And They All Lived Happily Ever After...

Well, I'm back in the U.S.A. Coming back involved lots of complicated feelings, of course. Mostly I was really happy to be able to see my family and friends. But not speaking Portuguese is pretty strange, for sure.

In some ways, my time in Brazil passed by quickly, but it wasn't just like a vacation: I wasn't just a tourist there. I had a regular old Brazilian life: I went to school every day and I came home at the end of it. I had Brazilian friends and a Brazilian family. When you're a tourist, you come back after having seen the country. But I did more than see the country: I also lived the life of a Brazilian, and somehow it's harder for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I will never be back there in that exact situation again.

Either way, I had an amazing semester, full of learning and growth. I'm glad I did it, but I'm glad I'm back. And, since I'm back, I guess there's no more need for this blog. I'm contemplating keeping an ultimate-related blog up (we'll see what happens with that) because I enjoyed writing while I was away and it'd be fun to keep it up. But otherwise, this is it! Tchau, Brazil, tchau, Brazil Blog!

...and for those of you who are curious: I can samba. Maybe not too well, but I can't say I didn't learn.
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Touring Sampa

So I'm here in São Paulo (Sampa if you want to abbreve), and I am really enjoying it, despite quite low expectations. Everyone who I talked to before coming here warned me: it's not a tourist city. You won't find much to do there. But I've had three pretty full days here:

Sunday was not actually all that full. I woke up late, had a leisurely breakfast at my hostel, and wandered around Vila Madalena the whole day. Vila Madalena is a really pretty neighborhood, it reminds me a lot of Wallingford in Seattle—kind of hippie/young and full of fairs and parks and street art. I spent a fair bit of time at the fair and a really fun bookstore right nearby, and then I walked to the Tomie Ohtake institute, a really cool-looking building with a modern art museum inside. It was nice to relax and the museum had great exhibits.

   I've been staying with a Wellesley alum (class of '90) and her family (husband, 3-year-old twins, 2 labs) since Sunday night, and her house is really nice. It's in a neighborhood called Alto de Pinheiros, right near Vila Madalena, and on a bunch of bus routes—fairly convenient to getting in and out of the center.

Monday was spent on a walking tour of the city center. The Lonely Planet guide has a 4-hour suggested tour and I stuck almost completely to it. It started at Praça da Sé, where the city cathedral is located(pictured). The coolest thing about the very center of the city is about half the streets are people-only: no cars, which is pretty rare in this car-filled city.

There is also a ton of really neat architecture, and lots of cool little praças with these HUGE rainforesty trees...They seem to pop up out of concrete, it's impressive.

In the afternoon, I checked out out Av. Paulista (very Manhattan-y) and Rua Oscar Freire (=5th Ave). It was fun to window shop and see all the holiday decorations and stuff. Between my walking tour and the afternoon, I did a TON of walking. I made it back to a park closeby the house, Parque Villa Lobos, around 5PM, and walked, wrote, and rented a bike, and ended the day with sushi with the Wellesley alum and her husband, which was great!

Today was a museum day. I spent the whole day just north of the centro, in a neighborhood called Luz. The train station there, Estação da Luz, is completely out of place with its surroundings. You feel like you've been transported to England!! It was built in 1901 in full Victorian style, complete with all its materials actually shipped from Great Britain!It was funny to see this very British train station in the middle of Brazil...but I should stop being surprised at things...I'm in Brazil: most anything happens here.

My first stop was the Museu da Língua Portuguesa: the Portuguese Language museum. This museum was actually fascinating (especially if you're a linguistics person..which I'm not). It's actually inside part of the Estação da Luz. The museum documents the rise of Brazilian Portuguese as distinct from the European (or African) and had a really cool special exhibit on a Brazilian poet, as well. I spent a long time in there: there's a timeline that goes from 4000 BC to the present day, and a ton of interactive features where you can here different accents or slang from different places.

After that, it was on to the Pinacoteca do Estado, São Paulo's oldest art museum (built in 1909). The building kind of reminds me of Wellesley's science center, actually—it's this old building that has been through some cool renovations and the inside looks nothing like you expect it to be. There's a great collection of Brazilian art there, especially contemporary, and I really enjoyed myself.

I spent some time walking around the Parque da Luz, which has tons of modern sculpture (but not over the top—very tasteful!) and wrote a bit/just relaxed.

