My favorite cat sitting atop our luggage before we headed to the airport - wish we could have taken her home too!

After a whirlwind of family get-togethers, holiday parties and reunions it feels good to hunker down inside with a cup of coffee and catch up on life.  It truly is good to be home and the last two weeks have made both of us appreciative of all the people and things we've missed while being in Brazil for the past ten months.

Reunion of Sean's friends from high school and college

As usual, it's been particularly difficult to get used to the freezing temperatures and dry air during winter in West Michigan.  It was also tough on the system to jump into eating very rich (albeit delicious) holiday foods and indulging in fancy beers and drinks that we hadn't had for awhile.  But overall I'm thrilled to be back. It's great to be with family and friends again and have other friends just be a cell phone call away.  I love being able to drive anywhere I want instead of having to wait for for a hot and crowded bus.  Hot showers and washing dishes and my hands with hot water feels divine.  Being able to throw used toilet paper in the toilet instead of the waste basket is an added bonus.  Not sweating profusely 100% of the time or constantly swatting mosquitoes is fantastic and we don't miss sleeping in a mosquito net at all.  The fact that we can count on the electricity to work, the internet to be fast and businesses to be open/not on strike is awesome.  The choices available for food, clothes, soap etc. in places like Meijer and Target is absolutely mind-boggling; Sean and I find ourselves just walking around with mouths open and drooling. It's also nice not to be constantly started at/asked where I'm from due to my accent or misunderstood due to problems with Portuguese.

My friends from high school at the new Hops brewery on 8th St.

What I'm especially grateful for is the chance to feel safe again after living in a fairly dangerous city.  It's a huge weight off of my shoulders and a big sigh of relief.  The other day, while walking out of the Family Fare grocery store with a bag of rolls, I felt my chest seize up in panic at having to navigate through the parking lot to get to my car (parking lots were especially vulnerable places in Brazil) and had to tell myself that everything is fine - I'm in Holland, Michigan. While out at restaurants and bars on 8th street I found myself constantly checking the crowd, my surroundings and if my purse is still at my side. It feels absurd, other-worldly and paranoid.

Ohio State reunion at Founders Brewing in Grand Rapids - what a fun time and a great place to hang out!

What I'm really excited about being back is all of the amazing opportunities, events and things to do happening in Holland, at the library, on Hope's campus and in the community.  I take these activities for granted when I'm here and miss them sorely when I leave. I'm hoping to do a run camp with Gazelle to train for the Fifth Third Riverbank run and the Couch to Crossfit program with Soaring Ledge. There's also a local hot yoga place that would feel really good if not just for the warm and humid climate from time to time. I'm going to be a coach for Girls on the Run and am really looking forward to Alumni Dutch Dance with my original high school partner!  As usual, I'm going to work a bit at the Hope College bookstore and then substitute teach and Sean is going to work at his friend's factory.  We feel very lucky to come home to a community of friends and family who not only heartily welcome us back but also help us along in the transition in generous ways.  It's good to be home!

Sean and I chose to do the CELTA course in Colombia because we wanted to experience a place other than Brazil for 6 weeks.  In Colombia, we had the choice of doing the course in Medellín or Bogotá and we went with Medellín after hearing really positive things about it from both friends who had visited and Colombians who we met in Brazil.




Medellín did not disappoint. It's a city of about 3 million with eternal spring-like weather.  Friends had told us that the city felt a little bit like Europe and they were exactly right.  Medellín is clean, efficient, modern, safe and beautiful.  The most impressive characteristic about the city, however, is the people.  After so many years of struggle and violence that's given the city a bad rap, Medellín is finally ready to welcome tourists and the locals couldn't be happier about it.




Citizens would go out of their way to help us and were always incredibly friendly.  More than once we were verbally "welcomed" to the city just because people noticed that we were not from there.  The hidden gem of Medellín is starting to catch on, however, and we met quite a few expats from Canada, Europe and the U.S. who had decided to make it their permanent home.  All of the other CELTA graduates were intending to stick around and find work in the city - Sean and I were the only ones who were planning on leaving.



