BonanzaVille - North Dakota

     The exhibition shows how different the villages were in the past, maybe 90 to 100 years ago. It shows us how people lived in that time, how they built their houses and how they did the daily stuff, like go to the doctor, the school or the church. See the houses, the buildings, I could have an idea how the daily life was. In addiction, there is no doubt for me that I would love to lived in a village like that. The feeling of old West, like in country films, was so excited, and I thought that I would never feel this kind of thing, and certainly I would be happy on that place.

     The most important exhibition for me was the ‘The First House of Fargo’. I was impressed how they could build a house like that in the period, I thought it was beautiful, the simplicity, the details of the kitchen, the rooms, all did by wood. In fact, I love the smells of wood, and was really awesome and creepy the same time think that real people lived in the place, cooked, slept, and spent a lifetime in that house. Everything in that village caught my attention, the preservation of details that easier could be lost with the pass of the years. I felt in the old West, living in the neighborhood, going to the barber shop, to the post office or the pharmacy. I could understand how things worked in that period, how people did the daily things, how they worked and I could feel for real how was like living in a small village with all very near, with simplicity, but with all necessary to survive.

Organic Farm

According to USDA National Organic Program, Organic Production means generate food or other vegetable products that don’t use synthetic chemicals, like fertilizers or GMOs (genetically modified organisms), following the steps of a sustainable agriculture. This practice create healthy foods, also helps decrease the association with the risk of câncer and the synthetic chemicals.

         Organical sistems have to integrate some techniques to be succesfull. For example, the soil has to be healthy, they need fresh water to maintain the plantation and to offer to the animals, they have to do the crop in a regular way, routinely, do pest control, etc. Also, they have to  know the wheater of the country to preview some problems. The soil is  rich in minerals that the vegetables and the animals need to survive, but they are limited. So, a agricultural production have to be carefull about the soil healthy, and a way to keep the proper amounts of minerals is do pasture rotation, Works on closed nutrient cycles, and adaptation strategies to climate changes.

         That was my first time in a Organic Farm, and until this experience, i did not know how people get success with this type of agriculture; I means, it is possible do pest control without any pesticide? Is true that this kind of food is more healthy than the conventional foods? They really don’t use GMOs to create this vegetables resistant to some types of pests? So, I could have answers for all my questions on this day, and I saw with my own eyes that all this stereotypes of organic foods are true, and how can be rewarding in this field when the nature is working by itself. It was a particular amazing and unique experience for me since a arrived here in America, because I am involved with the field of agriculture and animal science, and as a student, I have a lot of to learn about this topic.

Eventide: Nursing home

The nursing home Eventide is a special place for special people, ones who can’t take care of own self or needs assistance all the time. We did a visit in this home and was a wonderful experience. The place is so nice, they have a beautiful garden, beauty salon, computers room and other stuffs to residents do. Also, they do social activities like play Bingo to interact with others. I spent the afternoon in this place and I can tell that was the best time here in America. I talked with elderly womens, we played bingo together, they was interested in my histories, we changed a lot of experience. I did this once in Brazil, with some old people too, but was a little different. We took the dogs to spend the day with them, with the college program called Cão Cidadão (Citizen Dogs). It was really nice too; However, in Brazil we don’t have this structure, this type of housing is more simple, maybe to poor people who doesn't have money to pay a nice place like here in Moorhead; by the way, some of those people doesn’t have a Retirement Insurance Benefits, and their families can’t pay this service neither. So we have, sometimes, sad places, with l ack of infrastructure, materials and, the principal, love. That’s why Cão Cidadão is really important for those people, give them hope for better days.
This action make me feel better, like a real human, with humanity, humility and kindness, and awakens a desire to help and do good things to everyone. Thus, the most important lesson we have learned is we never know how tomorrow will be, so we have to help who needs today, to encourage people help us if we will need tomorrow.

Habitat for Humanity: Volunteer work

        Habitat for Humanity is a international organization that was founded by an economist Millard Fuller and his wife Linda Fuller. His idea was helping people who have poverty homes or people who can not pay to get a house, encourage people to share love, compassion, hope and motivate the volunteer work. In the beginning, Habitat started in Georgia, but grew and today, five cities around the world has a unit of Habitat.

         In Moorhead, there a unit called Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity and they helps a lot of people in this county. The most important idea is volunteer work. With help of all people in neighborhood, house can be build in tree months, for example. This feeling and need to help with other is very common in America and infectious. The desire to help people who need came when I saw a house being built, and know that we can help people bring hope and faith. So, I don't have a lot of skills, but I have desire to do something to change the world, at least a while. So, I can try to pint, hammer, build, plant, etc. Everything it is possible and with time I can do this thinking about these people, because we don't know how day after will be, so I believe that we have to do some good today to have rewards tomorrow. We says in Brazil: You have to plant today to collect tomorrow.

Dorothy Day thoughts

In Brazil, we can make donations to churches and NGOs that work helping people. In my University we have to do social work to people who lives in the neighborhood. For example, we have a project with dogs that helps special people, like elderly person who live in rest homes or childs with physically disabled. Another example that we have in my college is a project that we do castration of dogs and cats with a symbolic price to people who needs, and we have a lot of pets living in the streets, so sometimes because the cheap price, some people cath this animals and bring to us to do castration. This actions aid to decrease the number of peta living in the street.

                              Some photos of the University project called 'Citizen Dogs' (Cão Cidadão)

There was a women that used help people, called Dorothy Stang, or Sister Dorothy, she was an American-born, but she came to Brazil and she was naturalized Brazilian. She lived in Manaus and helped a lot of indians over there, providing food and others thing that they need. Also, she worked as an advocate for the rural poor, and she had a slogan “The death of the forest is the end of our life”. She was murder in the State of Para, and all the country was was shocked. However, her job helping people is unforgettable. Indeed, her exemple is still alive until today.

                                           Photo of Dorothy Stang

Internation Day Concordia College

The most important in the IDay was the mix of cultures and traditions. The oportunity to know people which differents languages, about food of differents countrys and how works the others villages. This change of experience was really important to open mind and thinking forward. I certainly can tell to people that this experience helped me to grow up, to see the differences with other eyes. I means, how people can be so similar in some points but so different in another ones. This is a hard understanding, and people that can absorb this could be more happy. I had a chance to speak about my traditions, about my language to other people and was so exciting.

Crash Film: A point of view

     That was a scene with two black guys in the beginning of the film. They talk about how people looks at them, with prejudice, and maybe because they are black, or they are wearing single clothes (not expensive ones). They know that people crossing the street because of them, and people look to them with fear or distrust and one of this guys ask why, why people judge them like this.

     Policial Hansen was the character that better ilustrated double consciousness. In one scene, he recognized the black man from the previous day and thought that was a good man but he was in trouble and needed help, so he defended the man. In another scene, he offers a ride to another black man, and he judge this man as a thief, without even knowing this guy, and he thought he would be mugged or something and shot the black man and killed him.