Showing posts with label Fulbright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fulbright. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Rainbow Mountain
No one warned us that there would be snow. I figured that Peru could get cold in the Winter (the Brazilian relativity for "cold" that is), but I forgot that the altitude was an additional factor. We waited in the alley at 3 am for our guide to pick us up, and we got hopeful every time that a car passed by. Hearing our names finally being asked was one of the biggest reliefs. Except, we booked the excursion through our hostel, and the tour guide only had one name written down. It all worked out. So, we loaded the vans and drove around winding roads to the beginning of our hike. It was a slushy mess, and I only really wiped out hard about three times. When we got to the last twenty minutes of the hike it was a fast elevation change and the hardest part. We had to stop every few minutes to try and suck in wind, which made sense since we were 5,000 meters up and hiking a mountain. We did it though. Just as everyone says, the colors are not as bright in person, BUT- we had snow covered mountains on one side and color streaked mountains on the others. We had made it to one of the lookout points, but there was another to climb yet, which was every stepper. Getting up was the easier part, but coming back down I literally sat down on my bum and inch my way on the icy downhill slope. I had a very cold bum and hands afterwards. The hike back was a bit easier since the sun had dried up some of the mud. Standing at the summit through and looking at the contrasting scenery that surrounded me was astounding. The snowy mountains reminded me of the Swiss Alps, but the dry rocky section reminded me of Arizona.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Being A Part of A Community
One of the first things that I did when I got to UEL (the University I work at) was to join a Portugues For Foreign Learners class. I met people from all over the world, but mostly from South America. I am currently taking my second Portugues class, and I have met people from: Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Iran, Hungary, Haiti, and Morocco. In addition, I attend the monthly Intercultural Cafe, which has allowed me to reach out to people studying at UEL from even more countries across the world.
One of my classmates, Daniela, asked me to participate in a poem reading for one of the Master's classes. She sculpted a video that highlights the differences and beauty that we all bring to UEL with our languages. In the video, we all read the same people, except in a cascading effect in our language. It was really breathtaking to hear the differences in languages.
From left to right:
Romania- Argentina- Spanish
Brazil- Portugues
Daniela- Venezuela- Spanish
Dominique- Haiti- French
Andrea- Hungary- Hungarian
Me- USA- English
Claire- France- French
Thursday, July 5, 2018
Intercultural Cafe
Every month one of the programs at Universidade Estudual de Londrina is called Intercultural Cafe. This brings together students of different nationalities that are studying on campus and gives us the opportunity to connect and learn from each other. This past month's theme was Festa Junina, which consisted on a small history lesson, a game of Kahoot to test our knowledge, and attempting to dance the qaudrillo. Enjoy our crazy attempt!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0N9ZndwgKc&t=21s
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Settling VS Wandering
I could have chosen to settle down. I could have accepted one of the teaching positions I was offered, and I would have just finished my first year teaching a middle school English class. So many thoughts went through my head when the county English supervisor offered me the contract right at her surprise observation of my class that I student taught. I weighed so many pros and cons after I received my phone call from another county’s English supervisor within twenty-four hours of my interview telling me that I was likely to be offered the job, and promptly received the contract the following day. I had to ask myself- am I ready to settle down yet?
Growing up, I thought that the ideal scenario would include me finding my prince charming at high school and being the stereotypical high school sweethearts, completing a college degree to become a teacher, being proposed to by the end of college, finishing my first year of teaching, getting married, buying a house in a wonderful neighborhood, and starting a family. I thought that I needed this. I thought that I wanted this, and I did until this past year. Now I can’t imagine this reality, which largely is in part due to the fact that most of this timeframe has come and gone and my life has veered so far from this path.
At twenty-three years old I am wandering. Not lost, but still finding my way. I completed my undergraduate bachelor's degree in English with a concentration of Secondary Education and a minor in Art in the Thomas Bellavance Honors College at Salisbury University, which gave me the opportunity to pick the fork in the road. Settling or wandering. I chose Fulbright- I chose Brasil. And although every minute of being here is worth it (value a pena), I still look back and wonder what things would be like if I was still stateside.
Living abroad for nine months in a way puts your life on hold. Before you leave, especially the last few months beforehand, it’s hard to begin anything when you know that soon enough you will be leaving. It feels almost as though you are closed the chapter of a book. Not ending the story, but moving on to a new part, and needing to tie up loose ends. As well, while abroad, you have so many amazing things happening in your current moment but you look back to all of your friends and family who continue on with their lives without you present in the picture. Sometimes I wonder, would you have invited me to that concert too, or would I be sitting on the beach next to you? Thinking like this is silly though, and I try to remind myself to soak in every moment of the time abroad- because who knows if I will ever live in Brasil again.
It’s these thoughts as I look to once again apply for fellowships, but this time for masters funded programs- such as Marshall, Cambridge, Mitchell, and Rhodes. I ask myself where I would want to place myself for at least the next two years to complete a masters, and then I wonder if a doctorate degree is in my future. I’m taking the approach to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, but it’s so nerve-wrecking to think about the future. The first time I heard the term “imposter syndrome”, I finally felt relieved to know that there is a defined term to explain what I’ve felt. Somedays, I stand beside my fellow Fulbright ETAs and wonder- how did I ever get chosen for this? I’m working alongside brilliant (beyond brilliant) graduates who have done everything short of save the world. Yes, I’ve had some accomplishments along the way, which I won’t deny, but it’s very intimidating still. Knowing that Fulbrighters just like them, who are equally as spectacular, applying for the same fellowships makes me so nervous. Some fellowships offer only forty positions each year. So, it’s me versus the super-genius overachiever, and I’m not sure if I would even have a chance. I won’t let that stop me though. Let the essay season begin.
Growing up, I thought that the ideal scenario would include me finding my prince charming at high school and being the stereotypical high school sweethearts, completing a college degree to become a teacher, being proposed to by the end of college, finishing my first year of teaching, getting married, buying a house in a wonderful neighborhood, and starting a family. I thought that I needed this. I thought that I wanted this, and I did until this past year. Now I can’t imagine this reality, which largely is in part due to the fact that most of this timeframe has come and gone and my life has veered so far from this path.
At twenty-three years old I am wandering. Not lost, but still finding my way. I completed my undergraduate bachelor's degree in English with a concentration of Secondary Education and a minor in Art in the Thomas Bellavance Honors College at Salisbury University, which gave me the opportunity to pick the fork in the road. Settling or wandering. I chose Fulbright- I chose Brasil. And although every minute of being here is worth it (value a pena), I still look back and wonder what things would be like if I was still stateside.
Living abroad for nine months in a way puts your life on hold. Before you leave, especially the last few months beforehand, it’s hard to begin anything when you know that soon enough you will be leaving. It feels almost as though you are closed the chapter of a book. Not ending the story, but moving on to a new part, and needing to tie up loose ends. As well, while abroad, you have so many amazing things happening in your current moment but you look back to all of your friends and family who continue on with their lives without you present in the picture. Sometimes I wonder, would you have invited me to that concert too, or would I be sitting on the beach next to you? Thinking like this is silly though, and I try to remind myself to soak in every moment of the time abroad- because who knows if I will ever live in Brasil again.
