Amanda and I met at the metro to go to Taguatinga Sul and meet up with the Access program for a specialty trip. It got off to a rough start with a late meet up, then the uber took so long to order that it kept timing out, and then with traffic… we missed the bus. We ended up spending 60 reais total that day, between ubering to Taguatinga Sul and then to Asa Sul, and completed its route to the planetarium by the Esplanada.
We volunteered with a group of high school students in the Access Program, which is a special US Embassy program that students apply to and participate in English learning for two years, and they were on a field trip for a workshop with an Aerospace group. We watched presentations from UNB students about rockets, drones, satellites, and aerospace in Brasil. Then, we divided into groups of 4 and had a rocket making competition. I joined three girls, and we formed team Girl Power. They were an awesome gang of ladies who were in their final year of high school and possibly wanting to study medicine and law. All teams finished assembling our rockets, and then we took turns launching them outside to see whose would go the furthest. My team didn’t place, but we had a great time creating it and chatting.
I took the bus home with the group, and went to drinks with two of the Casa Thomas Jefferson teachers that I met that day. We walked to a restaurant/bar and they treated me to a beer and fries (doused with cheese and shredded meat). I normally don’t stay out late or even indulge in eating out, but I knew that I really wanted to chat with them more because I got good vibes from them. We all instantly connected with being cat people and started showing off photos. They were really laid back and funny, and I loved hearing their stories. I’m really grateful that the program brought me to meet some new teaching friends.
Day 2:
I spent the morning relaxing and then made my way out to Asa Sul to volunteer with the Access Pre-service teachers program. I missed the train and the doors closed just as I got to the platform, and because of the strike and decreased number of running trains, I had to wait another 11 minutes for the next train. Then, my uber driver went around in circles to come get me.
By time I got there I had missed the break, and the guards and people at the desk didn’t know were I was talking about. I wandered around the building until I saw one of my students. I found out that she is in the program and followed her into the classroom. It wasn’t the teacher I knew, Rachel, and so I kind of awkwardly explained and joined them. To my surprise, I knew 11/15 students in the room! It was a relief to already know a bunch of the students in the program, and I was able to jump into assisting and participating without them being shy and awkward.
They needed to present a 1 minute oral speech about a party they went to, and I volunteered on the spot to present one in Portuguese. I always try to put myself out there to make my students remember that we are all learning a different language and that it’s good to be brave and try- especially with native speakers around.
At the end of the class, I got a ride home with 4 of the students, and they blasted a mix of Portuguese and Spanish music. At the end of the ride they decided that Brittany needed to sing some Britney Spears, so we sang along to Hit Me Baby One More Time and Oopps I Did It Again. It’s moments like these that I adore.
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