Last week, I discovered Capoeira. There was a capoeira roda (circle) near my house, and my housemates and I went to check it out. At first we just watched along with some other spectators, but after the fighting had ended, singing, music playing and dancing ensued. The mestre (teacher) dragged us into the circle, and we joined in the dancing and clapping (much to my embarrassment!). At the end of the roda, he showed us around the “studio” and invited us to join in the classes. My first eyewitness experience of a roda was beautiful and organic.
“Capoeira é igual que o amor: não tem idade.” “Capoeira is the same as love: it has no age.”
~Mestre Grilo
Since then, I have been training with the group. We begin with calisthenics and stretches, and then practice specific moves- I haven’t learned the names for any of them yet, but it is like a mix of gymnastics (handstands, cartwheels, flips, and all kinds of other crazy air-bound bodily contortions) and martial arts. Every class ends with a roda (involving music, singing, and two people fighting at a time). Capoeira requires strength, flexibility, concentration, and rhythm. Sounds a lot like yoga, right? I have been desperately searching for a yoga class in Ilhéus but after playing capoeria, I realized that this might just be the outlet I have been looking for.
It is hard to describe the feelings that Capoeira produces. When I practice, similar to yoga, I am entirely present and
every
movement
is
deliberate.
I realized the extent of this presence last week, when in the middle of practice, I realized that over an hour had passed and my thoughts had been entirely focused on the present act. Capoeria is teaching me about a culture that I have never been a part of before. It is an ancient tradition, and when you practice, you feel connected to every human that touched the tradition. Practicing Capoeira gives me a sense of belonging; a sense of belonging to place I never knew I belonged.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Teaching
Part of the purpose of this blog is to share my experience with future ETAs and to give prospective ETAs an idea of what the position is like, so I am devoting this entry solely to my work responsibilities here.
I teach 5 English classes per week (2 beginner, 2 intermediate, and 1 advanced class). They all meet once a week for about an hour and a half. The majority of my students are studying “Letras”. In this field of study students take various classes taught in Portuguese (i.e. Brazilian and Portuguese literature, language, linguistics) and choose one foreign language to study (English of Spanish). When they graduate, the students are qualified to teach Portuguese/English/Spanish language and literature. The problem with the system, however, is that the students are rarely exposed to native speakers, and they generally do not speak fluently by the time they graduate college because they only have 60 hours of English per semester. Then, the graduates go on to teach English in public schools, teaching poorly spoken English to students, and thus exacerbating the problem.
The main goal of my classes, then, is to expose the students to a native speaker (myself!) and focus on cultural language and communication. Since most of their teachers/professors (starting in public schools) are from Brazil, the students rarely have the opportunity to learn about cultural nuances or focus solely on everyday communication. Most of the teachers (according to my students) drill them with grammar- grammar- grammar, so they know grammar rules, yet lack oral skills.
There are many challenges to teaching at UESC. The main challenge is something I definitely was not expecting- my beginner students speak only a few words in English (they are taking Spanish as their foreign language, but also want to learn some English), so I have been teaching in English and translating everything to Portuguese. In these classes I rely on some Spanish, a lot of body language and gestures, and students for translations.
Another challenge is something I was expecting: students are always late, leave early, or simply don’t show up at all. It is difficult, therefore, to have a productive class and follow my lesson plans, but I am hoping that as the semester progresses, things will change.
My other responsibilities as an English Teaching Assistant are to hold office hours twice a week. Unfortunately, office hours have been poorly attended thus far, so we may decide to do something else during that time.
My other responsibility is a side "research" project that Amalia and I are working on with some Letras students. In 2007, a UESC professor wrote the project proposal, and it is just really getting off the ground now (almost everything takes a LONG time to get started here). Its main goal is to create an online forum for public school English teachers – a place for them to get classroom resources, lesson plans, interactive activities, share their teaching experiences, etc. We are in the process of creating a website: projetoforte.wrodpress.com. Eventually, we will travel to the public schools and give workshops about how to utilize the site.
The classes, project, and office hours consume my 20-25 hours of ETA work per week, but a new academic/work opportunity arose last week. A UESC English professor is working on a manual for teaching English and he asked Amalia and I if we would edit it or be co-authors. Well, of course! So, we will be helping with a published manual that will (hopefully) eventually be used all over the state of Bahia.