It’s these thoughts as I look to once again apply for fellowships, but this time for masters funded programs- such as Marshall, Cambridge, Mitchell, and Rhodes. I ask myself where I would want to place myself for at least the next two years to complete a masters, and then I wonder if a doctorate degree is in my future. I’m taking the approach to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, but it’s so nerve-wrecking to think about the future. The first time I heard the term “imposter syndrome”, I finally felt relieved to know that there is a defined term to explain what I’ve felt. Somedays, I stand beside my fellow Fulbright ETAs and wonder- how did I ever get chosen for this? I’m working alongside brilliant (beyond brilliant) graduates who have done everything short of save the world. Yes, I’ve had some accomplishments along the way, which I won’t deny, but it’s very intimidating still. Knowing that Fulbrighters just like them, who are equally as spectacular, applying for the same fellowships makes me so nervous. Some fellowships offer only forty positions each year. So, it’s me versus the super-genius overachiever, and I’m not sure if I would even have a chance. I won’t let that stop me though. Let the essay season begin.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Tenho Saudades
February 23 to May 23. Three months have passed since my first day in Brasil, and I haven’t nearly come closer to blending in, speaking Portuguese fluently, or being very confident with navigating all cultural situations, but I sure have come a long way.
Tenho saudades- a phrase I heard as one set of Fulbrighters were leaving Brasil, and I was preparing to go. I had no idea what it meant, but now it’s a phrase that hits home everyday (pun intended). I long for and I miss so many things from home, and I mean other than the obvious choices of my family, friends, and pets. There are some things in Brasil that I never realized I would encounter living without, and others I didn’t mentally prepare for.
Indoor heating- Before coming to Brasil, I of course checked the average weather for my city throughout the months that I would be in Londrina. I was ecstatic to see that the low for their winter is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Fall is my favorite season, so seeing that the fall, winter, and spring months would all be temperate made me very happy. UNTIL, the colder days of fall hit. Suddenly, the temperature shifted- all in one weekend. It feels like there are three or four months in one day. The mornings drop to about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and require some sort of jacket, and drop again to this temperature at night, but rise to 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout some days. Other days, it will stay chilly at 65 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The thing is- it’s always cold. There is no way to escape the chilly temperature by going into a building, because the buildings don’t have heat and they’re just as cold. I regret not bringing more sweatshirts or a pair of sweatpants.
Air conditioning- Normally, I’m the type of girl who likes to spoil herself with this, when I can. Whenever I have the opportunity to use AC, I take it. My first few weeks in Londrina were awful at night, and I caved in to buy a fan just so that I could sleep through the night. The 80 reais were worth the comfort of not being perpetually sticky in my room.
Having a car- It’s very easy to fall into a lul of comfort of having a car to easily get around town. Need to go grocery shopping? That’s easy to go across town and then pack the grocery bags into your trunk. Need to get to the university campus on a time schedule? You can leave whenever you need to. This privilege is something I forgot was just that- a privilege. Learning to navigate and take the public transportation has been a challenge. Buses may run late, or not pass through certain places on weekends. You always need small bills, and anything over 5 reais will be followed with an eye roll or sigh from the bus driver.
A dryer- I’m lucky enough that my apartment has a washer, just to begin with that plus side, but I’ve started to get used to hanging everything and waiting the day for it to dry. The nice feeling of burying myself under a pile of warm laundry isn’t an option, and some days it can be so frustrating to have to wait for the clothes to dry, especially as the temperature outside and inside the house decreases.
Being able to communicate easily in hard situations- Although I have not cried in a public place since my first month here, like when I broke down in the Vivo phone store, I have had difficult situations since then when I wanted to shut down and turn off. Only having mastered a few verbs in present and past tense makes it very hard to follow conversations and communicate effectively. When I’m asking for directions, get asked something by a store clerk, or am confronted by tasks when I need to immediately and quickly follow a conversations an answer then I stress out. I never realized how a small task could turn into a challenge with this one small change.
Although I do miss a lot of things, I keep reminding myself that today does mark ⅓ of the completion of my Fulbright experience and I tell myself that I need to cherish things rather than focusing on what I miss. 3 months out of 9 completed and I still have so many goals to accomplish, things to see, and lessons to teach.
Tenho saudades- a phrase I heard as one set of Fulbrighters were leaving Brasil, and I was preparing to go. I had no idea what it meant, but now it’s a phrase that hits home everyday (pun intended). I long for and I miss so many things from home, and I mean other than the obvious choices of my family, friends, and pets. There are some things in Brasil that I never realized I would encounter living without, and others I didn’t mentally prepare for.
Indoor heating- Before coming to Brasil, I of course checked the average weather for my city throughout the months that I would be in Londrina. I was ecstatic to see that the low for their winter is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Fall is my favorite season, so seeing that the fall, winter, and spring months would all be temperate made me very happy. UNTIL, the colder days of fall hit. Suddenly, the temperature shifted- all in one weekend. It feels like there are three or four months in one day. The mornings drop to about 48 degrees Fahrenheit, and require some sort of jacket, and drop again to this temperature at night, but rise to 75 or 80 degrees Fahrenheit throughout some days. Other days, it will stay chilly at 65 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The thing is- it’s always cold. There is no way to escape the chilly temperature by going into a building, because the buildings don’t have heat and they’re just as cold. I regret not bringing more sweatshirts or a pair of sweatpants.
Air conditioning- Normally, I’m the type of girl who likes to spoil herself with this, when I can. Whenever I have the opportunity to use AC, I take it. My first few weeks in Londrina were awful at night, and I caved in to buy a fan just so that I could sleep through the night. The 80 reais were worth the comfort of not being perpetually sticky in my room.
Having a car- It’s very easy to fall into a lul of comfort of having a car to easily get around town. Need to go grocery shopping? That’s easy to go across town and then pack the grocery bags into your trunk. Need to get to the university campus on a time schedule? You can leave whenever you need to. This privilege is something I forgot was just that- a privilege. Learning to navigate and take the public transportation has been a challenge. Buses may run late, or not pass through certain places on weekends. You always need small bills, and anything over 5 reais will be followed with an eye roll or sigh from the bus driver.
A dryer- I’m lucky enough that my apartment has a washer, just to begin with that plus side, but I’ve started to get used to hanging everything and waiting the day for it to dry. The nice feeling of burying myself under a pile of warm laundry isn’t an option, and some days it can be so frustrating to have to wait for the clothes to dry, especially as the temperature outside and inside the house decreases.
Being able to communicate easily in hard situations- Although I have not cried in a public place since my first month here, like when I broke down in the Vivo phone store, I have had difficult situations since then when I wanted to shut down and turn off. Only having mastered a few verbs in present and past tense makes it very hard to follow conversations and communicate effectively. When I’m asking for directions, get asked something by a store clerk, or am confronted by tasks when I need to immediately and quickly follow a conversations an answer then I stress out. I never realized how a small task could turn into a challenge with this one small change.
Although I do miss a lot of things, I keep reminding myself that today does mark ⅓ of the completion of my Fulbright experience and I tell myself that I need to cherish things rather than focusing on what I miss. 3 months out of 9 completed and I still have so many goals to accomplish, things to see, and lessons to teach.
Friday, April 27, 2018
Cityscape Views
It took me two months to finally make it up to the rooftop of my apartment, and now I try to go every chance that I can. I'm beyond in love with the views of this city. Londrina sunsets and sunrises are some of the most beautiful I've ever been able to admire.
10 Km Run Success!
After weeks of preparing for the 10 Km race, the weekend finally arrived. I picked up Kathryn from the airport at 6 am that Saturday, and we ventured out into the North zone of the city to pick up our race bags. The bus deviated from its google maps route, so we left the bus early... only to see it pass by us as we walked the extra 6 blocks and additional 10 blocks to the pick up location- an elevator company shop.
