I received a surprise package in the mail from Sean that totally made my week - it was perfect timing and I had no idea it was coming. The box was filled with candy, Easter goodies and baking supplies.  But my favorite part was the handwritten love note in Portuguese (even though he admittedly got some help with it from his tutor, I was still pretty impressed).  I'd translate it on the blog for you, but it's way too juicy.  Portuguese is, after all, a Romance language.  Big points, Babe.  Huge points.

Me and Luis, a student at UESC

Game time, with Shalon's mom peeking in at the back

Our student helper, Shalon, organized a game and food day for us at his house so we could get to know some of his friends.  We were grateful that he did this for us as nothing helps homesickness like homemade lasagna, UNO, and friendly faces.  As a bonus there was lots of dessert as well.

Who doesn't like UNO?

I had brought a lot of games from the States which turned out to be a good idea both for free time and class time.  The Brazilians I've met so far can't get enough of the American games and I'm already wishing I brought Wizard, Five Crowns and Phase 10.  This time I brought Blurt, UNO and Spot It! to the gathering and we had a good time playing all three.  It's always interesting to try and teach new games in another language.  There was a lot of confusion and laughter.  Some confusion for me was discovering that the lasagna had corn, chicken, tuna and ham all mixed together between noodle layers.  An interesting but surprisingly tasty combination.

Teaching how to play Spot It! (Thanks to Brian Kragt for teaching me!)

Spot It was a huge hit - I highly recommend it and it can be played in any language

If you know me, then you know that I'm a pretty emotional and sensitive person.  I can cry at the drop of a hat caused by anything from a Campbell's Soup commercial to taking something someone said too seriously.  If you think that I am totally fine and unaffected by living abroad and being away from Sean then you are wrong.  I think when it comes time to sit down and write, I tend to put on my happy blog face and keep up certain appearances thanks to my Midwestern upbringing.  It's scary and embarrassing to be vulnerable, especially in public.  Lest you think I have it all together, I don't; I fall apart all the time - during this adventure more than ever.  I miss Sean, I miss my family, I still feel lost in the culture and language here, I live with a roommate who I barely know, it's hard to make new friends and adapting to the teaching style here is really challenging. 

If you know anything about Portuguese, then you know that not only is its grammar way more complex than Spanish but also that they have a word for everything.  They have a word for the hole that your tooth leaves when it falls out, they have a word which means to lightly stroke your lover's hair, and they have a word that describes a feeling of incompleteness because of missing someone or something.  This last word is saudade pronounced "sow-dah-gee."

Saudade is very hard to translate in English.  Wikipedia describes it as "a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves." The "Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa" defines saudade as "A somewhat melancholic feeling of incompleteness. It is related to thinking back on situations of privation due to the absence of someone or something, to move away from a place or thing, or to the absence of a set of particular and desirable experiences and pleasures once lived." The Dictionary from the Royal Galician Academy, on the other hand, defines saudade as an "intimate feeling and mood caused by the longing for something absent that is being missed. This can take different aspects, from concrete realities (a loved one, a friend, the motherland, the homeland...) to the mysterious and transcendant. It's quite prevalent and characteristic of the galician-portuguese world, but it can also be found in other cultures."

Saudade is deep stuff and it is at the heart of what it means to be Brazilian.  Saudade represents the little bit of sadness and longing that everyone has for something or someone even when they are feeling happy.   My students talk about their different saudades all the time and people constantly ask me if I have saudade for the USA or my family.  The openness of emotion, especially of sadness and longing, is normal and acceptable here.

This is good news for a person like me.  The other day a student randomly stopped me in the hallway and said that he had something for me.  He surprised me with a Bible in Portuguese.  I was so taken off guard and it had been such a hard day that I promptly burst into tears.  I think he was initially surprised, but then he gave me a hug and said, "It's O.K.  I know you like the gift but also that you have saudade for your culture back home."

Last night, during a particularly tough night class during which I was tired, it was extremely hot, I couldn't hear anything because of the fans' noise and the students were bummed that I couldn't remember all of their names, I was teaching about the culture and vocabulary of family.  After talking about the words grandpa and grandma, one student raised her hand and said she heard other names being used on American TV series.  I answered that it was completely normal for families to have nicknames for their grandparents and I wrote the names of my parents' on the board: Nanny Deb and G-Pa.  And then out of nowhere, I started crying.  In the middle of class.  At first my students were surprised but as I pulled myself together they were nodding and murmuring in knowing agreement: saudade. . . the teacher has a lot of saudade for her home and family.  Yep.  There's some definite saudade going on here and I feel like I'm starting to understand the Portuguese definition of the word now more than ever.

