Garibaldi
Exchanges, breaks and continuities

As for the information on Italian immigration, can I have the email addresses and names of people in France? Have you had an answer from the people in Sao Paulo? I would be very interested in what you can send me by email about France and USA. Our fax at school is:

Fax : +55 (11) 5571-6076

And yes, I would be interested in having the emails of students who would be interested in helping my students out. What our students want is to compare the living conditions of immigrants who emigrated in the 19th century to Brazil/France/USA, how they were received and integrated in the respective cultures, what influence they had in the country they chose to live and if the Italian culture managed to blend with the local culture and how. I know this is very vague yet, but the students will need to read a lot before deciding what and how to present it.

Thanks for the quick answer. I have contacted the travel agent in Rio about the hotel but have had no answer yet. I will phone my sister in law, who lived in Rio for some time to tell me if she knows the hotel and will write you as soon as possible.

I will organize the trip from Rio, Parati to Sao Paulo then but need some answers...up to how much are you willing to spend on a hotel and on food? I know as little as possible...:-)
what would be your average budget for a night at a hotel with breakfast?
Do the stds eat a full meal twice a day or will a light lunch and a more substantial diner will be ok?
Can we have rooms with two or three students or do they prefer their own individual room?
What about you and your headmistress?

I intend to start getting active after Easter as I have two weeks holiday so can get a lot of things done. May even go to Rio for a pre-tour with my husband . We celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary this year so this might be a good idea.

Giving the answer to your letter.
Copacabana is close to the sea and visually nice but the neighbourhood has degraded a lot.

I will ask the travel agent here and will let you know as soon as possible.
Are you organizing more things with your travel agent? (bus around the city
to Parati , hotel in Parati and tour in Sao Paulo) or do you want me to
organize this for you?

Something else I would like to ask you. There is a group of mine working on
Italian immigration. It is a project they have to do for the year and must
hand in in August. They would like to compare the life of Italian immigrants
in the 19th century in Brazil, France and maybe the US. I know this is a
very vast idea but they will work it down to something less ambitious and
more practical as they research.

As you have travelled to NY and Le Creusot, would you have documents,
material you could pass on to us or links to suggest? Can they get in
contact with any people or read testimonials? Do you have any addresses?
They posted their question on Beeonline but the answers from your students
do not cover what they need.

am sending a letter to parents tomorrow asking them if they can host your students and if some of them want to send their children with me to Rio to welcome you and guide you.

I have also contacted a travel agent in Rio ...he organized a trip for a friend of mine who brought teachers from Belgium to Brazil and she recommended him strongly.
Some of the suggestions are:
- a tour of panoramic Rio (the beaches, the Christ in Corcovado and then the trolley at Sugar Loaf)
- Historical Rio (downtown)
- visit to a shanty town (Cantagalo in Copacabana) to see the work of the NGos with the children
- a visit to the Maracanã stadium
- lunch at a typical barbecue restaurant
- eventually a tour to Petrópolis and the mountain region (Araras, Vassouras)

Then drive to Parati where you would stay about 2 days 1/2
- a whole day out on a boat tour around the islands
- visit the town
- in the evening watch a spectacle at the local theatre

As for Sao Paulo, tell me who you would like to see and what you would like to do...

Apart from the visit of the city and the visit to the museum of immigration, I suggest the Santos harbour, where all immigrants landed and also a visit to a Coffee Farm around Sao Paulo, I still must see where exactly.

Just a quick message to wish you a good trip...enjoy it and take lots of photos.
I have not yet had an answer from the travel agent in Rio, but talking to family and friends who live there, they suggested we do not spend too much time there. About 3 days maximum...it is expensive and dangerous! Unfortunately this is a fact.
Better save more time for other excursions on the way to Sao Paulo like a visit to a Coffee Fazenda .

I think we could organize a meeting with the consulate, yes...I was thinking about going there and seeing what we can do.

I have just got the address of a travel agent in Rio who did a very good job for a group of teachers last July. I am going to phone him tomorrow morning to see what he can arrange and how much this would cost.

Are you going to depart from Rio or from Sao Paulo?

I am going to post the sound files so your students can listen to them (they will be linked to the names of the students, next to the photos...the sound quality is not very good...I will try to record again and also send them to you by mail. Is there a computer with sound at school?