The third museum of the day was the annex of the Pinacoteca (more contemporary art and a really cool exhibit of random stuff from a collector that donated his collection to the museum) and the Memorial da Liberdade, which is dedicated to memorializing the period of the Brazilian dictatorship. It's housed in the cells that were used to imprison and torture political dissidents, and though it was simple it was a powerful and educational experience.

Brazil's dictatorship lasted from 1964 to 1985, and though not as brutal (nor as well-known) as the Argentinian or Chilean ones going on around the same time, it was still a repressive, non-democratic regime. While I've been here, I've only had one conversation about the dictatorship, and I haven't really read anything about it, so it was really good to find out more history and actual details. But the most powerful was the one cell they had restored to its original condition, what it'd looked like during the dictatorship. Complete with scratchings on the walls and matresses on the floors and the thing that was supposed to be a "bathroom" but was really just a hole in the ground.

I knew it happened, in theory, you know? But that museum made me realize (as stupid as it sounds) that it actually happened. And it involved real people, people who were so desperate to document their lives that they etched their names on the wall, for fear they'd otherwise be forgotten forever.

It was a heavy way to end the day, but it was definitely worth it.

Tomorrow: Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Museu da Imigração Japonesa, Parque da Ibirapuera/Museu da Arte Moderna, FLY HOME!

I can't believe it...my time here is really coming to an end...
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Cheguei!

I have finally, finally, arrived at my hostel in São Paulo. I say this because I left the airport at 9PM. shoot. after grabbing my luggage, putting the big bag in storage til I pick it up the 23rd, then taking a 2-hour bus across the city, then a 2-hour CAB RIDE (yes, it was expensive) back across (at least it seemed that way) I am finally here in Vila Madalena...except now I don't want to even go out, I just want to go to sleep.

There was a wonderful view of the falls from the airplane as we left right before sunset, a great way to say goodbye to the city--just a river turning into mist turning into cloud.

Can you tell I am tired? I think the quality of these blog entries must be going downhill...sorry--I guess I am too tired for this.

Anyway. Suffice it to say that THE TRAFFIC IN SÃO PAULO IS HORRIBLE. Absolutely the worst. Of course, what would you expect from a city of 20 million? but still.

Tomorrow: explore, eat lunch, meet a Wellesley alum who lives here, maybe, maybe find an ultimate frisbee game?? I don't know if that last one will be possible. I have heard vague rumors that ultimate exists here...but who knows if I will actually find it in a city this big??

Yes. Tired and overwhelmed. Until tomorrow, internetland. Read More...

Foz do Iguaçu!!

Well, I left Fortaleza with more hecticness than was necessary, mostly due to forgetting my camera at the house and realizing it when I was in the ticket line at the airport. whoops.

The situation was resolved by Fatima sending the thing via mototaxi, which was expensive but not as expensive as airmailing it to iguaçu...which would have meant I would have spent the first day without the camera.

Thank goodness that didn't happen. I got into Iguaçu at like 2 in the morning, and woke up early (ish) the next day, had breakfast, and headed to the Brazilian side of the falls. Oh, my goodness. It was wonderful. Iguaçu falls are wider than Victoria and wider and taller than Niagra...And hiking on the Brazilian side, the whole majestic falls were just absolutely stunning, spreading out in front of me and curving back around. We got pretty close to a part of them, and I took a boat ride right into the middle of them!!!

Yesterday was the Argentinian side. Argentina owns more of the actual falls but you can't get the panoramic view the Brazilian side gives you so you kind of have to do both. We got really close-up to the falls on the Argentinian side, and there was a lot more hiking/walking available which was nice.

Unfortunately by the end of the day my nose was running horribly and my throat was quite sore, and I woke up this morning feeling really terribly. But I spent most of the day in bed, with the exception of a short walk to and from the farmacy...On the way I stopped at a juice bar and got acerola/orange juice which has the highest levels of vitamin C. It helped a bit but I think sleeping helped more. And now I am going to go watch a movie and sleep some more, with the hopes that I will feel better tomorrow. I am planning to go to a national rainforest/bird park tomorrow and then hang around town until my 7PM flight to São Paulo!! Here's to more adventures, and hopefully to getting better. Sorry if this post is ridiculous...I am hopped up on dayquil and now I am tired again. But Foz do Iguaçu was definitely an amazing experience, for sure.
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Saudades

I think the weirdest sensation is no longer being able to fully express oneself in just one language.

