Monday, February 25, 2019

Game Night In Portuguese

I arrived in Brasilia 4 days ago, and I lucked out to have an amazing Airbnb host. Today we got to share different music taste and pictures with one another, and sharing music is one of my favorite things to do. I always love finding new artists. Then at night when he asked me to go to a board game night, and I was very hesitant. Thinking about learning games and talking in Portuguese for the next 4 hours was a bit nerve-wracking. I had to make a quick decision, and before I realized it I was already getting changed to go to the event.
We made our way over to the bottom of an apartment building, which is used weekly for their game night. Seeing as I'm a nerd and I was also joining a group of people who love spending one of their week day nights playing games, and Brazilians are so loving, I was very hopeful and that the experience wouldn't be too intimidating. When describing the rules, I found myself not understanding it, but my roommate helped to make sure that I understood.
The game involved a lot of rocks and cards, and it took a bit of time to get accustomed to the rules. Next, we switched over to a game that was all silent, which you would think would be helpful. I can assure you that it was not. Every player was responsible in the cooperative game and had to be involved in the movement of pieces. The goal was to get the four pieces to their portals and then to exit the building through a shopping mall. It was a bit rushed, but we all got through it and I didn't do too badly.
The final game was called Ticket to Ride, which my USA friends had almost taught me to play and that would have been very helpful so it would have been one last game to learn in Portuguese. That being said, it was pretty easy to pick up on. I came in a close second place to my roommate, which I'm pretty proud about.
I got to meet some really intruiging people, including many who spoke at least a little bit of English. One man I met was on Tv for balancing on two skateboards (simultaneously and one for each foot) while solving a rubix cube in one hand.... In under 30 seconds. I saw the video evidence. Gente, what a legend. It was incredible to watch.
Im so grateful for my airbnb roommate inviting me to the event and being patient as I tried to understand everything in Portuguese. Brasilians really do have some of the biggest hearts, and im glad that I possibly found a niche of other nerdy people to hang out with and get to know throughout my stay in Brasilia.

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Chinese New Year In Liberdade

Within my first few days of arriving in São Paulo I was lucky enough to witness Chinese New Year in Liberdade, which is known as the Japonese neighborhood. The streets were filled with vendors, performances, and decorations. I went to  Japonese fast food restaurant with Bia, my old roommate, and her family. 



Looking Out Over São Paulo

One of my favorite spots in São Paulo is the SESC building, from which you get a beautiful overlook of Avenida Paulista. 


Fulbright Round 2 Orientation

This year I followed the lead of Mentors last year and brought a Brasilian flag (which hung in my room last year). This year I've come into the grant with more confidence, and excitement for what I can contribute. Last year felt like a practice round, and im excited to use and improve my Portuguese skills while reaching out and impacting more Brasilians this year.  



Águas Claras Park

 Ive realized in the last year how important it is to my mental health to be able to walk through nature and relieve stress. Finding this paradise bit of nature within the park is one of the most enticing reasons to stay amongst the skyscraper skyline.

Recapping the End of the Fulbright Round 1 and Starting Round 2

If you were close to me last year, then you know that the second part of my grant was a very interesting time. Things were not always rainbows and butterflies while in Brazil, but I tried to make the best of it always. I stop posting on my blog about 7 months into the experience because of some challenging times. Things became very overwhelming and I was unsure how to post without bringing the situation into my posts.
On a brighter note, around August my dad came down to visit and we went on the amazing three week journey through Chile, Peru, Argentina, and Brazil. All of these files of the videos were too large to post, but I keep trying to anyway. While on vacation, they called for applications for fulbrighters to apply for leadership and renewal positions. This experience would allow me to return to Brazil for another year and teach at university again.  I applied for  in leadership position, hoping that I would be able to assist and helping a new group of Fulbrighters as they begin their journey in Brazil. It was a long process of completing an application, recommendations, creating sample preparations and materials, and an interview.  Although I did not receive the leadership position, I was offered a renewal position.
Last week we met in São Paulo with 120 fellows from across the u.s. to begin out Fulbright scholarship. It was an odd sensation having summer knows that I knew, and a lot of new faces to me. My region- centro-oeste (centro-beste) has been an accumulation of some very incredible people, whom I'm very excited to with with.
This week, my co-worker and I arrived in Brasilia to begin our placement, which is at
Instituto Federal de Brasília en Riacho Fundo. Our host program managers treated us to lunch and helped us explore the neighborhood that we way live in. Águas Claras has been a beautiful neighborhood, even with a large park, but it is quite expensive. This week has been devoted to trying to scout down furnished housing. Its been more stressful and tiring than I expected. I'm ready to meet our students Tuesday, but also very nervous!
Although this year has been easier returning to Brasil with knowing the basics of the language and culture, it is still been a difficult journey to be able to adjust to a new neighborhood, a new University, and a whole new part of Brasil.

Presenting At ConectaIFB, Diplomatic Meeting, and EdUSA Fair

Such a big and tiring day. Amanda (my co-worker) and I met up with professor Fabricio at the metro station at 9 am, and because of traffic w...