Colégio Nossa Senhora Das Mercês Ursuline School

We had only been in Brazil for two short hours when we received a call from the Ursuline School here in Salvador, Nossa Senhora das Merces. We had only very recently informed them that we would be here because, as many of you will recall, Ms. Bourgeois and I (Ms. Nipp) just met with many of the Brazilian Ursulines at a conference in the state of Sao Paulo. The school principal and the sisters very kindly invited us over right away to meet the high school students and to have a school tour - we had to hurry because classes for the high school end at 12:30. So, still looking a bit ruffled from our long journey, we set out for the school.
And what a thrill it was!! We were met by Sr. Elsa who gave us a grand tour of the school and even a wonderful coffee break with cookies homemade by the sisters (yumm!). It turns out that Sr. Elsa is great friends with Sr. Mary Lapping who lives in St. Louis but has often visited us in Dallas - Ursuline is such a connected world !!
The school campus is large and impressive and dates back to 1635! We stopped in on a literature class where our students were received with GREAT enthusiasm! The Merces students asked lots of questions - mainly about sports, school uniform, music and what it's like to go to an all-girls school (since all Ursuline schools in Brazil are co-ed). We were only together for a short time but many new connections were made.
As it turns out, there was a surprise of an old connection between Dr. Scott and Sr. Francisca who had been his teacher of plant ecology at the Ursuline University in Rio in the late 70's. It was a happy reunion!
All in all, our first day in Brazil was fantastic - the day ended with a lovely Italian meal and Jessica V's presentation on Sea Turtles. Tomorrow we'll see the turtles in person and will have more updates on the thrill of Brazil!