Here are some pictures of the school and where I live.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Fulbright
It’s incredible how much can happen in 24 hours. Yesterday evening I got an email from the director of the Fulbright program in the Asia-Pacific countries (where I applied). He said to contact him as soon as possible in regards to the status of my Fulbright application. I practically had a panic attack, but had a faculty meeting so I had to contain my nervousness about what this could possibly mean. I initially thought they might want to send me to another country that didn’t receive enough applicants. During the meeting I couldn’t focus one bit, and Fernando (the English teacher) asked what I wanted to do for the rest of the meeting…I told him honestly I just wanted to call the program director for the Fulbright and I ended up explaining the situation to him. I told him I wouldn’t know what to do if they offered me the grant to either Indonesia or another country, since I already signed my contract with Korea. He very calmly explained to me that it’s not a hard decision. Since I’ve wanted the Fulbright for a long time, I should accept that and see what steps I need to take to end my Korean contract. He really saved me from losing my mind and by the end of the conversation I felt much better. He then told me about the many places he’d like to show me in Sao Paulo and also offered to take Michelle and I to the beach in Sao Paulo where he has an apartment. There’s a holiday towards the end of June where we have a 4 day weekend and he said he’d be happy to have us there. His kindness and enthusiasm to show me around has already helped me more than he will ever know.
Anyways, back to the Fulbright. The last I heard from them was that I was rejected, and that was the last I expected to hear from them. I moved on with my life, found a job for the fall, and that was that. I talked to the director this afternoon and he informed me that the English Teaching Assistantship program in Malaysia had unexpectedly tripled this year and they are looking for applicants to fill those spots. He said the Fulbright commission in Malaysia has looked over my application and offered me the grant. I would go from January 2012 to November 2012. I told him that I already made plans for the fall, but would love to accept the offer. So, I have until the end of the business day tomorrow (Friday) to call him back and let him know my decision.
I honestly thought it was going to be a hard decision to make, but after he explained the situation to me, I already knew my answer was going to be yes. I’ve known about the Fulbright for a few years, and always knew I wanted to apply to go abroad after I finished my Masters degree. Even though I was initially rejected, I’ve been given a second chance and there’s no way I will pass this up.
Of course, the problem arises with my contract I signed to teach in Korea. I feel horrible about having to end it, but hopefully it won’t cause too much of an inconvenience because they haven’t paid for my plane ticket or made arrangements for my visa yet. The recruitment team I worked with was extremely helpful, and I hope I don’t burn any bridges with them. Teaching in Korea is still an option, but just not in the immediate future like I had planned.
In terms of Brazil, I couldn’t be living any better. I booked both plane tickets to Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguacu. Michelle and I will be going to Foz do Iguacu from June 17-19 and then Rio from July 1 – 4. I can’t wait!!
Today I didn’t attend any English classes. The director knew my situation with the Fulbright, and there weren’t any English classes to attend anyway. The past few days I’ve been with Fernando in the middle school English classes, and also with Christina who teaches the elementary school English classes. I will start to teach the middle school classes next week. Also, after Michelle comes, we will be holding conversation classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We’re not sure how many students will attend, but should find out soon when all the permission slips come in.
Anyways, back to the Fulbright. The last I heard from them was that I was rejected, and that was the last I expected to hear from them. I moved on with my life, found a job for the fall, and that was that. I talked to the director this afternoon and he informed me that the English Teaching Assistantship program in Malaysia had unexpectedly tripled this year and they are looking for applicants to fill those spots. He said the Fulbright commission in Malaysia has looked over my application and offered me the grant. I would go from January 2012 to November 2012. I told him that I already made plans for the fall, but would love to accept the offer. So, I have until the end of the business day tomorrow (Friday) to call him back and let him know my decision.
I honestly thought it was going to be a hard decision to make, but after he explained the situation to me, I already knew my answer was going to be yes. I’ve known about the Fulbright for a few years, and always knew I wanted to apply to go abroad after I finished my Masters degree. Even though I was initially rejected, I’ve been given a second chance and there’s no way I will pass this up.
Of course, the problem arises with my contract I signed to teach in Korea. I feel horrible about having to end it, but hopefully it won’t cause too much of an inconvenience because they haven’t paid for my plane ticket or made arrangements for my visa yet. The recruitment team I worked with was extremely helpful, and I hope I don’t burn any bridges with them. Teaching in Korea is still an option, but just not in the immediate future like I had planned.
In terms of Brazil, I couldn’t be living any better. I booked both plane tickets to Rio de Janeiro and Foz do Iguacu. Michelle and I will be going to Foz do Iguacu from June 17-19 and then Rio from July 1 – 4. I can’t wait!!
