A Brazilian Thanks Giving: Our last excursion ☹

Our last excursion ☹:
Nov. 26 2009

Although Brazilians don’t celebrate our thanks giving, (I don’t know if they have anything similar though either) Clara wanted to do it for us because she "knows how important it is to us". So she invited us to her parent’s house near Praia do Forte so we got to see the castle/fort of Praia do Forte on the way there.




And took the opportunity to have a photo shoot.










It was very cool being there in its ruins but I have no idea what it was about. This is one of the things that I would suggest that they do better because I feel like we just get a little information about where we’re going but it’s not really put into context. Like when we went to the caves when we went to Lencois, I don’t even know if that was in Lencois or what it was called and in Cachoeira too, what were the costumes about?

Anyway then we went over to Clara's mom and dad’s house which was amazing.








It was near a river where we were swimming and just chilled out on the front ...yard? garden more like. And they made some pita pizza for us: vegetarian and meat options.

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And we had music and, while the feast was being cooked by several ladies in the kitchen we were swimming and playing music. Some of my friends played the guitar, one played the harmonica and it was great. We had a drummer too.


For the feast we had, fried beringela (eggplant) several salads, one was like a sea food salad, another the lettuce and tomatoes etc., two turkeys, and a sauce that was supposed to be kind of like a cranberry sauce, but since there aren’t cranberries in Brazil, it was made of something else, clara wouldn’t tell us but I think it might have been jabuticaba.
Either way it was delicious I didn’t even miss the cranberry sauce it was very good and very similar. And well there was a lot of food—in the beginning, but man this time I didn’t stand next to the table so I was toward the end of the line and people totally took almost all the turkey, there were little scraps left ☹. It made me really really really sad. But I overcame that quickly.

Oh yeah and they were making fresh juice all the while :abacaxi (pineapple), limão (lemonade), and maracujá (passionfruit juice). And then we went back into the river.




Later on that day we did a toast and Clara kind of made us all go up to the Mic, but man there was soo much crying. We are a really big group, but what was a recurrent idea is that, even though we were such a big and diverse group people really connected and we all got to interact with one another at some point and everyone had made really strong connections and friendships with people.

It was the case for me anyway, I got a long with everyone I think, but there were a good like 10 people that I really want to visit after the program ends, and like 5 that I think are going to be life-long friends. I have actually not had the best of luck when it comes to that, but I was really lucky to meet some amazing, intelligent, and genuine people that have been sooo good to me, with whom I share so many good memories and I really will miss them.

From what people said for the toast, there were a lot of things, but the whole friendship thing and also that people noticed how this experience abroad has made them grow, how they’ve changed etc. I feel like coming from a little town of 700 people, going to school with the same people pretty much from when I was 2 and a half to when I graduated high school. And even my campus town is not a big city. But it think it was a nice jump. By no means was I literally by myself in Brazil, but when I was traveling around a foreign country, like going to Sao Paulo with one other girlfriend—we were by ourselves, and one day I was actually around like the San Francisco of Brazil by myself because my friend got sick ☹. But it was just amazing! I love doing this to myself though, I like creating challenges for myself and another thing I like to do is making myself do something I don’t want to do because I don’t feel like I like it.

In high school I found drawing portraits of people soo hard so I didn't like to do it and I hated watercolor and pastel, so I decided to do my Advanced placement concentration portraits all in water color and pastel, sometimes I don’t like a food but keep eating it until I like it (if it’s good for me). And I like to go and give speeches in front of lots of people when I’m unprepared just to see what happens.

But this trip kind of showed me that if I can do this, it opens up so many other options as to what I feel I can do and also for more likes, more ideas of what I would like to do.

Other people also mentioned stuff about Salvador. I think like I had said somewhere in November, a lot of people were really ready to go home, they were just mentally done with Salvador. Many people were specifically done with Salvador because they didn’t like the city, were complaining about how dirty it was, the smog, the dog poo and the occasional harassment on the street, "why couldn’t we have studied in Morro de Sao Paulo blablabla".
I never felt that way necessarily but the smog and harassment and fear being out in the streets was not pleasant. But someone mentioned that he really enjoyed it overall, regardless of all those things Salvador is a really important place historically and culturally. It was a real experience that we didn’t just see the European Bahia and history that we’re always learning in class while others like African contributions and histories are footnotes or incomplete (twisted ehem*) at best. But that was the focus of our studies and it would only be appropriate to be in the city richest in afro-brazilian culture.

