Today and tomorrow are our fullest days in
Fortaleza. As we begin the day we can’t but help reflecting on our four days in
Sao Paulo and Sao Bernardo do Campo and all the people we met there. We
remember the teenager who greeted each of us with a hug and a kiss and a smile at
the street children project. We remember the theology student who was intent on
learning where each of us was from and telling us about his city, Rio de
Janeiro, as he practiced his excellent English. We remember the young Bolivian
immigrant who now runs her own factory and tries to make it a better place for
her workers. And all the amazing people who are doing good works with love and
dedication. Many we have talked about here in the blog and countless more we
haven’t been able to mention. Each and
every one of the people we have met deserves their own page, or their own book.
Their stories connect us all.
Sao Paulo is such a big city with
skyscrapers tightly packed together, highways and all the hustle and bustle and
traffic that goes along with a metropolis. Sao Bernardo do Campo is also a
city, but more industrial, more spread out and relaxed. The weather while we were there was cool and
cloudy, with a bit of rain and some beautiful sunny days. Now in Fortaleza we experience
the even more relaxed feel of the Northeast.
It comes to us in the warm ocean breeze, the bright tropical sun, the
feel of the air, the landscaping of the trees and flowers.Though Fortaleza is the
4th largest city in Brazil and there are high rises here, they are
mostly hotels since tourism is the largest industry. The lure of the beach! We
can certainly understand that because we too enjoy walking along gazing at the
ocean and people watching. This is the part of the journey where we are
reflecting on where we have been and where we are going and all that Ubuntu is coming
to mean to us. We see our humanity tied in with that of all our brothers and
sisters here in Brazil: in Sao Paulo, in San Bernardo do Campo, in Fortaleza,
in Cascavel. Ubuntu is your heart and my heart together. We are ready to move
into the next part of our journey.
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