World Military Games in Rio

The World Military Games just came and went in Rio.  In some ways they were a dress rehearsal for the World Cup and the Olympics; but on a smaller scale.  There were thousands of athletes put up in several villages who needed three meals a day and language-specific services throughout their stay.

There were competitions, the use of smaller venues (plus the big Copacabana beach venues) and the simple need to get athletes from one place to another. Athletes who had already placed out of their competitions needed something to do every day while others continued to compete.

Luiz was a volunteer during the games.  He was among the volunteers who spoke English – placing him among the more desirable guides. He spent 10 days arriving early and leaving late to facilitate the experience of visiting athletes and their organizers.

Thanks to a friend of ours who is a career military man, we got pairs of tickets to lots of events, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

Since the opening ceremonies conflicted with the Blogger Meet-Up, I just went to the closing ceremonies – with my mother-in-law. It was an adventure. And a beautiful show.

Luiz had a great time working with other volunteers and meeting international athletes. There were lots of cool people eager to discover Rio. He spent long days showing the athletes various parts of the city.

It was a great event. And I hope there were lessons learned. Luiz expressed some frustrations about the overall organization. It would be great to assume these problems were being recorded to help improve the planning for the World Cup and Olympics. One can hope.

Back to school daze

These days I’m packing a daily lunchbox of snacks for my schoolboy. He looks so cute in his government-issue student Tshirt. And I grin from ear to ear seeing him leave the apartment carrying his backpack filled with school supplies.

Luiz is back in school. The good news is that he’s having a lot of fun and that he will emerge the other end as a certified Tour Guide in the state of Rio de Janeiro. His classes include a broad range of topics from how to treat senior tourists, to learning about the history of dozens of cities, to how to give bus boarding instructions in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

The bad news (sorta, it was his first choice) is that the school runs three sessions a day: morning classes, afternoon classes and evening classes and Luiz is attending the morning classes. Monday through Thursday he leaves the apartment at 6:00 a.m. to get to school by 7:00 a.m. Classes run until 12:20 p.m. after which he is provided with a public school free lunch (we’re talking basic beans, rice and pasta with a slice of fruit for dessert). So he gets home by about 2:00 or 2:30 p.m. I have become a lonely stay at home by myself husband.

Luiz is a natural. He loves people and people love him. He can talk about just about anything. What he doesn’t know for sure he will make up without skipping a beat. It’s all about the charm.

As Rio and Brazil gear up for the increase in tourism driven by the upcoming World Cup and Olympic games, demand for official tour guides trained by the state tourism board is great. Luiz is riding that wave.

Part of his training includes many field trips to local points of interest as well as to a few neighboring cities and towns. Luiz is very excited about this new venture.

But from now until early July I’ll be sitting at home working up lesson plans in an empty apartment. On the bright side, I’ll get to set the dinner menu more often.

New logo for the 2016 Olympics in Rio

The new logo for the 2016 Olympic games was unveiled during the New Year's Eve celebration on Copacabana Beach. I like it.

Here's the logo launch video.  The official website is pretty cool as well.