Either way, the next morning came and we arrives at Lago Igapo around 7:15 am to pick up our chips. The race was down streets I had never run, with a lot more hills than I expected (but that's Londrina for you). It was a rough race, especially with my hurt knee, but I only had to walk two or three times.
I was really happy with my finishing time of 57 minutes and placing 2nd place in my category and 9th place for all female runners in the 10 km race. This race definitely motivated me to look into more races in Brasil!
Monday, April 9, 2018
First University Classes Assisted!
My students are beyond amazing and better than I could have ever asked for. You know that they break your expectations of adorableness when a students says, “I’ve seen this on American tv so many times and I knew this was my chance”, and proceeds to hand me an apple. In order to celebrate my student’s first ever class in oral production, I stayed up until midnight and then two hours the next morning baking cookies. Baking without USA measuring cups was a challenged, and I apologized profusely to my students that they probably tasted different than normal. Their faces lit up when they saw the cookies, and my night class went back for seconds.
Every Friday I assist in teaching two sections of oral production for freshman English Education students. Meaning- my students are studying to be English teachers, and I get to help them improve their fluency and confidence in the language. There are four of us Fulbrighters at UEL, and each of us is assigned a grade level for the course. The freshman class is the largest, meaning that I get to work with about 40 students between two classes. The classes are set up as 1.75 hour chunks, and there is an afternoon and night session (2 pm and 7:15 pm).
It’s interesting how many of my students stated that their reason for choosing the major is because they either 1. Loved English and have studied it a lot of their life or 2. Want to learn English. In a way, this is similar to a lot of English Education majors I met in my program who started the degree track because of their love for English, but eventually switched out of the Education track.
Our first class we spent some time doing icebreakers and getting to know you questions, which helped me to gage the students’ personalities and English levels. They are so spunky, and I was so impressed by the level of humor that they’re already able to include in their responses. My night class had a running joke about being single and loving cats, and we decided that blind dates are definitely necessary to set up almost the whole class haha!
I am a bit nervous about working with two different professors for the class. Both classes are based on the same syllabus, except my afternoon professor seems to want to incorporate a lot of texts, and my night professor is keen to follow a certain textbook. It does make me worried that I might get strung out from lesson planning two different curriculum. As well, I haven’t received an answer yet as to how I’ll fit into the class- whether it be creating an opening activity, or just adding to what the professor creates. I’m hoping that the next few weeks will help to lay that out.
My students are working on their biography and autobiography unit, which leaves a lot of wiggle room for activities like- headbanz, coffee house speed dating, classmate bingo, and other small activities that can be infused to introduce more adjectives and descriptive vocabulary. I’m hoping to plan a lot of group activities to get them up and talking. As well, I’ve begun collecting information on my students to gage their levels, goals, and backgrounds, and I hope to incorporate a variety of multiple intelligences in my activity so that I can collect feedback about how they best learned oral production skills.
It may be a lot of work, and things still may not be set up, but I love it. My students make it worth it everyday. My goal is to show my students how great their abilities already are, to improve their confidence, and show them that as they’re learning English- I’m learning Portuguese. It’s a joint process. I made sure the first day to emphasize that I’m not there to judge them. When I shared some of my recent mistakes (for example louca-crazy for louça-dishes) they laughed. I can’t wait to share more laughs and jokes with my students as we learn.
Every Friday I assist in teaching two sections of oral production for freshman English Education students. Meaning- my students are studying to be English teachers, and I get to help them improve their fluency and confidence in the language. There are four of us Fulbrighters at UEL, and each of us is assigned a grade level for the course. The freshman class is the largest, meaning that I get to work with about 40 students between two classes. The classes are set up as 1.75 hour chunks, and there is an afternoon and night session (2 pm and 7:15 pm).
It’s interesting how many of my students stated that their reason for choosing the major is because they either 1. Loved English and have studied it a lot of their life or 2. Want to learn English. In a way, this is similar to a lot of English Education majors I met in my program who started the degree track because of their love for English, but eventually switched out of the Education track.
Our first class we spent some time doing icebreakers and getting to know you questions, which helped me to gage the students’ personalities and English levels. They are so spunky, and I was so impressed by the level of humor that they’re already able to include in their responses. My night class had a running joke about being single and loving cats, and we decided that blind dates are definitely necessary to set up almost the whole class haha!
I am a bit nervous about working with two different professors for the class. Both classes are based on the same syllabus, except my afternoon professor seems to want to incorporate a lot of texts, and my night professor is keen to follow a certain textbook. It does make me worried that I might get strung out from lesson planning two different curriculum. As well, I haven’t received an answer yet as to how I’ll fit into the class- whether it be creating an opening activity, or just adding to what the professor creates. I’m hoping that the next few weeks will help to lay that out.
My students are working on their biography and autobiography unit, which leaves a lot of wiggle room for activities like- headbanz, coffee house speed dating, classmate bingo, and other small activities that can be infused to introduce more adjectives and descriptive vocabulary. I’m hoping to plan a lot of group activities to get them up and talking. As well, I’ve begun collecting information on my students to gage their levels, goals, and backgrounds, and I hope to incorporate a variety of multiple intelligences in my activity so that I can collect feedback about how they best learned oral production skills.
It may be a lot of work, and things still may not be set up, but I love it. My students make it worth it everyday. My goal is to show my students how great their abilities already are, to improve their confidence, and show them that as they’re learning English- I’m learning Portuguese. It’s a joint process. I made sure the first day to emphasize that I’m not there to judge them. When I shared some of my recent mistakes (for example louca-crazy for louça-dishes) they laughed. I can’t wait to share more laughs and jokes with my students as we learn.
Immersion Ups and Downs
The ugly truth about immersion. Depending on the person- you cry, feel exhausted, want to stay curled up safe in your room, wish to be back in the country where you can hear your native language everywhere, and maybe even feel mad or frustrated that once again your language level is that of a five year old. For me, it is all of these. I leave Portuguese class crying some days. I feel inept when I can’t understand the cashier at a supermarket. I can tell that people are looking at me and talking about me, but I can’t understand everything they’re saying. I wish more than anything somedays that I could fast forward a few months to when I could hopefully recognize more verbs and words in a conversation. People keep telling me that I’m doing really well for only studying Portuguese for one month, but it feels like a defeat to not know more. As of this week, I start my second Portuguese class. This means that I will have an overlap of three weeks where I’m taking classes Monday through Thursday for Portuguese. My brain is frazzled and I don’t know how many more times I can ask a Brasilian person to speak slower. Here is to hoping that within this month I’ll hit the magical “clicking” point that everyone tells me will come eventually.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Firsts For Everything- Portuguese, Teaching, Brigadeiro, Running, and More!
Today marks one month and two days since arriving in Brasil, and my Portuguese confidence still feels as basic and low as when I arrived here, BUT a lot of things have changed since I’ve arrived here. This post commemorates and celebrates a lot of the “firsts” that I’ve experienced in the last few weeks.
Running a 10k- Since arriving in Brasil, I decided to motivate myself to keep healthy by running around the lake everyday and signed up for a 10k race that will be held in Londrina on April 22nd! I got so enthusiastic in my training that within my first week of signing up I bumped my running distance from 5k to 7k and then 10k within the week. My legs were definitely feeling the pain the next few days. Each lap around the lake is about 2.5k, so I simply needed to lap the lake four times. Also, Kathryn, my Fulbright buddy who I traveled before orientation with, signed up for the Bem Corrido run in Londrina so that she can come visit my placement city.
