Anybody up for some diving?

After 4 days in paradisiac Koh Tao, in Thailand - 2 sunny, 2 rainy, because even the paradise needs some rain ;o) - filled with theoretical classes, swimming pool skills building and 4 open water dives (yes, in the rainy days!), I'm officially a PADI certified open water diver. AEEHH! That means I'll want to travel to really nice beaches, meet people with cool diving stories and appreciate life underwater as often as possible. Wanna join me?

Paradise



View from my room, 10 steps from the beach

Certified diver!!!

Oxfam Challenge Report

"Nothing can match the strength of those whose lives have been shaped and forged through challenging and overcoming hardships."
Diasaku Ikeda

It’s with great pleasure that I write this post with news about the amazing journey I just lived: not the Oxfam breeze, the Oxfam CHALLENGE!

Setting the scene:
- 502 teams
- 2008 walkers
- More than 700 volunteers
- The hardest track ever
- Weather forecast: rain!

In Colmar Brunton (corporate group where I work):
- 6 teams
- 24 walkers
- 15 supporters
- 1 day off
- Excitement. And an incredible “doing the right thing” feeling

The day:

Fri, 10 a.m. (starting time)

- Team still at registration, as 1 team member was late, due to lack of taxis in the area
- Therefore, a lot of traffic slowing us down
- Anyway, energy was super high
- 2 of our company teams were walking together (8 people)
- Stops in the first 2 checkpoints (20.5 km) were brief, just enough for refuelling water bottles and grabbing a little food

Fri, 6 p.m. (checkpoint 3 – 30.5 km)

- Drizzle turns into rain and we got quite cold
- 3 people from the other team retire (we're 5 walking together now)
- We decided to walk a little faster, as traffic was gone



Sat, 4 a.m. (checkpoint 5 – 51 km)

- Terrain is very steep and got quite muddy because of the rain
- Team energy is drained and tiredness is apparent
- 2 more people pulled out, one with strong feet pain, another really dizzy. Now we are 3 girls left and make a vow we’ll finish together

Sat, 12:30 p.m. (checkpoint 7 – 72.5 km)

- Sun has risen, terrain is drier, energy level is higher
- 4 amazing friends (or should I say saints?) met me with signs, motivation lines and disposition to give me a foot massage!
- The hardest leg is about to start
- Changed clothes; feeling a new person



Sat, 5 p.m. (checkpoint 8 – 86.5 km)

- Feet are sore, muscles are good, disposition is great!
- 1 team mate doesn’t have any strength left, is crying of pain and desperation, but decided to continue
- 1 of our company teams finished the walk, 1 retired, the others are behind us
- We didn’t think we would need to face another night, but ready to head for the final leg!



Sat, 10 p.m.: Finish line crossed! 100 km completed!



Results:

- 16 of our Company walkers finished the Challenge (1416 overall)
- More than AU$ 17,000 raised for Oxfam in our Company (more than AU$ 2,118,000 overall)
- Everybody learned a lot about team work, the importance of mental strength and our own limits!

Thanks a lot for everybody who supported me in this amazing journey!

For more pictures, click here.

Oxfam Challenge countdown: 2 weeks!

It's been a while I don't post about the Oxfam challenge, right? It's probably because I've been too busy training ;o)

After the last post, we've walked between 30 and 55 km practically every weekend, including under rain and during the night. Moreover, the training is complemented by gym, swimming and yoga. Hope it all proves worthwhile in 2 weeks time!

Besides the team bonding and the fitness feeling (running to catch the train after 42 km walk is priceless), the fundraising has been fun. Emails and funny messages to / from friends and small events, talents competition and an auction at work should guarantee that our team reaches at least 150% of its $ 1,000 goal initially established.

The special thanks goes to:
Work mates: Simon, John McL, John S and all others involved in the initiatives
Trainees: Jhow, Salma, Marina, Jerry, Sid
AIESECers: Ruth, Ausra, Laura
Aussie friends: Brett, Lucy D, Ity, Duncan
Brazilian friends: Marcio and my Dad!

You all rock guys! (If you haven't donated, there is still time - just click here.)

Oxfam Training - getting serious

Hey everyone,

Our training for the 100 km Oxfam Trailwalk in getting serious. We’ve been bush walking at least 30 km every second weekend, so that we can finish this challenge and reward our efforts, the donors of the campaign and the various poor people helped by Oxfam around the world.

This time we did the Convict Trail part of the old Great North Road in Hawkesbury, northwest of Sydney. We also walk into the night for the first time. Exciting times...

More info about the Trailwalk? Click here!

Wanna donate? Click here!





This weekend I won't be able to train. But it's for a good cause. I'm going to Cairns and the Barrier Reed. Oh, yeah! So be attuned for stories and pictures of tropical and exuberant Queensland!

Grêeeeeemiooooo!!!

Oh, yes! After a couple of pretty hard years, my warrior an immortal team is back. Won the State championship and is doing pretty well in the most important Latin American championship, the Libertadores da América. The coolest thing, though, is not that it has won the first match of the semi finals, but the way it has been happening: with a lot of strength, overcoming unfavorable situations, with women going to the stadium and the unique avalanche commemoration when the goals finally come.

For the foreigners, please check the videos below to understand what being in a Brazilian soccer stadium means. And bring your passion to support Immortal Grêmio in this amazing journey!

Stadium feeling


Avalanche

Olympic Games in Rio Grande do Sul

I'm sincerely sorry for the English speakers, who not even will a translator will be able to laugh at this wonderful article. Brazilians, enjoy! Gauchos, delight yourselves!


