"Não vai ter Copa" / "There's not going to be a World Cup!" is the chant of the many Brazilians who are protesting about the upcoming international soccer event held in June in twelve different host cities around the country.  They are protesting because of the amount of money that the government is pouring into the stadiums (some of which will not be done in time . . . ) and infrastructure needed to host the hordes of tourists and soccer fans scheduled to arrive shortly instead of using federal money for much-needed programs and improvements in health care, education and general safety.  They are also protesting against the government and its widespread corruption in general as it is widely believed that the higher-ups are lining their pockets with some of the funds initially allocated for the World Cup.

Recent image gone viral on social networking sites reflecting a common feeling against the World Cup

Even though Belém is not a host city, we see the effects of the growing unrest and hype about the upcoming event everywhere.  Everyone is talking about it and the World Cup protests spur on additional strikes and protests in other public sectors.  Two weeks ago it was the public bus strike, last week it was a strike at the public university and in many states a police strike.  Brazilians are using their moment on the world stage to bring attention to the country's problems and to show that they are not going to stand for it.

No matter if Brazil ends up actually having the World Cup or not, it is an extremely interesting and exciting time to be in this country during such a period of growing change in attitudes and actions.

The house where we live comes as a package deal with three additional feline roommates.  I absolutely adore the cats and enjoy finding a little bit about their strange and very separate personalities every day.  Sean, who is unfortunately quite allergic to cats, does not share in my enthusiasm.  Naturally, for some reason, the cats seem to enjoy spending most of their time with Sean instead of with me, a fact which drives me crazy and which drives Sean to sneezing.  Fortunately, his allergies aren't too bad because the house is open to the air and there is no carpet or rugs.  There is also a cleaning lady that comes two to three times a week and keeps the house spotless and cat hair free. 

At first we tried not to let the cats in our room but that turned out to be a bad idea since the absence of a cross-breeze makes the room stifling.  Now, we let them come in our room but they are not allowed on the bed - the mosquito net helps with that.  They spend most of the time sleeping around the room and keeping us company when we work at home.

 
The cats include "Wurat", a young black cat who was abused and then abandoned and finally taken in by Sabine.  He has some social issues and we have to be careful not to move too quickly by him or he lashes out.  There is also "Frido" a white and gray cross-eyed adolescent cat who doesn't have proper use of this back feet which continually frustrates him as he tries to keep up with the other cats.  Finally there is my favorite, "Cezanne", a tiger cat who has been here for years and craves attention.  The cats are the normal mix of intelligence, independence, craziness and mischief but we are also all convinced that they are polyglots as well since they respond to German, English, Spanish and Portuguese.

I know that with Sean's allergies and our lifestyle that we will probably never be able to have pets of our own so I am trying to get in as much cat time as I can while I am here.

In Brazil I've learned that the one thing you can count on is that you can't count on anything.  Today is a perfect example.  Sean and I got up early with plans for a busy and normal Thursday.  I had meetings with students at the unviersity along with a conversation club and presentations in two classes.  Later that evening I had a presentation at a different university.  But then the public buses went on strike.

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.

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.

Kevin, a German student, entering the Casa Vermelha, and Sean posing nearby

A little bit of the garden spilling over the garage

View of the rest of the neighborhood - 4 blocks down and you get to the river

Sean and I live in in a big red house that everybody appropriately calls "A Casa Vermelha."  The house is what Brazilians call a república which means that the house is shared with a lot of people, usually with one or two people in charge.  The dona of our república is Sabine, a German linguist and professor at the university working here on a grant from the Goethe Institute.  Sabine lives here with her husband, Martin, an artist who spends the days painting and drawing in his studio.  The Casa Vermelha was started many years ago and Sabine actually stayed here when she was a student.  The purpose of the house is to provide lodging for visiting researchers, professors, lecturers, graduate students and bolsistas (people here on grants and scholarships). 

The entryway

The living room

I absolutely adore where we live for a few reasons.  The house always has a very international and social community and there are always dinners, parties and cultural events that take place here.  Currently, there is one Colombian student and one German student living here along with Sabine and Martin and me and Sean.  The location of the house is fantastic; it's in the historic neighborhood right across the street from the modern part of the town, the new mall, and the biggest park in the city.  The house is old; it is one of the original houses in Belém and when the Germans got a hold of it they restored everything to its original look and kept the wood floors, vaulted ceilings, and giant doors and windows.  They were even able to get a lot of antique furniture and artwork which makes you feel like you step back in time as soon as you open the door.