CRISIS
However, now things are changing becuase yesterday professors in Bahia state schools announced that they are striking because the government slashed their salaries and took away some of their autonomy. http://www2.uol.com.br/aregiao/2011/04/entry_4132.html According to the article, the strike will last an undetermined period of time. It could last anywhere from one week to a year, but most students I have talked to think it will last 2 months. I am worried about what the strike may mean for my position here - my classes will be canceled (I may be spending a few months on the beach...). We will have to see how long the strike lasts...and hope that I can find another way to do what I came here to do!
I teach 5 English classes per week (2 beginner, 2 intermediate, and 1 advanced class). They all meet once a week for about an hour and a half. The majority of my students are studying “Letras”. In this field of study students take various classes taught in Portuguese (i.e. Brazilian and Portuguese literature, language, linguistics) and choose one foreign language to study (English of Spanish). When they graduate, the students are qualified to teach Portuguese/English/Spanish language and literature. The problem with the system, however, is that the students are rarely exposed to native speakers, and they generally do not speak fluently by the time they graduate college because they only have 60 hours of English per semester. Then, the graduates go on to teach English in public schools, teaching poorly spoken English to students, and thus exacerbating the problem.
The main goal of my classes, then, is to expose the students to a native speaker (myself!) and focus on cultural language and communication. Since most of their teachers/professors (starting in public schools) are from Brazil, the students rarely have the opportunity to learn about cultural nuances or focus solely on everyday communication. Most of the teachers (according to my students) drill them with grammar- grammar- grammar, so they know grammar rules, yet lack oral skills.
There are many challenges to teaching at UESC. The main challenge is something I definitely was not expecting- my beginner students speak only a few words in English (they are taking Spanish as their foreign language, but also want to learn some English), so I have been teaching in English and translating everything to Portuguese. In these classes I rely on some Spanish, a lot of body language and gestures, and students for translations.
Another challenge is something I was expecting: students are always late, leave early, or simply don’t show up at all. It is difficult, therefore, to have a productive class and follow my lesson plans, but I am hoping that as the semester progresses, things will change.
My other responsibilities as an English Teaching Assistant are to hold office hours twice a week. Unfortunately, office hours have been poorly attended thus far, so we may decide to do something else during that time.
My other responsibility is a side "research" project that Amalia and I are working on with some Letras students. In 2007, a UESC professor wrote the project proposal, and it is just really getting off the ground now (almost everything takes a LONG time to get started here). Its main goal is to create an online forum for public school English teachers – a place for them to get classroom resources, lesson plans, interactive activities, share their teaching experiences, etc. We are in the process of creating a website: projetoforte.wrodpress.com. Eventually, we will travel to the public schools and give workshops about how to utilize the site.
The classes, project, and office hours consume my 20-25 hours of ETA work per week, but a new academic/work opportunity arose last week. A UESC English professor is working on a manual for teaching English and he asked Amalia and I if we would edit it or be co-authors. Well, of course! So, we will be helping with a published manual that will (hopefully) eventually be used all over the state of Bahia.
CRISIS
However, now things are changing becuase yesterday professors in Bahia state schools announced that they are striking because the government slashed their salaries and took away some of their autonomy. http://www2.uol.com.br/aregiao/2011/04/entry_4132.html According to the article, the strike will last an undetermined period of time. It could last anywhere from one week to a year, but most students I have talked to think it will last 2 months. I am worried about what the strike may mean for my position here - my classes will be canceled (I may be spending a few months on the beach...). We will have to see how long the strike lasts...and hope that I can find another way to do what I came here to do!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Rainy Day Events
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I don’t teach classes, so yesterday I decided to go to the city center to do some shopping. Yet as I was preparing to leave my house, it was down-pouring, so I decided to wait for the rain to pass, enjoy the changing weather on my front porch, and leave a bit later. However, I quickly learned that I had locked myself out of my house.
Uh oh, I am in a pickle. My flat mates will not return home until the evening, and I can’t even leave the building because you need another key to open the door between the porch and the street. I start to panic- I don’t want to sit there all day and wait for someone to come home! What am I going to do? I immediately go into emergency mode—what are my resources?