Anyway it was a ridiculously nice time that Thanks Giving-- I think for everyone, despite the fact that I did not get to eat as much as I had wanted. And the general sentiment was that we really really were/are thankful to have the opportunity to be here and were really going to miss it.

portuguese class

portuguese class:
everyone has to be enrolled in one of the levels, i believe there are four levels into which you are placed through an exam.

the quarter is actually divided into two sections in which you can get different grades and then they just combine them for your final UC grade.
5 mini-testes 25 points
1 written test 20 points
1 oral evaluation 20 points
2 in class essays (450 words) 20 points
homework 15 points

section I total 100 points

the other half is pretty similar except you have to do a project to present to the class the last day of school.

the mini testes are pretty short and easy nothing to stress about as long as you do homework and pay attention in class, you get 20 minutes but usually people finish in like 10/15 minutes
the midterm is pretty easy too, but it's an hour long.

Orientation and meeting my family!!!!

We had to wake up kind of early to have breakfast in the hotel before orientation which would start at 9AM. Breakfast at the hotel was included in the program, and I have to say it was a beautiful breakfast, and I hadn't had fruit in like two days, so I was so happy to have something good and raw. The hotel dining place was so crowded though.

I had a banana, banana de prata. I was super excited about all the different kind of bananas that they have over here, and I'll talk about all the different types later, types I haven't even had in Mexico.

I had freshly made "suco de abacaxí" pinapple juice, "goiaba" guava, I think it was papaya which would be a smaller version of what we call papaya in the states. And papaya is called mamão in Brasil. And the pineapple I had was smaller than what I was used to, and also a lot lighter in color, it was a very light yellow, almost white. I toasted some wheat bread and put some tamarind spread on it. It was soooo gostoso. But of course they had soo much food, I just really neaded my fruits. The had bacon and eggs and beans I think all sorts of things.

Right after breakfast we all met in the lobby to walk over to the conference room for orientation. We were a group of 55 people all just from UCs, although usually it is combined with Dartmouth or some other schools. We met the director of the program, and she was amazing, she apparently had memorized every single one of our housing applications and with our faces. It was amazing how well she remembered and new us. She is amazing in general really; very happy very loud, very funny and festive all the time! She told us a little about herself and how she had studied psychology and was confused when her boss said she had hired her because of her background. But now she understands why psychology really helps in this situation--and I totally understand now too. I feel that she really does try very hard to make this the best experience it can be.

This orientation was mainly going to be about the rules of the program, tips/suggestions, and also a kind of preview of brasilian culture as to her perspective, possible cultural differences etc.

The rules were pretty obvious but people do stupid things all the time that make them get expelled like smoking pot on the beach in the middle of the day. I mean you just don't do that. They got arrested and put in jail here in Brasil because they didn't have any original identification and it is a serious crime. Or standing outside and peeing into the public pool in front of people.

The cultural things that she mentioned was showering. That host mothers [and the host mothers here I realized play such an important role, the housing situation is almost all focused on the mothers] get worried when they have students who shower like every three days. I know people who do that in the states but being here, I see why it's disturbing: it is so humid and sticky and sweaty and I don't see why someone wouldn't be dying to shower by the end of the day, I'm showering twice a day.

The director made it very clear to the boys that they have to smell nice and buy perfume if they didn't want to repell brasilian women, because according to her they really like men that smell nice. I don't know how well that applies but I haven't smelled that much cologne.

eating habits: we should always only use our knife and fork, not our hands. Not to serve ourselves what we think we might eat but what we know we will eat and then if we have more room we can always get more. She emphasized that past students have used their hands to put their rice on the fork--and i was just thinking "Oh i'm going to have to work on that because i eat with my hands all the way most of the time". Or mother mention that some students would serve themselves with the same spoon/fork that they used to eat. That I wouldn't do.