The best one-word example of this is the word Saudade, which actually has no translation. It's a feeling, that expresses loss. So if you say you're going to feel saudades, it means you're going to miss them, only like times 13249847549832749. "I miss you" doesn't cover it. But I didn't really realize that until I found this new expression that conveys so much more than "I miss you". It's not really certain when Saudade came about, as a word. But it really developed when the Portuguese found and began settling Brazil...families split apart, people left their homeland, never to return...That's saudades--missing the place AND the people. It's how you feel after a long voyage...it implies emptiness and loss.

Needless to say, I'm going to feel a TON of Saudades for this place, Fortaleza...Brazil..and even more for the people. But the whole time I've been here I've missed home. So how exactly am I supposed to be happy again? If you have the answer, let me know.

Yesterday, Fatima and I had a celebratory dinner, just the two of us, at home. It was more Italian than Brazilian--we had lasagna (soy and eggplant) and garlic bread and a glass of Argentinian wine. It was really nice--just the two of us, and very tranquilo as the Brazilians say...See what I mean about expressing myself in only one language?

Despite feeling pretty sad about leaving Fortaleza (I've cried once this weekend thinking about it and so has Fatima...) I'm really excited to start this new part of my time in Brazil!! IGUAÇU FALLS HERE I COME!

Until later, Fortaleza. Até mais.
Katie
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"Quem bebe desta agua...

...vai voltar."
whoever drinks the water from here is going to come back. It's a popular saying around here and after three and a half months here I believe it.

Just a quick entry to reflect on the fact that I'm all done with my program and I am headed out on TUESDAY, which I do NOT believe. Tomorrow is the host family party and Manu Chao/Roberto Sa (haven't decided which) tomorrow night. Sunday is free, Monday is last minute packing, and then...Sayonara, Fortaleza!! I think I'll write a more reflecting entry on Monday, but Tchau for now! I'm off to CUCA for the last time, to present my research to the staff there.
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Done...

I just handed in my ISP. 49 pages. Four weeks worth of existence in one academic document. It is all nice and prettily bound with a photo on the cover and footnotes and a table of contents and acknowledgments and everything.

No more Fall Semester.* Crazy.

*Well, I still have an oral presentation. But I like to talk so that'll be easy
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Happy December!

I just got caught in a full-on tropical rainstorm. I was about 3 blocks away from IBEU, where we had Portuguese classes, and where there are computers/internet available for free, when the skies just opened up, no warning, and it was pouring.

Ten minutes later and I ducked out from the overhang under which I´d taken shelter, squelching on.

I am now staring out the window at a beautiful rainbow over the sea, drying out my soggy bag and marveling that it is completely summer and completely December.

It´s funny the things we are so used to we don´t even question. Read More...

Itinerary

Dec 15 4:20PM Depart Fortaleza
Dec 15 9PM Arrive São Paulo
Dec 15 11PM Depart São Paulo
Dec 16 1:35AM Arrive Foz de Iguaçu
Dec 19 7PM Depart Foz de Iguaçu
Dec 19 9PM Arrive São Paulo Read More...

Children´s Games and Packages!

Wow, quite a spate of posts recently--either I´ve been too busy or not busy enough...not actually sure which!

Today´s class was primarily dedicated to children´s games. We started off talking about typical food in the US and I waxed lyrical about the wonders of peanut butter, which is a surprisingly regular occurence. I thought it was important to talk/answer questions about food for a couple of reasons:

1. Everyone here eats rice and beans at least once a day. That´s not an exaggeration. You can´t find someone who doesn´t know how to cook arroz e feijão. When food comes up, Brazilians always want to know what our equivalent to rice and beans is. I have yet to think of something similar...I think the closest might just be PB&J sandwiches...cue another chance to sing peanut butter´s praises! When I told them sandwiches are really common and talked about Turkey Clubs and BLTs, they asked me if that was why Americans are all so fat. I wasn´t sure what to say but I ended up blaming (probably semi-unfairly) Fast Food.
2. Of the Brazilians that have actually visited the States (none of whom are students of mine), the majority have only been to Disney World, and maybe the other theme parks in Orlando. So they come back to Brazil complaining about how American food is awful and expensive to boot, and all anyone eats is hamburgers, hot dogs, and french fries. I wanted to correct this erroneous thinking.
3. Food is part of culture, intrinsically, and like I´ve said before, it´s funny to think about something we all need to survive changing so much from place to place.