Then, I realize that even if I had not been absentminded enough to leave my key inside, I still would have been watching the rain on the front porch. So, despite my predicament, I sit on the bench and watch the weather. The streets are flooding quickly, and people scramble around on the cobblestone trying to find the driest path. I observe a young man without an umbrella and colorful sneakers attempting to avoid the water rushing down the street, and he makes eye contact with me, thinking to himself, “Man, that girl is so lucky- she is sitting under a nice dry porch.” If only he knew…The rain finally lets up after about an hour, and I decide to look for my neighbors, unfortunately discovering that no one is home. I remember that the painter was here last week, so I look for his ladder. Placing the ladder underneath the back porch, I prepare for the ascent to the second floor. The ladder is very slippery and not quite tall enough to reach the second floor, but when I reach the top, I am able to pull myself onto the ledge and scramble over the top. Yes! I made it! Ha, I am very proud of my resourcefulness.
But wait. When I go to open the door, I realize that I had locked it. Now I am really stuck. It would be too dangerous to descend the ladder back down to the ground floor. I will be sitting on my back porch amongst hanging laundry waiting for hours until someone shows up. I attempt to push open the only window with all my might….Whew! The lock was broken. I scramble through the window into my house.
What a morning.
I chuckle to myself.
And all this happened in less than an hour .
 |
| Learned that my street was constructed very poorly |
 |
| The ocean was still beautiful (This view is a 20 second walk from my apartment!) |
 |
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Getting settled- more pictures to come!
 |
| Our apartment (second floor) |
 |
| My bedroom |
 |
| Decorated yesterday and now it feels like home! |
 |
| Kitchen/dining room - you can see the laundry room patio out back |
 | |||||
| Front porch; a studious Amalia reading up about English teaching methods |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
New Home
Yesterday I moved into my brand new apartment! The move was smooth, mainly because the hostel I had been staying at was less than a block away, but it was stressful trying to figure out how Brazilian household amenities work: potable water, broken washing machine, stove, phone, garbage, recycling (unfortunately non-existent)- everything works differently here, but what is even more difficult is trying to inquire about all of these amenities in Portuguese. My pocket dictionary came in handy.
After spending the afternoon and night trying to get acquainted with my new apartment, I am beginning to feel at home. I have only been staying in hotels and hostels for a few weeks, but even that length of time without a fixed home and personal space can be draining. I rewarded myself after the long day with my first home-cooked meal in Brazil: pasta, BEETS, carrots, and onions. Perhaps a bit of an awkward combination, but I was so glad to be cooking for myself that I could have been eating just about anything. For dessert, a piece of chocolate cake and a Skol (a popular, light beer here)—the girl at the supermarket chuckled when I bought only those two items-- sign of a long day. I write now on our smallest porch in the hammock, enjoying the sound of the ocean and the sea breeze embracing the palms.
Looking forward to making this place a real home: a place to unwind, a place to think, rest, and reenergize. Pictures to come in the near future!
Things I miss from my old “home”:
Preexisting profound personal connections
Not worrying about water quality and eating greens
Making music: my banjo and guitar
Not being stared at and thus being more confident in my actions and myself
Communicating with ease
Things I am grateful for:
The sound of the ocean
Colors
Fresh fruit
Life’s simple pleasures
The sand between my toes
Cold water on a hot day
Lush vegetation
Unpredictable events
Surprising connections
Experiencing being a minority
Making a lot of mistakes and realizing that none of them are detrimental
I have a lot to be grateful for. I run into conflicts everyday, but they are fences, not walls.
After spending the afternoon and night trying to get acquainted with my new apartment, I am beginning to feel at home. I have only been staying in hotels and hostels for a few weeks, but even that length of time without a fixed home and personal space can be draining. I rewarded myself after the long day with my first home-cooked meal in Brazil: pasta, BEETS, carrots, and onions. Perhaps a bit of an awkward combination, but I was so glad to be cooking for myself that I could have been eating just about anything. For dessert, a piece of chocolate cake and a Skol (a popular, light beer here)—the girl at the supermarket chuckled when I bought only those two items-- sign of a long day. I write now on our smallest porch in the hammock, enjoying the sound of the ocean and the sea breeze embracing the palms.
Looking forward to making this place a real home: a place to unwind, a place to think, rest, and reenergize. Pictures to come in the near future!