Today I didn’t attend any English classes. The director knew my situation with the Fulbright, and there weren’t any English classes to attend anyway. The past few days I’ve been with Fernando in the middle school English classes, and also with Christina who teaches the elementary school English classes. I will start to teach the middle school classes next week. Also, after Michelle comes, we will be holding conversation classes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. We’re not sure how many students will attend, but should find out soon when all the permission slips come in.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Pictures
Sunday afternoon I went out with one of the nuns to downtown Sao Paulo. We saw the cathedral in Praca da Se which is the city center. It’s a gorgeous square lined with unique trees, but it’s also a place where countless homeless people live. Even as we walked through the streets, there were so many of them lining the sidewalks.
We also went to the equivalent of Chinatown, except here in Sao Paulo it’s “Japantown”. There were tons and tons of markets going on all over the city, so we walked and walked and walked all around. We also went to Trianon Park which is one of the smaller parks in Sao Paulo, but still it was really nice to see so much green in such a ginormous city.
This morning I was supposed to meet the director of the school (who is one of the nun’s I live with) in the teacher’s lounge at 10:20 when all the teachers had a break. I sat in the loungue awkwardly as they all stared at me and tried to talk to me, but all I did was smile and say “Eu nao falo Portuguese” (I don’t speak Portuguese). Eventually I went to the director’s office and she walked with me back to the teacher’s lounge and introduced me to the teachers. Among them were the 2 English teachers for middle and high school, both named Fernando. They were very welcoming and all the teachers wanted to know if I could teach English to them. I said yes, only if they could teach me Portuguese ☺ I hope to set something up.
One of the Fernando’s also invited me out with him to see the city sometime. Actually, he is a dentist as well. He teaches 3 mornings a week, and in the afternoons he works as a dentist. He said it’s common for people here to have more than 1 job.
I went with him to watch 2 English classes. His first class was 8th grade. There were 35 students- a lot more than what I’m used to. The other class was 6th grade. The students in both classes were extremely rambunctious; they were really excited I was there. The first question a girl asked me was “Do you know Justin Bieber?” Some of their questions were pretty funny:
Do you like Ricky Martin? AC/DC? Bob Marley? French fries? The Black Eyed Peas?
Do you know the song “Just Can’t Get Enough”?
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Have you seen the show “Everybody Hates Chris”?
Do you talk to Obama?
Do you know how to dance?
Do you like Paramore?
Do you like funk?
In the 6th grade class, a girl started playing the cha cha slide on her cell phone and a few girls came to the front of the room and danced—too funny. At the end of that class the bell rang and students flocked to me so they could take pictures with me. I felt like a celebrity.
Each classroom is very simple- only desks and a chalkboard. I was really spoiled at Dumbarton where I had a document camera, which made life so much easier. The classroom management was the biggest problem I observed today. It was such a big class, the students were talking to each other and they didn’t really seem to take much of an interest in learning English. Fernando later told me that it is common for them to take English less seriously than their other classes.
The director has a schedule for Michelle and I, but since Michelle won’t be here until June 1st, I don’t really know yet what I’ll be doing until then. From what I understand, we will be split up between different grade levels. Wednesday evening there’s a faculty meeting with all the teachers, so we are planning to set up something more concrete then in terms of what I’ll be teaching.
We also went to the equivalent of Chinatown, except here in Sao Paulo it’s “Japantown”. There were tons and tons of markets going on all over the city, so we walked and walked and walked all around. We also went to Trianon Park which is one of the smaller parks in Sao Paulo, but still it was really nice to see so much green in such a ginormous city.
This morning I was supposed to meet the director of the school (who is one of the nun’s I live with) in the teacher’s lounge at 10:20 when all the teachers had a break. I sat in the loungue awkwardly as they all stared at me and tried to talk to me, but all I did was smile and say “Eu nao falo Portuguese” (I don’t speak Portuguese). Eventually I went to the director’s office and she walked with me back to the teacher’s lounge and introduced me to the teachers. Among them were the 2 English teachers for middle and high school, both named Fernando. They were very welcoming and all the teachers wanted to know if I could teach English to them. I said yes, only if they could teach me Portuguese ☺ I hope to set something up.
One of the Fernando’s also invited me out with him to see the city sometime. Actually, he is a dentist as well. He teaches 3 mornings a week, and in the afternoons he works as a dentist. He said it’s common for people here to have more than 1 job.
I went with him to watch 2 English classes. His first class was 8th grade. There were 35 students- a lot more than what I’m used to. The other class was 6th grade. The students in both classes were extremely rambunctious; they were really excited I was there. The first question a girl asked me was “Do you know Justin Bieber?” Some of their questions were pretty funny:
Do you like Ricky Martin? AC/DC? Bob Marley? French fries? The Black Eyed Peas?
Do you know the song “Just Can’t Get Enough”?
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Have you seen the show “Everybody Hates Chris”?
Do you talk to Obama?
Do you know how to dance?
Do you like Paramore?
Do you like funk?
In the 6th grade class, a girl started playing the cha cha slide on her cell phone and a few girls came to the front of the room and danced—too funny. At the end of that class the bell rang and students flocked to me so they could take pictures with me. I felt like a celebrity.
