Foto da Semana 26

I finally got a picture with the artist himself, Jorge Selaron. I had initially met Selaron back in September after the final day of the conference. Although he says he remembers meeting me, I doubt it. Anyways, here's my original post on his work of art: Foto da Semana 14.

O fim

Amber has been back in Canada since December 19th and our roommate Kevin had gone back to France a few days before. I've basically been alone in Fortaleza still enjoying the hot holiday weather. My Christmas Eve was spent at a friends house who prepared a wonderful Christmas meal. My Christmas day was spent relaxing at the beach. This was a very different Christmas than what I am accustomed to. I had called my family to see what their holiday plans are. They had a large  Christmas dinner with family and close friends. Seeing the pictures of all the food almost made me want to get on a plane and join my family's feast, but the pictures of snow quickly deterred me. My holidays were spent with some close friends who did a great job of keeping me entertained.

I can certainly say that 2011 has been an amazing year for me. From finishing my abusive thesis, graduating university, getting this internship, to finally coming to Brazil and getting experience in my field of study. I feel like I've accomplished many things this year which I never thought possible. There are some specific people I should mention who made my experience in Brazil very memorable.

I would like to, firstly, thank the staff at Niagara College for selecting me for this position. I'm sure they had many people to choose from during the interview process, but I guess they saw something extra that they liked in me. From figuring out my logistics to emailing me just to check up on me, your support is valued.

I would like to thank Prof. Sarah who has been a vital person during my internship. She was always there to listen and support Amber and I in our work. Thank you Erilan and Vitor for teaching us the basics of Portuguese, without your help, I'm sure we would still be struggling with the language. Thanks Vanderlania, who works closely with Mulheres Mil, for being soo full of useful information. The Quebec interns, Denise and Elisabeth, thank you guys for being such down to earth people and translating/correcting my Portuguese when I needed.

Amber, my ruiva to my morena, I'm happy to have had you as my coworker and, especially, as my roommate. I couldn't have had a better partner in crime these past 6 months than you. We had many deep conversations about family, work, school, love, and what our futures hold. Hopefully, one day we can live together again and have more wine and dancehall parties.

Lastly, I would love to thank my parents who have supported me throughout the years. I know it's a little cliche but its true, since many of us wouldn't be where we are without our parents. Without the love and support they have given me throughout my life, I definitely wouldn't be here having this amazing experience in Brazil.

My stepfather, mother, brother, me, stepmother, and father...it took all these people to get me to this point. I love you all. 

I feel like I just won an Oscar and that was my award speech. So what now....I'm traveling. First stop, Rio for New Years Eve. My blogs for this month will focus on my experience during my travels...stay tuned.

Foto da Semana 25

An official photo: Mulheres Mil 2011-2012 :).

Feliz Natal!!!

On Friday the women organized a end of the semester Christmas party. This gathering had even more hugs than the opening ceremony. Although it has been only about 2 months since the program was launched, we have gotten to know each other throughout this time. All week the women have been telling me that they will miss me and that I should simply stay. I feel like I was just getting started with my internship, we are just starting to get into the material. Although I would love to stay and work until this group of women finished the program, I simply can't.

During this party, we were given presents and the women would tell us how much we mean to them. It's hard to explain, but although I was just teaching English classes, I feel like it was more than just an English class. We used the class to get to know about each other, our family, our likes and dislikes and various other things. When I was asked to speak, I had written a quick speech beforehand in Portuguese. Now I know how the women felt when we told them they had to do presentations in English.

Para minhas mulheres fortes, 

muito obrigada a voces por esta experiencia maravilhosa. Se eu pudesse, eu ficaria ensinando ingles para voces durante o proximo semestre. Mas minha mae vai me matar se eu nao volto pra casa dela. Voces sao minha familia no Brasil. Eu nao poderia pedir um melhor grupo de mulheres. Por favor, me adicionem no Orkut, eu quero mantar contato com voces. Quero saber das suas conguistas durante e depois do Mulheres Mil. 

Muito obrigada profesora Sarah por esta oportunidade legal. Trabalhar com voce, Vanderlania, Erilan, Rian, Denise, Elisabeth e Amber foi otimo. Eu nao vou esquecerei meu tempo aqui em Fortaleza. Amo cada uma de voces. Foi uma prazer. Obrigada minhas mulheres fortes.

