Here are some pictures from my last week in Brazil.
The only picture I took at the gay pride parade
Walking up the steep hill to get to our school
Birds in a car shop, I never understood why
My home for the past month and a half
Mormon church across the street
4th and 5th grade
7th grade
4th and 5th grade
High school class
One of my 4th grade students brought me the flowers on the left, so during the break 2 other girls had to give me flowers as well (they picked them from the garden)
One of my high school students gave Michelle and I pizza and little chocolate pizzas :)
This weekend was a 4 day weekend, since Corpus Christi is an important religious holiday in Brazil. To take advantage of the long weekend I went to the seaside of São Paulo. Fernando has an apartment at one of the beaches called "Praia Grande" or "Long Beach". I went with Fernando, his mom, Michelle, and one of Fernando's former students named Pedro.
We got there around 7am on Thursday morning to avoid traffic. On the drive to the beach we drove through many mountains but unfortunately it was too foggy to see them. Once we got to the beach though the fog started to dissipate and we could see mountains all around.
Corpus Christi is a big holiday here and to celebrate different schools and churches decorate the streets with colored wood chips. We walked around to look at all the "rugs" and then we went to a military base where we took a bus going approximately 2mph to the top of a mountain where there was an old fort and a beautiful view of the beaches. We didn't go to the beach that day since it got pretty cloudy again.
The next day we spent the morning and part of the afternoon at the beach. All of the women wore bikinis, no matter what shape they were in. For lunch in the later part of the afternoon we went to the food court at the mall where we ate at a buffet sort of restaurant where you take the food you want and then weigh it and only pay for the food you take. What a genius idea.
We came home Saturday morning and today Michelle and I are going with one of the nuns to a market and then to a famous park here in São Paulo called Ibiraquera Park.
This week will be my last week teaching, and then Michelle and I leave for Rio de Janeiro on Friday. We'll get back Monday night around 9, and then my flight to go home leaves Tuesday morning at 6am. I'll get back home at 2am Wednesday morning, those will be a long 3 days of traveling!
I'm continually shocked at the prices of things in this city. I expected everything to be more expensive than in the states because it's a huge city, but I definitely wasn't expecting the prices that I've seen. Taxes here are extremely high which causes the high prices of everything. For example, Michelle had to buy a pair of leggings. Nothing special, just a pair of black leggings. I get my leggings in the US at Target for around $10. The first store we went to the leggings were 120 reais ($75). We went to a few more stores, the average price of leggings being around 60 reais ($37). Finally we found a pair for 35 reais, which is $22. Also when I was at the airport a few weeks ago I wanted to buy a simple salami and cheese sandwich.
I was talking with an English teacher at my school and he was giving me some examples of the ridiculous prices...
- The best of the best Nikon cameras is about $5,000 in the US. Here in Brazil the same camera is at least 20,000 reais, or $13,000.
- The teacher bought a simple watch off of Ebay for $50, but here in Brazil the same watch is over $300.
- A book about the English Language could be found for about $25 in the US, whereas here in Brazil it's between 4,000 and 5,000 reais ($2,500 to $3,100).
- A volkswagon Jetta in the US is around $30,000 (I think) and in Brazil it's about $60,000...double the price!!!
There were numerous other examples that I can't remember, but I see this prices all the time when I go out to stores. I told the teacher I was talking to that I don't understand how people can afford to live here and he said that the black market is popular because that's where things are so cheap...you just need to know where to find them and who to know. Sounds pretty sketchy but it's apparently a way of life here. Brazil encourages people to not buy imported good but it seems almost impossible to do that when things on the black market are so cheap...One thing is for sure, I will never complain about high prices in the US again!!! Prices are extremely cheap compared to prices here.
This weekend Michelle and I spent the weekend in the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguacu (Falls of Iguazu). There is a national park on both the Brazilian side of the waterfalls, and also the Argentinian side. Though we wanted to see both sides of the falls, we only went to the Argentinian side called Puerto Igauzu. The park is much bigger and has more trails, and you can get closer to the falls than on the Brazilian side.