Things I miss from my old “home”:
Preexisting profound personal connections
Not worrying about water quality and eating greens
Making music: my banjo and guitar
Not being stared at and thus being more confident in my actions and myself
Communicating with ease
Things I am grateful for:
The sound of the ocean
Colors
Fresh fruit
Life’s simple pleasures
The sand between my toes
Cold water on a hot day
Lush vegetation
Unpredictable events
Surprising connections
Experiencing being a minority
Making a lot of mistakes and realizing that none of them are detrimental
I have a lot to be grateful for. I run into conflicts everyday, but they are fences, not walls.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
I suppose it's time for an update….I haven't written much since I arrived in Ilhéus because so many new things are happening all around me that it is difficult to piece them together and make sense of them in writing, but I will attempt to put it down on “paper”.
Amalia (the other ETA in Ilhéus with me) and I ended up staying for our first week in Ilhéus at a beautiful hotel on the beach that was quite like a honeymoon resort. Luckily, we got a fantastic “UESC (Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz) professor discount”, so we were able to afford to stay there. We spent the bulk of our time by the beach and the pool, just waiting for our work to start. Eventually, we learned that we were not going to start teaching classes until the 14th of March, so we tried to be more deliberate with our relaxation. Believe it or not, relaxing CAN be difficult. Life moves at a different pace here, you just gotta go with the flow.
While not relaxing, we searched for apartments, which was quite stressful because everyone rents out their homes/apartments to tourists visiting for Carnaval in the beginning of March. Initially, we were searching for separate apartments in different parts of the city, but when a real estate agent showed us an incredible 3-person apartment, we fell in love. The landlord generally leases to UESC graduate students and professors (all of whom are Brazilian), so our neighbors should be gente boa. The apartment has not one, but THREE, porches: one with a hammock, one in the back for laundry, and one in the front with a wooden bench and beautiful plant! There is also a living room (or two, I can’t remember) and a dining room with a big dining room table that seats 6 or 8. We decided to convert the third bedroom into a yoga/meditation room when we don’t have visitors, and this will definitely be my favorite room in the house. We signed the lease and move in on the 9th!
Until then, I am staying at another hostel (which happens to be a block away from our future home). Currently, I am writing on the porch of that hostel- my neighbor is playing Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You”. Why is it that foreigners only listen to bad American music?
Yesterday I went to the city center to go shopping—I did not have much success shopping, but I did buy my first novel in Portuguese (Paulo Coehlo’s Brida). I had a wonderful conversation with the beautiful man who worked at the bookstore- we talked about books, of course, and he directed me to a used book store, where I had a conversation about Coelho’s best novels with a shopper there. The notable thing about these 2 conversations is not the fact that both guys were good-looking (here most men are…) but rather the fact that I was conversing in Portuguese! I’m excited to improve more and more- it’s such a beautiful language.
Ahh, what about work?! I will be teaching 3 English “reinforcement” classes (of 3 different levels) in the department of Letras. In this field of study, students take all of their classes in Portuguese, except for 60 hours per semester of a foreign language (either English, Spanish, or French, I believe). After receiving their degree, students are able to teach either Portuguese or English literature. However, unfortunately, a lot of the students leave the university without the ability to speak English fluently because most of their classes are in Portuguese. Additionally, since most of their professors are Brazilian, they never have the ability to listen or converse with native English speakers. So, the students seem to be very excited that we are here. One student, who couldn’t make the scheduled class times, even asked if we could hold classes on Saturday afternoon so that she could have the opportunity to take the class as well. In addition to teaching conversation/cultural English classes, I will hold office hours every week so that students can come in with questions or just to talk. I am looking forward to beginning work!
Hmm other notable events?
Today I made a new Brazilian friend- Juliana. She works at the hostel, and invited me to go to the beach with her. This is momentous because it’s very difficult to make friends when you can’t communicate very well…
Yesterday I tried to go running and was sweating my ass off before I even left the house.
It’s still hot here. The weather never changes. I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that every day the weather is the same- it’s always “beach” weather-- and sometimes it rains.
Abraços para todos os meus amigos e família!
Amalia (the other ETA in Ilhéus with me) and I ended up staying for our first week in Ilhéus at a beautiful hotel on the beach that was quite like a honeymoon resort. Luckily, we got a fantastic “UESC (Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz) professor discount”, so we were able to afford to stay there. We spent the bulk of our time by the beach and the pool, just waiting for our work to start. Eventually, we learned that we were not going to start teaching classes until the 14th of March, so we tried to be more deliberate with our relaxation. Believe it or not, relaxing CAN be difficult. Life moves at a different pace here, you just gotta go with the flow.