Another impressive thing about the city is the transportation system.  Medellín has a metro (Bogotá doesn't) and the metro system includes buses as well as cable cars that go to neighboring mountain towns.  This allows people from quite far distances to get into the city center quickly, efficiently and cheaply.  The cable cars offer impressive views of the city and the day we rode one all of us in the car were tourists and were just along for the panoramic shots.



The most common things to eat here are arepas, which are thick corn tortillas covered in fresh cheese.  Sean's favorite dish is the huge bandeja paisa which includes a fried plantain, avocado, sausage, rice, beans, arepa, egg, bacon, ground beef and coleslaw.  The national drink is a liquor called Aguardiente made from sugar cane that is flavored with anise.



We didn't have a lot of time to do much sight-seeing but spent one full day down town checking out some churches and squares and visiting several sculptures of Botero.  We spent another day visiting the botanical gardens which were abuzz with yoga classes, dance demonstrations, food vendors and a marching band festival.  We're glad we were able to stay such a long time in such a pleasant and enjoyable city.  Medellín - highly recommend!

Our CELTA cohort with instructors

On Friday, Sean and I officially finished the CELTA course. We are so happy and relieved to be done and although we don't know our grades yet, we do know that we both passed.  Although it was a really intense, stressful and tiring month, we learned so much and got know a fun group of people really well.
Our three CELTA instructors are all from the British Council with Cambridge in England and they did a fantastic job of pushing us, challenging us, motivating us as well as providing exemplary models of teaching.  The other 13 people who made it through were from England, Colombia and the U.S. (Denver, Seattle, Grand Rapids (small world!), San Francisco, and Pennsylvania).  

Our fabulous instructors

During the course we were up every day at about 5:30 a.m. and at school at 6:30 a.m. where we taught and were observed and then had classes until about 4:30 every day.  Then it was back home for 5-6 more hours of homework until crashing into bed.  Now, after the course is over, it feels strange to be able to sleep in and have extra time to ourselves.

We are taking this next week to travel around Colombia and are visiting Bogotá and Cartagena until the 13th when we fly back to Brazil, pick up our bags and arrive in the States on the 15th.  We're excited to be home soon!

Our group with some of our Colombian English students

Our house - don't be fooled by it's deceptively attractive exterior appearance

Months ago, when Sean and I decided to do the CELTA course, we booked a respectable and classy AirBNB apartment in Medellín.  Two weeks before our course, the landlord sent us an email canceling our booking due to flooding.  We panicked and started to scramble to find other long-term rental options but everything was already taken.  We asked the landlord to help and he found us another option - one of his friends had a room for rent in an apartment with a "relaxed, bohemian atmosphere."  We jumped on it and that's how we've managed to spend the last three weeks in an all-male fraternity house.

Our room - we keep it clean

Though I've learned more than I've wanted to about getting friend-zoned, upper deckers and different ways/things to smoke, I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone.  From what I can tell, there are about 6-8 other testosterone-fueled residents; it's hard to know for sure because traffic of both sexes is always coming and going at all hours. Nobody does dishes and there are always remnants of food and garbage everywhere.  The floors are sticky. People eat our food.  There's a ping pong table that can be heard ping-ponging most nights until 2 a.m. I won't even begin to describe our shared bathroom lest I ruin your appetite for the next three days. There are raging parties until the wee hours and there's been quite a few mornings when Sean and I have gingerly stepped over comatose bodies while leaving the house for school at 6 a.m.

The male twenty-somethings that live here think we are the epitome of lameness.  When we try and explain that we have class all day and then hours of homework at night, their eyes glaze over and they stop listening.  They are nice enough, however, and frequently invite us to the parties they host.  I'm chalking this up to a sociological and anthropological "experience" but meanwhile I can't wait to sleep without earplugs and walk around without flip-flops.

