Life at the Home Base

Day to day life at the Home Base is very pleasant.
The home base is located in a middle class area with everything we need within walking distance. Grocery stores,a pharmacy, a hardware store, banks, restaurants, fast food and fruit stands are all within a 2 minute walk. Laundry services, the mall and the beach are a 10-20 minute walk. When or if we need/want something it is easy to just pop out and get it.
When we are not volunteering or out exploring the city, we relax at home. This house holds 45 people (although now there are only 10) and has 2 lounges, a mini-library, a resource room, a dining room and garden terraces. They are all simple and basic but clean and more than adequate. We spend time on computers, plan activities and weekend trips, talk about our placements, and prepare for the next day.

The staff here keep the place very clean and running smoothly... Our housekeeper's name is Lulu and she doesn't speak a word of English but hugs and kisses everybody every morning! Lulu also helps us with our Portuguese.

There are 2 cooks, Amelia and Deni, and they cook us authentic Bahian food 3 times a day all week. The food is excellent, they always put out more than one dish and as well a vegetarian option. Meals are served 3 times a day, and when it is ready, they call up to us, with a strong Portuguese accent ``guys... Lunchee/Dinner``- we love this! On their days off food is prepared ahead of time for us.

During the week the office staff is here. They are available to help us all day long. For example the other day I had difficulting getting money out the the HBHC Bank at our corner; and was a little concerned because I had tried using the card more than once (with the help of the staff at the bank), and we were told to be careful of this as people (including someone in my group) have had money stolen through card readers. (It turns out that this never happens at the banks that have security guards like this one did). My bank card didn´t work at another bank the HBHC sent me to, (Banco Brasil), and of course this is all happpening in Portuguese so I wasn´t even sure what the problem was. I let Vinnie at the Home Base know about this, and he said that another Canadian had the same problem and not to worry but he´d take me to a bank that ``works for Canadians´´ and go through the process with me. He did this and as a result it didn´t turn into a stressful situtation.

There are and have been alot of volunteers who have passed through here that haven´t wanted to leave- they keep extending their stays- and I can see why! I have a great place to stay, happy people working here who treat us extremely well, and all I have to do is volunteer and learn about the beautiful Brazilian culture.