Each classroom is very simple- only desks and a chalkboard. I was really spoiled at Dumbarton where I had a document camera, which made life so much easier. The classroom management was the biggest problem I observed today. It was such a big class, the students were talking to each other and they didn’t really seem to take much of an interest in learning English. Fernando later told me that it is common for them to take English less seriously than their other classes.
The director has a schedule for Michelle and I, but since Michelle won’t be here until June 1st, I don’t really know yet what I’ll be doing until then. From what I understand, we will be split up between different grade levels. Wednesday evening there’s a faculty meeting with all the teachers, so we are planning to set up something more concrete then in terms of what I’ll be teaching.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
I made it to Sao Paulo! I had no problems with any of my flights and I arrived in Sao Paulo around 4am Saturday morning. I was scheduled to arrive an hour later, but it took a while to go through customs and baggage check so I didn’t have to wait too long at the airport to be picked up.
Two nuns picked me up at the airport; there are 5 total I’m living with—3 are in their 40s and the other 2 are older. Only 2 of the younger nuns speak English and the other 3 only speak Portuguese.
My first impression of the city when driving from the airport to the house was that it looked pretty sketchy. It’s a gigantic city, so naturally it’s really dirty with tons of graffiti everywhere. Even at 5am there were so many people wandering the streets—nowhere I’d ever like to be at night, alone or not. In general, it reminds me a lot of Rome—the driving is the same (absolutely chaotic). I’m not sure which city is worse. However, São Paulo seems to be much more run down.
When we got to the house (which is also connected to the school) I ate breakfast and broke all of the rules that my travel doctor advised me to follow. He told me no dairy, no salad, no water unless it’s bottled, etc. For breakfast I ate cereal with milk, and then later for lunch I ate salad. I haven’t gotten sick yet…
After breakfast I went straight to bed and slept all morning. I woke up for lunch and that’s when I met the rest of the Sisters. They were extremely welcoming and said they had been waiting for me to come for a long time. They kept telling me to make myself at home and they're so happy I'm here. Thankfully the two sisters who speak English could translate for me, but they mostly speak Portuguese and with the little Italian I know I’m able to pick up a few words here and there.
After lunch we went to the provincial house (aka the “mother-house”), which is basically the headquarters for all SSNDs in Brazil. This is also where the retired nuns live. It was really a welcomed change of scenery. The ride there was through the streets and then when we got to the house it was another world—full of trees, flowers, and fruit trees (which I somehow managed to climb to get the fruit) all surrounded by a wall so you couldn’t see the craziness of the outside world.
Also when I was at the mother-house I met a 92 year old nun, Sr. Fatima, who was so darn cute. She didn’t speak English but she was very curious about me. She asked how old I am, why am I there, what am I doing, and how I traveled all the way from the US to São Paulo all by myself without knowing the language. She said I should have come with my mom because it’s dangerous—how sweet!
For dinner we went back to the house where nuns from all over the world came to visit. They had a meeting in São Paulo so it was convenient for them to visit and also have a welcoming dinner for me. There were about 15 nuns total from Chile, other states in Brazil, Rome, the US, and Argentina. I had fun listening to them all speak in Portuguese and thankfully there were some that spoke English who could translate for me.
Also, on an unrelated note, there is a rooster nearby. This is the busiest, most crowded city I’ve ever seen and somehow, somewhere, there is a rooster that crows outside my room at all times of the day.
Right now as I’m typing this it’s 10:30pm and São Paulo seems to be just waking up. A Brazilian type of music, samba, is blasting outside my window. I feel like I’m next to an outdoor concert. Maybe I am, who knows. That’s just the way it is and I’m going to try to sleep. Tchau!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Job in Korea
A lot can happen in a month! This morning I received a job offer in Korea, and I took it. I had an interview with the school a few nights ago on the phone, and that went well. I will be working in a city called Yongin in the Gyeonggi province outside of Seoul. The school is Aran Language School, and it’s a well-established kindergarten hogwan (private school). Originally, I was planning to teach English in a public school in Korea through GEPIK, but I’m excited about my decision to teach at this school. It’s a Kindergarten school during the day, and then there is an afterschool program with elementary school students. There are 8 other English teachers there from Australia, Canada, and the US. My starting date will be July 18th; and the contract is for a year. I will have 2, one week vacations which means I probably won’t come back to the US until my contract ends in July 2012. I get back from Brazil on July 6th so I will only have about a week and a half to tie up all my loose ends here.
Today I went to Annapolis to get some papers apostilled, and I gathered all the other documents to send to Korea before I leave for Brazil on Friday, so I haven’t even thought about packing (for Brazil) yet. Actually, I have yet to unpack from my move from Baltimore to Frederick. After I do that, then I can pack for Brazil. Tomorrow is my last day to get my act together, and then my flight leaves on Friday at 11am. I'll be flying from DC to El Salvador, El Salvador to Peru, and then finally Peru to Sao Paulo. Each flight is about 5 hours long. Good thing I love flying! I should get to Sao Paulo around 5am on Saturday morning.
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