The games we ended up playing:
-Duck Duck Goose this was definitely a favorite--people picked it up quickly and we played for a while. Incidentally, duck = pato and goose = ganzo, same as Spanish.
-WAH! Yes, all you Whiptail/BDC readers out there, I officially brought WAH to Brazil! We had an excellent time playing and by the end they really got it I think, though they definitely preferred duck duck goose.
-What time is it, Mr. Fox So I forgot the translation for Fox, so that was kind of lost, and I think I may have played it slightly wrong, but they got the general gist.
-Simon Says (Simon Diz) They really liked this one. I explained it to them and then said someone else had to be Simon because I didn´t know enough body parts yet—probably not quite true but I was tired of leading games and it got a laugh. We played that for quite a while.
-Morto Vivo We formally ended with a Brazilian children´s game they decided to teach me, and we had a lot of fun. When the leader says ´morto´, you have to squat down, ´vivo´, stand up. It´s simple but fast-paced and fun. I lasted for a long time which I was proud of.

We ended up formally ending right at 12 o´clock, but about half the students stayed after and we played ´rock paper scissors´and I taught them a few clap games.

I had by far my most fun day today, and I left in a stellar mood to head home for a late lunch, and then head over to the SIT headquarters where I picked up MAIL! A beautiful blouse and a letter from my wonderful Gran, and another letter from the Wellesley Office of International Study containing tons of news, a letter from the class dean, and (more importantly) Swedish Fish, Starburst, and a recipe for pumpkin pie— just in time for Thanksgiving! I think I might try and make something for class tomorrow; I´ll let you know how that endeavor turns out. Fátima´s oven doesn´t have any degrees or much temperature adjustment, so...well, we shall see.
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Conversation

After the usual questions about where I’m from and how long I’m here for and what I’m studying, it goes something like this (in Portuguese):

“So, do you have a boyfriend back home in the States?”
“No.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope.”
“What about here? Do you have a boyfriend here in Fortaleza?”
“No…”
“Really?! But you’re so beautiful! I can’t believe you don’t have a boyfriend!”
“Nope, don’t have a boyfriend.”
“Have you at least kissed some Brazilian guys since you’ve been here?”
“No”
“Aw, but why not?!”
“I guess because I’m shy!”

Cue the less mandatory but still common conversation about Brazilian men and how they are happy to look at you/cat call you, but generally don’t want to buy you dinner or date you.

It gets old. Very quickly.
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My Sunday Afternoon, or Why Getting Lost on the Bus is a Good Thing

So last Thursday, I got horribly lost on the bus. I guess it was bound to happen at some point. I usually take the bus line ‘Grande Circular 2’ to CUCA, but I wasn’t really paying attention, and I ended up getting on ‘Circular 2,’ which is a completely different route.

…Only it goes a while on the same route before turning into a completely different route, so I was sitting on the bus for quite some time before it occurred to me that the bus didn’t seem to be going exactly the same way as usual. I figured it was my poor memory, and it took me a bit more time before I summoned up the courage to head up to the driver and make sure that the bus was headed toward CUCA. I got a confused look from the bus driver, instructions to go to the terminal Antonio Bezerra and take a different bus from there from the guy waiting to get off, and then there erupted a small argument between him and a girl who appeared to be about my age, apparently about which way I should be going. Finally the older guy ceded and got off the bus, and the girl motioned to come sit next to her. We disembarked at UFC, the university…allllllll the way across town. She walked me quickly to a different bus stop and loudly asked if anyone was getting on the “CUCA/Barra” line. One girl, also about my age (there were lots of college students around…it is a university campus after all) said she was, and we got the bus together.

The CUCA/Barra bus took a long time to arrive, and we had an even longer time riding the bus all the way back across the city, and Joelma (that was the girl’s name) and I had a nice time conversing and getting to know one another. She’s taking an English class at the UFC and works two different jobs. We exchanged e-mails and phone numbers and made a tentative date to go watch the new Twilight together (I wasn’t particularly enthused, but it’s something to do and hang out again).

