Glocal #6 Lesson Of The Omelets part 2 of 2

This is a REBLOG by Carra Riley

This is a REBLOG written by Carra Riley! Please comment on Carra's post!

Glocal #6 Lesson Of The Omelets part 2 of 2

Part 1 of 2 #5 Glocal Lesson Of The Omelets
                                        
For the rest of the story….not having a camera available for the “photo op” at the omelet bar in Nassau led me to re-create the situation at a later date to have digital images for the “glocal” moment. While staying in the rain forest on the Amazon above Manaus, Brazil the opportunity arose to capture the “lesson of the omelet" in the Amazon Eco Park at the breakfast buffet. The photo of the omelet with the man behind possibly shows the sentiment of some of the residents along with the local actions reported in a newspaper article. You can be the judge of the lesson of the lesson of the omelet in Manaus, Brazil. 

It has taken me some time to publish this post as I was not sure how to represent the other side of “Connecting The Dots Around The World.” When I embarked on this journey around the world, I had some kind of “Polly Anna” idea that there would be some mystic revelations and everything would be positive and would write as PF Kluge  shared in a Global Studies class “happy yappy” reports. PF Kluge in an instructor on the ship and has been described on his website as “Novelist, journalist, professor: a trifecta, a hat trick, a trinity.” He tells it like it is and minces no words. He co-authored the “Life” magazine article that was the basis of the movie “Dog Day Afternoon.”

After some deep contemplation of the experience in Manaus it appeared as though there are mixed messages from the government vs. the people. Manaus had to hire security and 5 extra agents to be “present” by the dock as the ship community walked around. An article indicating “Students pay $300 per day to learn about the world” can’t be located online in the January 25, 2011 Amazonas em Tempo  newspaper.

The Newspaper article was shared in a journalism class on the ship as the students had to bring articles in from the ports to discuss in class. Where did the online article go? What does that headline say to the people of Manaus, who according to the text book “Atlas of Global Development” on a poverty map shows that 10 to 24% of the population in Brazil lives on less than $1.25 per day?


It appears as through Brazil is working hard to change the past image with street violence and life in the favelas.

Our group had different Manaus experiences with street people attempting to take jewelry right off the neck of a lifelong learner. Several students were bitten or scratched by monkey’s and had to have rabbies shots after being attacked in the lobby of a hotel with pet monkey’s running around.

There was an encounter with a stalker following a group of three women. Nothing happened as the man went off after being confronted, however, it appeared as though he had a gun under his shirt in his back pocket as he walked away.

A student shared an incident where a bus driver took the long way around back to town which included an unscheduled stop for lunch and an accident dragging a woman on the ground as the bus took off where he then had to get off the bus and get on a different bus as the bus driver took the woman to the hospital.

Five days in Manaus, Brazil seemed like a long time when one of the University officials on the ship indicated in a pre-port lecture, 2 days was enough for Manaus.

Our visit might have been a beta test for things to come in Brazil. One newspaper article reports: "As Brazil prepares to host the 2016 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup, the country expects nothing short of an urban renaissance." 

Brazil is preparing for The world cup in Manaus in four years and in eight years Rio will host the Olympics.
The PR blitz has started and it appeared as we could have been the recipients of practice for the future. In describing preparations for the arrival of the MV Explorer, the local paper, “A Critical,” expressed the fact the Military Police had security and five agents to monitor activities at the port. They also referred to the ship as a "luxury hotel" which could have possibly been an indication of the "back story" of the Brazilian attitudes about the visitors with the need for protection along with the interesting description of the ship.

The article was in Portuguese.
“O navio está em Manaus desde a manhã de ontem, e os visitantes foram recepcionados por um grupo de dança folclórica. ‘Estaremos à disposição dos estudantes’, informou o diretor de turismo da Amazonastur, Jordan Gouvêa. Em Manaus, o grupo de universitários terá segurança garantida pela Polícia Militar, que destacou cinco agentes para acompanhar as atividades no porto.

In English:
“The ship is in Manaus since yesterday morning, and visitors were greeted by a folk dance group. ‘We will be available to students,’ the tourism director of AmazonasTur, Jordan Gouvea. In Manaus, the group of students will have security provided by the Military Police, said that five agents to monitor activities at the port. 

More in Portuguese:
“Liberdade de escolha A coordenadora de extensão Debbie Clifford foi quem levou a equipe de A CRÍTICA para conhecer o navio, que mais parece um hotel de luxo e cuja língua oficial é o inglês. ‘A viagem dura 104 dias, portanto tem de tudo aqui’, explicou, contando que no MV Explorer há desde salas de aula, até um deck com piscina, além de refeitórios e quartos. Em solo amazônico, os alunos terão por volta de 35”\

English translation:
"Freedom of choice The extension coordinator Debbie Clifford was the one who led the team of A CRITICAL to meet the ship, which looks more like a luxury hotel and whose official language is English. "The trip lasts 104 days, so it has everything here," he said, noting that since the MV Explorer for classrooms up to a deck with swimming pool, and dining areas and bedrooms. In Amazonian soil, students will have around 35 activities."

Connecting the lesson of the Omelet, taking the global thinking to local action, going glocal. 

Before docking at our first port, a camera etiquette lesson was provided to the ship community emphasizing the importance of requesting permission to take photos in the countries we were visiting. Being a respectful student, the omelet man at the Amazon Eco Park was asked if it would be possible to photograph an omelet prior to actually taking the picture. He indicated it would be ok and stepped back from the omelet pan. The photo was taken quickly to get out of the way. When the photos was being cropped the real sentiment of the worker in Brazil at the Amazon Eco Park became evident with his hand gesture.

The article along with the local comments online show the sentiments of the community. Thinking global and acting local, this representation of the community is a reminder that people are watching what a community does to respond to visitors.


Visitors look at what is going on in a community, what is being written in the newspaper and then make their decisions as to what direction they will take with coming back or sharing the experience with friends. 

Learning from the omelet maker in Nassau and the gentleman above shows that the entire community has an effect on how a visitor perceives the area.  

The Amazon Eco Lodge rain forest jungle experience was all good with a very knowledgeable guide and pleasant memories. We learned how to survive with water from a parasite root, create poison darts from palm tree spikes an  special moss along with making fire torches from the sap of a camphor tree. Our guide was delightful, he loved his land and shared that with us. We caught a piranha and one of the guides caught a caiman alligator so we had a great Amazon rain forest experience. Would I tell someone to visit to Manaus, Brazil? You be the judge!

The “glocal” lesson of the omelet is to embrace those visiting your community anywhere in the world with kindness and respect. Community involvement and individual dedication to the economic survival of the area or even an individual business is a must to change perceptions and attract new immersion from those testing the waters and looking to see what the location has to offer.

Remember the your actions within a community express the attitude of your environment. Be like the omelet lady from Nassau.  Embrace all visitors with kindness and respect if you want the local area to grow and prosper together.

Don't forget to "Get in the game" as there is plenty of time.  Win a travel voucher and great prizes to one of the seven wonders of the world. This is an exciting opportunity to experience a town that embraces its visitors and wants to create a memorable experience so you will be sure to tell your friends to come and visit.

       

Cosmic Cow Pie

Carra Riley