With my advanced students on Monday, I am able to do quite a bit more than just "teach English."  I have a group of about 5 that come regularly and they are adult undergraduate students and graduate students from other departments.  They want to practice their English but they also want to talk about things like politics, education, international relations, religion, and American culture.  I enjoy picking their brains about Brazilian culture as well as their opinions about the U.S.

At the end of each class I've been asking them to respond to a question I have about Brazil.  I told them that I have a blog and that many people in the U.S. are curious about the lives and thoughts of Brazilians, especially in light of the upcoming world events.  They only answer if they are willing to share what they think and make it public.  Most of them write their answer in both Portuguese and English because they want to get their thoughts exactly right.

This week I had three students willing to share with you what they think about their own country in response to the question, "What do you like most and least about Brazil?"  Here's what they said in their own words:

My favorite thing about Brazil is the nature and the beaches.  The least thing is the policies and politics.

My favorite things about Brazil are the freedom and multiculturalism.  I hate the ignorance of some people and the lack of motivation of others.  Some people are in a bad situation and don't do anything to change it.

O que mais gosto no meu pais é a afetividade das pessoas.  O povo brasileiro é muito caloroso.  Mais a violencia tem crescido muito todos os dias, tem se tornado dificil andar tranquilamente nas ruas.
(What I like most in my country is the affection of the people. The Brazilian people are very warm. But the violence has grown so much every day, it has become difficult to walk peacefully in the streets.)

Do you have a question that you want to pose to the group? Just let me know!

Loni was itching to do something and get out of the apartment so we went to have a drink at one of the little outdoor bars in our neighborhood.  At nine p.m. on a Friday in Pontal, the night's activities are still well in their infancy.  Restaurants and bars are setting up their plastic chairs and tables on the sides of the street, mobile food vendors are pushing their carts to claim a certain corner, and cars are parked strategically so that they provide the requisite blaring music for the crowds of drinkers and diners.



Since it's only 9, we have our pick of tables at one of the bars known to serve the cheapest beer.  Here in Brazil your main affordable and widely available choices are Skol, Brahma and Antarctica.  Beers are served in liter bottles always in a giant coozie where the weather is hot.  As I've mentoined before, nobody orders their own beer but rather the tables share each liter until it's time to order another.



The first time I went to an outdoor bar like this in Brazil I wondered what the small, locked boxes were for on each table.  I learned that they were a simple but effective way to keep track of every table's bar tab.  When you sit at your table, the server comes around, takes your order and then opens up the box to show you it's empty.  When they come back with a beer and some glasses, they put the bottle top through the slot in the box.  At the end of the night, the server simply unlocks the box, counts the tops and tells you how much you owe.  At some of the bars that aren't this organized, each table just has to keep the empty bottles under their chairs and then the server counts them.  This has created some confusion and fights in the past, however, as sometimes people try to sneak their bottles in with yours.  It's been known to happen.


After a couple of hours at the bar and plenty of people watching, the locals are finally starting to emerge.  At 12:30, Loni and some other students are heading out to an all night beach band reggae party and I am heading home to bed.  For some of us the night has only just begun.

Beach culture in Brazil is wildly different than from, say, going to local Laketown Beach in Holland, Michigan.  This comes as no surprise, I imagine, for me or for you.  There are the stereotypical and well-known differences like skimpy/thong bathing suits with zero cheek coverage, tiny speedos for the guys and multiple impromptu barefoot soccer games on the sand.

Can't get enough of the $1.50 coconuts

But there are some other differences which came as a complete surprise to me.  For starters, nobody brings a towel to the beach.  If anything, Brazilian beach goers use a sarong which they might lay over a plastic or wooden chair.  Nobody uses a towel because it's not that common to "lay out" as we call it in the States.  When Brazilians go to the beach, they head to their favorite cabana, get a table with an umbrella and spend the whole day there.