After much conversation, I ended up going to her house and chilling with her and her two sisters on Sunday afternoon. She made lunch for us to eat together (lasagna, delicious) and around 4:30 we left to walk to CUCA (it’s about a 20-minute walk from her house) to watch yet another gorgeous sunset, and then go to a Baroque ensemble concert. The ensemble was great, playing a bunch of really old stuff, but also some arrangements of Brazilian music they’d written for the group, including some great pieces composed originally by Luiz Gonzago.

Joelma and her sisters had never been to the theater before…I was taken back to the days of my youth when I’d go to some small ensemble performance with my mom at Penn and fall asleep halfway through…but either way, it was enjoyed by all. And that’s the story of why getting lost on the bus is a good thing.

But my Sunday didn’t end there! Fatima had introduced the group and is friends with a few of the musicians, and a big group of us (about 9) ended up going out after the concert for delicious pizza. I had a nice conversation with one of the recorder players who said he could procure me an oboe to play! And I’m going to an orchestra concert of his on Thursday! They’re playing some Villa Lobos.

So basically, a really solid day.
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Tough Second Week

…Two more to go before write-up and presentation time; then it’s off to the south of the country (not exactly sure where, yet…), then…? I can’t believe the time—it’s just flying by.

The week has been particularly hard, for a number of reasons. I am really starting to miss some of those true constants: family and the ability to make it back to Brunswick from school in three hours or less; friends, both at school and at home; Wellesley, in all its ridiculous glory; and, of course, Ultimate. Our team splits into A and B teams at the end of the fall and the team list was recently posted. As I read through all the names, I realized I only recognized about half of them, maybe less!

It’s easy to get lost in this eternal summer, and think that time has stood still and everything will be waiting right where I left it when I get back. But of course that’s not the case, it can’t be. And recognizing that as I prepare for more transition will be crucial.

One of the reasons that this week has been so hard is due to my continual struggle for independence and against common sense. Don’t worry, common sense continues to win out, in the form of an armed escort to the bus stop as I’m leaving CUCA for home every afternoon. So far since CUCA’s opening there have been multiple students who’ve gotten mugged, including one girl who was robbed at gunpoint. All the professors get an escort to the bus stop, but I really hate it. I have stopped taking my laptop there, and really, it’s thanks to some good sense, and more sheer luck, that I haven’t had anything happen to me so far.

I feel like I’m treading very on a glass floor, and one wrong move, the whole thing will shatter. The only thing I’ve ever had stolen from me before was a bike, when I was 10 and living in West Philly, but somehow I feel like getting robbed here would be more mentally debilitating than anything else.

The fact that I am constantly thinking about it is probably a good thing, but I have just felt way too on edge lately.

Class at CUCA is going really well (see picture of another glorious sunset!). My students are bright and engaged, eager and curious. I’ve gotten about half a dozen invites to lunch with them, and a dozen more ‘Orkut’ (pronounced orkooch…Brazilian equivalent to Facebook) invitations.

Friday, ‘deu uma volta’ (I took a walk around the bairro [neighborhood]) with Beatriz, a 15-year-old, from my class. She has 5 brothers and sisters and lives about three blocks away from CUCA. Though I know I’ve mentioned a lot about it being dangerous above, it’s only really dangerous when you’re sozinha (alone) and when you’ve got a backpack/bag on you—that tends to draw attention. So I left my bag at CUCA and walked with Beatriz to get to know the neighborhood a bit. We went to her house, where I got to meet her mom and a couple brothers and sisters, including her 19-year-old brother, who’s deficiente—handicapped. I’m not sure exactly what handicap he has but it’s pretty debilitating. He can’t walk or even sit up without help and clearly has limited mental capacity. But he was really happy to see a new face, I could tell, and I think it meant a lot to Beatriz that I was willing to go with her. Her mom was also excited to meet me and Beatriz raved on and on about class, which was a bit unnecessary.

Beatriz warned me before that her family was poor, and I shouldn’t expect too much. I didn’t know quite how to respond to that. Even if I’m not “rich” by American standards, or anything, if she knew how much money I bring into that world, by my plane ticket alone, she’d probably be shocked. And when I met her family, her house was pretty humble—four rooms, she shares a room with three brothers and sisters, and one TV, no cable—but it was the house of a family that was living comfortably with what they had, sharing what was maybe not a ton, but you can tell they have enough, and they’re happy, and what’s more, eager to share it with whoever shows interest.

