INTERCÂMBIO DE JOVENS/YOUTH EXCHANGE An Overview of

INTERCÂMBIO DE JOVENS/YOUTH EXCHANGE
An Overview of Rotary District 4550
For Prospective Inbound YEP students
What Bahia has…something for every taste!
A birds-eye view of Salvador, capital of Bahia, with Barra Lighthouse in the foreground, All Saints’ Bay (Baía de Todos os Santos) to the left and the South Atlantic to the right.
Where is it? Rotary District 4550, with its 46 clubs, is located in Eastern,
Southern and Western Bahia state, where Brazil was born 509 years ago.
Salvador, the capital city, is Brazil's third largest metropolitan area with a
2.8 million population, where there are 10 Rotary clubs in the region. In
2009, Salvador celebrates its 460th anniversary as the first European-type
city built in the Americas and the first capital of Brazil. Today Bahia's population is over 13 million.
Salvador da Bahia’s location in Brazil
Greater Salvador on All Saints’ Bay, Brazil’s largest
What is it? Bahia is considered to be the heart and soul of Brazil since its
most important poets, novelists, song writers and composers came from
the state that's slightly larger than France, or in US terms: bigger than
California, Florida and New Hampshire put together or almost as big as
Texas. That's 561,026 square kilometers, or 216,613 square miles of land
area, situated in Northeast Brazil on the South Atlantic coast. Brazil is the
world's fifth biggest country in territory, sixth in population and its economy is the eight largest. Bahia has a tropical climate similar to that of
Hawaii.
What does it have? Rapidly becoming Brazil's No. 1 tourist destination,
Bahia is a tropical treasure-trove filled with attractions to please every
taste -- be it historic, nautical, ecological, cultural, musical, or gastronomic, not to speak of feasts, festivals, leisure, folklore, handicrafts, nature,
and religion. Briefly, here are some highlights:
Pelourinho, Salvador's historic center
Its historic sites…
Bahia is steeped in history; in fact, it's where Brazil began, after being
discovered in 1500 by Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral when he
landed near Porto Seguro, in the southern part of the state. By 1549, Bahia was Portugal's first colony and Salvador the first European settlement
in the country, becoming the most important city in this part of the world
in the 16th century. Salvador was the capital of Brazil for 200 years until
it was moved to Rio de Janeiro.
Taking in the sun and waves
For those attracted by nautical pursuits and other sports…
Bahia's tropical South Atlantic coastline extends for 1,103 km (685 miles),
including the shores of Baía de Todos os Santos (All Saints' Bay) where
Salvador is located. Amérigo Vespucci discovered the bay in 1501 on November 1st (All Saints' Day). It's Brazil's largest ocean inlet with 1,100
square kilometers (425 square miles), and has 38 islands, ideal for sailing
either by small craft or by schooner. Along Bahia's coast there are 255
beaches for swimming and sites for snorkeling, as well as for surfing, wind
surfing and sailing, not to mention fishing. Without saying, soccer is the
number one sport in Brazil and in Salvador we have two of the most important professional teams: Bahia and Vitória, both recent first division
national champions. Other sports widely practiced here at schools, in the
parks and on the beaches include volleyball and basketball, as well as
tennis at private clubs. Everywhere in the state jogging, trekking and hiking are common sports in urban and state parks, as well as in mountainous and costal areas. Marathon running and swimming are frequent sporting events throughout the Bahia.
One of Bahia's 255 beaches along its South Atlantic coast
Ecologically speaking…
Bahia is a prime area to take in flora and fauna, either along its entire
coastline or inland, where lush tropical forests abound in a high plateau
region with canyons, caves with underground lakes, waterfalls and white
water rapids on small rivers in the Chapada Diamantina region where
Lençois is located. Bahia has more than a score of state and national
parks and 12 environmental reserves where wildlife is protected. Running
parallel to its northern coast is the Linha Verde (Green Line), a 178-km
(111-mile) paved road designed to preserve the region's ecology. It connects a dozen fishing villages where there are resorts, small hotels and
inns. In Southern Bahia are Discovery and Whales' Coasts, both abundant
with marine life--humpback whales, dolphins, exotic fish, and migratory
birds.