(thank you Denise for correcting my speech, I still don't know how to add accents on my keyboard). Although emotions were high in the room, I try to be funny in when people are crying, even if they are happy tears. Despite people crying during my quickly written speech, there were parts of laughter. Here are some pictures from the Christmas party:

Foto da semana 24

For the last 6 months, Amber and I have passed this gas station everyday when we go to work.  We finally went in to  ask if it was associated with Canada Post. It turns out that there is nothing Canadian about the gas station, only the sign in front. How misleading O_O

A ultima aula

Well this was my last week of my internship. This week's classes we had the women present their families or explain a recipe in English. We had prepared an outline of what we expected from them along with some examples. We tried to incorporated everything we had taught them these last few months into this project. The women had been nervous for this final assignment. Many would say to us, "how do you expect us to present in English when we can't speak the language." We told them to check their notes, all that they needed, we had already taught them. We made sure to allocate class time for the women to work on their assignments and ask us for help. When we weren't around campus, many women took the initiative to ask the other interns/teachers, Denise, Elisabeth and Rian, to correct their written work and pronunciation.

On Wednesday and Friday, the women presented their project to the class. Despite all of them being nervous all week, many of the women did a great job. Here are just some of the creative work they did:

This was a very satisfying assignment. It was a test to see if we had done an effective job of teaching the women  English. Based of these presentations, I would say yes we did :). Here's Denise and Rian presenting their families in English to the class, great drawings guys:

Foto da semana 23

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from Fortaleza! Feliz Natal! :)

Mulher é barrada em Iguatemi Shopping

I recently went window shopping with Amber in Fortaleza's biggest mall, Iguatemi Shopping. I had no intention of buying anything because I couldn't afford and I knew their prices are high. Despite the fact that I didn't have money to spend, I was not denied access to the mall.

Two days ago, the women in the above video was denied access by mall security in the same mall. They claim that the women is known for begging and stopping her from entering the mall was a preventative measure. (Please read this article as well as the comments from locals) Based off some of the comments I could understand, the women had brought her two children to visit the mall Santa Clause but was denied access.

***The story is still developing, hence I will edit this article in time.

This situation has triggered a local debate of discrimination and poverty. The racial dynamics of Brazil is something I have been meaning to explore further for a while now, just for my personal satisfaction. I have been purposely holding off on writing about it because, as a foreigner, I don't want to assume or generalize without actually living in the location I intend to write about. Hence, I will be writing a series of blog posts related to the clear divide of race and social economic status in Brazil, specifically Fortaleza. I will recount my racial experiences and previous discussions I've had about race with my Brazilian and non-Brazilian friends.

I invite you all to comment and debate with me on these up coming posts.

Foto da semana 22

This is the Mulheres Mil pamphlet that was designed by Denise, the intern from Montmorency College in Quebec. She did an excellent job of updating the look of pamphlet as well as the information on it pertaining to the Mulheres Mil program in Fortaleza. 

1st side

2nd side

Foto da semana 21

The women were asked to make English menus for their restaurant with the vocabulary we taught them, certainly wasn't expecting this. Great work ladies!

Tenho 23 anos!

Found this waiting outside my bedroom door this morning from Amber. Probably the first time I've celebrated my birthday outside of Canada since I was 5 yrs old...looking forward to the rest of the day :)

*Update*

Well I should've known that the women of Mulheres Mil would have something planned for me today. On the way to the classroom, I was stopped at the staircase and was restricted from going any further. For a good 30 mins I was was heavily guarded by one of the women who made sure I didn't make any sudden moves towards the classroom where my surprise awaited me. Here are just some of the pictures that were taken:

The women are getting my surprise prepared.

Passing around and signing my giant birthday card.

This is still an English class, the women singing happy birthday in English (lyrics on the board) but after they continued to sing the Brazilian birthday songs.

Maria is always making the class and I laugh, even though there's something in my eye making my eyes water...ok maybe I cried a little.

Warm and loving hugs from the women.

Regina giving me birthday wishes on behalf of the class.

Group 1 photo with all my presents in front.

Group 2: The basket is filled with my favorite fruits and chocolate, good thing we did that class on favorite foods.

Group 3, there are 38 women in the program so had to take pictures in smaller groups. The birthday cake was delicious. 

Picture with the interns and my card. Notice the little figurine on the bottom-right, it's supposed to be me :)

Showing off my new bracelet and earrings, love my gifts.

I'll probably never have a birthday like this again. I'm happy to have shared it with some wonderful women that made me feel like I was with my family back in Canada. It was certainly a great birthday.