Por JURANDIR FEIJÓ

Só porque vai sediar o Pan, o Rio quer também organizar os Jogos Olímpicos de 2016. Não sei quem toma essas decisões, mas gostaria de apresentar uma proposta: a candidatura da cidade de Pedro Osório. Nada mais justo do que homenagear esse município que traz na sua origem o nome de Vila Olimpo.

É uma cidade predestinada. Nós, os gaúchos, somos o povo mais preparado para sediar os jogos, se levarmos em conta alguns fatores. Por exemplo, a tocha olímpica. Ninguém sabe fazer um fogo como nós. Qualquer índio velho junta umas achas de lenhas, acende um fósforo e pronto. E aí, aproveita o braseiro, enfia um naco de picanha gorda no espeto... Não há dúvida, seria uma olimpíada inesquecível.

É claro, teríamos que fazer algumas adaptações. As modalidades de esportes precisariam incorporar jogos com características mais regionais, como a Bocha, o Truco e o Jogo do Osso.
O espírito olímpico do Barão de Coubertain - "o importante é competir" - teria que ser alterado para alguma coisa do tipo "não te fresqueia, bagual". O Boxe poderia ser substituído pela Briga de Baile, mais emocionante. Só termina quando alguém abre a cabeça do outro com uma garrafa de cerveja.

Nas artes marciais temos a Queda de Braço e a Guerra de Bosta. Tênis de Mesa, o tal do Ping-Pong, pra nós é jogo de criança. Já que tem diversão pra gurizada, podiam incluir também Bolinha de Gude, Pandorga e Bodoque com Caroço de Cinamomo. Arco e Flecha é barbada, é coisa de índio. A gente mexe com isso desde o tempo dos guaranis. E esse negócio de Ciclismo é passeio de bici. Vamos botar as mulheres pra disputar com eles. Agora, aquela corrida esquisita em que os homens ficam se requebrando com passos de mulherzinha, está proibida.

Natação terá Nado de Costa com Poncho em Açude, esporte para poucos. Hipismo vamos manter, o que não falta é cavalo pra Cancha Reta. Tiro ao alvo também, mirando uns maçanicos do banhado. A Esgrima vai usar adagas de verdade e não aqueles arames fininhos, sem graça. E se tocarem uma rancheira, melhor, a coisa vira Dança dos Facões.

Futebol será o de Campanha - com bota e espora - para se adaptar às condições do estádio, que durante a semana funciona como pastagem para o gado. A Ginástica Olímpica será substituída, com vantagens, por Chula e Chimarrita. E vamos promover alguns esportes até então considerados menores, como Cuspe em Distância, Peteleco e Halterocopismo.

Tudo isso sem falar da festa de abertura: som de 300 bombos legüeros, apresentação de Gisele Bündchen e shows com Luiz Marenco, César Oliveira e Rogério Mello.... E por aí a fora.

Vamos amadurecer a idéia. Não quero cantar vitória antes do tempo.

Getting ready for the challenge

Have you walked a lot already? How much? How long?

Less than a month ago I decided to stretch my limits and enroll in the Oxfam Trailwalk Challenge Australia. What does it mean? Check it out:

“We're taking part in Oxfam Trailwalker, a 100km endurance walk or run from Sydney Harbour to the Hawkesbury, overnight, in teams of four, through the Australian bush.
We're doing all this as a personal challenge and more importantly to raise money for Oxfam Australia, who work to fight poverty and injustice in 26 countries around the world, including Indigenous Australia.”

If you want to donate to our team, feel free. Just click http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/Sydney/team/211 and make your donation on line.

Well, to be able to do 100km in less than 48 hours and without dying, your friend here needs a little bit of training. So we started last weekend, doing 30km. It was beautiful and – I need to confess – easier than I thought. Let’s see how I behave in August, when the 100km come all at once.

Melbourne Cup

Also known as “a celebration that stops a nation”, this horse racing is happens in the first Tuesday of November, is extremely traditional and really stops Australia.

In my work, we worked until 12 and then went to a restaurant in Darling Harbour, a very nice place. The company sponsored the day, the food was great, free drinks and some betting. Many races went on during the whole day, but the most important one started punctually at 3 p.m. Everybody stopped, ran to a big screen and cheered all through the 3 minutes race. And then? Then the laid back atmosphere returned and people continued enjoying the day and drinking.

The whole experience was quite strange and interesting to me, but what called my attention the most was that people really dressed up for the occasion, buying new dresses and even wearing hats. I can understand that people dress fancily to watch the race in the stadium, but to watch it on a TV in a bar?!?

For the ones wondering if I was lucky, I need to say that… I was! Even knowing nothing about horses, I kept the tradition and won a non important third prize, which allowed me to pay the betting!

Sports

Sports are something quite important in Australia. People in general practice some sort of physical activity and the TV plays a lot of sports, especially on weekends.

Swimming is quite important, as well as cricket, but as far as I noticed the big thing here are the footballs. Yeah, footballs, because there are 3 (maybe 4) types of football.

Soccer: increasing its popularity since the last World Cup, it’s certainly not the most popular one.

Australian rules football (AFL): played with the non round ball, it demands agility and it’s an interesting game, with lots of players in each side (18, if I’m not mistaken). The athletes are quite handsome, as well. The grand final just happened between the Sydney Swans and the West Coast Eagles. Unfortunately Sydney didn’t win.

Rugby league and rugby union: largely played, it demands lots of physical strength and it’s a little bit violent in my opinion. The grand final for the league just happened between the Melbourne and the Brisbane team. Brisbane won (and I was there by the time), people were very happy but no huge party took place (compared to the ones we’re accustomed to see in Brazil, when a team wins an important championship).

I’m still learning the rules and might start playing in my company’s team soon. I heard our team is very crappy; so I probably can’t make it any worse…