Oi from Salvador, Bahia!
I have waited ages to finally be inducted into a Brazilian blast that is the Cross-Cultural Solutions intern experience! Now that it has finally arrived, my curiosity has been sensationally satiated. It has only been five days, yet I feel like it has been at least three weeks. The people I am working with are absolutely amazing. We have an eclectic group, geographically, age-wise, and in respects to personality. To give you a glimpse, we have a mom who is obsessed with Bruno Mars, a college soccer player who is fluent in Spanish, French, and Portuguese (jealous!), two Jacks (referred to Jack squared together, and the square root of Jack squared separately.....naturally.), an oboe player, a Russian vodka-drenched watermelon lover, a kid called Polo (who believes in the phrase, "YOLO."), and two massage therapists. Ok, sorry, that was a tad more than a glimpse. But, I cannot express how seamlessly we all fit together. With the risk of coming off as cheesy, it's like we are this giant quilt with some crazy colors and profound patterns. We are best buddies, brothers and sisters, and hopefully friends for the long run. We are already beginning to plan reunions once we all return to the States.
So, I am trying to contemplate the entirety of my experiences so that I can handpick the most prime ones. I think I will start with the location of our home base. I will refrain from disclosing the exact location for a sound safety measure (like any Brazilian homeless dude is reading my blog anyway...). Our base, or as we fondly refer to it as "the fort," is placed in the safe neighborhood of Graca (p.s. I don't think Google blog websites have the option of inserting symbols). The home is simple, yet comfortable. It can be most likened to a nice hostel with common lounges and camp-style dining area....AND A HAMMOCK! We often end up cuddling up on the couches and watching hilarious(ly funny and/or bad) movies like Super Bad, John Tucker Must Die, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Clockwork Orange (weirdest. movie. ever.), and Easy A. We are probs going to watch Super Bad again since it was super epic. This was my first time watching it, and I have never laughed so much! A huge perk about our home base is that it is dangerously close to an ice cream place. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I did not mention the breathtaking beach scene just a mere five minutes away. It makes for a beautiful landscape to run along and potential picks for paintings!
My work site is absolutely fantastic. It is a heartwarming place where the students are absolutely adorable. 60% of them are mischievous 100% of the time. Unfortunately (and entertainingly), childlike fighting is ubiquitous. At first, I was sad that I could not work with the tiny nuggets on the first floor. However, after reevaluating my career interests, I was content with my placement. So far, teaching and helping 4, 5, and a few 6 year olds has been delightful. When they babble in their squeaky, high-pitched Portuguese accents, I just want to take them home!
Every day, I get the chance to take over the classroom and teach English. My favorite part about this is that I get to apply all that I have learned thus far in my education classes at college. It's funny how I unintentionally utilize the Launch, Engage, and Summarize pedagogical lesson plan format. On the first day, I worked with the children on numbers, spoken in English. After they repeated after me the numbers (which, surprisingly, they already knew), I decided to use the popular children's game, "Duck, Duck, Goose," to practice using numbers. As a variation, I called out a number. The leader would have to tap the number of children that I had requested before choosing a goose. The kids had a good laugh while they gradually caught on to the purpose of the activity. Then, we completed some human math problems. By grouping together members of the class, we formed isolated whole numbers. Then, we amalgamated them to find the total sum. As a closing activity, I tried to teach them "Steal the Bacon". This is one of my all-time favorite games, especially the soccer version! I have to say this was TOO funny. When I called the number 9, every last one of them ran to the pillow in the middle and piled on top of one another. I guess the objective did not come through to them!
Today, I taught them the colors. I wrote them on the board as a launch activity and asked them to indicate the color in the classroom and on their clothing. The way they said pe-ink, waa-ight, and bl-oo was too cute! As the explore activity, we all created a rainbow (or arco-iris). One by one, I asked them to take red, orange, yellow (and so on...) and create an arc. The teacher kindly translated the colors in Portuguese. I have some great photos on my camera that collectively make up some meaningful artifacts. Lastly, to finish off the lesson, I read them a color book; well, I did not exactly read because I am in no way close to perfecting the Portuguese accent, but I did point to colors. This was a great way to summarize the day's learning. I am so pleased with the way the children are absorbing the material. They do not let any poverty or shortcoming get in their way. They will prove to be tenacious individuals as they make their way in the world!
Ok, so my buddies (the two Jack's to be exact) just put in Super Bad. So, I am super distracted and super drawn to the hotness and gorgeousness that is JONAH HILL. And McLOVIN'.
The next blog will have more of an emphasis on my cultural endeavors!
Tchau!
