When we arrived at Faro we were greeted by our guides, Joana, Fabio (and Vitor, who wasn't actually assigned to us but who loved our team and went everywhere we went so we adopted him. Plus he fell in love with Courtney so he was kind of attached to us all). They took us to our rooms - three big school rooms in the local high school, from which all the desks had been removed, to be replaced by bunk beds. No closets, no attached bathrooms, no a/c, but what an adventure! The showers were out around the corner and across the courtyard, and the kids had to learn how to do their own laundry by hand in the provided washstands. I loved it! So good for them!
So much happens at a folk dance festival - every day has two or three major adventures at least. I will try to record the most important events, though all of it was worth remembering! I just don't have time to do it all justice!
Every day usually featured meals in the school cafeteria (lots of rice, pork, chicken, salad with no dressing, and the inevitable but decent yellow soup) and rehearsals in the lobby of the school for our various performances. One of these turned into an impromptu limbo contest. I think Maggie won, because of her scary ability to walk in a back bend. And she's already shorter than everyone!
Opening performance in our only indoor theater; it was beautiful! But since the weather held up the entire festival, all the outdoor performances were lovely too!
There's always an "hurry up and wait" element at a festival. Lots of hurrying, lots of waiting for things to start. Good thing we know how to entertain ourselves! Like Joe braiding Courtney, Hannah and Kallie's hair together! Or random party games like the group sit, below.
Opening ceremonies at the theater and park by the marina. Katherine and Jarom were our team representatives that day - we take turns selecting flag holders for shows, etc. They made a particularly attractive couple, and yes they were a "TR" (tour romance) during the entire tour!
They had to dig a hole to plant a rosebush of peace, and release a dove on count. Pretty cool, actually.
Walking through the city to get to the Mayor's reception
Zac, Josh, Carter, Matt, Savannah, Abby
Lots of Baroque architecture and embellishment in the cathedrals, and yes, tile!
The participating teams were us, USA, Portugal, Egypt, India, Puerto Rico, and the Canary Islands (for a day). India and Puerto Rico were especially amazing, but we made friends with all the teams! We were lucky that Egypt got to come; they are currently experiencing civil war and had to drive through gunfire to get to the airport to leave the country!
Every festival has its standout beauty. This year it was Shaza from Egypt
Us with Joana and Vitor
We thought this little Portuguese girl looked a lot like our Sophie, so we took a picture.
My favorite thing about festivals - the new friends! the cultural sharing! The dancing all day and night with people from all over the world! This is us teaching the Indians and Portuguese the Virginia reel. Above, Mostapha and the Puerto Ricans are jamming!
Day two performing at Folkfaro at two venues: Alportel and Estoi.
Great outdoor venues. Alportel was at a community center with a pool we
were able to cool off in before the 10:30 pm performance. Estoi was in
the town square surrounded by historic buildings, including a church.
That performance began about half an hour after midnight! What's amazing is that these little towns/villages turns out these huge, enthusiastic audiences! Every show we did all through the tour was packed! So much fun to be appreciated!
This is how I usually see shows (above) and this is usually Maggie when we get home from shows! (Below. Give her some credit, it was 3 AM and she was only 12 at the time!)
Day three at Folkfaro included three different venues, including a reception with the Mayor, a retirement home performance, and an evening show at the Faro Bikers Club.
They served dinner to the team before the performance and presented
everyone with a cool club t-shirt afterward! Yes we felt cool.
Rest home show
Photo with Richard from Puerto Rico. So nice! He and I stayed up late talking one night out in the hallway while I was enforcing curfew. :-)
Aquashow! It's a water park with rides like rollercoasters and this round thingy, which made me totally sick. Wave pools, water slides, rampaging Egyptians... great day off! Faro is located in a region of Portugal called the Algarve, which is famous for its beaches and resorts. Lots of British citizens come here, which is why so many people speak English! We found this out after noticing tons of billboards in English along the freeways - we were confused for a minute there! (Almost everyone at this festival spoke English - the Portuguese are used to tourists, the Egyptians came from the American University of Cairo, most educated Indians speak perfect English, and Puerto Ricans are part of the USA)
This
was when I realized that many of our kids were living off of Nutella
and these waffle cracker thingies. Carole and I promptly went to the
store and stocked up on fresh fruit, yogurt, and healthier snacks to
help round out their diets!
Back at the ranch... washing those clothes and having 2x daily devotionals. We had meetings every night to talk about schedules for the next day, give performance notes, enlighten spirits, etc.
Motoclube show! Go Harley! Our smallest but coolest audience.
Karaoke night back at the school
From Carole Kelly's facebook posts: "Another nonstop day at Folkfaro. "Nonstop" as in the day didn't end
until 4:00 am today. Day five of the festival included a trip to Moura
where we were treated to an authentic Portuguese dinner in a beautiful
outdoor setting. Afterward our dancers opened the evening's
entertainment on a stage in Moura's historic city center. India and
Puerto Rico followed with impressive performances we were able to stay
and watch. Every day here is a treat!"
Congo line during impromptu dance party after the performances in Moura!
And you know us crazy Mormon Americans... we always stay to help clean up after! We had the option of leaving after we performed, but India and Puerto Rico danced after us and we didn't want to miss it! So glad we stayed!
The next day. :-)
to be continued...
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