The beach cabanas are big business in Brazil and they are omnipresent on the coast.  Each cabana boasts different specials to try and lure locals and tourists to spend the day at their tables.  Cabanas provide everything you could possibly want: showers, bathrooms, food, drinks. shade and sometimes activities like slacklines, hammocks or games.  They also watch over your things while you are in the water (for the most part).  Sometimes the cabanas charge for the table and chairs but other times you can stay there for free if you order anything to eat or drink.  Each cabana also blasts popular music from speakers up by the bar.

Me with Loni and our boss - gotta love his speedo

It's common for locals in Bahia to head to the beach on Sunday at around noon, order some coconuts, then lunch and then beers.  The most common thing to eat at the beach is carne do sol (sun-dried meat) and fried hearts of palm.  While at the beach families just hang out.  Sometimes they play dominoes or cards, read or nap.  Service at the cabanas is usually excellent because competition is so high.  The servers always check to see if you need anything else and if you are doing okay.  You pay for everything at the end of your time at the beach which is nice and easy as well.

Bliss

There are quite a few beaches within walking distance of our apartment and I have been enjoying them a lot.  The Fulbrighters from last year have advised use to take advantage of the beach time now as things not only get busier at the university but the weather gets a bit more rainy as well.  I don't mind following that kind of advice, for sure!

My roommate likes this quote, too - she had me take this picture of her

When I studied abroad in Santiago, my Chilean mom used to fuss over me every morning before I left for the university.  She'd make me put my hair down, put on earrings, wrap a fashion scarf around my neck and cluck disapprovingly at the type of jeans I wore which were brought from home.  One day she surprised me with a new pair of Chilean jeans - they were bedazzled and embroidered on the back pockets and were snug in places that were in the past unbeknownst to snugness.  Needless to say, they were not a pair of jeans that I would normally have been drawn to.  Why was she so obsessed with the way I looked?  She just wanted me to fit in.

Main street in my neighborhood right before a tropical downpour

"If you look like a gringa, people are going to treat you like one," she said.  And she was right.  Looking like a Chilean and fitting in not only made me feel more comfortable and confident but it helped me make friends faster, it kept me safer by not attracting any extra attention and it showed me that a few simple changes can result in a fairly radical transformation.  My Chilean mom's daily makeovers did the trick.  I remember constantly being mistaken for a local, that is, however, until I opened my mouth and spoke Spanish straight from a Midwestern textbook.

The same thing has happened to me in Brazil as I have tried to heed my Chilean mom's advice from the other side of South America.  I try and wear my hair down (though after about 20 minutes the heat and humidty turn it into a twisted, sweaty mass), I put on earrings every day and I attempt to don clothes that are neither too flashy nor too American.  I don't wear my baseball cap even though I really want to.

The only brand of flip flops that people wear here - this store only sells flip flops!

I've received some additional tips from Brazilians for blending in such as: get a tan, wear some Havaianas flip flops (everyone wears them) and don't be afraid to be tight and skimpy with clothing.  In fact, wearing a bathing suit at all times is common and encouraged, at least here in Bahia.  So far I've gotten a tan and bought my first pair of Havaianas yesterday, but I'm not sure I'm ever going to be a fan of the let-it-all-hang-out style of dress.

This week the how-to-be-Brazilian formula has worked and I get mistaken for being a local at least once every day if not more.  Strangers ask me for directions, start chatting to me at bus stops and students that I don't know ask if I want a ride home.  Their eyes always widen a bit when I answer them in heavily accented Portuguese.  Then they usually laugh and say, "I thought you were Brazilian!" or "Where are you from?" etc.  Now if only my language skills could catch up to my fashion sense. . .

Mine are on the left and Loni's are on the right

I've been in Brazil for exactly one month to the day today which is very hard to believe.  I still feel like I just got here as I continue to learn a lot and make new mistakes daily.  It has kind of surprised me how much I am starting to like it here; every day that goes by I feel more comfortable and enjoy myself a little more.  The weather is slowly starting to cool just a bit, I'm making some faculty and student friends, my Portuguese is improving, living on the ocean is amazing and I don't get lost quite as much.

Pricey sunscreen under lock and key at the supermarket

Though I have had a lot of down time, the past thirty days have been quite busy at times.  During my first month in Brazil I have:

Gone through an entire large bottle of 30 SPF sunscreen.  I'm glad I brought a few of them as sunscreen is outrageously expensive and held under lock and key (really) at pharmacies.
 
Gotten an apartment, set up internet, water delivery, and figured out how to use the odd washer which involves a lot of manual wringing of clothes after the supposed spin cycle.
 