Arlene
I have waited ages to finally be inducted into a Brazilian blast that is the Cross-Cultural Solutions intern experience! Now that it has finally arrived, my curiosity has been sensationally satiated. It has only been five days, yet I feel like it has been at least three weeks. The people I am working with are absolutely amazing. We have an eclectic group, geographically, age-wise, and in respects to personality. To give you a glimpse, we have a mom who is obsessed with Bruno Mars, a college soccer player who is fluent in Spanish, French, and Portuguese (jealous!), two Jacks (referred to Jack squared together, and the square root of Jack squared separately.....naturally.), an oboe player, a Russian vodka-drenched watermelon lover, a kid called Polo (who believes in the phrase, "YOLO."), and two massage therapists. Ok, sorry, that was a tad more than a glimpse. But, I cannot express how seamlessly we all fit together. With the risk of coming off as cheesy, it's like we are this giant quilt with some crazy colors and profound patterns. We are best buddies, brothers and sisters, and hopefully friends for the long run. We are already beginning to plan reunions once we all return to the States.
So, I am trying to contemplate the entirety of my experiences so that I can handpick the most prime ones. I think I will start with the location of our home base. I will refrain from disclosing the exact location for a sound safety measure (like any Brazilian homeless dude is reading my blog anyway...). Our base, or as we fondly refer to it as "the fort," is placed in the safe neighborhood of Graca (p.s. I don't think Google blog websites have the option of inserting symbols). The home is simple, yet comfortable. It can be most likened to a nice hostel with common lounges and camp-style dining area....AND A HAMMOCK! We often end up cuddling up on the couches and watching hilarious(ly funny and/or bad) movies like Super Bad, John Tucker Must Die, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Clockwork Orange (weirdest. movie. ever.), and Easy A. We are probs going to watch Super Bad again since it was super epic. This was my first time watching it, and I have never laughed so much! A huge perk about our home base is that it is dangerously close to an ice cream place. Oh, and I'd be remiss if I did not mention the breathtaking beach scene just a mere five minutes away. It makes for a beautiful landscape to run along and potential picks for paintings!
My work site is absolutely fantastic. It is a heartwarming place where the students are absolutely adorable. 60% of them are mischievous 100% of the time. Unfortunately (and entertainingly), childlike fighting is ubiquitous. At first, I was sad that I could not work with the tiny nuggets on the first floor. However, after reevaluating my career interests, I was content with my placement. So far, teaching and helping 4, 5, and a few 6 year olds has been delightful. When they babble in their squeaky, high-pitched Portuguese accents, I just want to take them home!
Every day, I get the chance to take over the classroom and teach English. My favorite part about this is that I get to apply all that I have learned thus far in my education classes at college. It's funny how I unintentionally utilize the Launch, Engage, and Summarize pedagogical lesson plan format. On the first day, I worked with the children on numbers, spoken in English. After they repeated after me the numbers (which, surprisingly, they already knew), I decided to use the popular children's game, "Duck, Duck, Goose," to practice using numbers. As a variation, I called out a number. The leader would have to tap the number of children that I had requested before choosing a goose. The kids had a good laugh while they gradually caught on to the purpose of the activity. Then, we completed some human math problems. By grouping together members of the class, we formed isolated whole numbers. Then, we amalgamated them to find the total sum. As a closing activity, I tried to teach them "Steal the Bacon". This is one of my all-time favorite games, especially the soccer version! I have to say this was TOO funny. When I called the number 9, every last one of them ran to the pillow in the middle and piled on top of one another. I guess the objective did not come through to them!
Today, I taught them the colors. I wrote them on the board as a launch activity and asked them to indicate the color in the classroom and on their clothing. The way they said pe-ink, waa-ight, and bl-oo was too cute! As the explore activity, we all created a rainbow (or arco-iris). One by one, I asked them to take red, orange, yellow (and so on...) and create an arc. The teacher kindly translated the colors in Portuguese. I have some great photos on my camera that collectively make up some meaningful artifacts. Lastly, to finish off the lesson, I read them a color book; well, I did not exactly read because I am in no way close to perfecting the Portuguese accent, but I did point to colors. This was a great way to summarize the day's learning. I am so pleased with the way the children are absorbing the material. They do not let any poverty or shortcoming get in their way. They will prove to be tenacious individuals as they make their way in the world!
Ok, so my buddies (the two Jack's to be exact) just put in Super Bad. So, I am super distracted and super drawn to the hotness and gorgeousness that is JONAH HILL. And McLOVIN'.
The next blog will have more of an emphasis on my cultural endeavors!
Tchau!
Arlene
No comments:
Post a Comment