February 3, 2010
Hey Everybody!
This is my first update so far.
I have now been in Brazil for 3 months!
I arrived here late in mid-October due to paperwork issues. Anyway, my flight was about 26 hours long. When I arrived in Recife, I was greeted by my host mom and dad, my club councilor, and 2 other exchange students. It was nice to have the exchange students along, because they were able to translate some things in Portuguese for me during our 2 hour car ride to my host city; Caruaru.
Right now I am living in a small city of 300,000 inhabitants. I say small, because in Brazil, that is a small city. We do not have a theatre here! We only have 2 small shopping malls and a downtown area. I believe that there are advantages and disadvantages to living in a small town. The disadvantages are of course; not being able to do something whenever you want, fewer people to meet, and not having the diversity that a larger city brings. On the other hand, it is much safer here, which means that I am allowed to go out more without fear of too much danger. I also believe that people in small cities, in general, are more friendly because feel closer to their community. Overall, I really enjoy my city and the unique and intriguing things that I encounter here, which I will tell about later.
“What is school like in Brazil?” many people ask. I find that the best way to describe it is “the complete opposite of school in America!” The only similarity, is that we study the same basic classes; math, science, social science, and English (or Portuguese while in Brazil). The differences between our schools threw me off a bit when I first arrived. For example, during class, the teacher is not the only one who speaks. The whole class is engaged in conversations with other students. There is hardly a time when the teacher is the only one talking and they can do nothing about it. Another thing that I found odd was that the teachers are the ones who change classes, not the students. For this reason, you become really close to your class, because you study with them for 6 hours a day. Homework is almost obsolete at my school. All of the school work is done in class with groups. I find this quite beneficial, because I am able to improve my Portuguese while making friendships.
Upon arriving in Brazil, I have been encouraged to sample foods that might not be found on the average menu at Olive Garden or Marie Calendars. I find that it is best to eat the unknown objects as fast as possible and then ask what you have just eaten. Other strange things about the food in Brazil, is the meat. You can go to a market on the street and find a half of a cow, unrefrigerated, hanging from a stand.