Brazil Day 21 & 22 - Back to Germany...

Even the last morning in Salvador broke with bright sunshine, which we all enjoyed extensively. Since we didn't have to say goodbye until 2:00 pm, we still had plenty of time in the morning and afternoon to pack, shower, eat something and walk through the city again. After we finally said goodbye to Mr. Bönisch and his staff, three small buses took us to the airport. The drive took about three quarters of an hour and after checking in our luggage, we went straight to the TAM airline's plane. We had a flight of about 2 1/2 hours to São Paulo. It was definitely a very eventful flight, as we started into the rotorange of the sky at sunset, then were shaken by some turbulence due to a thunderstorm, and had a breathtaking view of the huge cities with their many lights. After a good hour's stay, we continued with the long-haul flight over a good 12 hours from São Paulo to Frankfurt, where we landed at about 3:00 pm in the afternoon. Once we arrived there, some of us directly supplied themselves with a fresh butter pretzel, which we all missed very much! Without major traffic jams, we arrived at the Schiller Gymnasium in Heidenheim around 7:00 pm, where we were welcomed by family and friends!

On our three-week trip, we got to know and love a country that was completely unknown to us until then. We have seen and experienced both the sunny and the shady sides of Brazil. Brazil captivated us with its very own flair, its incredibly warm-hearted people, the beautiful landscape, the completely different culture, the unique music, the lively dances, and of course with the good weather, and we are all already looking forward to the next visit - maybe we will then have time to learn the Samba properly :)

At this point, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to making this trip so wonderfully smooth!

First of all, a big thank you to our Mrs. Lohse, who planned and organized the entire trip for a whole year. Without her commitment, we probably would never have set eyes on Brazil...

Then, of course, a big thank you to our choir conductor Mr. Kammel, who did not always have it easy with us during rehearsals, but still managed to give a wonderful concert with us every time!

Then a huge thank you to our choir colleague Yasemin and her mom Denise, who introduced us to their wonderful home as well as possible and always made sure that everyone is doing well and feels comfortable. Without your interpreter services that both of you provided us day by day, there were never any problems due to the language barrier between us and the locals, and that made the whole trip much easier!!!

Then we would also like to express a very special thank you to Mrs. Barth from the Barth travel agency, because without her efforts, we probably would not have come to Brazil at all. It is still a mystery to us how she managed to accommodate 70 people on a flight to Rio de Janeiro at such short notice - many, many thanks!!!

Not to forget, our sponsor and companion for the first week, Thomas Beck, who always had a funny remark on his lips and also gave us this wonderful last day on the bathing islands. Many heartfelt thanks to you and also to all the other sponsors who made this trip possible for us!

We would like to thank Madalena, Marco, Jan, João, Melissa, and Jürgen in particular, who accompanied us on the trip in sections, always being a great help and introducing Brazil to us as best as possible!

Also, our thanks naturally go to all host families who willingly shared their four walls with us and to all the choirs we worked with and made friends with along the way!

And last but not least, our four bus drivers must not be forgotten, who safely took us to our next destination throughout the three weeks!

Thank you for this wonderful experience!!!

Anna and Rebekka