Off to Viçosa!
This was the day of our travels to Viçosa.
From the learning journey proposal:
Now, our journey will lead to the city of Viçosa, also in the state of Minas Gerais, where Dragon Dreaming is being practiced since 2012 at Universidade Federal de Viçosa, connected to the Agroecology and Popular Education movements. It is taught as a regular course for under-graduate students coming from rural areas and urban periphery, reaching individuals historically excluded from higher education in Brazil. UFV Alumni are practicing and sharing Dragon Dreaming in their communities, rural schools and non-formal. It also became a support system for local organizations and groups in the design and implementation of social-environmental projects and activities, expanding from Viçosa to many places of Brazil and the World.
In Viçosa, we will Celebrate the conclusion of our learning journey and find ways of how we can support each other in the continuation of our individual quests.
I had the morning to myself. Packed my stuff, took another round to explore the surroundings and stopped for a bufet-style lunch in a restaurant nearby. Even if I try to pronounce the few words I know in Portugees by now in my best possible way… people don’t catch what I mean. It’s a struggle 🙂 Anyway, we find a way to come to choices and understandings. It’s fine.
The church across the street from the hotel had a great painted sealing. Didn’t want to stay too long: a child got baptised. Special, that the church was open to the public, anyway. Through some smaller streets, I come back to the Liberty plain. There is a sculpture of an aircraft. The days before, I was wondering why… Meanwhile I learned, that one of the developers of first airplanes had lifed around the corner. Now I remembered, I had red a book about him and all his other discoveries. Strange way, how the mind works, sometimes. His father built a lot of railways in Brazil, which made impact op his wish to focus on technical improvements and discoveries.
It’s a pity, that almost nothing of the old railsways were maintained. Traveling in Brazil is by bus or by plane. In such a big country, fast trains would make sense, I asume.
Back in the hotel, I killed the time till my pick-up by planning the rest of my journey through Brazil and booking al the bustickets and accomodations. Luckely, the night before, I had discovered (an app called Busbud, works very well), how I can by bustickets without a CPF (kind of national registration number). I contacted Lizandra, the next one to meet.
A bit late, we started our journey to Viçosa. Reached their home after dark, but wat a special way to come there. David had to leave his room to me for the next days, but he didn’t mind… he got the couch in front of the TV :). The way, I was invited, it really felt like welcomed home. Imagine! A few days ago, I only knew Felipe from two Dragon Dreaming gatherings and Ana not at all. Still amazed, how this all went!
Before everybody went to bed, I got access to Ana’s and Felipes library: books, course notes, research reports, teaching material… I took a first volume and started reading. Would take months to work you through!