I was planning to do the next class on food, but I think I’ll save that for Thanksgiving day. One of my students had an interesting class idea, one I think will work—child games and songs exchange. I’ll teach them the ones we play in America, we can do some Brazilian ones too. I can only come up with ‘Duck Duck Goose,’ ‘Quack Diddly Oso,’ and Mafia, so if any of you have other suggestions, please let me know!!
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Re: Learning to Samba

I think the key is to move your feet really fast, have fun, and not care about whatever atrocity you're committing to the name of 'Samba'.





Seriously, I think I'm getting it. Read More...

Ahoy! I'm sitting in a grocery store that's right under my apartment, with great internet. They have tables so I don't feel really strange, only a little bit. I have gotten a couple of looks and I am the only one with a computer right now but I'm not the only one that has used this space as an internet café, so I don't feel super sketchy.

I am now officially a 'professora'! I taught two classes this week (picture = CUCA), and as far as I can tell, I think the students are really enjoying the class. We talked about United States history (one of my favorite subjects) and have had discussions about the general concept of culture, what it means, and how it can be different to each person. We've also talked about the ideas of democracy as a means of government and as an ideology...Though I don't know how well that came across in translation. My class is huge--51 people registered, but both days about 35 or so showed up. As far as I can tell, this is pretty common with courses at CUCA--lots of people register, about half of them actually attend.


Speaking Portuguese for an hour and a half (well, either that or listening to it) gets really, really tiring. Each day I realize just how little Portuguese I really know and can utilize. But there's no denying that I've been able to improve at an incredible rate. Learning languages is quite a phenomenon. And it is truly frustrating. I remember during the first few weeks of the program one of the other students said that her family has a parrot, and the parrot could speak more Portuguese than she could. I'm continually amazed when I meet little kids, and they go off chattering, speaking better Portuguese than I ever will...it's crazy!

I'm also taking a Capoeira class at CUCA. Capoeira is an afro-brazilian martial art that started as a way to disguise battle training as music and dance. Slaves would stand in a circle (roda) singing and clapping, the berimbau and the tamborine their primary instruments, while two opponents sparred in the center. It's really popular here, and I have had the opportunity to "watch" a few capoeira games (watch is in quotes because capoeiristas don't let you get away with standing in the roda without participating) and it has truly been a privilege. People "play" with such joy and there is so much energy emanating from everyone in the circle. Everyone participates, whether it's singing, playing an instrument, or playing the game, which is a very strategic combination of reaction to what your opponent does and cunning to try and beat him. My first official class was yesterday and I had so much fun, just learning the basics! I am really sore today, all over, but it was definitely worth it. If you can, you should try and check out some capoeira traditional music, on iTunes or online. It's got a really unique sound and the lyrics are fantastic. Some lyrics are about trivial things, some about 'Mother Africa' and some about just life. One of my favorite lyrics from last night:


Vivemos aqui nessa terra lutando pra sobreviver (we live here on this earth struggling to survive)

um lugar onde poucos tem muito e muitos não tem o que come (a place where little have much and many don't even have enough to eat)

Olhando isso eu fico triste me pergunto qual é a solução (seeing this I'm sad, and I ask myself what the solution is)

estou feiliz por ter a capoeira commo forma de expressão (I'm happy to have capoeira as a form of expression)
Capoeira é uma arte e arte é obra de Deus (Capoeira is an art and art is the work of God)

nessa terra eu não tenho muito mas tudo que tenho foi Deus que me deu (in this earth I don't have much, but all I have God gave me) Read More...

The Beginning of Part III

Well, I'm back in Fortaleza! We got back yesterday afternoon, leaving three students behind in Salvador for their independent studies.

Today marks the beginning of the field study period, something that's pretty exciting. I don't know how much I've said about my project, but I'll be working at a government-funded center that offers classes for youth ages 15-29 in the city. And while doing my own field study is intimidating, it's not even the most intimidating thing about this part of the program.The most intimidating thing is that I'm going to be speaking Portuguese 24/7. There won't be american students around for me to converse with; my academic director will be communicating via e-mail...so from here on out, it's exclusively Portuguese, a true immersion.

The field study isn't even the second-most intimidating thing. While I'm researching the youth center, I'm going to be teaching a class there as well, on "American art and culture"--a pretty broad topic, especially for only 8 "lectures". I figured it'd be a way to give back to the organization, but I was not expecting a serious class. Apparently 50 people enrolled. So, if any of you have any suggestions on what I should include (what even is American culture?) send them my way; I'd be grateful. My first class is tomorrow at 10:30, and I already can feel butterflies in my stomach...