Sunrise on the beach near our apartment (Photo by my roommate)

Only taken cold showers.

Got a working SIM card and phone number for my trusty Chinese cell phone.  If you need to get a hold of me my Brazilian number is: (+55) 73 9180 3437

Worn more skimpier bathing suits than I would ever have dared to wear in public in the U.S.

After four tries and seemingly endless paperwork and burearcarcy, finally obtained my federal police registration and temporary identification card and my uinversity library and ID card.

Released in sweat what must be at least 3x my body weight because of the heat and humidity.

Started attending a local baptist church.

Managed to finagle a student bus pass for way lower rates on all local and city transportation.

Tried my first caipirinha (national cocktail) and churrasco (national bbq style/pastime).

Started teaching four English classes a week at UESC.

Joined the ranks of students hitchhiking to get home when there were no buses to be found.

Killed lots of new insects and small creatures, big and small, both accidentally and on purpose.

 Become addicted to fresh coconut milk and acai parfaits.

Been excited for the arrival of two visitors during my semester break: my sister (Jun 28-July 14) and my friend Erica (July 14-July 25)! 
Managed to get to a level of tan-ness which is golden brown instead of glowing white.

Never appreciated the power of a ceiling fan as much as much as I do now.

Gone to capoeira and forró classes.

Missed Sean a lot.  And then some more.

Sunrise on the beach (Photo by my roommate)

One of the huge problems in Brazil is transportation.  Buses are unreliable, roads are terrible and traffic causes hours of back-ups daily.  Since I live in Pontal, I have to cross a bridge every day to get to the downtown area and beyond.  Because of all the traffic, getting across the bridge can sometimes take hours which is frustrating on a hot, overcrowded and over-priced bus already.

I live on the left side of the map, near the airport - note the bridge we have to cross every day

Because not everyone has a car, the public bus system leaves much to be desired and also because the university is in between two cities (Ilhéus and Itabuna), the university offers free coach bus transportation to its faculty.  This is fantastic news for me with the only downside being that the bus picks me up in the morning at 6:30 am (!!).  The early pick-up is because the first class at the university starts at 7:30 and also because if the bus were any later we would be caught in hours of traffic getting across the bridge. 

Sunrise view from my balcony at 6am before heading to work

Most of us sleep on the way to school, which is about a 45-60 minute commute.  Buses back to Ilhéus leave at midday, early afternoon and late in the evening.  I'm not a huge fan of getting up at 5:30 am but I like the fact that there is an option of taking a free, reliable, air-conditioned bus to work every day.  As a bonus, it's nice walking to my bus stop in the cooler morning weather before the sun and heat really get cranking.

Amazingly, we actually started teaching this week though when I showed up to work last Monday my coordinator still hadn't figured out which rooms we were going to teach in.  As I have mentioned before, things start slow here and move like syrup; in my first class - Advanced English - I had only one student show up who was thrilled to have a two hour private lesson.  In my intermediate class about 12 students came, in my beginning class I had 10 and in the class that Loni and I co-teach we had 6.

If you taught in SPPO at OSU, you'll recognize this "Day One" activity

The main reason for a low turnout and a lack of participation is that the Fulbright English classes are optional.  Technically, the grant is only supposed to fund our 20 hours a week as we assist other professors; we are not supposed to teach our own classes.  Since the university has so few actual English professors - none of whom are native speakers and who tend to struggle with the language themselves - the university decided to use the grant money to give students the choice to improve their English outside of class time.

Day 1 - Beginner class at UESC

Loni and I each have three classes that we teach on our own and one that we teach together.  I don't really mind the fact that the classes are optional (so far).  The students that show up are very motivated to learn English and are eager to participate.  The class environment is very relaxed - we are not supposed to give homework or do any real technical grammar work; the focus is on speaking, confidence and culture.  In other words, we get to do the fun stuff.


I have been warned that the already low attendance starts to drop as students get busy and the end of the semester nears.  I have also been cautioned that class attendance is low in general at the university and that I will have to make my classes very entertaining or the students will get bored and just stop coming altogether.  It will be interesting to see if having optional English classes is really the most effective way to practice with students while I am here or if there are some better options that we should look into.

