The third largest city in Brazil, the city of Salvador is well known for its Afro-Brazilian roots. A coastal city in the Northeast, Salvador was a pivotal capital in the Portuguese empire.
After arriving late the night before, we spent the bulk of Saturday on a tour of the Pelourinho (the old colonial city). Our first stop was a view of the lighthouse, followed by a quick stop at the Praca Municipal; the main square that overlooks the harbor.
June Festivities
Great group of teachers
With little time to explore on our own, we were summoned towards the Cathedral of St. Francis; a ridicuously ornate church, created in the baroque style, to honor St. Francis.
St. Francis Cathedral
St. Francisco Cathedral
After a long tour of the church, we were given a bit of free time to walk around, shop, mingle with the locals, etc. As in many city squares and plazas around the world, there were numerous groups of individuals, determined to make some cash through a variety of means.
I do love the drums
June Festival
what the?!?!
St. Francis Cathedral during June Festivities
Selfie with Fernando, Shelly, and Brianna
June festivities
After a quick lunch, we continued to walk around, and eventually came across the place where Michael Jackson filmed his video for his 1996 song, “They Don’t Care About Us,” a huge hit in Brazil.
Michael Jackson on the Balcony
some Brazilian beats
Continuing to wander through the streets of old Salvador, we came across many Brazilians going about their everyday lives. This sweet lady allowed me to photograph her.
Salvador street life
In the evening, before heading out for dinner, I made my way up to the rooftop bar to catch a photo of the sunset.
Sunset over Salvador
On Sunday, we had an all day conference collaborating with the ILEP fellows (Brazilians who have traveled to the US as part of a sister program for TGC). It has been great to collaborate with other teachers from around Brazil, sharing various ideas and possible projects we can work on together.
Joselia introducing herself at the Conference
That said, after reconvening with everyone these last few days, I once again have to give a loud “shout out” to our host teacher, Joselia, and our sudo-host teacher, Alex. I am so glad we had both of them as our hosts in Teresina! After re-connecting with them during the conference, we decided to all head back to the old city to experience some live music and food at the June Festival. I have to say, I am a big fan of the June festivities; live music, street food, friendly people celebrating throughout the streets, etc…what’s not to love?
Valeria, Jen, Joselia, and Me
Does this really need a caption:)
June Festivities
Love these two!
Acaraje- Traditional snack in Bahia
With only two days left in Brazil, we sadly say goodbye to our ILEP host teachers today, as they head back to Teresina this afternoon. Once again, I am truly thankful for having such a great experience with them, both in Teresina and here in Salvador. If the point of this program has been to forge ongoing connections and relationships between ILEP and TGC fellows, then my time here in Brazil has been a success. I am hoping to be able to connect my students (yes you) to some of the students I have met here.
With three of my newly favorite people:)
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wanderingweller 
Ms. Weller, Brazil really does seem like a wonderful place to visit. Not only heart warming people, but the city of Salvador has a history. There seems to be many historical cites you visited along with fun ones too. Regarding your teaching experience, do Brazilian students have a liberal arts education like the United States? If not, what is the Brazilian education system?
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They get a liberal arts education in K-12, but then they choose a major at the university level. The big difference between the two countries, is that their university education is free. There public universities are better than private universities. Thanks fro reading Nilsu!
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Well from what I’ve read it seems it’s pretty obvious that you had a lot of fun and established wonderful relationships with others. How could not have fun in such a vibrant and colorful city? One thing that I am curious about though is what was the purpose of the June festivities, as in what were they celebrating? Was it a holiday or like a religious event? Or is it just a festival they have every year? Also, I think you probably have answered my question in another post so sorry for asking this ahead of time, but what how would you describe the daily lives of Salvador’s citizens? One last thing, I like the picture of the sunset you took ^_^
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Hi Katherine, Thank you for your comment and question. The purpose of the June Festivities is to celebrate the births of St. John, St. Anthony, and St. Peter. It is a catholic festival, but Brazil’s Catholic population is actually decreasing. Still, it is a very popular festival among all Brazilians, Catholic or not.
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Ms. Weller, your trip looks absolutely amazing and full of beautiful sites, awesome people, and delicious food! Since you mentioned that you were traveling with a handful of other educators is there anything that you learned from them in regards to teaching that you can share to your upcoming classes? Again, your trip looked amazing and I’m glad you enjoyed it!
