Alright folks… it’s that time to start the ol’ travel blog again. I’m off on another adventure and that means another few months of sporadic updates and hopefully pictures to follow. This time, instead of heading to Germany, I’m traveling way down south… to Brazil!
If there is any theme to this summer’s blog, I’d call it ‘Searching for Sustainability.’ My summer is shaping up into a multi-act play with the idea of ‘sustainability’ serving as the protagonist.
HERE’S HOW:
ACT I: (which actually started 3 weeks ago in) The sustainable neighborhoods course focusing on Delray, Detroit. I’ll be writing another post following this one recapping my thoughts on the course and the context of ‘sustainability’ within Detroit, more specifically the southwest neighborhood of Delray.
INTERMISSION: Gardening, 62 mile bike ride, and procrastination baking.
ACT II: (2 months) Brazil
Scene I: São Paulo.
Backdrop: São Paulo is one of the world’s mega-cities with over 10 million residents within the municipality and about 20 million in the metropolitan region. São Paulo is also one of the five largest metropolitan areas on the planet and serves as Brazil’s economic hub. I will try to gain my bearings for the few days that I am here, meet with friends, and try not to get lost.
São Paulo, http://gondwanaland.com/i/Saopaulo_copan.jpg
Scene II: Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Backdrop: Cuiabá is the capital of the Brazilian state, Mato Grosso. Currently, the Amazon rain forests in Mato Grosso have experienced a 27% jump in deforestation in the last year and as of May 24th, the Brazilian House decided to loosen environmental protections of the Forest Code. This deforestation is in favor of farmers using the land to plant more soybean crops and I’m curious to know what some of the locals have to say about what’s happening in their state.
Scene III: Jaguar Ecological Reserve, Pantanal (Brazilian wetlands)
Backdrop: I, along with a group of UM engineering students, will be working at the Eco Reserve to build a biodigester. In short, this biodigester will be producing methane gas from cattle manure to (hopefully) power a gas range stove. In addition, we will be working on finishing a school at the Eco Reserve and completing a bio-sand water filter project. You can see the group’s blog (and website) here.
Scene IV: Águas de Sao Pedro, São Paulo, Brazil
Backdrop: Me, WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) and farming. I enjoy picking edible goodies (if anyone couldn’t tell from my berry picking adventures) and most of all, I really enjoy staying with families and sharing cultural experiences.
ACT III: Back in Michigan. I’ll have about three weeks that I’ll be back at home before my cousin’s wedding in Minnesota and the beginning of school, and I am mulling over the idea of giving myself a ‘sustainability’ related challenge. I haven’t decided what it will be exactly (suggestions welcome), but I do know that my parents have already given me the challenge of sorting/cleaning out my grandma’s house and 50+ years of collected treasures, memories, stuff, etc…
ACT IV: Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are plans, however unset, that my family will be visiting relatives in Minneapolis before my cousin’s weddings. Minneapolis was also named 2010’s Best Biking City by Bicycling Magazine and has an average of 4% commuter cyclists, putting it as the number 2 city that has the most cyclists in the U.S. I am looking to ride the streets and paths, checking out what makes this city works as a biking capital.
FIN. As of September 6th, my travels will be over and I will be back to the grind for one more semester.
wanderlustling.wordpress.com 