When I was on Blogger today I noticed that I had reached 600 posts so I thought I would do a little recap and take a look back at my blogging journey thus far.  I never planned to be a blogger and I still don't really think of myself as one.  I like to document both visually and with words what I'm experiencing whether in Holland, Michigan or in Ilhéus, Bahia mainly for therapeutic reasons and also simply just to remember and record.  Most of the time I forget that anyone else besides me (and Mom and Dad of course) actually read it which is both a liberating feeling and also rather naive.  I am reminded of this fact when I receive emails from random strangers all over the world which run the gamut from being inspiring, creepy, funny, interesting or just random spam.

Right before I started this blog in Santiago, Chile, I had no idea what a blog was.  I was a few years older than the other CIEE study abroad students and was envious that they were already using mysterious devices like Flash Drives and there was talk of something called Facebook.  I did not use either of those two things, but I was curious as to how my peers were spending such insane amounts of time on the computer.  One of them took the time one day to show me his "blog."  He explained that it stood for "web log" and acted as a public online diary for his friends and family to see while he was abroad.  I was immediately intrigued and asked him to help me set up my own that same day.  Six hundred posts later I like blogging even more than when I started and hope to keep going at least for awhile yet.

Here's some interesting statistics that Blogger provides related to page hits and popularity:

• Currently there are 464 published comments on the blog
• So far I've made a whopping $66.92 using Google AdSense (since when I started in 2009).  Looks like I don't get to quit my day job to blog anytime soon.
• My total view count for the blog to date is 128877
• The most popular post by far was the one about "Matching Couples T-Shirts."  I've even seen my pictures on that particular post show up on other blogs about lookalike couples as well.
• Most people stumble on the blog simply by searching for key words on Google 
• My first post was written on February 2, 2006 when I was studying abroad in Chile.  Quite a bit has changed since then!

One of the most fun (and addictive) parts of blogging is that you get to know other writers in the online community.  I really enjoy following other friends and family; it's particularly special when I'm far away from home.  Thanks to anyone who reads the blog - I always appreciate the support and comments.  Please let me know if you write too as I'd like to follow your adventures as well!  My future goal for blogging - to try and get Sean to write at least one "guest post."  Here's hoping!

Here's one of the little guys I spotted during breakfast.  I think he's going through some kind of molt at the moment. I should have snuck something in for size reference - he's about as long as my pointer finger.

Nope, not the human kind.  We have been joined by several sticky-footed salamander type creatures who can be seen on walls, doors and scurrying around on the tile floor.  They are friendly enough, but I don't look forward to the day when I accidentally step on one . . . barefoot.  Sadly, they seem to have a particular affinity for our low-grade washer and more than once I have shaken a wet, pale, shrunken little corpse from my laundry.  Ew.

I've mentioned before that everyone shares everything here: food, drinks, rides home etc.  True, we share things in the States as well but they take it to a whole different level in Brazil.  Take for example the the check at a restaurant.  Last Friday night a group of us went out for some drinks and snacks at an outdoor bar down town.  I had a couple of beers and some fries but many others in the group had rounds of shots, plates of food and bottle after bottle of beers.

Carol (neighbor/friend), me, Kali (Loni's boyfriend), Loni (my roommate)

When the time came for the check, the waitress simply totaled everything up and divided the number by how many people were at our table.  This is completely normal and has happened at every other meal/drinks I have been at so far.  It only surprised me that particular night because of the extreme disparities between what some people consumed compared with others.  This was only apparent to Loni and me, however; we were the only ones bothered by it and talked about it when we got home and emptied our depressing amounts of change on the table.

Watching some live music on the street to celebrate National Women's Day (which explains all of the female underthings)

I recall similar experiences in Chile and Argentina; when I would go out with a group of Chileans we would always share the bill equally.  They call it "hacer la vaca" and it was the norm there as well.  There is really no way around the current system without being rude or offensive, that I can see.  It's not custom for waiters to keep individual tallies and protesting the amount one has to pay in the group would create a scene and is totally uncool.  A tight-knit community who shares everything is great, but sometimes I do miss America's individualistic obsession.

With Ticiana and her daughter at their house - they wanted me to hold a replica of a cacao bean

Every day I am blown away by the friendliness of the people here.  I have always loved the warmth and hospitality that South Americans are famous for, but since I've only lived and worked in large capital cities; spending time in a small city and an even more intimate neighborhood is incredible and completely different.  Although Ilhéus is a popular tourist destination for Europeans, the residents do not seem jaded, frustrated or in any hurry to take advantage of visitors.  Whenever I have a problem the locals go over and above to help me out, explain things slowly and point me in the right direction.  It is a huge relief and I constantly find myself wondering if my community in Michigan would do the same.  I hope so.

