Settling in the Unknown...

With almost two months under my belt of living, or as my friends put it “vacationing/holidaying”  in Brazil, I have slowly but surely started to get the hang of things, I think. I will admit there has been the occasional evening where I question why I decided to leave the comfort of the known and wonder into the unknown, where half the time I do not understand who, what, when, why, where, and how things function. Trust me, when I say it has been quite the experience. I truly mean it. I guess it is true what Dr. Amy Lorenz said about me back in October of 2014, “you have this engagé for the unknown”. My word, she could of not said it better. I landed in a country with limited knowledge of the language, culture, and people. There are a number of things I have yet to understand either culturally or socially. I may follow protocol but do not understand the why. For example, why do I need a spoon to eat ice cream out of a cone? Why can I not drink water, juice, and/or soda directly from the bottle via a straw? The norm seems to pour it into a small cup and then drink it.

"Esto es Brasil. No culo y samba // This is Brazil not arse and Samba" - Quote from a friend I went on holiday with. 

I share a flat with a Brazilian student who has advanced limited English, oxymoronic right?, well he has not studied English formally but instead watches series, films, and listens to music. Our conversations usually start in English then move onto Portuguese, with me switching to Spanish by the end. So a sentence from me could sounds like this “Hey, eu ancho que debemos ir al cine”. Regardless, of our conversational skills, living with him has been highly enjoyable. Plus there are perks when his mummy comes to visit, SHE COOKS!! As you may know, I have an unofficial fear of the stove and simply do not cook, silly I know but nonetheless it is something I simply have not done since arriving. I live in a neighbourhood that is called “Setor Leste Universitario”. I am conveniently located where part of campus for UFG (public) is and PUC (private), Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás. In layman’s term it means I am surrounded by a collegiate atmosphere. Now post-secondary education is drastically different than what many US-Americans might picture. I shall blog about that at a later time. 

Now, for those of you curious to what a typical day looks like for me. No such day exists. Every day is a new day of exploring and learning about my new home and how far I can stretch out comfort zone. At first I was highly uncomfortable noticing most of my students are working on their Masters or Ph.D, MD, JD, post graduate studies (sabbatical and research). These people are clearly academically smarter than me but look to me to teach them. Is it me or does that seem odd? Luckily, I have the freedom to lecture on anything I want. Now, the ideal is to find a connection to the theme or subject of that day’s class. Thus far, I have done a good job at finding a direct connection. Where it gets difficult is adapting to the various levels. At the end of the day, the material should be meaningful and have them think. My way of teaching is very much present the idea and let them develop and shape it into something they want it to be. I created the lesson and know what I think about it. For a lot of these students they may have an idea but I challenge them not just with the language component but making them converse and share their ideas, which at times it may not be something they are comfortable with. The benefit of teaching university students is they already have formed ideas and stand by them, most of the time.  The only uncomfortable moment was when I lectured about feminism (surprised?) and I had a student who was noticeably sexist. I do have to give myself props for managing the class from turning sour. All points are respected, even if the points tear my heart into pieces. This university life was meant for me! 

Expect beauty in unexpected areas!

abraços e beijos gentes (hugs and kisses people)