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Christian Children's Fund Tour of Brazil, September 2005

Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte, and Rio de Janeiro

Pictures by Scott Eiler and Kent Olson

Commentary Travelog What's the Christian Children's Fund? Who's Scott Eiler? What are Scott's Other Photos? Sponsored Links Em Portugues


Fortaleza Airport

The Fortaleza skyline, as viewed from the airport.

Fortaleza Hotel

The Fortaleza hotel for the tour. It shows up on postcards.

A Line for Checkin

This is the line for checkin. Hooray, Scott was near the front!

Beachfront View

Once you get to your room, the hotel has a nice view of the beach.

Spettus Churruscaria

Spettus, a South American "churruscaria". Or, in other words, Parade of Meat.

Meat

In a churruscaria, the meat walks right up to your table and onto your plate. Really!

Translators of Ceará

Alexandra and Aljandra the CCF translators get ready for a hard day of duty. Aljandra had it particularly hard, because she had to work for Scott.

Tourists in Ceará

The CCF tourists and translators get ready to meet the sponsored children of Ceará. Lots of translators other than Alexandra and Aljandra showed up.

Children of Ceará

CCF brought Brazilian children from the countryside to meet their sponsors. At a resort near Fortaleza, the children of the state of Ceará greet the visitors.

Big Heart

Hearts and crafts. Scott meets his sponsored child Cristiane. And her mother. No, Scott doesn't sponsor an orphan, he sponsors a family.

Gifts

Gifts were exchanged, including the Eiler flag, and some tokens of North America.

Discussion

Scott and Cristiane kept Aljandra the translator busy.

Contingent

Each sponsored child came with a contingent. This one included (from left to right) the CCF base coordinator (in CCF project uniform), Aljandra the translator (in CCF city uniform), and Cristiane's mother. Cristiane and Scott are here too, of course. Scott has his Eiler uniform on, complete with Eiler and Ceará flag emblems.

Hi!

Cristiane wants lots of pictures. This is Scott saying Hi.

Beach

This is Scott and Cristiane on the beach.

Pool

This is Scott and Cristiane in the pool. Scott should have worn his hat.

Poolside

This is Scott and Cristiane at the poolside. Cristiane has sunglasses and Scott doesn't.

By the Tree

This is Scott and Cristiane by the palm tree.

Scott's Hat

Scott's hat gives good protection from the sun... when he wears it.

Cristiane's Hat

But Cristiane liked Scott's hat too.

Ice Cream!

Everyone likes ice cream.

Monica

Of course, people other than Scott had sponsored kids there too. This is Monica with her child. Monica is 18 years old, which might make her the youngest CCF sponsor ever.

Stan

This is Stan with his child. Stan is 85 years old, and was a Marine pilot in World War 2.

What's the Donkey Doing There?

While Scott and the other sponsors were busy, some of the other people had fun. How did that donkey get onto the beach?

Kent in the Balloon Race

CCF set up some embarassment races for the sponsors. Kent Snider (not Kent Olson the photographer) seems suitably embarassed.

Scott in the Balloon Race

But it takes a bit more than that to embarass Scott and Cristiane.

Dee in the Balloon Race

Just to make things fair, people whose sponsored kids were conveniently in the next town on the tour, got to race too. Dee's having her fair share of the fun.

Ceará Group

The whole Ceará group.

Bye!

Cristiane wanted a picture of Scott saying Bye.

Everyone Says Bye

Of course, everyone has to say goodbye, even Stan. And in the background, Scott's translator is about to tell him, he's expected to take the giant styrofoam heart home with him.

Pecem

On CCF study tours, the tourists get to see some CCF project schools. This is Project Pecem.

Pecem Arrival

The sight of the tourists getting off the luxury motorcoach, was quite a spectacle for the neighborhood kids.

The Great Gate of Pecem

Of course, the project is for kids, so grown-ups have a hard time stuffing themselves in.