The owner of the hostel where we stayed used to be a tour guide in the national park, but isn't anymore. Instead he owns a few hostels and has a tourism agency as well. As he was giving us advice on what to do and where to go on Saturday, we asked if he could take us to the falls instead of us going by ourselves. He was reluctant to go since he could get in trouble if he was seen acting as a tour guide (since his license already expired) but after much convincing, he ended up going with us. He knew everyone that worked at the park so we didn't have to wait in any lines or have to do much of anything, he just pointed us in the right direction and told us what we needed to know...it was great!
We got to the falls around 9:30 in the morning and left around 4:30, so it was a full day. The weather was perfect, in the mid 70s with sunny skies; it couldn't have been better. There were many trails that took us to different parts of the falls, all the views of which were stunning!! The biggest of all the waterfalls is called "the devil's throat" and we were able to be right at the top of it.
One of the highlights of our day spent at the falls was the boat ride that Michelle and I went on. There are no pictures, unfortunately, mainly because we literally went under a waterfall and got soaked!! After seeing the falls up close and personal, we sped down the river between the canyons and then took a jeep ride through the jungle. There was a tour guide on the jeep who told us all about the wildlife we passed, it was a great way to dry off after getting wet from the falls.
After we got back from the falls, Louis barbequed delicious meat and fruit and we enjoyed the rest of the night eating outside the hostel in the beautiful weather that continued on through the night. It was a great way to end the day!!
We got back to Sao Paulo this evening, and our next adventure will hopefully be this weekend when Fernando takes us to the beaches of Sao Paulo. Enjoy the pictures!
This past weekend there was a festival held at the school called "Festa Junina". I don't have a direct translation for "Junina" but it has something to do with a June party. It celebrates Saint John, Saint Peter, and Saint Anthony and involves a lot of traditional food, drink, and dancing called the "quadrilha" which is like a square dance. I had a great time seeing the students, watching the class dances, and eating all the wonderful food!!!
On Saturday evening to celebrate my birthday, Fernando took us out to a bar called "Squat". Strange name, I know. Here are a few pictures from the night...
My classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays have been going pretty well. Most classes are well-behaved, but there is one class in the afternoon that is horrible. They talk, talk, talk, and then talk some more. It's like they have no idea how to behave in a classroom. Other teachers have the same problem, it's not just me, but it probably doesn't help that I speak only English so they aren't understanding much of what I say. Oh well, that's part of the experience for them! And me too, since I don't understand much of what they tell me in Portuguese.
In the adult class we decided we're going out to eat on our last night of class, about 15 of us. The original plan was to just meet at school and then go out to the restaurant, but I thought it was funny that they all wanted to have an hour of class and then go out. A few of the adults came up to Michelle and I after class saying they are really enjoying it and are sad we're leaving in July because the classes won't continue. It was good to hear that!
This weekend Michelle and I are heading to Foz do Iguacu. We're flying out on Friday afternoon and returning on Sunday afternoon. In the city of Foz do Iguacu are huge waterfalls on the border of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. We'll go to the Brazilian side of the falls of course, but apparently the Argentinian side of the falls is worth seeing as well so hopefully we'll make a trip there. It looks like it might rain but I'm hoping it'll hold off while we're there!
Last Thursday I started teaching the conversation classes I wrote about previously. Since Michelle had just arrived last Thursday morning, I had all of the classes by myself instead of splitting them in half. Most classes were fine, but there was one class of 30 students between 2nd and 5th grade. I can't explain how terrible it went...the older students wouldn't stop talking and everyone was yelling at each other to be quiet, which just made the situation worse. The poor little 2nd graders just sat there, scared to death I'm sure of the older kids who were being so loud. That seemed like the longest hour and a half of my life!!!!!!!
On Saturday Fernando invited Michelle and I to his friend's apartment in a quaint little neighborhood called Villa Madalena. We all had a great time eating pizza and talking for hours.
