good feel for the culture. Working with Don and Alexine and the rest of the researchers at the Pousada was awesome, but being all the way out in the middle of the Pantanal I didn’t really get to see as much of the people and the culture as I had hoped that I would. I think that if I ever return to Brazil I would make it a long trip and stay with a local family in a town or small city, so that I could see more of what the day-to-day life for a typical Brazilian is like and learn more about the language. I would love to just tour around the country by bus, foot, plane, or any other way that I could. I want to see it all. I want to go hiking in the mountains (which looked so cool when we flew past them in the bush planes leaving the Pousada) and visit the Amazon and some of the bigger, better known cities. The area of the Pantanal that we were in was absolutely beautiful, but it was only one part of Brazil and it seemed so far removed from everything else in the country. In the time that I was working at the Pousada I fell in love with the countryside and the people that I met there, both native Brazilians and not. Almost everything about the country was appealing to me, except maybe the bathroom situations and the lack of hot water. But besides that, everything that I have experienced so far on this trip has just made me want to see and do more.

Here's a question ...

If someone at home could experience just one thing that you have done, what would you want them to do or see and why?
Kelsey G's Answer:
If someone from home could experience at one thing that I have done on this trip I think that the most important thing for him or her to do would be to visit the school like we all did. That was just such an amazing experience. All the children gathering around us like we were some sort of celebrity was just unreal. It was touching to see the ways in which the children reacted to us. Each of us had at least one child who attached themselves to us and that was just so heart warming. There were many different amazing experiences that I have gone through in the last week, but of all of them that was definitely one that will stay with me forever.

Here's a question ...

If someone at home could experience just one thing that you have done, what would you want them to do or see and why?
Anna L's Answer:
I'm sure I am only echoing what my other team members have to say, but I'm pretty sure there is no one thing that I would want someone at home to see- I would want them to have it all. I would want them to visit the school we visited so they could meet the children we did and be inspired to try and bring the world to those children through school resources. I would want them to make the eight-hour drive from Campo Grande to the pousada so they could see the bright blue of the sky, the amazing landscape, and wildlife they didn't know existed. Then when they saw the dump trucks driving through that landscape, it would raise concern. I would want them to meet the wonderfully welcoming people we've met here. I’d want them to see the community that has been created here- a place where they can get together to dance just because they like each other’s company. I would want them to see a giant river otter, a peccary, test the pH of a baia, or an albino tree frog, so they can learn of the delicate balance each of these holds to the environment. Any one of these experiences would be one of a lifetime. The combination of them all has been so unreal. I have canoed down a river, ridden a horse, waded through caiman infested waters, played soccer and danced with people who don't speak my language. This trip has helped me come to understand that my life in York, Maine is not the world. Whether it is in the Pantanal, or anywhere else, I hope everyone has an eye-opening experience like this.

Here's a question ...

If someone at home could experience just one thing that you have done, what would you want them to do or see and why?
Nick M's Answer:
I would hope that they could go to experience the friendly and inviting culture & people that live here. Most everyone we have met on the trip has done his or her best to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. The most evident of these situations is when we were at the school in Taboco where each and every kid was extremely excited to have our group of American kids come to visit them. It became quite apparent soon after we arrived that our visit might be the highlight of their entire year. They clearly loved that we were there and they loved every second of it just as much as we were. The simplest little high five or working over the language barrier to build a non-verbal relationship with these kids was amazing. It really showed how much of human relationships are based upon the physical aspect and not nearly as much as what you may say. Our spoken languages may be totally different, but body language is universal among cultures and ages. The experience we had at the school was something that will live with me forever, with many of the children's faces ingrained in my mind.

Here's a question ...

Would you like to come back to Brazil? What would you do and why?
Nick M's Answer:
I have no doubt in my mind that every answer to this question is a resounding yes, however for each of us I think it will be for different reasons. I would truly love to come back to experience more of what Brazil has to offer. Each and every day brings a new adventure and more knowledge to be had. You never know what may be around the corner of the road, or what heck the dessert is made of. Another reason I would love to come back to Brazil is that the trip has encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone, I have done things that I never thought I would do and others I had no idea I could do. The best example of this is my new discovery of a love for riding horses. It was something I knew I wanted to try but I never knew how much I would enjoy it. And according to the onlookers I looked quite versed in the ways of horseback riding. You could say that through Brazil I believe I have discovered a new passion, and that is something that is not easy to come by.