-Lyndsey Wilson
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Hi Lyndsey,
Thanks for commenting! Yes, traveling with teachers from around the U.S. always leads to some form of learning. Most of the time I wind up on trips with social studies teachers, but this group was mixed. The teacher I was partnered with (from Colorado) shared many learning activities that she does with her classes- many fun, active games etc. There were also many ESL teachers with us, so I learned a little more about being able to help those students who might have difficulty with the language.
See you in class!
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One of the things that my family always does when we visit a foreign country is visit a church. Churches show the architectural achievements and styles of certain time periods, and have always interested me with their histories. I’ve never been to Brazil, but judging from your pictures, it seems like a very holy place in some parts of the country. I’m really amazed by the photos of St. Francis Cathedral. Not only does the outside architecture look absolutely beautiful, but the inside shot that you were able to take, captures the mesmerizing holiness of the church. I would love to visit St. Francis Cathedral if i ever travel to Brazil.
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Thanks Sofie,
I love visiting churches in other countries as well! I can’t wait to hear more about your travels:)
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It looks like a great time! I feel like because of the festival season it’s easier to gauge what is valued to the citizen’s of Salvador. What do you think? I’ve been to other countries but experiencing their festivals and holidays would’ve definitely given me a quicker sense to what it’s really like there. Festivals and holidays bring out a different energy to daily life here I can’t imagine how exciting it must’ve been in such a vibrant place. I must say though, Ms. Weller you take such artsy pictures! I love that there are so many pictures of the buildings. We all know and have learned about different architecture structures and what was popular during different time periods but seeing that we weren’t just told these things they are common, worn down and ‘ the norm’ in such places amazes me.
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Thanks! It was exciting to be there during the June Festival, I can only imagine what it is like during Carnival. Brazil in general seems a very festive country.
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Wow, what a lively place! Brazil seems like a fun place to visit during the summer. Everything looks so colorful with the decorations and the like. The people seem to be very friendly as well! Was it hard for you to communicate with other people because of the language barrier and culture difference?
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Hi Margaret,
No, it was not hard because we were all paired with Brazilian teachers who teach English. I was embarrassed about how bad my language was compared to how well they spoke English. Plus, the few people we came across who did not speak English were always super friendly and helpful.
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The beaches look absolutely stunning. The water is so clear! Are the beaches as crowded and packed as Long Island beaches are? Do they have boardwalks and summer festivities like us? If so, did you get the chance to participate? Also, I’d like to agree with Katherine on the breathtaking picture of the sunset!
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Thanks Rebecca,
The beaches that we went to were actually in a pretty secluded part of the country. The beaches in Rio (which I did not make it to) are extremely crowded. I don’t know that they have festivals just for summer, but I could be wrong. Also, their summer is our winter and vice versa.
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Hello Ms. Weller! These beautiful pictures definitely put Brazil on to my “places to visit” list! I’m glad that you enjoyed your trip. I noticed you said it was a religious festival, I’m wondering if at the festival do they have prayer and or religious readings? Another question I have is, if you’re not Catholic can you still participate in these festivities? Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip!
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Hi Teja,
Good questions. They did have prayer bracelets that were being sold everywhere, but this was more from an African tradition, than traditional Catholicism. Everyone was participating, and not all Brazilians are Catholics. Also, the Catholicism that exists in Brazil is infused with vodoo from Brazil’s African slave heritage, particularly in Salvador.
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What left me in awe was seeing the picture of the St. Francisco Cathedral… All I can say is WOW. I can only imagine how beautiful it looks in person and how much time the architects and artists spent on such a building. Do many people attend services there? I go to a international volleyball camp over the summer every year and one of my coaches traveled here from Brazil to coach and he goes on and on about Brazil and its culture. These pictures speak for themselves, Brazil is absolutely beautiful. I think I would enjoy going during festival season because you see all the culture Brazil has to offer. I hope you enjoyed your trip!
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Thanks Brionna. I’m not sure how many people attend the church, but I imagine many. Brazil is predominantly Catholic, and Salvador is known for its mix of Catholicism and Voodoo.
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