The shared party/smoking balcony

Sean and I have one more week of CELTA class and thus one more week as fraternity "members".  The class has been one of the most academically rigorous and emotionally challenging experiences of my life and now I understand the nickname "Teaching Bootcamp".  Our cohort started with 18 students (three classes with six students each) and now we're down to 15.  I'm quite proud that I didn't actually break down and cry (at school, that is) until day 14 though.  I have one more 60 minute lesson to teach and one more paper to write.  Thank goodness there's a Dunkin' Donuts on campus and if I have any teeth left from grinding from nerves at night and if Sean's jaw doesn't cramp up from all of the clenching, donitos should be a nice treat on Friday morning when we're within reach of our certificates and one night away from a new sleeping arrangement.  Huzzah.

Our room again

During the last weekend of my Fulbright grant, Sean and I packed up all of our stuff, put it into storage at a friend's house and set off for Medellín, Colombia to do a month-long intensive CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course.  A CELTA is very similar to a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course except that it is run by Cambridge/British Council and is accepted in more parts of the world. 


I have been wanting to do a CELTA for a long time as it is all about language learning theory and methodology.  We figured it would be a smart move for us since we anticipate additional time abroad and it opens up more doors for employment with actual paychecks instead of small living stipends which we've survived off of in the past.  We opted for the month-long intensive course because the timing worked out well (we're headed back to Michigan right when it's over) and decided to do it in Medellín to experience a different country and culture for our last weeks in South America.

This is what our classrooms look like at the language center

So far, the course has been a bit more work than we anticipated.  There are plenty of warnings in the application process about how much work it is, how stressful it is and how it's possible not to pass.  During my interview, the evaluator predicted that I would probably cry (she was right).  What makes this course so intense/exhausting/emotional?  It requires that we teach a real class in front of our peers and evaluators every other day which is, frankly, quite terrifying and extremely mentally draining.

Medellín - a gorgeous, clean, modern and safe city nestled in the mountains

 Teaching goes from 8-10 a.m. every day followed by an hour of feedback.  After that there are classes on language learning theory, teaching methodology etc. until noon when we lunch until one.  At one we have more classes about teaching prounciation, speaking, writing etc. and finally from 3-4 p.m. we have assisted lesson planning with our groups and teachers to get ready for the next day.  In addition to making lessons, activities and powerpoints to teach our classes, we have to do four small papers throughout the course and each one requires a different bibliography of reading.  Now I understand why most people prefer to do the normal course over a three-month period. . .

The university where our course is held

I haven't worked quite this much or this hard for a long time now and it's a bit overwhelming.  We are one week in and I have already learned more about teaching than I have during the education crash course in graduate school.  Even though it's causing us a lot of stress, I am loving the opportunity to learn so much about teaching ESL.  Fingers crossed that we make it through the next three weeks and successfully pass!

EAFIT Campus

Last week, the Brazil-United States binational center in Belém emailed me to ask if Sean and I would do a cross-cultural Q&A for some students hoping to study abroad in the future.  They said that dinner would be provided and that they would pick us up on Tuesday night at 6:30.  We didn't have anything else going on so we agreed and didn't think much more about it.

On the night of the event, a driver picked us up but things got suspicious when he didn't go the direction of the cultural center.  I became a little confused and frustrated with the driver as I tried to figure out what was going on.  Eventually, I gave up and just figured that we along with the student group were having dinner somewhere else.


We arrived at a nice Italian restaurant and when we walked in, Sean and I saw all of my ETA mentees seated around a table waiting.  My first thought was, Cool! The cultural center must have asked everyone to be on the panel!  which was quickly followed by Where are all the students?  Sean's first thought was, What a coincidence that the other ETAs decided to eat here too!

