On February 4th, Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul) had it's first official meeting of the English Club at the Centro Municipal de Cultura.  Five people attended:  two native speakers, two English teachers, and a local businessman.  Two young women came to the door just after the meeting had ended.  They wore wristwatches but apparently didn't know what they were for or how to use them.  No, they weren't blondes.  Since the meeting, three other Gramadenses have contacted me and said they would attend the March meeting.  The Jornal de Gramado has been very kind about writing about the club, and information about it also has appeared in the Centro Municipal de Cultura bulletin.

The general plan is to have games, songs, interviews, presentations, and lots of opportunities to speak English.  Following the guidelines of "Growing Together" in Curitiba (PR), the club is a club and not a classroom.  There aren't any boring lectures, but there are lots of jokes and laughter.  We will be meeting at the Centro Municipal de Cultura on the first Saturday of each month at 4:00pm.  If any members of the Forum are going to be in Gramado, drop me a line so we can be expecting you.

If you aren't aware of "Growing Together", the club in Curitiba began with eight members about 2002.  It now has about 40-45 very active members.  If you miss a meeting, you have to be able to prove you were in the hospital, incarcerated, or dead.  Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a little.  "Growing Together" has very strict membership rules.  I visited the club in 2003 and found it quite interesting and fun.  Its founder, Joina Almeida, has been very helpful to me and has expressed interest in exchanging visits between our clubs.  "Growing Together" sponsored a club in Lima (Peru) a few years ago and more recently another club in Paraná.