MC at the end

Today is my last day in MC Brazil. I will actually stay for 1 more week as a facilitator and advisor to the new MCs strategic developments, but my MC term finishes today. No more VP for me!

And it goes back to the start. I know it is the end when I write goodbye notes to my LCs I was coaching. I recall my final hours in the MC Switzerland office were spent finishing the Initiative Group Winterthur report and yesterday was a time to write to my 3 LCs. Belo Horizonte, Vitoria, Itajuba.

As I wrote before I really like LC visits. Being on the LC ground is where it happens, the experiences are lived! I am pleased that I got the best LCs in Brazil, each special in it's way: Belo Horizonte with its drive to improve and lead the full @XP in Brazil, Itajuba with the passion to become the new AIESEC from the start, Vitoria with its passion for excellence in all it does.

I don't get sentimental but I wanted to share got a reply from one VP:
"Thank you for all the support since I was that lost member...
Thank you for being my guide as a VP who wanted to make things different and better.
This is be the leader who impacts positively."

Thanks to my LCs and the people who made my stay here special!

Today's the last day of MC work for our team (although many have left alreday, but it is the official day today) and so here's to MC Archers, 05-06!

Trust me, I'm an English Man! (Dean tries to convince the Brazilians his idea is good)

10.55am Tuesday

I am reading the global competency model and hear car horns, lots of rush on the roads, what is that? It continues, then I realise... there is 1hr and 5 mins before the world cup Brazil Match (Ghana)

The people are rushing home, to see kick off... good to the Brazilian's. I hope you enjoy the match as I do conference output and reply to an LC request. I actually want Brazil to win, they will gain the maximum utility out of it and so might as well make them happy if it means so much to them. If England wins all we will do is play it down for the next 3 years and then talk about "The great 2006" for the next 80 years (ask anyone in England what happened in 1966 and they know it was the ONE time we won the world cup... rather sad really).

We are having the financial audit (KPMG come into the office for 1 week) and now (11.20) they also left... I am probably one of a very few people who are working in Brazil. I will hear the score as the city will either erupt or fall silent, depending on who scores.

I am eating lots (the food is great, lots of choices!) but it has little effect on my weight

The power of the blog!

So, I hear, from people in Europe that I have lost weight. How do they know, they saw my blog! From the photos I look thinner "Are they feeding you in Brazil?" I am asked. "Come back home and get a meal!" I am offered.

It is true that my weight has fallen: 83.5kg to 66.5kg (17kg). This happened very quickly, in the first 7-8 months. It just went down and down.. I thought hey, it is below 80! Then it went down more and more and then I saw it go into the 60's and I got worried... I have to start to stop loosing weight soon, before I vanish. My MC team joked that soon I would not exist and they would need to seek a new MCVPPD!

Since March my weight has remained stable. Maybe 66kg is my natural Brazilian Weight?

To set the record straight. I was overweight when I came (BMI of 26) so I went on a diet, started running and stuff. Then I lost and lost and lost, so I stopped running and eating normal foods again. Still I lost more. My trousers no longer fitted (in the year I bought 2 different belts, until the point when belts were no good.. I needed new trousers!). In the year my waist has gone from 95cm - 82cm today (lost 18cm). Now my BMI is around 20 (ideal BMI is 18.5-25) and so I look better (I think). Just that my shirts and trousers are too big. I wonder if I will get fatter when I return to the UK. I hope not.

By the way, the reason I know this is because every pharmacy in Brazil has free scales. Actually very useful to weigh yourself whenever you want!

Then, I am at party on Friday and an American trainee is introduced to me...
"Ahh, you are Dean!"
"Yes, that's me"
"I read your blog a lot when I was preparing to come to Brazil with AIESEC, it was so good and helped me prepare"
"Oh, really!"
"Yes, it is such a good idea, now I have a blog and my friends from home read it often..."
Then a conversation on the power and usefulness of blogging started. Cool, hey!

Catching up...

I am catching up... Still got more about the World Cup, the notorious muderess living next door, CONADE and my LC visits (man, that is a looms time ago), the PCC shootings in SP, plus, of course my visit to Bern, Hasliberg, Newcastle, York, London, Bern, Sao Paulo in 9 days... OK, the only way to do this is to upload a message daily... To get through the backlog.