Fernando and I
Rachel, Michelle, and I
On Monday three 8th grade girls were very eager to take Michelle and I to eat something called "pastel". It's a fried dough with any kind of filling you choose. I had cheese and bacon, and 2 of the girls had chocolate which was super delicious. They were so proud to have taken us there and for the rest of the week students would come up to us in swarms to ask if we liked pastel. I guess it even word got out in the high school classes because one of the high school students invited Michelle and I to go eat cookies with them. We're not sure where but if cookies are involved then I'm there.
This past Wednesday I taught some Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. We were learning about the different people in a family (mom, dad, brother, sister, baby) and I would ask them to repeat after me after I said each name. I would say a word and they would stare at me with blank faces. Eventually their English teacher stepped in and would tell them what to do in Portuguese. They finally got it, but then when we would get to the end I would say "great!" and they would repeat "great!"...they didn't know when to stop repeating after me. Also, when I got to the word "baby" all the kids, even the little 3 year olds, would start saying Justin Bieber "baby, baby, baby ohhhhh". I couldn't believe even the younger ones knew his song!
Yesterday I turned the big 2-3, and even though I taught all day long there were so many people that made it an extra special day. In all of my classes throughout the day, Michelle brought her class to mine to sing Happy Birthday to me in Portuguese and also in English. In the teacher's lounge during the break all the teachers got up to sing Happy Birthday to me in Portuguese. One of my high school students brought me some brigadeiro (chocolate) and invited Michelle and I out next week to eat cookies...yes yes yes!!!!
From one of my 4th grade students
On my birthday the table was beautifully set! Everyone lit a candle that was floating in water and each person said something about me and what they hope for me in the future.
Michelle and Sr. Marinez
Cake and brigadeiros made by Sr. Maruzania...yum!!!! Brigadeiros are basically balls of chocolate
4 of the Sisters and then Michelle and I
One of my first memories of Brazilians is that I noticed them doing a strange hand gesture. As I spent time around Brazilians I noticed that they all do this strange hand thing. It sounded like a snap, but it was very fast paced and it definitely wasn't snapping. Eventually I asked what this gesture meant, and I found out that it means something that needs to happy quickly or in a hurry. I've been very intrigued by this hand gesture and the past few days Michelle and I have been trying to master it. It's really hard, but we're making progress...slow progress. Here's a video from last night where Sr. Maruzania is trying to teach us how to snap
Starting tomorrow things are going to get super busy for me so I wanted to update everyone before things get too crazy.
This past weekend I went out with Fernando on Saturday night to a British English Culture Festival. We watched a dance performed and then Fernando drove me all around Sao Paulo to show me the different neighborhoods and all that the city has to offer. We stopped at a bar in a neighborhood called Moema and spent some time there enjoying the atmosphere.
On Sunday, Fernando introduced me to his American friend named Rachel who was born in Brazil but grew up in New Jersey, and is now back in Brazil studying dentistry. We tried going to 2 different movie theaters to see a movie, but it was absolutely packed at the malls (on a Sunday night, so strange to me). At the 2nd movie theater, there were no movies playing in English so we gave up and went for pizza which is always a good option!
As for school this week, I taught 2 of Fernando's 7th grade English classes and 2 of the 8th grade English classes. They are much larger classes than I'm used to. The number of students in each class ranges from 25 to 40. There are many disadvantages to having such large classes, but a few benefits. One of the benefits would be that all the students are at very different English proficiency levels, so if some of them are completely lost in a lesson, other more advanced students can help them out.
Also, the English conversation classes that I originally came down here to teach, begin tomorrow. Over 100 students and adults signed up...so many more than what was originally planned. There are 5 classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and each are 1.5 hours long. The classes range from 2nd grade to adults. The adults will consist of parents and some teachers here that want to learn English. The biggest problem we will face is having different proficiency levels in each class. Some students will come with barely any English whereas others attend English Language Schools and have more advanced English skills. I've been teaching and observing classes today from 7am to 6:30pm so I have a long night ahead of me preparing for all the classes tomorrow!