Getting rejected by the federal police- they say that on average it takes about three attempts to finish all the paperwork correctly when working with the federal police. Due to staying in Londrina for an extended amount of time, I need to check in the police, pay a fee, and make sure that they have my information. Unfortunately, this needs to be done within 3 months of arriving in my city, and the process can be tricky. Recently, the laws changed and the time frame extended from 30 days to 90 days, which is lucky for us, but there is also still confusion surrounding the new laws and it seems like every police station has different rules for what they require. For example, some of my friends have been turned down because their mother’s middle initial, not full middle name, was listed on the birth certificate. Or, the mother’s maiden name was listed instead of her current last name, and they need to schedule a visit to a consulate to do extra steps. For some things in Brasil, it really does seem like a process can depend on who is helping you that day. As a result, my appointment is May 25th, and I need to go in that morning with all of my documents and hope that they’re correct!
Making Brigadeiro- One of the very popular and famous desserts to Brasil is surprisingly so easy to make. Now that I learned how to make it, it’s dangerous, and I want to make it everyday! The recipe is as follows: melt butter in a pot, add condensed milk ( enough to match however much you want to make), stir this together and add a large portion of chocolate powder, stir on low for about 15 minutes and until it pulls from the bottom as you stir, and then let it cool! I have my roommate Bea to thank for teaching me. It’s especially amazing with fruit dipped in it.
Speaking in Portuguese in front of a group- orientation week began on Tuesday and all of the Letras students gathered together to hear from the professors. Our “project”- the Fulbright ETAs each spoke a little bit about ourselves and who we would teach… but in Portuguese. The other three ETAs and proficient in Portuguese, but then there is me. I was so incredibly nervous, but I wanted to make the most of it that I could, and I think my love for public speaking helped with that. I got up there and started telling them that I had never taken a Portuguese class prior to coming to Brasil, but that I was in a class now at UEL. When I said this they started cheering, and I said “estou nervosa” and they started clapping and laughing. I think being able to connect with my first year students in the fact that we are all learning a new language together is really important. Them seeing that I’m struggling through, but trying, is important. If I want them to take one thing away from working with me it’s to push aside fear of being wrong and go for it. Hopefully I can be a good model for them in my attempts to learn and showcase that it’s ok to make mistakes, and that it’s part of the learning process.
Lastly, I had my very first time teaching a university class!- In the past year I realized that I possibly want to work my way up to a career in post secondary education, and the chance to work with university level students right now is an INCREDIBLE opportunity to dip my feet in the water. Lara, Bennie, Kayla, and I co-taught two three hour long class sessions for all of the course level letras students. We had a bigger turnout than I expected, and half the students at each session were mine! We did an activity with watching a video, analyzing it, and then talking about our own homes. I loved hearing more about the students’ experiences they are bringing, especially with students coming from scattered places in Brasil like Bahia and Curitiba. I felt like I really connected with some of my students, and seeing them excited made me realize that the experience is all coming together. My class schedule is currently set that I assist in the Oral Comprehension Class for freshman every Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 pm. With the Easter holiday this next weekend, I won’t actually start working with my classes until April 6th, but they were asking me when they would get to see me in class, and it hit me really hard. I.am.so.excited.
Running a 10k- Since arriving in Brasil, I decided to motivate myself to keep healthy by running around the lake everyday and signed up for a 10k race that will be held in Londrina on April 22nd! I got so enthusiastic in my training that within my first week of signing up I bumped my running distance from 5k to 7k and then 10k within the week. My legs were definitely feeling the pain the next few days. Each lap around the lake is about 2.5k, so I simply needed to lap the lake four times. Also, Kathryn, my Fulbright buddy who I traveled before orientation with, signed up for the Bem Corrido run in Londrina so that she can come visit my placement city.
Getting rejected by the federal police- they say that on average it takes about three attempts to finish all the paperwork correctly when working with the federal police. Due to staying in Londrina for an extended amount of time, I need to check in the police, pay a fee, and make sure that they have my information. Unfortunately, this needs to be done within 3 months of arriving in my city, and the process can be tricky. Recently, the laws changed and the time frame extended from 30 days to 90 days, which is lucky for us, but there is also still confusion surrounding the new laws and it seems like every police station has different rules for what they require. For example, some of my friends have been turned down because their mother’s middle initial, not full middle name, was listed on the birth certificate. Or, the mother’s maiden name was listed instead of her current last name, and they need to schedule a visit to a consulate to do extra steps. For some things in Brasil, it really does seem like a process can depend on who is helping you that day. As a result, my appointment is May 25th, and I need to go in that morning with all of my documents and hope that they’re correct!
Making Brigadeiro- One of the very popular and famous desserts to Brasil is surprisingly so easy to make. Now that I learned how to make it, it’s dangerous, and I want to make it everyday! The recipe is as follows: melt butter in a pot, add condensed milk ( enough to match however much you want to make), stir this together and add a large portion of chocolate powder, stir on low for about 15 minutes and until it pulls from the bottom as you stir, and then let it cool! I have my roommate Bea to thank for teaching me. It’s especially amazing with fruit dipped in it.
Speaking in Portuguese in front of a group- orientation week began on Tuesday and all of the Letras students gathered together to hear from the professors. Our “project”- the Fulbright ETAs each spoke a little bit about ourselves and who we would teach… but in Portuguese. The other three ETAs and proficient in Portuguese, but then there is me. I was so incredibly nervous, but I wanted to make the most of it that I could, and I think my love for public speaking helped with that. I got up there and started telling them that I had never taken a Portuguese class prior to coming to Brasil, but that I was in a class now at UEL. When I said this they started cheering, and I said “estou nervosa” and they started clapping and laughing. I think being able to connect with my first year students in the fact that we are all learning a new language together is really important. Them seeing that I’m struggling through, but trying, is important. If I want them to take one thing away from working with me it’s to push aside fear of being wrong and go for it. Hopefully I can be a good model for them in my attempts to learn and showcase that it’s ok to make mistakes, and that it’s part of the learning process.
Lastly, I had my very first time teaching a university class!- In the past year I realized that I possibly want to work my way up to a career in post secondary education, and the chance to work with university level students right now is an INCREDIBLE opportunity to dip my feet in the water. Lara, Bennie, Kayla, and I co-taught two three hour long class sessions for all of the course level letras students. We had a bigger turnout than I expected, and half the students at each session were mine! We did an activity with watching a video, analyzing it, and then talking about our own homes. I loved hearing more about the students’ experiences they are bringing, especially with students coming from scattered places in Brasil like Bahia and Curitiba. I felt like I really connected with some of my students, and seeing them excited made me realize that the experience is all coming together. My class schedule is currently set that I assist in the Oral Comprehension Class for freshman every Friday from 2-4 and 7-9 pm. With the Easter holiday this next weekend, I won’t actually start working with my classes until April 6th, but they were asking me when they would get to see me in class, and it hit me really hard. I.am.so.excited.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Minor Setbacks
As I exit the honeymoon phase of being in Brasil, after being here for three weeks, I’m really starting to see that not everything is rainbows and butterflies. Most things have been great, especially the food and my town, Londrina, but we’re hitting some bumps currently. For example, the Federal Police changed the registration law just as I was coming to Brasil, and I may now not have documents that I need in order to avoid the fine and register. Any person staying in a Brasilian town for an extended amount of time is required to check in with the Federal Police, pay money, and check a bunch of paperwork signed off on. I prepared for notarized passport copies, paying the fee…. But I did not anticipate needing the original copy of my birth certificate to get notarized. As well, when I tried to sign up for the Federal Police appointment online it only gave me one option in the pull down bar, and only one time, which was May 25th. I need to be registered within three months of entering Brasil, and this May date exceeds that. I’m starting to get a bit anxious about that.
