A lot of planning went into the EIP program and I just wanted to share some of the highlights.  Here's what the outline of the week looked like:

Sunday: 
Students arrive and check-in to the hotel



Monday:
Orientation
Baseball English class
Extreme Sports English class
Urban dance / hip hop class
Pizza party




Tuesday:
Soccer English class
Belém city tour
Education U.S.A. Advising presentation
Watch U.S.A. soccer game 
Boat trip on the river



Wednesday:
Basketball English class
American Football English class
Volunteer at Ronald McDonald house
Sports demonstrations (Baseball game, football game, parade with cheerleaders and marching band - it was amazing!)



Thursday:
Group presentations
Afternoon American BBQ (hamburgers, beans, potato salad, Coke, chips and s'mores)
Evening 4th of July musical celebration and closing ceremony



Friday:
Students depart



The coolest part of the week was getting to know all of the students.  For many of them, this was their first time to travel away from home and to fly in a plane.  The team leaders, who were previous participants, said that this program changed their lives completely and that the week would probably affect our students much more than we could understand.  I was impressed at the students' maturity and gratitude - many of them thanked me after my classes and showed an incredible amount of emotion when the week was over. 



The moments I remember were when students relayed their excitement about being able to talk with native speakers of English for the first time, about how they had never seen such technology like using keycards to open hotel doors before, that they wanted to be the kind of couple that Sean and I are and about how this was the coolest week they had ever had.  At UFPA, one of my biggest problems is attendance and enthusiasm for optional English activities and classes.  For me, it was incredible to have such an engaged, active, grateful and excited group of students to teach English to for an entire week.

My work at UFPA finished for the semester during the last week of June so for the past week Sean and I have been working with the U.S. Embassy in their English Immersion Program (EIP) which was held in our city this year.  We are very lucky to have one of the embassy's bi-national language and culture centers here which provides English classes, academic and study abroad advising for students interested in going to the States and American cultural events.  When I went to the bi-national center to ask if they needed volunteers at the beginning of the year, they asked me if Sean and I could help with the EIP in July.

Day one - orientation

The English Immersion Program is designed to encourage and support Brazilian youth, international relations and cultural diplomacy.  This year, we hosted 60 students from all over Brazil aged 15-18 for a week full of complete language and cultural immersion.  The students only spoke in English with us and with each other and we created a schedule jam packed with classes and cultural events - it was awesome!

Students showing off their nail art in preparation for the program

The program is very competitive and popular with students.  To be eligible, the students have to have a high level of English, get good grades, be involved with volunteer work in their community, attend a public school, be under a certain level of family income and show leadership skills.  My role during the week was one of three English teachers and Sean was the cultural coordinator.  This meant that I planned and taught five 2 hour long classes over the course of the week and Sean was a kind of jack of all trades (which included cooking the food for the 4th of July BBQ on the last day).  We were both also mentors to small groups to help them prepare for their presentations at the end of the week.

Waiting in the hotel for the students' arrival

The theme this year was American sports and the sports that the embassy wanted us to cover were: basketball, American football, soccer, baseball and extreme sports.  To be honest, the whole experience felt a bit like summer camp as we stayed in the hotel with the students and were with them 24/7.  It was a lot of fun but very tiring.  It's pretty cool how much we packed into one week and how close everyone became in such a short time.   I already wish I could help out with it next year!

Group photo for the 4th of July celebration

Sean and I just finished a very fun but also a very tiring week working with the U.S. embassy's "English Language and Culture Immersion Program" and arrived home to find a heavy care package from my college roommate and family.  What an awesome surprise and perfect timing!


The care package was stuffed completely full of candy, granola bars, baking mixes and other luxurious snack foods impossible to find here.  Honestly, I can't believe how much they managed to stuff in one of the international postal boxes.  It is going to make a lot of people happy as we are going to share some of the American goodies with our students and friends.  It came at just the right time too as we leave again tomorrow to help with an English Without Borders program in a neighboring state and have a lot of long and empty hours of travel before us.

Mary and Jay have consistently and generously spoiled us while abroad and we always appreciate it!  This past year, her brother in law started a program called "I Like Giving" and wrote a book with the same name.  The whole family encourages living generously and giving in new, unexpected and joyful ways.  It's true that being given something makes us want to give too and now we're thinking of ways to pass the giving on.  Thanks for thinking of us and going through all the paperwork to send some treats internationally!

It has been really fun to be in Brazil during the World Cup and today's game was probably the most exciting and emotional soccer game that I have ever watched.  I saw Brazilians crying, praying and literally exploding with joy and relief when Brazil clinched the victory.