Map

Municipality map for Project Pecem. The project is near the coast.

Powerpuff Girls

"World of Heroes". Popular cartoon characters hang on the kindergarten walls, just like kindergartens anywhere.

Spider-Man

Another hero hanging on the wall. And Aljandra the translator too.

Dentistry

CCF schools have visiting dentists.

Food Pyramid

Alexandra the other translator shows how children learn the food pyramid. She was amused to find we call it the U.S. Government Food Pyramid.

Food Class

The students in Food Pyramid class.

School Play

School play, featuring the Sad Cloud that cried.

Senior Dance Club

This CCF project has a dance club.

Junior Dance Club

Actually, it has two dance clubs.

Audience Participation

The audience got to participate in the dancing too. The dancers went a little slower for the visitors.

Scott Participates Too

But reports indicate, by the time Scott joined the dance, it was right back up to speed.

The Project of Aunt Faust

A CCF project named after someone's Aunt Faust.

Crayons, Waah!

Brazilian children apply crayons to pictures of their country, just like kids everywhere do. But one little girl wasn't too happy about it at the time.

Eek, Sun!

Look! Up in the sky! The world may never know what that thing up there was, but apparently it burns.

Yes, the sun is obviously behind the tourists, if only barely. But in this part of the world, the sun can appear in any part of the sky. And it pays to be ready.

Martial Arts Club in Ceará

The CCF project has a martial arts club. It's pleased to perform for visitors.

Brasilia Sunset

On the way from Fortaleza to Belo Horizonte. The sun sets on the airport of Brasilia.

CCF Junior Drum Corps

CCF has a junior drum corps in Belo Horizonte. They gave the tour group a spectacular welcome at the airport.

Yay, Swag!

As the drum corps plays, Scott contentedly stows some more of the free stuff that CCF gives its tourists. Yay, swag!

Children of Belo Horizonte

The CCF tour group got to see a Belo Horizonte slum project. A group of children was there in their school uniforms, to say Hi. And naturally, people had to take pictures.

Photographers of Belo Horizonte

The photographers themselves were quite a spectacle.

Cute Kids

But pictures are cool. Kids love cameras.

Scott and Children

Scott loves cameras just like kids do. And he was wearing his Eiler uniform, complete with Eiler and Minas Gerais flag emblems.

School Room with a View

School room in the CCF project. Scenic view.

Dental Decorations

This project has a dentist too. It's Happy Tooth Time!

Computer Room

CCF lets its students onto the Internet... not around Fortaleza, but at least in Belo Horizonte. Hey, Kids, Eilertech! Em Portugues!

Scott And His Crayons

Scott helped some of the junior students out with the artwork... with Eiler-colored lima beans. Thumbs Up for Eiler!

Puppet

One class was making puppets. They had a play later.

Flags

Flags are flown for important occasions. Scott can respect that.

Jumprope Class

In the project, kids learn to jump rope... without the ropes. Just to be fair, Sandra the tourist takes the same class.

Group Hug!

They told us at the project, the group hug is a form of native dance.

Another Group Hug

And the tourists fell for that story. More than once.

Capoeira in Belo Horizonte

The CCF project martial arts club. Every project has one.

Capoeira in Belo Horizonte

This project's club wears the state colors of Minas Gerais. The red triangle on their shirts is part of the state emblem.

Capoeira in Belo Horizonte

Of course, the club likes to perform for visitors.

Tour Group at the Project

And here we all are at the project.

Belo Horizonte And Its Tourists

Photo opportunity at the CCF project. Even the slums there are scenic.

Film Crew

CCF brought a film crew to interview the tourists. No interview for Scott, though. Oh, waah.

Belo Horizonte Skyline

Downtown Belo Horizonte, as viewed from the "Alta Vista" observation tower on the edge of town. The entire urban area of Belo Horizonte would have required two more photos.

New Development

They're building new houses outside of town.

Cameras

Smile, everyone, there's a camera crew!

