I am now more than a month in and time is going so fast. About two weeks ago I realized that if we really wanted to start getting things done at this Garden we were going to need some money. So I found a fundraising website and decided to see where it took me. I asked for $300 and it has been a little over 1 week and I am $25 away from my goal. I am so blessed and overwhelmed from the support from you all! This money is going to go to 3 people that almost have nothing and spend their days working at this garden to give back to others. It is an amazing thing to see and I am looking forward to doing as much as I can for them in the next 4 weeks! Each day I work on my Portuguese with them to advance our conversations and it is amazing how good we all are at charades :) This past week we started on a painting project and are excited to really bring the garden alive. Some other ideas we are working on is a new fence and shed to help them keep all their items safe. Two weekends ago some of my friends and I had the chance to take a ferry to an island in the middle of the Bay. The island was called Paqueta Island and it had no cars on it which was awesome. We just got to walk around, get a nice meal, and relax in a new environment. On the way back we were able to see the sunset which was awesome! This past weekend consisted of random exploring around Santa Teresa which turned out quite well. We found a tower that had a 360 view of Rio and it would be perfect to go there for the sunset. I also went on the hunt to find the bonde museum. (The bonde is a tram car that was the main transportation for the Santa Teresa area and was the cheapest form of transportation for the people. The company was founded in 1876 and was the known trademark for this area. In 2012 they had an accident with one of the bondes and a couple people died. It was taken away from the area but it is believed that it was not because of the accident but because the government didn't get any money for it like it does from the bus transportation. So the accident was a way to take control of the situation. There are now petitions all around the area and pins and stickers to support the bonde and I hope they get it back on day. So the museum was closed now since the bonde is not working but I wanted to get into the yard so bad.) Today I was in luck and a man saw me and other volunteers looking in so he asked if we would like to come look. We got a small tour of all the cars and got some pictures. I was so lucky to have that experience and wish them luck in the future! The past couple days have been raining so I have not been on my project for a couple days but I am praying for sun tomorrow to continue some painting. Four more weeks to go to make a real difference here and I am ready for the challenge. Again thank you all for your support and I would not be able to be here and keep going without you all!