It has also been entertaining to see how much time and effort the locals put into representing their country in terms of fashion.  The biggest trends I've noticed for men are wearing Brazil jerseys and crazy hats.  The women, on the other hand, are way more dedicated and spend hours doing nails and Brazil flag-inspired makeup.



I did a double take at lunch today when my waitress blinked and I saw the image of the flag perfectly represented on her eyelids.  It's quite incredible, really.



But the nail art is over and above anything I've ever seen.  It's not hard to snag pictures of impressive nails and eyelids without being a creeper because my students post pictures of all of this excessively on Facebook. 


I get asked at least once a week why I don't wear makeup or do my nails.  I usually say that I don't have time or that I sweat so much in this crazy heat that it would just melt right off.  That doesn't stop me from looking at everyone else and admiring their game day flair, however.  The more games Brazil wins = the more national holidays we receive = the more time we have to do makeup and nails to cheer on Brazil.  It makes sense if you think about it.

One of the things that's very unique about the English Without Borders program at UFPA is the creativity.  It's very common for us to have class outside in one of the university gardens or under the gazebo along the river.  Last week, Sean, Ken and I went on a field trip with Professor Allana's class.  We took a boat ride across the river to nearby Combo Island where we went on a hike and had lunch, all while practicing English, of course.



The island was beautiful and even on our short hike we were able to see snakes, a giant tarantula and huge and very old trees.  For lunch we had shrimp, fried fish, rice, salad and açai.  Here in Pará, açai is not eaten like it is in Bahia (as ice cream with granola, honey and bananas).  Instead, it is eaten like a thick warm soup with puffed pieces of manioc flour.  Let's just say it takes some getting used to as it has a very raw and natural flavor (I have to dump sugar in mine in order to choke it down). 

 
It was a really fun afternoon and one that I hope can be repeated with more teachers and different classes.  We are in the last week of the semester and things are definitely feeling crazy.  Next week Sean and I are working with the Brazilian Youth Ambassador program in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy and then after that we have July off to relax and travel a bit.  As we approach the warmest time of the year, I am preparing for the hottest summer vacation that I've ever had in my life!

Our hiking group

One of the events that I arranged when our friend, Ken, was visiting us was a guided hike in the nearby Utinga wilderness.  We spent the better part of the morning hiking around in a hot and humid jungle while listening to our guide tell stories, give survival tips and point out interesting creatures that we would never have spotted otherwise.  He also knew the location of several safe swimming holes or igarapés as they are called here which allowed us some time to relax and cool off.

Sloths in the trees

The highlight of the hike for me was seeing sloths for the first time.  Even though they were high up in the trees it was still really cool to see their furry shapes and very slow movements.  We saw a family of five up in the trees which was very exciting.  Other memorable moments were seeing toucans and a gigantic tarantula. 

Meeting a recuperating owl

Interestingly, it is recommended to explore the park with a guide not because of the environment but because of other people.  The protected wilderness is used as an escape route and safe haven for drug addicts, thieves and prostitutes as it is right on the edge of some of the more dangerous neighborhoods in the city.  That being said, I was more than happy to be accompanied by a guide in full military gear who was definitely not messing around.

Another slot picture because they were so cool!

Arraial do Pavulagem - at the start (photo credit Eric Stoner)

June is not only a fun time to visit Brazil because of the World Cup, but also because of the traditional June festivals celebrating Saint John (São João).  These June festivals involve special foods made from corn, bonfires, lots of forró dancing and in Belém it includes the "Arraial do Pavulagem" which is a parade of dancing and drumming from the river to the main plaza in town.

Waiting for the cows to get off the boat - Photo credit Eric Stoner

The Arraial began today, the second Sunday in June and runs on every Sunday throughout the rest of the month.  Ken, Sean and I joined the parade from the beginning and marched all the way to the Praça da República.  Everyone wears straw hats with colored ribbons down the side and moves their feet with the beat.  There are dancers on stilts, drummers and musicians and lots of vendors selling cold drinks and popsicles on the side.

Getting ready for the parade - Photo Credit Eric Stoner

The most important part of the festival is the cow or "boi" as it is called here.  The cow is made out of paper maché and the person inside it makes it dance and twirl in a dizzy and impressive display.  There are also people dressed as cowboys that dance along with the boi, small children riding paper maché horses and others wearing large artsy heads or "cabecões."

Traditional June foods

Although the festival used to only be about St. John, the harvest and the cow, in Belém it has morphed into a display of Amazon culture, languages, music and religion.  Sean didn't buy a straw hat with ribbons, but he did buy a beer cozy shaped like a cow that hangs around your neck so you can dance while you are marching - very handy during a celebration like Arraial do Pavulagem in Belém where drinking and dancing are simultaneously required.

Walking in the parade - Photo Credit Eric Stoner