Picnic lunch of homemade shrimp moqueca with bananas

Let me give you some examples.  On Monday, my first official day of classes, I had a morning class and an evening class.  Since the university is a hefty commute from where I live, I stayed there all day intending to study and lesson plan a bit.  I was never able to do either as from about 11:30-5:30 when I was sitting out in the common area I was entertained by many students who wanted to just chat and hang out, both in Portuguese and English.  It felt like musical chairs.  As soon as one student got up from my table another one would sit down.  I would say that it was like an extended version of "English Corner" in China but in this case the conversations were actually balanced, two-sided exchanges of information instead of just me feeling "on display."

In the backyard with Ticiana and her daughter

With regards to the faculty, they have been very welcoming as well.  I am very fortunate to be able to work with the director of the international relations department, Ticiana.  She approached me the very first time I was on campus, pulled me aside and said, "I know you are Sarah from Fulbright and that you have your Master's degree.  I need to learn to speak academic English.  Will you help me?"  We decided to do a language exchange and as she is a legit teacher, it has been excellent.  We spend four hours a week together and while I help her translate and pronounce journal articles about globalization, she helps me say things like, "Hello, my name is Sarah and I am from Michigan," in Portuguese.  After our first week of working together, she invited me to spend the whole day on Saturday with her family - I had a great time and it was a much-needed break to get out of the city.

Shalon and his mom after church - I love their colorful house!

After church the following day on Sunday, I was snagged by a family and invited home for lunch.  I am quickly discovering that "lunch" doesn't really mean just a meal but rather spending the whole day with the family.  As soon as we arrived at their house I was encouraged to take "um bahnozihno" (a little shower because it was so hot), given lots of fresh juices and received many apologies that the meal was too simple as they weren't planning on having company.  Again, I had a great time and was impressed by the effort and initiative that Brazilians put forth to make people feel at home.

Getting Sunday lunch ready

Beans, rice, chicken, noodles and vegetables

 When Ticiana was dropping me off on Sunday she said to me, "I have lived abroad before and I really know what it's like to be all alone in a new place.  It's important for us to have you over because I know how you must be feeling and we want to help you and welcome you."  She's absolutely right.  It is very important, it means a lot and I only hope I can pay it forward some day in the U.S. by welcoming foreign visitors in my house.

The best part - mango juice

It makes language teaching a whole lot more relevant and interesting when one is learning a new language herself as well.  I can understand 100% what my own students are going through as I am experiencing the same frustrations, embarrassment, pronunciation troubles and lapses in memory of vocabulary as they are.



My Portuguese learning is in high gear as I have discovered rather quickly that it's not possible to get around by solely speaking Spanish alone.  I am in the "Portuñol" stage where the best I can do is speak as much Portuguese as I know and then fill in the blanks with Spanish words pronounced in my best attempts of the Brazilian Portuguese accent. It's not pretty.

Right now I feel like where I'm at with learning Portuguese is both super annoying and really exciting.  It's annoying because I communicate like a toddler - slow and stuttering while people patiently smile and nod in encouragement.  But it's exciting as well because my linguistic knowledge just about doubles every day and I can literally see and feel myself being able to speak better as time goes by. 


I'm practicing by doing language exchanges with students and professors, working through books, listening to podcasts and making flashcards.  Loni and I have also labeled our entire house with helpful little green stickers.  This means that I can tell you all the vocabulary for toothbrush, bed, sink, door, stove etc. but not anything else that I might actually use on a day to day basis.  The main ingredient for effective language learning? Patience.

I get asked about Sean here all the time since the students and professors know that I'm married.  They want to know, "Where is he?" "Why isn't he here?" "When is he coming?" "What is he doing now?" "What is he like?" "Does he want to come to Brazil?"  Everyone is extremely curious so much so that on our bulletin board Sean has his own little picture and bio, which he was probably not aware of until now . . .  We can't wait until you get here, Sean!