Tower Group

And here we all are outside the tower.

Shopping Mall

Brazil has shopping malls. They're just like U.S. malls.

Hotel Atrium

The atrium of the Ouro Minas Palas Hotel of Belo Horizonte. Fancy.

Trampoline

The restaurant for the Minas Gerais visitation had a trampoline. Fun for everyone. Especially for Sandra, who just can't stop having fun with the kids.

Horses

The restaurant had horses. Fun for the kids.

Horse Ride

One grownup got to ride the horses. But Scott didn't. No fair!

Pam, Awww!

Pam sits with her sponsored child. Awww!

Crowds

Photo opportunity for the tour group. Even the people taking the photos were a crowd.

Minas Gerais Resort Group

And here we are in the group photo. Complete with group uniforms!

Belo Horizonte Airport

The airport and terminal of Belo Horizonte. Leaving for Rio de Janeiro.

Aerial View of Rio

Rio de Janeiro is built around coastal mountains.

Jesus from the Plane

Rio is famous for a Giant Concrete Jesus statue. Planes into Rio's downtown airport get a nice view of it.

Zoom Lens Jesus

Giant Concrete Jesus under the zoom lens.

Free Cocktail and a Beach View

Leo enjoys the complimentary caporinha cocktail at the hotel in Rio. Nice beach view, eh?

Rooftop Jesus View

As the tourists mill about before checkin... what's that little spike on the distant hilltop? Why, it's Giant Concrete Jesus!

Giant Concrete Jesus View

Giant Concrete Jesus, as seen from Scott's hotel room.

Copacabana Beach View

The Copacabana beach, as seen from Scott's hotel room. One hell of a scenic room.

Dinner

Part of the tour group at dinner. We had two other tables.

Capoeira in Rio

Martial arts, as performed at the Plataforma dance club in Rio.

Dancers

Dancing, from that same dance club.

Bolo

Brazilian regional dance, featuring a professional with bolo balls.

Costume

The dancers had some elaborate costumes.

Singers

A team of singers supported the dance troops.

Audience Participation

The audience got invited on stage. Here we have the Chinese. United States residents went up later.

Parade of Nations

At the end, they had a Parade of Nations. It was kind of chaotic. But the Brazilian flag flew proudly throughout.

The International Conga Line

Of course, Scott had to represent the USA in the international conga line. Now that's the kind of patriotism Scott can support.

Ann, Scott, and Aubrey at the Giant Concrete Jesus statue.

Jeeps

The rain forest of Rio, viewed from jeeps. Rainy and authentic.

Slum of Rio

A slum area of Rio. Very scenic... from a distance.

Streetcar

Rio has streetcars. But they're ancient and not too reliable.

Cathedral

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro.

Stained Glass

The ceiling of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Shrine

Shrine to Sebastian, the patron saint of Rio. People bury his holy relics in their yards when they want to sell houses, and then they offer them at the shrine afterward. (Much like people do for St. Joseph in the United States.)

Patron Saint of Rio

Rio is named after the patron saint of archery, because its site was discovered on St. Sebastian's Day. The full name of the city is "Rio de Janeiro de San Sebastian".

The Christian Children's Fund (or CCF) tries hard to subsidize poor families throughout the world. Really poor families. As in, no indoor plumbing.

The CCF gives us relatively wealthy North Americans a chance to sponsor individual children throughout their youth. These children all have active parents; the sponsors are not sponsoring orphans, they're sponsoring families.

These photos come from a Brazil trip which the Christian Children's Fund organized for several of its United States sponsors. These sponsors include Scott Eiler, who is the commentator here.

This tour included the cities of Fortaleza and Belo Horizonte, in which the CCF supports poor children. Then the tour went to Rio de Janeiro.

Our tour photographers missed some photo opportunities. For instance, there was the jazz club in Rio, where every performer sang "The Girl from Ipanema". If you, the reader, want more trip goodness, there's always the Commentary.

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