Turns out that my mentees had all gotten together to plan a little thank you party for being their mentor. I have honestly never been so surprised and tricked in my entire life - I didn't see it coming even for a minute which was shown by the fact that I had brought some pictures and lesson plan materials with me in anticipation of a discussion. They bought us both dinner with really good wine and presented me with a gift certificate for a day at the spa back in Holland. So nice!

This year I have been incredibly lucky to work with such a motivated, creative, hard-working and inspiring group of ETAs.  It's been a privilege to watch them transform over the past ten months and be transformed myself because of their innovation and tirelessness.  It's going to be really exciting to see what everyone does next and I'm especially happy that one of my mentees was accepted to be a mentor next year as well!

One of the most entertaining American holidays to celebrate outside of the U.S. is, without a doubt, Halloween.  In China and in Brazil, students have been very intrigued by the traditions such as trick or treating, pumpkin carving and dressing up in costumes. Once again, it was awesome to be in a city with so many other ETAs because we all came together to put on a big Halloween party at a nearby dance studio.  There was food, decorations, music, dancing and games such as a mummy wrap and bobbing for apples.  Sean and I brought a few pumpkins to carve and cookies to decorate which was fun as well.



Although we had hoped for a bigger turnout, the students that came had a great time.  It was especially fun to see the creativity in all of the costumes.  That morning, Stevie and I had put on a "Halloween 101" workshop that explained Halloween's basic history and vocabulary.  We also played lots of games and ate candy.



I saw various photos on social media of the beginnings of snow in my hometown around the 31st and it definitely feels a little out of place carving pumpkins in Amazonian heat and humidity.  Hope you had a safe and fun Halloween!

I haven't blogged much lately because I have been on the road.  Fulbright gives each ETA a travel stipend which we can use to either attend or present at an academic conference which pertains to either our research area or teaching English in general.  Since I was a part of UFPA's linguistic research group this semester, I was able to present at CLAFPL (a conference about improving future language teachers in Brazil), one of the conferences where our proposals were submitted.  My presentation was about analyzing Language Advising using Complexity Theory.  It was my first time presenting in Portuguese and I lost a little bit of sleep over it and spent hours practicing.  It went well and I feel extremely relieved that it is over and done with.  It was a good way for me to end the year and tie up my time with the research group.



We have less than two weeks to go and each day is already chock full of activities.  Tomorrow I present at the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) conference in Belém and then all of us are working like crazy to get Halloween workshops and parties ready for Friday.  This has been such a fun year and though I'm sad to be leaving Belém, I'm excited for whatever comes next.

Lots has been happening for me and Sean in Belém recently.  We took a weekend trip to Marajó Island which was a nice little getaway and last weekend was the famous Círio de Nazaré celebration.  The tradition of Círio actually lasts for almost the entire month of October.  It is a religious festival that involves the pilgrimage of many Catholics to worship an image of Saint Mary.  During the celebration, the population of the city swells to more than double and there are a variety of different church services and masses, processions and performances.  It's known as the largest religious festival in South American and being able to witness the event was not only really interesting but also a little overwhelming and emotional.



The first part of Círio takes place on Saturday morning on the river and is called Círio Fluvial.  The saint is escorted down the river to the port of Belém by a large group of decorated boats.  We watched the aquatic pilgrimage from the balcony of one of the Fulbright coordinators who has a superb view of the spectacle.  She also offered us breakfast and lunch replete with homemade traditional foods.  It was a fun and relaxing morning eating, catching up with the other ETAs, and kicking off the holiday weekend with plenty of fireworks and elaborately decorated boats.  After lunch, Sean and I headed home to nap and recharge before the evening festivities began.

The two main newspapers from each extreme predict different candidates to win the election (Photo credit Eric Stoner)

 It's a big day for Brazil today - there are elections for federal, state and local positions along with the presidential election.  For the first time in South America there are two women running against each other for president along with one other male candidate.  To be honest, I haven't been very interested in the candidates' profiles but I have been very intrigued by the election culture here in Brazil.