A short theory lesson on how I understand Brasilian Universities work. There are two major university categories that you can choose from- public and private. In opposition to how the USA school systems work, public universities are harder to get into but free and private universities are easier to get into but costs thousands of dollars. In order to get into public universities you need to take a “vestibular” test specific to each university, and I have not met any student who passed it on the first try because it is very difficult. The public universities receive their funding almost solely from the government, because they are free of cost to the students, and it looks like a lot of the campus buildings have not received much renovation since they were built.
UEL,Universidade Estadual Londrina, the university that I am teaching at, is a public university. Specifically, I am working with the letras department and english education major students. UEL seems to be going through a series of strikes due to funding cuts, which my friend says he experienced since 2015 when he attended UEL. The most current strike ended as I was arriving in Londrina, and I was hoping that UEL would quickly get back on track. This, unfortunately does not seem to be the case. With so much time off filter with the strike, UEL staff members and professors are still trying to get back on their feet. Orientation was supposed to begin March 19th and classes March 26th, but today we received a bulletin that the beginning of the term will be suspended. Translated from the Portuguese post, “In a bulletin sent to faculty, undergraduates and technical-administrative staff on the night of this Saturday (17), the Rector of UEL informs that it is suspending the beginning of the academic calendar of graduation of 2018, scheduled for this Monday, March 19.”
At this point, we’re not sure when we’ll be beginning classes, I’m not sure what teacher I will be assisting in classes, and a lot of things will be up in the air for a while. Plus, this means that I don’t know when the second Portuguese class that I want to take will begin. I would say it’s stressful, but a lot of this is out of my control, and I realize that, so I’m trying to make the best of it and I’m still going to help out on campus as much as I can.
http://www.uel.br/com/agenciaueldenoticias/index.php?arq=ARQ_not&FWS_Ano_Edicao=1&FWS_N_Edicao=1&FWS_Cod_Categoria=2&FWS_N_Texto=25985
A short theory lesson on how I understand Brasilian Universities work. There are two major university categories that you can choose from- public and private. In opposition to how the USA school systems work, public universities are harder to get into but free and private universities are easier to get into but costs thousands of dollars. In order to get into public universities you need to take a “vestibular” test specific to each university, and I have not met any student who passed it on the first try because it is very difficult. The public universities receive their funding almost solely from the government, because they are free of cost to the students, and it looks like a lot of the campus buildings have not received much renovation since they were built.
UEL,Universidade Estadual Londrina, the university that I am teaching at, is a public university. Specifically, I am working with the letras department and english education major students. UEL seems to be going through a series of strikes due to funding cuts, which my friend says he experienced since 2015 when he attended UEL. The most current strike ended as I was arriving in Londrina, and I was hoping that UEL would quickly get back on track. This, unfortunately does not seem to be the case. With so much time off filter with the strike, UEL staff members and professors are still trying to get back on their feet. Orientation was supposed to begin March 19th and classes March 26th, but today we received a bulletin that the beginning of the term will be suspended. Translated from the Portuguese post, “In a bulletin sent to faculty, undergraduates and technical-administrative staff on the night of this Saturday (17), the Rector of UEL informs that it is suspending the beginning of the academic calendar of graduation of 2018, scheduled for this Monday, March 19.”
At this point, we’re not sure when we’ll be beginning classes, I’m not sure what teacher I will be assisting in classes, and a lot of things will be up in the air for a while. Plus, this means that I don’t know when the second Portuguese class that I want to take will begin. I would say it’s stressful, but a lot of this is out of my control, and I realize that, so I’m trying to make the best of it and I’m still going to help out on campus as much as I can.
http://www.uel.br/com/agenciaueldenoticias/index.php?arq=ARQ_not&FWS_Ano_Edicao=1&FWS_N_Edicao=1&FWS_Cod_Categoria=2&FWS_N_Texto=25985
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Little Successes- Trying New Foods, Working Phone Plan, and an Educational Word Wall
I was adventurous and willed myself to go back to the phone store- Vivo, even after I had cried the last time I was there. They instructed me to return once I had a CPF, or someone to let me borrow theirs and sign, and I did as told. Lucky me, I worked with the same three women who helped last time and saw me cry. Except, this time I came more prepared with a paper of questions and apologies for my last appearance ready to go. I figured out that my pre-paid phone plan was set to charge me on a daily basis until the funds ran out, which happened only several days after I initiated the plan. In order to be cost efficient, I found a plan with 3 GB of internet, unlimited texts, and 50 minutes of calls to outside network, which is plenty more than I will need, for $45 R per month. So, I hoped that this visit would go a lot more smooth than the last encounter. Instead, I found that the trip took 2 hours, and they told me that my CPF was too new and they could not use it! All the work to get the documents in order for obtaining a CPF, and it was unnecessary for this in the and. Eventually though, in a few weeks, I will have to transfer the account under my CPF, so I guess it will come into plan then. By the end of the day though, I had a working phone plan. A huge victory in itself.
One of the things that I love most about Brasil so far, and I think I will miss the most when I leave, is the food. This country brings out my sweet tooth. Between feijoada, churrasco, brigadeiro, tartas, and mandioca…. I feel like I need to exercise more than ever just from craving all of the food. A small tidbit: feijoada is a slowly cooked meat stew (normally with beans, beef and pork), churrasco is the Brasilian barbecues were the meats continue to be cooked all day and you never stop eating, brigadeiro is a heavenly VERY sweet chocolate either in a truffle form or mix on other desserts, tartas are the small pies with meats in them, and mandioca is the Brasilian version of yucca. Also, today I had a homemade gelato that was caprinihia flavored!! On Friday the Fulbright ETAs and staff had a churrasco at Michele’s house, my host professor, and her husband sure cooked up a storm. There was pork, chicken, beef, and desserts, which was accompanied by the sweet drink of white wine, condensed milk, and watermelon blended and served in a watermelon. It’s a good thing that I live so close to a lake and have been working out daily!
As I continue to realize things that I need, and of course did not bring from the USA or just see the exponentially higher price in Brasil, I wanted to make note. Hopefully this will help anyone looking to come in the future and know the essentials to pack.
Face wash- any speciality kinds especially
Electronics- even small things like extra headphones and chargers
Adapters and converters- you can buy these online in a bundle for cheap (but make sure that you account for three prong devices and the adapters
Notebooks- For some reason it costs upwards of $10 USD for a lot of them here
Peanut butter, Nutella, or Maple syrup- these also can cost upwards of $10 USD for a small amount
Tea- if you’re a fan of tea, then stock up before coming here since they charge about $4 USD for a box of four tea packets
A small purse to carry around documents, money, your phone, and keys- make sure it is not too large to draw attention
Deodorant- bring an overload of deodorant. Deodorant in the USA is different than other countries, and unless you want to spend over $4USD on a small tub of roll on or go with the spray one, then bring more than you will need
A cool thing that I have begun in order to help myself learn Portuguese is creating a word wall! I have separated between my- Para practicar (for practice) and Palavras do dia (words of the day). I’m wording primarily with verbs to try and select verbs everyday to focus on using and solidifying their tenses. I’ve also included prepositions, times, directions, and other phrases/words that I think are crucial. I’m rotating out the words everyday, but hopefully it will help to have the visual studying tactic.