I know I owe updates about Recife and Salvador, and I'm going to try to get around to them this week.

As far as the computer goes, I took it in today to get it looked at...looks like my hard drive failed so I'm without my computer for the rest of the week probably. Hopefully it won't be too expensive to fix. Oh, well. Life goes on, I guess. Read More...

O Bahia, O Salvador...

Oi! After a long span of little to no internet, I am here in Salvador at an internet cafe with quick internet and a webcam/headset, so I´m a bit more accessible and have enjoyed a few skype conversations with family/friends! Look for me online; I´d love to chat.

Salvador is a beautiful, historic city (actually Brazil´s first city and capital, founded in the first decade of the 1500s) and I´ve enjoyed my limited free time exploring the city. Though much of our time here has been spent visiting NGOs (such as Bahia Street, which we visited today), we´ve also had a good portion of time on our own. It´s nice to relax and just be on my own in Brazil, navigating a different city without a group of Americans. Yesterday we had our whole morning free, and I went to a really cool used bookstore in the Pelorinho (pictured above), the historic center. The store´s called Beringela, which means eggplant in Portuguese. It was exactly what a used bookstore should be, with old, dusty books stacked up against the walls and shelves and everywhere there was space, kind of organized, kind of not, and a really nice shopkeeper who recommended about a thousand books to me (I only bought three). It had a little snack/cafe place attached so I got coffee and read for a while.

Food here is spicy and delicious!! I have been missing spices; Fortaleza tends to be pretty bland. The dish of choice is Acarajé (pictured, left), a delicious afro-baiana dish made from fried bean paste, stuffed with sauce, spicy tomatoes and bell peppers, and shrimp (with the shells on. and yes, that´s how you are supposed to eat them). But really food deserves a whole other entry, as does a week that´s missing here--the week in Recife and Cachoiera. Entries to come, I promise, as time permits!

Saturday I´ve got a free day and I´m planning to spend it at the MAM (Modern Art Museum or Museu de Arte Moderno, depending on which language you choose), writing letters and postcards that are long overdue, and checking out the museum of course, which is free. Apparently it´s a great place to watch the sunset, and Saturday night there´s going to be dinner and a jazz concert, so I´ll stay for that. I´m pretty excited. The only hitch in this plan is that my computer broke (it´s a long and very sad story. But it might get fixed in Fortaleza. Fingers crossed.) and thus I have lost a bunch of addresses I had saved. So if you want a postcard and haven´t already e-mailed me your address, do it!! Please!

Hope this update reaches all of you well--I know it´s flu season back in the States. Special well-wishes to my little sister, Sarah (are you even reading this Sarah?) who is a bit sick but starring in Beauty and the Beast at BJHS starting tomorrow! Break a leg, Sarah, I´ll be thinking of you!!! Read More...

Packin' Up, Movin' On

Today was my last day of formal classes! I finished up my Portuguese class with a final exam yesterday--today was a field trip to a school where our oral exam was a conversation with the students.

We had our last lecture this afternoon and a briefing on the next component of our program: travel! We’re headed to Recife, the interior of Pernambuco, and a couple of cities in Bahia, including Salvador. So I’m not sure what my internet access is going to be like for the next few weeks but I’ll do my best to write updates as these days are bound to be full and very interesting.


I’m excited to explore a new part of Brazil; I haven’t done any traveling, really, since I’ve gotten here, and I’m super excited for Salvador! Apparently they have spicy food there, something I’ve been craving! Here there’s plenty of sweet stuff but spicy foods aren’t really common or popular, sadly.

We return November 8 and I start my independent field study the next day. I’ve already submitted my proposal and everything (that was why I had my laptop in my bag last night) and I’m excited to get started. It’ll be different not having formal classes but I’m looking forward to getting to know CUCA, the youth center where I’ll be doing my project.

I still can’t believe that I’m done with formal classes for the semester. It’s crazy to think that I won’t be back at IBEU, the class center, until we are finishing up and presenting. It’s been such a huge part of the first part of the program.

Today a bunch of people on our program went for a last-hurrah suco at ‘the suco place’ as we fondly call it. It was bittersweet, but I’m sure I’ll be back there soon. I got a maracujá (passion fruit) and it was delicious, as always.

