Beautiful Brasilia

From memorial to cathedral, from TV tower to nature-spirits, from the white clouds in the blue sky to the streaks of an apricot and violet sunset over the water, to the joy of friendships newly formed and the discovery of a new and captivating city...I had the grand tour of Brasilia in just a few hours.  

With Marcia, my US Embassy contact

Lunch with Liberato, Marcia, Ja-Ja

JK Memorial (Presiden Juscelino Kubitschek), Praça do Cruzeiro 

Liberato, JK and wife, and me

Ja-Ja putting up with my antics

TV tower and spot for a great panorama of the city

Aforementioned panorama

and more panoramic scenery

santuario Dom Bosco, cathedral 

Outside architecture of the Museu dos Povos Indigenas

Inside Catedral Metropolitana

Ponte JK (bridge)

Sunset over the water under the Ponte JK

One of the nature spirits in the umbanda and candomble beliefs
I think this one is the second-most powerful, the son.

I think she is a goddess of salt water

I think this one is the god of the hunt.  I really liked this form.

Thank you Ja-Ja for your excellent tour and outstanding navigating skills.

It was one of those days where everything was captivating and everyone was utterly beautiful.  I shall not forget my first taste of Brasilia.  I think I have a bit of a crush!

Circles within Circles

A magical experience in Brasilia. 

The taxi driver on the way to the airport was both kind and curious.  With a little difficulty, we shared a conversation about how beautiful, green, and spacious Brasilia is.  He asked me where I was from and was excited to tell me that he has relatives in Detroit.  I said that Detroit is cold.  He agreed. 

He showed me pictures on his phone of his wife and grandson (the son of his son), who he loves very much and a pretty flower he has in his house (it looked like a hibiscus). 

We shared some music, which was cheery and fun, by Ze Rrama.  Then he gave me the CD so I could have it and listen to it when I went home.  J  This is typical of the people I have met in Brazil…they are generous and loving even to travelers. 

Then he turned on the radio and the first song to come on was  Price Tag by Jessie J.  Really?  Really.  I am marveling about the circles within circles.  This is the song that I worked on translating with Liberato and his students in his after school music hour over two days.  We sang it together and pieced the meaning together.  It is a catchy song…and one that stays with you.  So when I sang it with him, Adam (the taxi driver), he was overjoyed! 

He wished me a good trip and said he hoped that I returned to Brazil someday.  I am left to ponder about the global power of music and the human capacity for sharing. 

I am pretty proud of myself that I can communicate (if not converse) in Portuguese.  Two weeks is not enough time to learn more than the basics…but my good friends in Uruaçu were so patient with me that I think I learned more than anyone expected, myself included! 

Fond Fairwell

Wednesday was my last day in Uruaçu.  I have not had time for all of the blog posts I want to share...and will try to get to those this week.  But for now, I have to post this  special fairwell.  On this last day, I went to a very interesting outdoor museum with Liberato, Douglas (IT guy from IFG) and Antonio (another teacher).  Then I was treated to a stroll around town poking into shops and having a snack with Lidia and Cida.  On the way back to the hotel, we passed through a residential area where I was treated to a symphony of hundreds of araninos (little araras, or in English birds from the macaw family-like Apollo, my bird).  As Lidia said, they wished me goodbye from Uruaçu.  I took video and tried to upload it, but after loading for five hours, still nothing...so I am posting these sweet pics instead.  

Finally, my new friends shared music and cheese and bread and olive oil and sparkling wine with me until late into the clear, fresh, starry night.

I will miss this place and its people.  and birds. 

Jewels of Nature

For the weekend we drove to the Chapada dos Veadeiros, a national park and stayed in tiny town of São Jorge.  The park is a Cerrado, a grassland that adapts to fire destruction, every year.  Last year 75 % of all the part was burned.  The most interesting thing about this adaptation, is that the plants only germinate after the seed pods have been fire blasted.  The roots of the plants are deep and the trunks of the short trees are thick and also fire resistant.  To look at the beauty of this part lush expanse of trees, grasses, and flowers / part desert climate (hot and dry), you would never guess that it was a year away from such wide-spread destruction nor that this was part of its natural cycle.  My favorite aspect was that for many of the plants, I only saw them once.  This region boasts the highest biodiversity in Brazil.   Here are some of my favorite "gems" seen in this beautiful park.  

Blue and Yellow Macaws (Araras)

Barboletta or Mariposa (Butterfly or Moth)

wasp and their nest

These would be the earrings (blinka) of the Cerrado

And me!  

One Particularly Transcendent Day

Today, Liberato and I presented the final day in our three-day workshop series on Cooperative Learning Strategies.
Over the three days, we had participants from Liberato's school, IFG, and those of neighboring schools and even university students.  The series was advertised via word of mouth of teachers, Liberato, and myself as we have toured and met people and also with the radio interview that we gave earlier in the week.  We were pleased with the turnout and with the interest of the participants.

The use of cooperative learning strategies is uncommon here in Uruaçu and possibly in all of Brazil, many of the teachers have a general knowledge of the concept, but did not have any context for the applied experience.  So I created learning models using the participants themselves as students; then shared practical application tips along with the basic theory behind the strategies.  I included assessments that would work with these strategies, putting many of them into practice, again with the participants.  Liberato and I created and used dual-language handouts and visuals.  And we slowly and carefully answered the many questions--all through my team-teacher and translator, Liberato.
(a quick word on Liberato: he is an incredible translator.  His own interest in the subject--and in fact his natural curiosity and passion for teaching--made things so easy for me.  It was almost as if he could read my mind.  I even came to know that if I was struggling for words, he could help me fill in the gaps.  I am lucky!)