Oh and because the plumbing is different we have to throw all of our garbage in the trash not in the toilet.

Another thing is that our program is paying for 3 meals a day every day, so if we will eat out it might hurt our mother's feeling because they have stuff planned sometimes, so make sure that you tell her at least so that she didn't spend so much time and energy making something super delicious and then you just don't show up and eat some place else.

We got a map and a t-shirt that says ACBEU and has a little picture of people jogando Capoeira.

But what everyone was really anxious about the whole time was finding out who their family was. Toward the end we got a paper with a list of our names in alphabetical order, and next to them our host mother's name, and then the address and contact information.

Oh there's not much you can tell by the name so we were all feeling like oh how much more anxious we are that we know nothing about them but they got to know a lot about us.

Then the director went down the list and gave us a short little background about our families, how many people were in it, a little about our mothers especially, or things that stand out. What she told me about my host mom was that she was very spiritual and believes in energies a lot and that as soon as she came to my application she said that she wanted me because I have a beautiful energy and she said she didn't have to read anything on my application or see any others because she wanted me. And it felt so nice to hear that, but at the same time I was hoping I wouldn't dissapoint her oh my gosh those are really high expectations, but she also said that she was retired, she used to be a secretary and she has a husband and two daughters. One is 21 and goes to a university, the other 18 and is still in the equivalent to highschool. And then--oh the cutest thing, as a psychologist the director gave us each half of a postcard and we were supposed to go down into the lobby and find our other half, which our host mother would be holding. And as soon as I got to the stairs i heard my name and i looked down into the crows of families, and my mother was looking straight at me holding her card, and she hadn't even seen mine but she knew it was me, it was amazing.

After we chatted for a while we went in to half lunch and there was even more crowded than breakfast but we found a spot to share with one of her friends and her family. It seems like all the mothers all know each other and are friends. Mine was kind of new to the program though she only had two before me; there are families that have been in this for like over 10 years though. So although there were mainly mothers, some brought other people in their families too, like little children etc.

Lunch was really nice, and I was trying to be very conscious of my eating habits, my mom helped with that though. Like she poured my guarana soft drink out of the can and into the wine glass, i guess it's weird drinking out of a can. Oh I was so happy because this host mother was just so happy to see me it seemed and she was saying how I look so much like one of her own daughters. And she went around looking for her friends and introducing me to them, "look at my daughter "

it was cute, and having studied a little bit of portuguese and having a spanish-speaking background really really helped. So I would suggest that even though these language and cultre programs don't have any experience requirements, it helps a lot so that you can start communicating with your family and bonding a lot sooner. And generally knowing a little bit more about what's going on helps.

The Program

28/aug/09
There are two programs that the school offers, one is a semester, 6 months at the PUCI, and the other is quarter long, (a bit over 3 months) and it is a language and culture program. So in this program that takes place in Salvador Bahia, Brazil, the courses are all about Brazilian Portuguese and culture; the culture course is called “Brazil and the Black Atlantic”.
And I went for that one. I really preferred this housing situation to the Rio program. In Rio it would be living in dorms or apartments or finding a place if you chose to do that instead. But in Bahia, we would be staying with familias Brasileiras. And of course focusing on the culture was very important.
Although it doesn’t cover any of my major requirements, I think it’s relevant to Cultural Psychology. But I did it for the experience, and because the 3.5 months were compatible with the quarter system over here so I wouldn’t be too side-tracked.

It fit well into my academic scheduling, which I had to do with my department and college counselor for the EAP application. But I just feel like I really really wanted to go to Brazil, I still really, really want to go to India too. May be on my last quarter. If possible, but who knows with all these cuts and fee hikes I can’t even be guaranteed to study at the UC at all. But it’s all good, I’m so grateful that I can have this opportunity. I got a good financial aid package and two scholarships, one need-based the other merit-based. So, although education shouldn’t be about getting good grades, and good grades aren’t necessarily correlated with intelligence, they really help if you’re in my situation, but I always wonder if I should focus my efforts more on something else other than getting As. I feel that I can be more productive and less selfish.
Oooh, I heard Portuguese finally. My first all day! Exciting. I feel like I’m getting closer. But of course convenience isn’t all of it; that was just what made me chose Brazil over India. And also because in this program they really facilitate involvement in the community; they have connections with local organizations and groups.
India was too long for me for now. I don’t know if I’m ready to go for 6 months, but like I was saying I am hoping to go and do fieldwork in India some day when I’m prepared with a more specific project than, ‘having to do with farmers in rural India’.