Way to order the girly drinks Brandon and Sean

Sean and I talk pretty much every day via Skype which has been really nice.  He is busy and doing fine in Laramie, Wyoming and looking forward to actually starting conservation work.  Right now he works as an office assistant in the morning for some extra cash and goes to conservation/leadership and Portuguese classes in the evenings.  He also has two Portuguese tutors that he meets with a few times a week.  He'll be starting his AmeriCorps volunteer hours at some local places this month but the real outdoor work begins in May.  Many weekends he and the 11 other crew leaders have to participate in practice work camps called "mini hitches" in various places in Wyoming.  During his free weekends Sean has enjoyed visiting friends in Fort Collins and Denver. From what I hear, it's been going ok with this roommates as well.  They like to go to trivia night at one of the bars in town and they play a lot of Catan as it's too cold to do much else.

Biking around Ft. Collins and visiting the breweries

Though I bug him to take pictures of his current adventure in Wyoming, Sean, unfortunately, is not an eager photographer.  I have to find ways to get them from his friends - thanks Brandon! 

One of the most striking characteristics I've noticed during my two weeks so far in Ilhéus is the strong presence of community.  I see it in my neighborhood of Pontal where everybody knows everybody and among students at UESC who are extremely loyal and close with each other after spending years together in the exact same classes.

Pontal is a tight-knit neighborhood right on the ocean and the bay.  I am within walking distance of everything including banks, grocery stores, public schools, beaches, restaurants, barber shops, parks and gyms.  When we moved in, our landlord said, "Give it about 20 minutes and everyone will know that two American girls moved in to the apartment on Rua Barão."  He was right.  We were greeted and welcomed here with such wide open arms that I still find it hard to believe.  Groups of people swing by and either yell at the balcony, clap their hands at the windows or bang on the door to invite us to the beach, out to dinner or to go to a dance or capoeira class.  We have been accepted as part of the gang without question and without motive (i.e. English practice, U.S. exposure etc.)

After the feijoada at the beach

The students at UESC have already filled our Facebook event calendars with parties, barbecues, Vegas Nights and sporting events to the point that I find myself wondering, "Do these students actually study at the university?"  I am assured that they do, in fact, study but since it's the beginning of the semester there is not much going on that is too academically strenuous.  We'll see if anything changes come the end of the term in June.  Also, I should point out that it's completely normal here to party with your professors.  Case in point, the middle-aged Spanish prof is having a big party in two weeks and everyone in both departments is invited.  It's rumored to be a big one.

I was reminded of community in another way at last week's two-day birthday bash at a hostel and beach in the nearby town of Olivença.  The students were having a feijoada which is cooking a big feast of beans and some sort of meat in a large pot and then serving it over rice.  After sharing food from the huge communal pot, I was chided slightly for grabbing a beer on my own. A senior student who had just returned from studying abroad in the States told me that in Brazil it's most common and acceptable to pass out small cups and then when someone grabs a new beer they pour it out and share it all around.  Sure enough.  I looked around and everyone was drinking beer out of small cups, nobody was drinking a can on their own.  Similarly, in capoeira class, whoever brings water is expected to share it with everyone else.  All the water bottles are placed in a certain part of the room and anyone can help themselves to any bottle at any time.  Sharing everything whether it be information, water, beans or beer is the normal and expected way of life here.



"You Americans," the friend who scolded me said, "You always have to do everything on your own and be such an individual.  We think it's better to share and do everything as a group."  Looks like I'm going to have to buck up, get over my fear of other peoples' germs and bring a bottle to pass at capoeira class.

Entrance to UESC

The university where we will be working is called the Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz but most everybody here calls it "Wes-Ski" from its acronym, UESC.  UESC is a well-known and fairly decent State university in Brazil.  Most of the better universities in Brazil are federal ones which are currently on strike; the majority of the current Fulbrighters are at federal universities and will have an even longer time than usual getting started.




UESC has about 10,000 graduate and undergraduate students and is best known for its programs in biology and law.  The departments that we work in are best translated as language arts and international relations.  Loni and I will be teaching optional English classes for beginning, intermediate and advanced students of English.  We will also be giving cultural talks/activities each month and working with the local public school teachers during their monthly inservices.



Each student at UESC is very happy to be there as there are limited spots available and tuition is free at the university level in Brazil.  To gain a spot, each student has to pass a difficult and long test called the Vestibular.  Like the Chinese Gaokao test, the Vestibular literally determines the course of life and the future success of the student.  Our job is to help the students pass the similarly rigorous English tests required to study abroad and also to gain confidence speaking English in general. 

Loni walking around our department