WORSHIP Schedule
September 3, 2007
Entry #1
8-15-07 to 9-3-07
I left Broomall at 4:00am on August 15, 2007 and after three flights, arrived in Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil by late afternoon on August 16th. I will be spending 4 months here, living with a host family and volunteering as an English teacher at a small school in town.
The city is located in the Northeastern region of the country and situated between mountains and a lovely countryside, where mango trees, papaya trees, coconut trees, and sugar cane fields are abundant, with the occasional pasture of very skinny cows, horses, donkeys, goats, and chickens. The time here is only one hour ahead of you, and the season is currently moving into summer, which means temperatures will be consistently above the 90-degree mark. The weather is very dry right now, as their rainy season is from February to March. The sun is hot, as you can imagine! The sun sets every day around 5:30pm so temperatures after 6:00pm are very comfortable (mid-70’s, no humidity). But it is hot again by 9:00am!
While I am enjoying many of the comforts of home, only the very small minority of Brazilians in this area live this way. It is common for most households to have a maid who cooks and cleans, even middle-class folks. Rice and beans are a staple, as is homemade fruit juice—guava, papaya, pineapple, passion fruit, etc. Homes are not air-conditioned, so they are very “open” to allow the breeze in, as well as the bugs and dreaded mosquitoes. Most homes don’t have hot water, and the tap water is unsafe to drink. The poorer families live on the outskirts of the city, and truly live in squalid conditions. The disparity between the upper and lower classes is amazing—something you’d really have to see to believe.
The language spoken is Portuguese, and I feel like I am picking it up quickly. Mainly words and short phrases, but I learn a little each day. I have a tutor who I have a one-on-one lesson with each Tuesday. He teaches English and Portuguese at a local public High School. Most people don’t speak English here, but I get by with help from Clarissa, a member of my host family, who is 17-yrs old and speaks English almost fluently. She learned it in school and takes classes at the English school where I am teaching.
The city has a very different feel from what I am used to in and around Philadelphia. It is crowded, cramped, loud, and appears to be typical of a developing nation. Theft and assaults are very common. Unsanitary water runs down the narrow and bumpy, but “paved”, roads and there is much litter and many feral dogs and cats.
Teaching has also proven to be tricky. I have 7 classes, ranging from intermediate to advanced-level students. I follow a general lesson plan, but find that I run out of material before class is even halfway over! Plus, there is a wide variety of personalities, ages, and skill-level within each class. The classroom is small and gets hot very quickly. Students are typically of the middle-school and high-school age, with some working adults. Some want to learn English to improve their chances of passing the very difficult test required to enter college, others so that they can visit English-speaking countries—and of course, some because their parents made them. Most of the students are friendly, but don’t like the fact that I teach only in English! That is challenging for both the students and I.
I am enjoying myself very much, and absolutely cannot get enough of the scenery. My surroundings are sometimes so breathtaking that I take so many pictures and still fail to capture exactly what I am seeing. I hope to see more of Brazil while I am here and eventually maybe more of South America! The passport is good for 10 years, might as well put it to good use! But for now, I have visited some surrounding cities, and will be vacationing at the coast in October. Can’t wait to see the beaches!
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