I know a few people who did two EAP trips. But after all this application process, visa, and all the other preparations, it’s not as easy as I once thought. Of course, it’s doable but it does take a lot of your attention for like a year or so. You’re constantly doing something for EAP for about a year. Not too much at a time, but still lots of deadlines to meet. Okay I’m going to get a sammmwich jk. Oh and I found an electrical outlet for FREEE!. I hope :/ anyway.

this is an aerial view of the coast of Salvador, Bahia (which means bay and now you see why) that I took as we were arriving.

HOW I CHOSE TO STUDY ABROAD IN BAHIA, BRAZIL

8/27/09
I have been terrible at this blogging thing. But I’ll try to catch up now that I’m sitting at the gate waiting for my plane to come take me to Sao Paulo. I am somewhat delirious from lack of sleep but here we go.
I think I’ll start with how/why I chose this program, because I guess that’s the beginning.
I knew that I wanted to study abroad since …may be elementary, such a long time ago. And my first year in college I almost immediately picked up a whole bunch of brochures at the EAP (Education Abroad Program) office. And I grabbed EAP brochures that were focusing on majors, I took those, and then I looked at all the country-specific ones, and I took practically all of them except for places like Mexico or too close to home. I had about 20 different brochures and decided to cut down before showing them to my mom, and I realized that if I were to go to even a fifth of these places, I would be studying abroad my whole college career. But I made friends and my ideas changed and I realized that obviously I couldn’t do them all, so I reduced them to about 5 countries, and then from there I chose which were most compatible with my studies. My top 5 were: India, Turkey, Thailand, Brazil, and Holland. And I had reasons for all of them mainly because the cultures and histories of the countries grabbed my attention. Holland also has a fantastic Cognitive Psych department, and I could study psychology at Hyderabad University in India too. At that time all I knew was that I wanted to be a researcher in psychology and I knew that I wanted to do my research in non-European-“Western” cultures because that has been the group that has been most represented in academia yet the findings are usually applied to the general populations of women/children/marriages/eating habits etc. etc. EVERYTHING!

So I have always been interested in doing research in the Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, and definitely in Latin America. So the way I cam more and more focused on Brazil is because since I find it extremely important for anyone doing research with a people, to know about their culture beforehand, know the context very well, and be able to communicate directly, so it is imperative to know the language.
A video I saw in a developmental psych class really impacted me on that decision because this American researcher was describing a finding with some Japanese infants, and when he was talking about one of the participants, an infant by the name of Aya I think, he totally called her a he. And “Aya” is among the most common female names in Japanese, it’s like “Anne”. He kept saying he was a boy. I mean, I know it’s hard to tell sometimes because they look very similar, and it was different language, but still, it doesn’t seem right to me that this researcher is using the infant to demonstrate some psychological finding but doesn’t even care to learn enough about the participant to know if it’s a girl or a boy?! Even though gender wasn’t necessarily the area of focus, I just think there’s something wrong with that.

Okay anyway, the point is that I don’t want to be that researcher, and so, since I knew that I wanted to do research in Latin America, I already speak Spanish, but Brazil is such a huge part of Latin America, so I decided to learn Portuguese.
Last fall I took Brazilian Portuguese for Spanish Speakers, and it’s a program that takes four quarters, and the professor kind of expects students to hopefully eventually go to the university of PUC (pronounced /pookie/) in Rio de Janeiro to take classes among other Brazilian students, and one can study major classes.
The thing is that throughout the quarter we were learning more than just Brazilian Portuguese, we learned about the music, the food, (we had a lunch in class with food from a local Brazilian cafe), we watched films in Portuguese (some brasilians others from Guinea Bissau), and we went into a little bit of everything, the history of slavery in Brazil, the current racial relations, gender relations, poverty in the favelas, and just about everything. And that really gave me the last push towards Brazil.