A typical colonial street in Salvador
As for culture and religion…
Bahia has a rich and varied cultural heritage, be it indigenous, European
or African. Today it can be seen in many forms throughout the state in
colonial and modern architecture, painting and sculpturing, music and
dance, as well as in folklore and handicrafts. However, the pièce de résistance of this heritage can best be experienced in Salvador's Pelourinho
district, a recently restored area filled with more than 700 prime examples
of colonial architecture, as well as Baroque churches, monasteries and
cloisters. It's full of cozy squares and narrow cobblestone streets lined
with gift and handicraft shops, art galleries, restaurants, museums, bars,
inns, and youth hostels. Year-round there are performing arts events
staged at night in this area, such as outdoor musical concerts and dance
productions. Over the years, Bahia has been the inspiration for thousands
of poems, novels and songs written by some of the country's most famous
writers and musicians, who were either born here or spent a goodly part
of their lives here. Complimenting its priceless cultural heritage is its religious one, with all kinds of professions of faith, be it Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or an African-inspired one: Candomblé, brought
to the Americas by the slaves. All year long, these religions celebrate their
faith with colorful processions and public services.
Carnival revelers in Salvador
Electrifying music in the air at summer festivals…
Today, Bahia's Axé (Peace or Good Luck) music leads the Brazilian pop
charts with its upbeat combination of African, Caribbean and Hispanic
rhythms and sounds that are played at its many summer festivals (December-February). Inspired by Salvador's street Carnival musical groups,
their sounds are heard nationwide all year long, since Bahian Carnival is
celebrated almost every weekend in some part of the country. For the
past four decades, Bahia has produced a disproportionate number of Brazil's leading musicians including João Gilberto, the Caymmi family, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Maria Bethânia. But in recent years
their status has progressed from important to dominant. In 1999 and
2000, Veloso and Gil each won the "World Music" category in the annual
Grammy Awards in the USA; while in 2001 a third Bahian musician and
singer, João Gilberto, known as the father of the Bossa Nova, won this
Grammy for a CD produced for Verve Records by Veloso. If you get tired
of local musical fare, there's a MTV channel in Salvador, as well as two
international satellite TV services (Globo Sat and Sky), as well as a couple
Brazilian ones are available throughout the state.
A Baiana preparing tasty fritters called acarajé in Pelourinho Square at dust
Unique Bahian cuisine…
Bahia's gastronomic delights are prepared from two basic ingredients: a
rich seafood base and abundance of traditional West African seasoning like
palm oil (dendê), peanuts, coconut and strong peppers. Many ingredients
and dishes have African names: most famous of all is vatapá, a bright yellow mush of bread stuffing, palm oil, coconut, shrimp, onion, garlic, peanuts, and cashew nuts, which is delicious. Other dishes to look out for are
moqueca, seafood cooked in the inevitable palm-oil based sauce mixed
with olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, parsley and coriander; caruru, with many of the same ingredients as vatapá but with the vital
addition of a lot of okra; and acarajé, deep-fried bean fritter stuffed with
vatapá, salad and an optional hot pepper, available on many street corners from the Baianas, women mostly in traditional white dress. Bahian
cuisine also has tasty desserts, less sticky sweet than elsewhere, i.e.:
quindim, a delicious small cake made from coconut, mixed with egg yolks,
butter and sugar. Bahian cuisine is prepared for special occasions, not being an everyday fare. If you get homesick for fast foods, we have that as
well, including McDonalds and Subway sandwich shops, as well as pizzas
from Pizza Hut, among others.
Sun, sand and surf in Bahia
Bahia, a "land of happiness," ideal for a change in pace…
Bahians call their state a "land of happiness." With some of its attributes
highlighted here, you can conclude that it is indeed a different and very
special place to spend your Rotary YEP exchange, taking a break from the
usual milieu and learning about a new culture. Frankly, there aren't many
places in the world today where you can go for a truly unforgettable visit,
but without a doubt Bahia is just such a destination. Once visited, persons
are known to yearn to go back soon for more of this "land of happiness."
A Bahian beach, lined with coconut trees, awaits you in the “Land of Happiness”
To Whet Your Appetite for Bahia…
To fill your eyes and whet your appetite for Bahia, we suggest you visit
these three tourism-related web sites:
1. City of Salvador Tourism Authority:
http://www.emtursa.ba.gov.br/index_anim.asp?idLinguagem=2
2. Salvador Convention Bureau video:
http://www.salvadorconvention.com.br/index.php?lang=en
3. Bahian tourist attractions promotion site:
http://www.bahia.com.br/index.asp?idi=2
Bahia is not all play - there's a lot of hard work, too…
As you can imagine, tourism is Bahia's second most important economic
activity, while its industrial and agricultural sectors are ranked first and
third in its economy. Until 30 years ago, the state's economy was dominated by agriculture such as cocoa and tobacco cultivation and processing.
Since the early 1980s, the industrial sector has become the dominant
force in the economy, particularly in the production of petrochemicals,
now over 50% of the Brazil's total output. A new phase of economic activity swung into action in 2001 as Ford Motor Company started operating a
new assembly plant near Salvador at Camaçari, soon to be followed by
Hyundai and Asia Motors of South Korea. In southern Bahia there's a budding computer industry.