The hallway - our bedroom is this first door on the left

Our room

Our room

Dining room

Shared kitchen

But my favorite things about the house are the garden and the three cats (more on them later).  Most everybody hangs out on the porch, which is surrounded by high walls and an immense, tangled web of a garden.  It feels like you are in part of the Jumanji game where vines are starting to grow everywhere.  There are lots of birds and insects that hang out in the garden and it is a peaceful respite from the loud and dangerous city.  When the afternoon rains come, it's fun to watch and feel the spectacle from the porch - it's like our own little Rainforest Café.

Porch

Outdoor hallway to Kevin's room and Sabine and Martin's room

What I don't like about the house is that it's very hot - there is no air conditioning so we live in constant search of a fan's windy path or a breeze from the outside.  There are also no screens so the mosquitoes feast on us day and night.  We have bug spray everywhere and Sean and I sleep under a mosquito net but the bugs get old.  The last thing I want to do when I get out of a shower is put on bug spray.

Ground floor under the porch and entrance to main part of garden and Diego's room

But even with the bugs and the heat, the Casa Vermelha is a good fit for us.  It's an international community in a little bit of bohemian jungle paradise separate from the chaotic and hectic environment that is the city of Belém.

We are all starting to find our routines here in Belém and since the actual workday of an ETA is kind of vague I thought I would share what I do in an average week.  I like that there is a lot of variety from day to day but sometimes I crave a bit more structure.  Since part of our job is to visit and help with classes that occur anytime from 7:30 am to 9:30pm Monday-Saturday, our schedules change a lot depending on when and what classes we are helping with that week.  It's fun to meet new students and work with different professors, but I miss the community building and long-term relationships with students that I had in my own classes last year.



Sunday - Sean and I usually sleep in, do laundry and go grocery shopping.  Sunday is actually a big night to go out for students so sometimes we join them at one of the nearby river bars.

Monday - I do a lot of lesson and workshop planning for the week in the morning.  I also send out mentee emails for the week and catch up on some reading and homework for the graduate class I am auditing.  In the afternoon my Portuguese professor comes to my house and I have a two-hour lesson.  In the evening I help out with a freshmen class called "How to learn how to learn a foreign language."

Tuesday - I get to the university early and usually have appointments to meet with ISF (Ingles Sem Fronteiras/English Without Borders) students who want individual help or language advising.  I spend a lot of time advertising for our English/Culture events either by emailing, visiting classes, hanging up flyers, posting on Facebook etc.  Sometimes I get together with other graduate students to finish group work for our afternoon class.  After lunch I have a linguistics graduate class from 2-6pm called "Special Topics in Linguistics: Complexity Theory in Applied Linguistics."  The class is in Portuguese and it is not only a challenge to follow a long and contribute but to understand the topic as well.  Sometimes I help with an English class in the morning or in the evening after class.

Wednesday -  Today is my busiest day.  I get to the university early and set up the teaching webinar that the embassy offers to English teachers.  The webinar is from 9:00-10:30 and a lot of current and future English teachers attend.  I usually help with an English class in the morning and then have a meeting with the other ETAs and my coordinator before lunch.  From 1:30-3:00 I do an English/Portuguese language exchange with a professor.  From 3:00-5:00 I meet with a research group studying language advising.  From 5:00-6:00 I have my English conversation club.  I usually help with English classes in the evening until 8:30.

Thursday - I don't go to the university today.  I spend the day catching up on paperwork, grant reports and lesson and presentation planning.  I use this day to go to places that are only open on weekdays like the bank and post office.  I have a Portuguese class at home again from 3:00-5:00. 

Friday - I either give a teaching workshop from 8:30-10:30 or I attend a language advising meeting (a pilot program that the university is researching and testing).  The meeting and/or workshop happen on alternate weeks.  Then myself, along with the other two ETAs, Stevie and Anna, give two workshops about some aspect of American culture from 11:30-1:00 and 2:00-3:30.  I usually help with some Friday afternoon English classes after that.  Friday nights are when we usually go out with the other American ETAs in Belém or hang out with students.

Saturday - Sometimes I have to go to the university to help with the weekend English classes (offered to students who study or work full-time and don't have time to take English during the week).  Then Sean and I go to our Brazilian dance class from 5:00-7:00.



It's usually a busy week and I don't feel like I have a lot of free time especially since going anywhere takes awhile because of the traffic and the bus commute.  Most days it takes me about 40 minutes to get to the university but sometimes if it is raining really hard and at rush hour it takes more than 2 hours.  The semester ends in the beginning of July so my schedule will change drastically for the month of vacation and then things start all over in August for the second semester.   I really enjoy what I'm doing here and I am so glad that I was given the chance to come back to Brazil for one more year.