Ah, at the weekend was the transition party also... I wait for some photos. But a great party landing me home at 6am, and all of this with only 1 drink! I impressed myself in the ability to dance (well, move) whilst being sober. Maybe the Brazilian vibe has freed my inhibition's a bit? It was cool to see so many people, some who I knew well, others who popped up throughout the year (there were 80 people I think, including past MCPs and AI director, OCPs, LCPs). It was great to see some new relationships start (hey Mr. G, who rented a hotel especially and Miss D. who was so excited that she had to lye down for an hour!). And a cool club (why did I not visit this earlier in the year?)

But now, I am looking for a flight to Europe. I have looked at many websites (too many) had looked at many options. Why do I need to buy a return flight, if I am only going one way? Such a strange system!?!

Meanwhile, one by one, the old MC leave, Marcelo 2 weeks ago (we got up at 4am to see him take his seat as MCP of @ CONSUL, then Elias to become Global coordinator for some partner ( I forget who. Tomorrow (5am) we see Segala off to Bonn (global DHL Coordinator). Gabi will leave for an @ traineeship in Australia soon. Jhow is preparing for his OC role at IC and his Australian traineeship. And me... Well, I am errrrrr. But freedom is also good! ...Right...?

World Cup

It is true that in Brazil things really do stop for the world cup. The first match (the first of the three qualifying matches) was at 4pm on a Tuesday, yet as I was told everything stopped. From the MC office we could hear the car horns, hand gas horns, bangers (some as loud as bombs), cheers and rushing cars in the 4 hours leading up to the opening match against Croatia. Work stopped at 2pm, giving people a chance to get home for the match. The city transport department reported 174KM of traffic jams in the hour before kick off.

For the weeks preceding this the shops have taken on the colours of green, yellow and blue as everywhere has national flags, streamers or painted strips. The streets have been painted in green and blue, flags hung from lamp-posts, large paintings of the Brazilian flags and images of Brazilian footballers. The number of street sellers seems to have tripled with selling anything Brazilian (flags, horns, t-shirts...).

So, at kick off, the loudest bangs as people set of the bombs, and then silence as the whole country observes their national religion performing its miracle.

95% of things closed. The stock exchanges of Sao Paulo are closed, the large department stores, the petrol stations, the international banks, the police are inside the office watching the match, schools stop teaching, even McDonalds is closed! Along the busiest roads of Sao Paulo the only things running are a few buses. Giving the rare few (very few) who are not interested in the World Cup the chance to get a rare (very rare) chance to skate board along Avenue Paulista, as the Media take photo's of these extreme moments. The city has a strange atmosphere, like one would expect if an alien attack was likely.

The only things open were a few chemists and bars. However, to my surprise the bars were not too busy, as most opted to watch at home (a very visible example of the family unity in Brazil!). The whole city was on the same roller-coster, as all together you would hear a "ahhh, uhhhh!" or "Yeeeeee, nahhhh!!!", echoing from the department blocks of the houses.

The real Brazilian football team 

Gay Parade

For the second time this week I have seen Av. Paulista closed to traffic in order to celebrate and observe a special event.

The annual gay parade is in some ways similar to Zurich's Love Parade (which I attended in 2004) only the Brazilian one is much better. Why is this? Is it simply true that Brazilians really are the friendliest and most happy people to party with in the world?

During the few hours I was given around 15 condoms (thanks), one young man tried to kiss me, another, older man, also offered (thanks), but all-in-all a good afternoon of fun, music and the craziest costumes. There were old, young, women, men (and a few of mixed: (wo)men which made me laugh out loud at times and gasp in shock at others (thanks).

Homosexually is rather tolerated in Brazil, as is cultural-diversity. Of course the parade has the people who want to show off (and why not), but the many are young people who want a big (7KM long) street party. It was also attended by families, it was not rare to bump in to Mrs. Mummy, Mr. Daddy with their child hand in hand. This is cool (a good way to show children that such things are open within their family) but I found some scenes a little too explicit, but still, its probably no worse than what is at the movies.

This was the same week that two men in the UK were sentanced for murdering a gay barman.

Many men in tight shorts (as you'd expect) and women wearing little (as you'd want), men topless, lots of kissing (it is Brazil), lots of booze, loud music and even louder costumes. Yet, all around peace and respect for each other, no matter what their views. That is very special.

(Photos are from last years event, but are very similar to the sights this year).

A long time...

A very long time! Not because I had nothing to say, rather that I had too much to say and so fell behind.

Since April: Coach Visits (round 2); CONADE; Visit to Switz & UK; Transition; Murderer next day; Terrorism in Sao Paulo; Football in Brazil... all to come (I will catch up in the next few weeks). But lets start at the present and work backwards -