Liberato explaining a concept to the workshop participants

Star particpants 

The Workshop could not have gone better.  I am so energized by the discussions, questions, and accomplishments of the participants.  On a school visit, I met with Talma, who had just that morning tried a Cooperative Learning Strategy taught in day two of the workshop.  The joy on her face while she expressed her success was the best reward I could have asked for.  She even gave a testimony on the final day of the workshop.  This was so important because some participants were thinking that the strategies might only work in the USA.

I modeled 14 different learning strategies focused around the jig saw cooperative learning method.  Over the three days, we shared ideas and questions about making such strategies work and when.  We also talked about pacing and how to weave this non-traditional method with the more traditional lecture model widely used in this city.

When the participants had all departed and we were cleaning up and packing up the many materials, I did a happy dance and gave Liberato a high-five.   The experience was amazing.

A quick note, I have been code-switching so much my brain is tired.  I try to follow what everyone is saying, matching the vocabulary with slight adjustments for spelling and pronunciation differences with my limited knowledge of Spanish.  My brain is in a constant state of overdrive (trying to follow Portuguese, trying to guess what others are attempting to say in English, thinking of ways to phrase answers using the most basic English, and attempting my own efforts to speak in Portuguese).

Now that the Workshops are finished, I can relax a bit and enjoy the new friends that I am making in between the many visits to local schools.    

A moment, without a snapshot

Waiting for pickup outside of hotel.  A man in a car, waiting for someone else sits, quietly grooming is face.  First he checks the internal cavities of his nose and removes the debris found therein with his thumb and forefinger.  Next he expresses a pimple from one side of his nose and then, in an effort of absolute thoroughness, the other side.  Through a series of facial gyrations, he re-inspects his nostrils and surveys his extraction-handiwork.  Just when I think he is well-satisfied with his labors, he routes in the console and removes fingernail clippers and efficiently trims his nose hair.

Ah, the unexpected morning treat for the lone visitor.

You thank me for not taking any pictures, eh?

The campus of IFG 

I am having an incredible time here in Uruaçu, but it is almost surreal.  I am myself, of course, but it is almost like I am living a life that is
not my own.  I could have never imagined the reception that the kind
people here have made for me.  I feel like I have worked here for
years, rather than being a visitor after only a few days.  Can this be day four already?

I am having fun and challenging my brain in ways that I had no idea it
would stretch.  Communication is a minute to minute challenge...and
exhausting...but satisfying and fun.


Today, I spoke with Pedagogy students (what they call education training) at the local University.  They were thrilled with the visit of someone from the U.S.A. and full of questions about what I think about Brazilian education.  I spoke, impromptu, in front of a group of students on topics ranging from the grant program to pedagogical concepts.  I was invited to review a long-term project for a group of second year students.  These projects represent about four months of research and effort.  Liberato invited the group to attend one of my workshop days (mind you, there were about 150 students present for my Q and A--so any number might show up). 
One girl, Sarah had a particularly well thought out project that we discussed through my interpreter.  After our discussion and my comments, she dedicated the project to me and presented it to me as a gift.  It is gifts of the heart, unexpected and overwhelming, which humble me.  


I delivered my first day of three days of a work shop on Cooperative Learning.  It resulted in a fantastic flurry of questions and a full and rich dialogue on education practices.  I could not be more pleased.  Of course after a radio interview (earlier today with Liberato) where all the listening audience was invited to join in our next workshop (tomorrow) and after our talk at the University where all were ALSO invited, we have no idea who will be joining us.  Good thing that I can think on my feet.  

Liberato, Sarah, and me at the University

A dedication of thoughtful work

Uruaçu, Brazil--Day 1

Hello!  or should I say Ola'!
So I arrived in Brazil at the international airport in Brasilia bright and early on Sunday morning. My plane touched down after a long night of cat-naps at 7:05 a.m.
I was graciously greeted by Jah-Jåh, a friend of Liberato's.  Jah-Jåh speaks English VERY well.  He met me and kept me company (yes, he baby-sat me for about an hour) until my new friends Reginaldo and Cida picked me up for the almost four hour drive to Uruaçu.
Cida is a teacher at the IFG school (Instituto Federal de Educaçao Ciencia e Tecnologia de Goias).  Goias is the State we are in, by the way. She speaks a little English.  Reginaldo also works at the school, from what I could understand, he manages the space (the grounds, the vehicles, etc.)--but I could be wrong. The three of us managed to communicate on a basic level and we enjoyed each other's company until I fell asleep in the car.  No one was upset, as they understood that my long travels made me tired.

I arrived into Uruaçu after 25 hours of traveling time.

 
Reginaldo (by the way, the R is pronounced as an H--so his name is Heginaldo--all Rs at the beginning of words are pronounced as Hs, so Robert would he Hobert, etc). Anyway, Reginaldo stopped to pick up his family before taking me to lunch.  His children, Christopher and Stephanie are learning English and they helped me communicate during lunch.  I wonder what it says about me that I enjoy speaking with students as much (if not more) than I enjoy speaking with adults?  Anyway, we had a nice lunch, traditional Brazilian barbeque. We talked about music, television shows, and Wyoming.  Oddly enough the music that students like here (as I have learned so far) is American.  Same goes for the TV shows--with the Wizards of Waverly Place, Bones, Doll House, and Glee topping the lists.  All of the TV shows are dubbed in Portuguese...except the music in Glee is kept in English.

My room!

Why Wyoming?  Yep, I asked the same question.  It seems Stephanie's English class is assigned oral reports on American states.  Poor Stephanie was unlucky in her state.  I had to be honest in saying that I did not know much about Wyoming and suspect that few people know much about Wyoming.  heavy sigh. We did talk about cowboys a little. 

I have posted a few photos of my first moments in Uruaçu.
 

White on white on white with
no color but my clothing...
all neat and tidy.

Private bathroom.  Ah.