One of the things that I love most about Brasil so far, and I think I will miss the most when I leave, is the food. This country brings out my sweet tooth. Between feijoada, churrasco, brigadeiro, tartas, and mandioca…. I feel like I need to exercise more than ever just from craving all of the food. A small tidbit: feijoada is a slowly cooked meat stew (normally with beans, beef and pork), churrasco is the Brasilian barbecues were the meats continue to be cooked all day and you never stop eating, brigadeiro is a heavenly VERY sweet chocolate either in a truffle form or mix on other desserts, tartas are the small pies with meats in them, and mandioca is the Brasilian version of yucca. Also, today I had a homemade gelato that was caprinihia flavored!! On Friday the Fulbright ETAs and staff had a churrasco at Michele’s house, my host professor, and her husband sure cooked up a storm. There was pork, chicken, beef, and desserts, which was accompanied by the sweet drink of white wine, condensed milk, and watermelon blended and served in a watermelon. It’s a good thing that I live so close to a lake and have been working out daily!
As I continue to realize things that I need, and of course did not bring from the USA or just see the exponentially higher price in Brasil, I wanted to make note. Hopefully this will help anyone looking to come in the future and know the essentials to pack.
Face wash- any speciality kinds especially
Electronics- even small things like extra headphones and chargers
Adapters and converters- you can buy these online in a bundle for cheap (but make sure that you account for three prong devices and the adapters
Notebooks- For some reason it costs upwards of $10 USD for a lot of them here
Peanut butter, Nutella, or Maple syrup- these also can cost upwards of $10 USD for a small amount
Tea- if you’re a fan of tea, then stock up before coming here since they charge about $4 USD for a box of four tea packets
A small purse to carry around documents, money, your phone, and keys- make sure it is not too large to draw attention
Deodorant- bring an overload of deodorant. Deodorant in the USA is different than other countries, and unless you want to spend over $4USD on a small tub of roll on or go with the spray one, then bring more than you will need
A cool thing that I have begun in order to help myself learn Portuguese is creating a word wall! I have separated between my- Para practicar (for practice) and Palavras do dia (words of the day). I’m wording primarily with verbs to try and select verbs everyday to focus on using and solidifying their tenses. I’ve also included prepositions, times, directions, and other phrases/words that I think are crucial. I’m rotating out the words everyday, but hopefully it will help to have the visual studying tactic.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Social Security Or Everyday Number?- Brasilian CPF
Some things vary between the USA and Brasil, but nothing is as different as the Social Security number, called CPF in Brasil. In the USA, I’m accustomed to a social security number being a heavily guarded thing that you don’t tell anyone. Whereas in Brasil, you use it everywhere. If you want to- buy groceries, buy furniture, buy a car, get a gym membership, buy a phone plan, etc… you’ll be giving your CPF number. Although it’s not absolutely necessary to have one, and foreigners can get away with living extended periods here without one, it sure is a useful tool to have.
After talking to other Fulbrighters and doing our research, we ventured out to try and obtain a CPF. First, we filled out a form online through the Receita Federal, and printed this form out. Next, we went to a correios, post office, and did most of the heavy lifting there. We ended up waiting for thirty minutes for the three people in line ahead of us, and then Kayla and I were called up. The post office worker scrutinized our document, passport, to the form and asked us questions. Thank goodness Kayla was there and her knowledge of Portuguese helped us complete the process mostly smoothly. It’s funny that even things like a middle name missing from the form caused question and concern. We left the correios with a receipt (and barcode sticker) in hand and we walked across the city to our next stop- a receita federal.
We had been warned that this part of the process can take hours, and we mentally prepared for this. In fact, it was just the opposite. We received our waiting number and were called immediately. The employee verified our information and printed out the CPF paper. It was as simple as that. She instructed us to visit the Papeleria, paper shop, down the street to have it laminated. Online, it stated that you might be asked for proof of residency, and I was surprised that you merely needed to give an address. For around $10 reais and a few hours of work, we obtained our Brasilian social security number.
Here are two websites that a Fulbright fellow recommended to me, and I greatly recommend if you intend to apply for a CPF. One contains step by step instructions and the other has a link to the receita form:
http://alittlebrazilian.com/cpf-for-foreigners-in-brazil/
http://www.visahunter.com/visa/brazil/how-to-get-a-cpf-number/
After talking to other Fulbrighters and doing our research, we ventured out to try and obtain a CPF. First, we filled out a form online through the Receita Federal, and printed this form out. Next, we went to a correios, post office, and did most of the heavy lifting there. We ended up waiting for thirty minutes for the three people in line ahead of us, and then Kayla and I were called up. The post office worker scrutinized our document, passport, to the form and asked us questions. Thank goodness Kayla was there and her knowledge of Portuguese helped us complete the process mostly smoothly. It’s funny that even things like a middle name missing from the form caused question and concern. We left the correios with a receipt (and barcode sticker) in hand and we walked across the city to our next stop- a receita federal.
We had been warned that this part of the process can take hours, and we mentally prepared for this. In fact, it was just the opposite. We received our waiting number and were called immediately. The employee verified our information and printed out the CPF paper. It was as simple as that. She instructed us to visit the Papeleria, paper shop, down the street to have it laminated. Online, it stated that you might be asked for proof of residency, and I was surprised that you merely needed to give an address. For around $10 reais and a few hours of work, we obtained our Brasilian social security number.
Here are two websites that a Fulbright fellow recommended to me, and I greatly recommend if you intend to apply for a CPF. One contains step by step instructions and the other has a link to the receita form:
http://alittlebrazilian.com/cpf-for-foreigners-in-brazil/
http://www.visahunter.com/visa/brazil/how-to-get-a-cpf-number/
Nao Falo Portuguese- the Frustration of Not Knowing the Language
Frustration and tears- the two words to describe my experience moving to a new country without knowing the language. I’ve found that some Spanish words have cogantes, but it still varies. I’ve never had the experience of traveling somewhere that I was exhausted all day trying to decipher what people are saying. My knowledge of five present tense verbs has not helped me as much as I hoped. For example, I bought a pre-pay phone chip and it was giving me troubles, so I went to the phone store. This field trip led to sitting in the store with four employees in a room talking at me to try and figure out my phone, and in the and being told that I needed to return with someone that could lend me their CPF (The Brasilian’s version of a social security number that they use everywhere) and sign for it, and to buy a monthly plan. As per my knee jerk reaction, I started tearing up, and the worker looked to my friend and said in Portuguese, “ela esta nervosa”. This is one phrase I do know, which I don’t think she expected, and I looked up and just responded back “sim- yes”. Eventually, we did get the data working and calls to come through! A small victory, even if it’s temporary and took a while.
This week I also began a Portuguese class taught at UEL. It’s a mix of people from- Hungary, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and the USA, and the teacher only speaks in Portuguese. I figured that the course would hopefully be taught in a mixture, but we jumped right in. I sat at my desk feeling lost, and confused, and helpless. My face showed it, as I always do without a poker face, and the teacher tried to ask what I was confused about. I was choked up from being upset about not understanding, and I just shook my head. I’m accustomed to understanding things when I work hard for them, but being thrown into situation like that, or the cashier at a store speaking very quickly, I just stare and freeze up. I’m hoping that the next Portuguese class will be a little bit easier to pick up on everything.
The moral of the story- if you’re going to travel abroad then try to get a good grasp on the basics before going. I’m sure by the end of the nine months I will feel very accomplished having come so far with my Portuguese, but right now it feels like a defeat. Also, happy international women’s day, especially to all those crazy ladies also taking a huge chance like I am to pursue your dreams, even if it means facing new challenges and going outside your comfort zone!