While not relaxing, we searched for apartments, which was quite stressful because everyone rents out their homes/apartments to tourists visiting for Carnaval in the beginning of March. Initially, we were searching for separate apartments in different parts of the city, but when a real estate agent showed us an incredible 3-person apartment, we fell in love. The landlord generally leases to UESC graduate students and professors (all of whom are Brazilian), so our neighbors should be gente boa. The apartment has not one, but THREE, porches: one with a hammock, one in the back for laundry, and one in the front with a wooden bench and beautiful plant! There is also a living room (or two, I can’t remember) and a dining room with a big dining room table that seats 6 or 8. We decided to convert the third bedroom into a yoga/meditation room when we don’t have visitors, and this will definitely be my favorite room in the house. We signed the lease and move in on the 9th!
Until then, I am staying at another hostel (which happens to be a block away from our future home). Currently, I am writing on the porch of that hostel- my neighbor is playing Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You”. Why is it that foreigners only listen to bad American music?
Yesterday I went to the city center to go shopping—I did not have much success shopping, but I did buy my first novel in Portuguese (Paulo Coehlo’s Brida). I had a wonderful conversation with the beautiful man who worked at the bookstore- we talked about books, of course, and he directed me to a used book store, where I had a conversation about Coelho’s best novels with a shopper there. The notable thing about these 2 conversations is not the fact that both guys were good-looking (here most men are…) but rather the fact that I was conversing in Portuguese! I’m excited to improve more and more- it’s such a beautiful language.
Ahh, what about work?! I will be teaching 3 English “reinforcement” classes (of 3 different levels) in the department of Letras. In this field of study, students take all of their classes in Portuguese, except for 60 hours per semester of a foreign language (either English, Spanish, or French, I believe). After receiving their degree, students are able to teach either Portuguese or English literature. However, unfortunately, a lot of the students leave the university without the ability to speak English fluently because most of their classes are in Portuguese. Additionally, since most of their professors are Brazilian, they never have the ability to listen or converse with native English speakers. So, the students seem to be very excited that we are here. One student, who couldn’t make the scheduled class times, even asked if we could hold classes on Saturday afternoon so that she could have the opportunity to take the class as well. In addition to teaching conversation/cultural English classes, I will hold office hours every week so that students can come in with questions or just to talk. I am looking forward to beginning work!
Hmm other notable events?
Today I made a new Brazilian friend- Juliana. She works at the hostel, and invited me to go to the beach with her. This is momentous because it’s very difficult to make friends when you can’t communicate very well…
Yesterday I tried to go running and was sweating my ass off before I even left the house.
It’s still hot here. The weather never changes. I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that every day the weather is the same- it’s always “beach” weather-- and sometimes it rains.
Abraços para todos os meus amigos e família!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Voce é brasileira?
When I first arrived to Ilhéus, I felt like a total outsider. Walking on the beach, I was extremely aware of my skin color--I have the lightest skin out of anyone I have seen here. The majority of the population is "black", and even the lighter skinned Brazilians here are very dark. Everyday someone calls me "branquinha" (little white girl).
Yesterday at the grocery store, the "bagboy" asked me if I was Brazilian--he said that I couldn't be Brazilian becuase they never use reuseable grocery bags (I use my beach bag). I told him I wasn't Brazilian. He asked if I was German? No. French? No. He gave up. I told him I was from the U.S. and away I went smiling...
I am an outsider here. Constant awareness of this outsider/foreign status forces me to reconsider my everyday actions. Do I really want to supply my own bag at the grocery store, making people know that, hey, not only am I very white and not Brazilian, but I also don't use plastic bags? Yes, absolutely. I really like my reusable grocery bag.
Simply behaving differently than the rest of society does not mean you are behaving immorally.
Yesterday at the grocery store, the "bagboy" asked me if I was Brazilian--he said that I couldn't be Brazilian becuase they never use reuseable grocery bags (I use my beach bag). I told him I wasn't Brazilian. He asked if I was German? No. French? No. He gave up. I told him I was from the U.S. and away I went smiling...
I am an outsider here. Constant awareness of this outsider/foreign status forces me to reconsider my everyday actions. Do I really want to supply my own bag at the grocery store, making people know that, hey, not only am I very white and not Brazilian, but I also don't use plastic bags? Yes, absolutely. I really like my reusable grocery bag.
Simply behaving differently than the rest of society does not mean you are behaving immorally.
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