Modern architecture in Salvador
More about a Rotary YEP exchange in Bahia…
For 2009-2010 YEP, District 4550 has 22 outbound long-term students as
participants selected from 12 of its 46 clubs--six of 10 in Greater Salvador
and six in Brumado, Ilhéus, Itabuna, Teixeira de Freitas, and Vitória da
Conquista--all medium-sized towns and cities in Southern Bahia. These
students are having their exchanges in Canada (2) [Nova Scotia and Ontario], Denmark (2), Germany (7), Bahamas (1), Norway (1), Taiwan (1),
and the USA (8) [Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Maine, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington]. Their counterparts are 21 inbound students: eight from the USA (Arkansas, Florida,
Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Wisconsin), seven from
Germany, two from Canada, two from Denmark, and one each from Norway and Taiwan. Our four short-term students are being hosted in Germany and the USA, while two NGEs are not placed yet. For long-term exchange students, here's a sample of web sites (all in Portuguese) of nine
private high schools (colégios)in Greater Salvador, now hosting YEP students in the current program, or have hosted students in the past nine
years, as well a prospective host schools:
--Colégio Alfred Nobel: http://www.colegionobel.com.br/colegionobel
(former host school)
--Colégio Apoio: http://www.colegioapoio.com.br/designnovo/index.asp
(current host school)
--Colégio Anchieta: www.colegioanchieta-ba.com.br (prospective host
school)
--Colégio Antônio Vieira: www.arsconsult.com.br (current host school)
--Colégio Gregor Mendel: www.colegiomendel.g12.br (current host
school)
--Colégio São Paulo: www.colegiosaopaulo.com.br (current host school)
--Colégio Sartre: www.sartrecoc.com.br (current host school)
--Colégio Vilia Lobos: http://www.colegiovillalobos-ba.com.br/default.asp
(current host school)
--Instituto Social da Bahia: www.isba.com.br (current host school)
It's important if you decide to come to Brazil and Bahia that you invest in
a good intensive course in Brazilian Portuguese, as are those taught by
the renowned Berlitz School of Languages, among others. If you don't live
near one of their 350 schools, we highly recommend that you acquire their
self-taught cassette course, which is available at their web site. Don't for-
get that more South Americans speak Portuguese than Spanish since Brazilians outnumber all the other people in the region. (For details see "Getting a Head Start with Brazilian Portuguese" at our web site
www.rotary4550.org.br/intercambio)
As you can see by our YEP Calendar for 2009-2010 (check web site), we
have a varied program for YEP students, with optional guided YEP tours in
other regions of Brazil (see below) during the late spring and summer periods (November-February), as well as in late April and early May. Schools
in our region start their year in January with a brief weeklong break for
Carnival in February that marks the end of summer, as well as a couple of
days during Holy Week (Easter).
There's another break late in June and early July as well as local and national holidays, as well as religious holidays, during the year. Second
semester usually begins in mid-July.
Rio de Janeiro’s famous view from Corcovado peak to Sugarloaf Mt.
Optional Guided Tours to get to know other parts of Brazil
As you can understand, Brazil is a huge country, larger than the continental USA or Western Europe, and has much to offer the exchange student
traveler. As mentioned above, there are optional guided tours offered by
two companies headquartered at Belo Horizonte in the neighboring state
of Minas Gerais, both of which have more than a decade of experience
working with Rotary Exchange Students based in the 36 of 38 Brazilian
districts participating in YEP. The companies offer well-organized and reasonably priced trips to the Amazon region, the Pantanal wetlands in the
Southwest and through Northeast Brazil, as well as to other historic and
ecological points of interest in the country. We suggest you visit their web
sites for more information:
Belo Brasil Tours: http://www.belobrasil.com.br/ingles/index.htm
Terra Brasil Tourismo:http://www.terrabrasil.com
More Information on Bahia and Salvador…
Thanks to Encyclopedia Britannica Online, your can find some more facts
and figures on Bahia and Salvador at
www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=11921&tocid=0
If you have any questions that are not covered here, please e-mail us at:
[email protected]. On the other hand, visit our website at
www.rotary4550.org.br/intercambio.
Map & Photos: Courtesy of Bahiatursa, Bahia State Tourism Authority, Salvador; Lonely Planet; Expedia, & Microsoft Corp.
Web Design by ÁsCriações and Compiled by David Ferrell, YEP Chairman, District 4550 (Bahia State,
Brazil)
DMF/df, 7-28-09 (revision 7)