This week I also began a Portuguese class taught at UEL. It’s a mix of people from- Hungary, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and the USA, and the teacher only speaks in Portuguese. I figured that the course would hopefully be taught in a mixture, but we jumped right in. I sat at my desk feeling lost, and confused, and helpless. My face showed it, as I always do without a poker face, and the teacher tried to ask what I was confused about. I was choked up from being upset about not understanding, and I just shook my head. I’m accustomed to understanding things when I work hard for them, but being thrown into situation like that, or the cashier at a store speaking very quickly, I just stare and freeze up. I’m hoping that the next Portuguese class will be a little bit easier to pick up on everything.
The moral of the story- if you’re going to travel abroad then try to get a good grasp on the basics before going. I’m sure by the end of the nine months I will feel very accomplished having come so far with my Portuguese, but right now it feels like a defeat. Also, happy international women’s day, especially to all those crazy ladies also taking a huge chance like I am to pursue your dreams, even if it means facing new challenges and going outside your comfort zone!
Picking My Independent Project and Meeting Staff!
After the weekend ended, the business of Fulbright began. I started my first weekday with a run around the lake, without getting lost! Lara, Bennie, and I took an uber to UEL, as to make sure we weren’t too late from trying to bus our first day. There we met Michele, our host professor! It was so exciting to have clarity on the University’s expectations and plan for us. It was frustrating that Fulbright never forwarded on the written outlined plans for us ETAs that Michele made, but we finally found out. It is an awesome balance between classroom Teaching assistant time and also developing a side project to collaborate with students and staff members. Immediately, I was drawn to the idea of working with the international education office, but Michele also mentioned the opportunity to volunteer in a local public school. You can imagine how happy I was. I did a little happy dance in my seat. To get to work with four of my loves- international education, postsecondary education, English, and secondary students…. My heart was ready to explode. There are four of us ETAs at UEL, and Michele cleverly thought to divide us up to each work with one grade level, and I claimed the freshman students. Working with lower level students during my student teaching made me realize how much I truly love the moments when students have breakthroughs. It might not be as often, and it might take longer, but their expression of making the connection to the material is what makes teaching one of the best careers.
In addition, Michele organized for us ETAs to meet the director for international education at UEL. I, of course, was in my glory listening to all of the opportunities I could get involved in to help welcome, track, and maintain a relationship with international students. I’m not sure if I will go the career route of working postsecondary in international education, but I definitely want to see the perspective from another school system abroad.
A quick side note- my host professor also told us that she wants to encourage us to participate in teaching and educational conferences across Brazil with her, meaning traveling to Belem and Salvador possibly!! I loved presenting at conferences while in University, but I’m a bit nervous for if I were to present in Brasil, and whether it would have to be in Portuguese. It’s a goal to work towards, and I very much hope that I can share my research on Educational Disparities in the USA to show that the USA isn’t always as “rainbows and butterflies” as some Brasilians think it is. It’s true that the phrase “the grass is always green on the other side” carries a lot of weight here, even around the world really.
OH! So, my campus has monkey on it around the Calcedon, main street through campus. My friends warned me not to try and cuddle the monkeys, which wasn’t a thought of mine to begin with, but they still told me to keep my distance. The ETA group plus Michele were walking between buildings and suddenly we were surrounded by monkeys! They started dropping from the trees, surrounding us, bared their teeth, and stood around us like a small monkey mafia. We got away without being touched by them, but I didn’t believe the stories that the monkeys make a menace around campus.
In addition, Michele organized for us ETAs to meet the director for international education at UEL. I, of course, was in my glory listening to all of the opportunities I could get involved in to help welcome, track, and maintain a relationship with international students. I’m not sure if I will go the career route of working postsecondary in international education, but I definitely want to see the perspective from another school system abroad.
A quick side note- my host professor also told us that she wants to encourage us to participate in teaching and educational conferences across Brazil with her, meaning traveling to Belem and Salvador possibly!! I loved presenting at conferences while in University, but I’m a bit nervous for if I were to present in Brasil, and whether it would have to be in Portuguese. It’s a goal to work towards, and I very much hope that I can share my research on Educational Disparities in the USA to show that the USA isn’t always as “rainbows and butterflies” as some Brasilians think it is. It’s true that the phrase “the grass is always green on the other side” carries a lot of weight here, even around the world really.
OH! So, my campus has monkey on it around the Calcedon, main street through campus. My friends warned me not to try and cuddle the monkeys, which wasn’t a thought of mine to begin with, but they still told me to keep my distance. The ETA group plus Michele were walking between buildings and suddenly we were surrounded by monkeys! They started dropping from the trees, surrounding us, bared their teeth, and stood around us like a small monkey mafia. We got away without being touched by them, but I didn’t believe the stories that the monkeys make a menace around campus.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Beginning Days in Londrina
Uber XL means something very different in the USA in comparison to Brasil. One might order an uber in hopes to fit luggage in the back, yet instead find a game of tetris and squeezing into the back seat with a suitcase piled on them. The fifteen minute ride to the bus terminal was filled with sharp turns, heavy suitcases, and cramming into a tiny car. Somehow, we thought that it would be a smart idea to bus our way from Sao Paulo to Londrina. Believe me, it could definitely have been much worse than our seven hour trip, especially considering how large Brasil is, but seven hours on a bus can drive a person crazy. I ended up watching the Smurfs and Batman Versus Superman in Portuguese, which was also broken up by a few naps. We arrived in the bus terminal, and I finally got the meet Beatriz- my flatmate. She was so absolutely sweet helping me with my bags and had a bottle of water ready for me.
Walking into my apartment and seeing my room made everything seem more real. Especially, when Beatriz gave me the keys! I lugged my bags into the room, and prepared to meet my other new flatmates, Pedro e Patricia, at their friend’s house. It is common in Brasil to live in republicas, which entail a lot of people sharing one house, and also makes for some fun hang outs. That night I tried my best to make my seven Portuguese word vocab extend as far as I could, and sometimes I attempted to throw in Spanish as hope that the cognates work. I can say that never before had I played gestures in Portuguese.
That weekend was nonstop, and I was ecstatic to get to see Mario again. Mario graduated from the University that I’ll be teaching at, and we studied abroad together in New Zealand. After a long awaited “hello again”, he showed me to my closest bus stop and I experience my first time riding the Londrina city bus. UEL is a HUGE campus, and we got stuck on the far end of campus during the tempestade. Streets quickly became rivers, and my first encounter with Londrina downpour rain didn’t phase me. I was so excited to be living my dream that I did the cliche thing and literally did dance in the rain. While drenched, Mario and I adventured downtown to meet his friend for some Feijoada (one of my favorite Brasilian foods). Afterwards, we indulged in some cake, and I tried the well known Brasilian classic Brigadiero. To end the night, they showed me where the cheaper supermarket was, and we hung out with my flatmates.
The next day was just as adventurous, if not more. Mario and I began the day with a walk around Lago Igapu, which is only a few blocks from my apartment. We next made our way to a street market, which was ENORMOUS! It was way beyond my expectation and filled main street and branching avenues. I had my first pastel con quieso e carne, and you can think of it as similar to an empanada, but I was one happy girl. Following that, I went to Mario’s for his family’s babreque, and we munched on meats from the grill. Mario’s dad was very kind and offered to take us on a car town around town, and this spontaneously led to us watching a Londrina futbol game! It was a rough game though, and they tied. Mario and Refeal insisted that I must try Caldo de Cana, and it ended up being a very sweet sugar cane drink, which I would definitely have again! We once again were picked up, but then walked around a second lake. Londrina has several lakes in the area, and they’re all great for running by.