These past few weeks have been filled with fireworks, increased traffic because of parades, cars with loudspeakers blasting political propaganda, doorbell ringers at all times of day eager to hand out pamphlets and people lining the streets waving flags of their party.  It's made daily life a bit chaotic, to say the least.



Voting in Brazil is required and this obligation is a frequent topic of discussion in our English classes.  Students are both amazed and interested in how the U.S. election system works especially because it is voluntary.  Here, if you don't vote you have to pay a fine and could never be considered for a government position.  You also have to vote in the place where you were born and if you move you either have to do a lot of paperwork to change your voting location or apply for a proper justification of why you physically cannot be there to vote. 

Political propaganda covers the streets of Belém

Voting in Brazil is famously corrupt and when I ask my students what this means they say that it's because candidates "buy their vote."  They either give citizens money to vote for them or give them free things they can use.  One example I heard was one candidate giving out free pressure cookers but to get the very important and necessary lid to the cooker, you had to show up on voting day and vote for him.  Most of my students choose to vote "Nulo" which means they show up to vote but either leave their ballot blank or just write in nonsense so that their vote doesn't count.

One thing I will NOT miss from Brazil: os "Carros de Som" / Sound Cars

Most interesting for me, however, was the "Lei Seca" or the Dry Law which forbids drinking on the night before and the day of the election to try and prevent people getting a little too out of control (for similar reasons, alcohol is not usually permitted in soccer stadiums as well).  Voting is always on a Sunday here so restaurants and stores stop selling alcohol at around 6pm on Saturday night.  That doesn't prevent people from drinking and having a good time, though, say my students.  Everyone just prepares for the weekend by buying their booze from the supermarket well ahead of time.

Check the news tomorrow to see the results of the Brazilian election!

My cousins, Craig and Dave, who live in Germany sent me this link to a BBC article yesterday and it's been inspiring me ever since!  The article describes writer Ann Morgan's challenge to herself to read one book from every country in a year.  She keeps a blog and writes about the experience and what she learned (the list of books she actually read are posted on there as well if you are interested).  Her initial idea came to her because of the lack of diversity in her bookshelves even though she thought of herself as a cosmopolitan citizen and writer.  How true that is!  When I look at my bookshelves and on the electronic reading list of my Nook, I'm struck by the same feeling and it makes me try and remember some of my favorite books that aren't from the States.  It's also an alternative way to travel the world and one that doesn't create a big carbon footprint either. What about you, blog reader? Any recommendations?

Fallen mango during an afternoon rain (Photo credit Leiliane Barro)

This weekend has been both relaxing and productive.  It's rained heavily in the afternoons and Sean and I spent time in a coffee shop working on our "50 Pre-Course Tasks" that we need to complete before our CELTA (Certified English Language Teacher of Adults) course in November.  This is one of my favorite parts of the week because it involves grammar, good coffee and dessert, air conditioning, no mosquitoes and hanging out with Sean.  Both of us have also been working on a lot of job applications as well as we try and figure out what is next for us after Brazil.  Consuming large amounts of homemade iced coffee has helped a lot in this process.  If you need help with a resume or cover letter just ask us  - we're getting pretty good at them.

An afternoon torrential downpour in Belém (Photo credit: Joana Flexa)

Recently, a student and friend, Jean Santos, snapped some beautiful pictures of the campus of UFPA and I wanted to share them with you.  It's an odd feeling to walk around campus in the "fall" but not notice the changing colors of the trees, the swishing of dried leaves under your feet or the coolness in the air.  Instead, we are slowly transferring back to the "rainy" season and the weather is as hot and humid as ever.  I spend a good part of each day walking (and sweating) back and forth between the Language Arts buildings and the science buildings where most of the English Without Borders classes are.  Seeing Jean's pictures the other day reminded me of how beautiful the campus is and that it's worth slowing down and enjoying the scenery instead of always rushing around.  Thanks Jean!

Campus graffiti: Tell me what you watch and I'll tell you who you are

Block H - where most of my classes are