Well, so long for now! Next stop: Recife!
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Feeling Skittish

So yesterday, I went to an ‘intercambio’ dinner at the house of the Portuguese III professor, directly after class ended. Annede also teaches english so both classes ate and conversed together. I had a lot of fun, and we ordered banana pizza so the universe was at peace. We spoke english for about half the time and Portuguese for the other half. It was actually really neat because the students in the english class spoke at a high level, and by now, so do we, so it was fairly simple to make ourselves understood in both languages and it was fun to teach some slang!

The event ended around 9:30, but we hung around talking until about 9:50, when we finally parted ways. There were six of us exchange students there; four elected to take a cab because they lived close to one another; another student, Charles, and I went the public transportation route.

I was already a little on the uneasy side because we’d been told not to take the bus after 10-10:30 and that time was getting closer by the second, plus, I had my schoolbag on, which had my laptop in it (I had to finish my independent study proposal last night). Charles was going the opposite way from me but he decided to walk me to the bus stop. Usually, I kind of scorn that kind of thing, but I agreed to it, and I’m glad I did, because on the way there the streets were empty and Charles said that his Portuguese prof had told him last week that two students coming to visit her last week had been robbed at gunpoint on the exact same walk we were doing. She lives in a really nice area, but that’s ultimately not great since it means high walls you can’t see around, not a lot of people on the street, and it’s a vulnerable area anyways because people know rich people live there.


I made it to the bus stop just fine, and jumped on the first bus that came, but after Charles’ story I was feeling more skittish than usual. I tried to be as calm as I could--after all, I really was in very minimal danger--but my imagination got going despite my best efforts.

I was sitting close to the front of the bus watching for my stop. After a fair bit I started recognizing the area and knew I was close. I spotted the Texaco on the corner of my street and hopped of the bus...only to realize that I was definitely not at my street yet. OK, future reference: gas stations probably aren’t the best landmarkers to use.

I decided to keep walking--I knew I was close to home and I knew which direction to walk. But I just couldn’t turn off that paranoid feeling. The sidewalks were dark and emptier than usual; I was carrying a laptop, and in truth I didn’t know exactly how many blocks I still had to cover.

I walked briskly, making the next street light or bus stop my only objective, avoiding eye contact and always listening and looking out.

After an eternity, I finally recognized the street directly before mine, so I turned early, to cut off doubling back, and arrived at my apartment after walking through a much less lit area that really gave me the creeps/

I’m thankful that nothing happened. I was careless and not as aware as I should have been on that bus and when I realized I wasn’t close to home yet I should have just grabbed the next bus. At the same time, I hate how paranoid I was. I think I usually have a very healthy measure of fear walking out alone, but I hate that it limits my actions, and I can’t help feeling sometimes that it’s unnecessary. Last night I got too scared, but better safe than sorry.
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Pictures and more food-related thoughts

I've finally found a semi-fast internet connection and I've uploaded some more photos!

You can see my photos from the MST and Canindé here, and some new photos from around Fortaleza here.

I think this blog is turning into a food blog of sorts, and I've decided it's for a couple of reasons.
1. I like to eat, and
2. I think it's interesting how we all have to eat but we choose to eat such different stuff! My host mother made a kind of egg/quiche cake with soy the other day. It was delicious; I'm going to try and learn how to make it. I'm only really missing two crucial American foods: salad with lettuce and tomato (they don't really have that here), and peanut butter. I love peanut butter. Brazilians don't have it. Margarine is not an acceptable substitute.
On Sunday, Fátima cooked a breakfast that was bem Cearense: traditional Ceará food, and I took a picture to show you just how different it is:

OK. Going from left to right: in the fruit bowl--guava and banana. On my place setting: a small bowl of soy and vegetables cooked. Pitcher of caju juice and pitcher of coffee. In the big bowl is a mixture of cous-cous and egg. But cous-cous here isn't the arabic kind, it's cornmeal! You're supposed to mix the cous-cous and the soy and eat it. It was delicious if a little strange.


And here is the caju fruit, from which we made the juice! It's in season right now so it's everywhere--sold on the streets and in the grocery store. They make cashew nuts from those black things, but they're poisonous if they're not cooked. I tried some fruit, and it tastes good but the texture is very off-putting. I prefer the nuts and the juice. I think the fruit is an acquired taste.

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