I managed to snag a bus headed to UFPA before the chaos really began and arrived to have meetings with two students. I helped one student get ready for his presentation at a conference next week and another to fill out some U.S. tax forms from his internship in the States last year. But it felt like we were the only people on campus. The wing of the foreign languages building was like a ghost town and then the calls for cancellations started coming in. The classes that I was supposed to help with were cancelled because students couldn't get to school and then my lecture at the nearby university was also cancelled for the same reason. I still held a conversation club but only two students came (we had a good conversation though!) I was worried about how I was going to get home and ended up waiting for a ride from the sympathetic secretary.
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| Using buses to block traffic on one of the busiest roads in the city |
The constant unpredictability of Brazil can be both exciting and frustrating. Sometimes, like today, I feel like I waste a lot of time and energy floundering around in a system that doesn't seem conducive to efficiency or learning - the way I'm used to, at least. But I am trying to understand that it's a growing process both for me and for Brazil. What might have felt like a waste of time, energy and missed opportunities during an empty day of classes at the university might have been a day of triumph for local bus drivers who may have received a raise and improved working conditions.
I've learned the hard way (many times) that the key to working abroad is adaptability. It's thriving in the give-and-take. The assumption that not all is going to go as planned is standard; it's the being O.K. with it that's the hard part along with the energy and patience to do it all over again tomorrow.
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