I’m beginning to get the area the more that I walk around through it. Centro is a bit confusing, especially since it’s hard to get your bearings when you don’t know landmarks. I have only so far figured out the bus system to my university, and I’m not going to try and tackle any other lines yet!
Walking into my apartment and seeing my room made everything seem more real. Especially, when Beatriz gave me the keys! I lugged my bags into the room, and prepared to meet my other new flatmates, Pedro e Patricia, at their friend’s house. It is common in Brasil to live in republicas, which entail a lot of people sharing one house, and also makes for some fun hang outs. That night I tried my best to make my seven Portuguese word vocab extend as far as I could, and sometimes I attempted to throw in Spanish as hope that the cognates work. I can say that never before had I played gestures in Portuguese.
That weekend was nonstop, and I was ecstatic to get to see Mario again. Mario graduated from the University that I’ll be teaching at, and we studied abroad together in New Zealand. After a long awaited “hello again”, he showed me to my closest bus stop and I experience my first time riding the Londrina city bus. UEL is a HUGE campus, and we got stuck on the far end of campus during the tempestade. Streets quickly became rivers, and my first encounter with Londrina downpour rain didn’t phase me. I was so excited to be living my dream that I did the cliche thing and literally did dance in the rain. While drenched, Mario and I adventured downtown to meet his friend for some Feijoada (one of my favorite Brasilian foods). Afterwards, we indulged in some cake, and I tried the well known Brasilian classic Brigadiero. To end the night, they showed me where the cheaper supermarket was, and we hung out with my flatmates.
The next day was just as adventurous, if not more. Mario and I began the day with a walk around Lago Igapu, which is only a few blocks from my apartment. We next made our way to a street market, which was ENORMOUS! It was way beyond my expectation and filled main street and branching avenues. I had my first pastel con quieso e carne, and you can think of it as similar to an empanada, but I was one happy girl. Following that, I went to Mario’s for his family’s babreque, and we munched on meats from the grill. Mario’s dad was very kind and offered to take us on a car town around town, and this spontaneously led to us watching a Londrina futbol game! It was a rough game though, and they tied. Mario and Refeal insisted that I must try Caldo de Cana, and it ended up being a very sweet sugar cane drink, which I would definitely have again! We once again were picked up, but then walked around a second lake. Londrina has several lakes in the area, and they’re all great for running by.
I’m beginning to get the area the more that I walk around through it. Centro is a bit confusing, especially since it’s hard to get your bearings when you don’t know landmarks. I have only so far figured out the bus system to my university, and I’m not going to try and tackle any other lines yet!
Oreintation Week!
Ilhabela Adventures
The next morning involved preparing for a short but traveling packed weekend to the coast line- Ilhabela (beautiful island). Kathryn, another fellow ETA, Jake, and I successfully navigated the metro through the city, but not without some hiccups. I couldn’t figure out how to feed my ticket into the booth, and Jake’s ticket didn’t work. All in all, we arrived at the rodoviaria (bus terminal), bought our tickets, and took the four hour bus ride to Sao Sebastiao. From there, we took the ferry across, which is free for pedestrians. With a backpack each, we walked along the coast to our hostel, and stopped to have dinner on the beach. The 5 kilometer walk seemed a lot longer than we had anticipated with the weight of our backpacks! We had troubles finding our hostel as it was buried back in the woods up a long cobblestone steep driveway. The three of us fell in love with the atmosphere and ambiance of the hostel! To and the night, Jake and I went for a dip in the pool and shared a beer. Our room ended up having about nine people in it!
In the morning, Jake and I ate the hostel breakfast and enjoyed our coffee with food and a view of the mountains overlooking a coastline. We inquired about island tours, trying to make the most of our time on the island, and set out for a day excursion beach trip. While we were walking towards Maremar, a hostel employee offered to drive us there! We made it to the escuna, popped open a drink, and boated towards the beaches Frome and Jabaquara.
The water was crystal blue and a medium temperature- not bath water and not freezing. Along the beaches were also small pool of colder water leading into the ocean. It was a cloudy day, but I still managed to get sunburnt, as always. We spent a few hours romping around the beaches, treading water, and enjoying the views. Following that, Jake and I went to dinner at one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever been to. We were on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city streets with a live guitarist playing. We shared a seafood platter, and I was really surprised to like the cerviche! I was really surprised and still baffled as to what I thought about the passion fruit risotto. The brownie with homemade sorbet at the and made the meal absolutely complete. To end the night, we strolled around town by the water.
The next morning, our last few hours in Ilhabela, we wanted to squeeze in some hiking and waterfalls! Ilhabela in chuck full of waterfalls, if you know where to find them. The hiking path across the island that we wanted to take was closed down due to a storm that had damaged it, but instead we went to hike Cachoeira Frigagem. It was a few kilometer trek up a mountain, through residential areas, trails, and past a lot of bugs. The waterfall was worth it! There was even a small pool of water at the bottom that we lounged in.
On the walk back to the hostel then ferry, we waited at least forty minutes for a late bus that never arrived. We decided to speed walk back to the hotel, taxi to the ferry, and super speed walk to the bus terminal. It was an intense thirty minutes of hurrying and rushing to try and not miss the bus back to Sao Paulo. By time we reached the terminal there were only four tickets left, and three of us. With a mix of rain and traffic, we didn’t arrive at our orientation hotel until 9:30 pm. As we walked up to the hotel we saw a plethora of Gringos (you have to just own it here), and I met my Co-ETAs!
In the morning, Jake and I ate the hostel breakfast and enjoyed our coffee with food and a view of the mountains overlooking a coastline. We inquired about island tours, trying to make the most of our time on the island, and set out for a day excursion beach trip. While we were walking towards Maremar, a hostel employee offered to drive us there! We made it to the escuna, popped open a drink, and boated towards the beaches Frome and Jabaquara.
The water was crystal blue and a medium temperature- not bath water and not freezing. Along the beaches were also small pool of colder water leading into the ocean. It was a cloudy day, but I still managed to get sunburnt, as always. We spent a few hours romping around the beaches, treading water, and enjoying the views. Following that, Jake and I went to dinner at one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever been to. We were on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city streets with a live guitarist playing. We shared a seafood platter, and I was really surprised to like the cerviche! I was really surprised and still baffled as to what I thought about the passion fruit risotto. The brownie with homemade sorbet at the and made the meal absolutely complete. To end the night, we strolled around town by the water.
The next morning, our last few hours in Ilhabela, we wanted to squeeze in some hiking and waterfalls! Ilhabela in chuck full of waterfalls, if you know where to find them. The hiking path across the island that we wanted to take was closed down due to a storm that had damaged it, but instead we went to hike Cachoeira Frigagem. It was a few kilometer trek up a mountain, through residential areas, trails, and past a lot of bugs. The waterfall was worth it! There was even a small pool of water at the bottom that we lounged in.
On the walk back to the hostel then ferry, we waited at least forty minutes for a late bus that never arrived. We decided to speed walk back to the hotel, taxi to the ferry, and super speed walk to the bus terminal. It was an intense thirty minutes of hurrying and rushing to try and not miss the bus back to Sao Paulo. By time we reached the terminal there were only four tickets left, and three of us. With a mix of rain and traffic, we didn’t arrive at our orientation hotel until 9:30 pm. As we walked up to the hotel we saw a plethora of Gringos (you have to just own it here), and I met my Co-ETAs!
Check out the travel video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03ZU-d5ikXw&feature=youtu.be
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