Wow Brazil!!!

What a great country. I visited the capital city, Brasilia, yesterday and met with one of Quest's Advisory Board Members, Heitor Gurgulino de Souza (Secretary-General Elect, International Association of University Presidents (IAUP), Brazil). Heitor and I not only visited two schools in Brasilia, but we also visited a number of historical sites. Below are some pictures of...

The Cathedral of Brasilia. A Cathedal that is mostly underground.
The monument of Juscelino Kubischek de Oliveira, the Brazilian president who moved the capital of Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in 1955.
A traditional Brazilian lunch (rice, beans and beef) with Heitor and his wife.
A great school visit at GALOIS. Thanks to all the students who stayed behind to ask questions and took this picture with me.
After school visits in Rio de Janeiro today, I visited the Christ Redeemer Statue on Corcovado Peak. What an amazing view of the city. Here are some pictures...

People posing for the picture
Impanema Beach from above

Heading to Brazil...

I'll be in Brazil from March 25th until April 1st visiting Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Sao Paulo. If you would like to meet to learn more about Quest during my visit please feel free to email me at keely.stott@questu.ca.

Samantha and friends, Escuela Inglesa Kent and Guadalajara, Mexico

I just arrived back in Squamish and I'm missing Mexican food already (so today I had a burrito for lunch). I want to thank everyone for welcoming me to their schools and for all of their sightseeing and cuisine tips! I hope to visit again soon.

Here are some more pictures of my trip and the friends I made along to way...

My first enchilada with Samantha and her friends (Edgar, Chema and Diego)

The fantastic class at Escuela Inglesa Kent (serious and fun poses)

Some sights of Guadalajara...

The beautiful cathedral in the centre of town

Pinatas at the market

What a Great Group of Students!!!

Today I visited the ITESM high school in Mexico City and had the pleasure of meeting grade 11 and 12 IB students.
Thanks for the fun day!

Grade 11 Class: Our serious pose...

Grade 11 Class: Our crazy pose...

My first day in Mexico City

I've had a fantastic first day in Mexico City...people are so friendly and helpful, the weather is nice and there's so much to see in the city. I went exploring around the Zocalo (the picture is on my last blog entry). I watched a number of performances in the center square, visited the Cathedral, walked around the markets and went to the Technotitlan Archelogical museum. Technotitlan was the capital of the Aztec Empire, prior to the Spanish invasion. This is a picture of me inside the Technotitlan site with the Cathedral in the background.

In front of the Cathedral were a number of performances by Aztec or Mexicas dancers. When not ceremoniously dancing, some of the older men would draw a chalk circle on the ground, burn a sort of sweet grass and welcome people into their circle. Once in the circle, the men blew the smoke over the persons body and spoke some words. This reminded me of Canadian First Nations smudging ceremonies: burning sage and cleansing yourself of bad spirits by wafting the sage smoke across your body.

Here are some pictures of my day...

Kids learning how to use a metate and the traditional way to make tortillas.