Foto da semana 20

I went to Jericoacoara during this 4-day long weekend. It's about a 6 hour bus ride from Fortaleza.This lovely rock is Pedra Furada and yes, I have a thing for sunsets.

Eu amo Jeri

This week I realized that there's less than one month left of my internship. These last 5 months have certainly flown by very quickly. It has been an amazing journey thus far and I have found a way to extend it just a little more. I'm currently organizing my trip from Rio de Janeiro to Fortaleza through the month of January. I crave to see the many sides of Brazil. However, my journey will mainly focus on the coastal towns and cities. I've been asking my Brazilian friends what places they would recommend. Although I won't be able to visit all of their recommendations, it's worth a try.

In relation to my love for travelling, this weekend I was finally able to travel to Jericoacoara, which is a 6 hour bus ride from Fortaleza. Jericoarcoara is a vacation destination for many Brazilians and gringos. My travelling group was made up of mainly gringos (non-Brazilians). This isolated coastal town has no paved roads leading to it, hence we had to transfer vehicles in a neighboring town of Jijoca. Within Jericoacoara, the streets are made of simply sand. There are many surfers who travel here for the perfect combination of wind and waves. People drive pick up trucks, buggies, and even ride horses to get to this small town. Along the streets are small restaurants, bars, and souvenir shops. There are artisan venders selling their beautiful handmade jewelry on the sandy pathways. It was a great to get out of Fortaleza for just a few days to enjoy a different scenery and a relaxed atmosphere.

Following my mini vacation, I was immediately back at work with Mulheres Mil. The women we work with are great and the English classes have been a wonderful experience. I've always wondered what drives teachers to be teachers but I think I figured it out. Last week we had focused on teaching them the titles of family members in Engliish. With this new vocabulary, we gave them a few sentences to work with. For instance:

*I have # (sons, daughters, sisters....etc).
*(Insert name) is my (husband, brother, daughter...etc)

While they worked on their sentences, we walked around the classroom helping the women that had questions. At the end, some women volunteered to present their families to the class, some times ending their presentation with "...and I love my family." Listening to them reading these sentences was an amazing feeling. The process of teaching and observing someone repeat what you've taught them is a very satisfying feeling. Our classes are always filled with jokes and laughter, to the point that the next class over tells us our laughs are too loud (oops).

Anyways, still can't believe 5 months have passed, I guess I'll continue to appreciate the time I have left here in Brazil...

Foto da Semana 19

Yes its another halloween photo. I was lucky enough to meet Seu Jorge who had just finished a concert here in Fortaleza and came to relax at the bar. He also had a role in Brazil's famous movie, City of God. Can you guess his character?

Vida num dia

So the other night I planned on sleeping early until I saw that a documentary I had recently heard about can be watched on youtube for free. My plans to go to bed early had quickly evaporated and I ended up staying up to watch "Life in a Day." Life in a Day is a compilation of videos that people took on July 24th 2010. People were asked to record everything they did on that one particular day and send it in to Youtube. With 45,000 hours of footage from 80,000 submissions from 192 countries, the editing team was able to shorten it into a 90 minute documentary. I can only imagine how long that took.

There is no narration or story-line, it's simply people living their lives on July 24th and answering three main questions:

- What's your story?
- What do you have in your pockets?
- What do you fear?

From the goat herders to the traveler who's been biking around the world for the past 9 years, it was interesting getting a small glimpse into these people's lives. Although some parts are truly beautiful, the documentary doesn't try to sugar coat the world we live in. From the young boy who spends his days polishing shoes to earn money to the scenes where groups of men are beating up an individual, they all have a story.

The main message behind the documentary is:

...in a single day, most humans experience more similarities than differences - we wake up, eat, and go to sleep. Because it was shot by hundreds of filmmakers from around the world, there's a universality to the movie that demonstrates how we're all global siblings going about our day, it's just the culture that changes. (1)

I'm a huge fan of documentaries whether they are about history, technology, human rights, conspiracy, music, health...etc I enjoy being informed about what people are doing (or have done). If you enjoy watching Life in a Day, then you'll probably enjoy watching the documentary Babies (you'll like it, trust me).

I know, this blog was a little off from my life here in Brazil, but just wanted to share something I enjoy doing.

Foto da Semana 18

Most people in Brazil don't celebrate Halloween, yet here we are. Our CS friends had organized a Halloween party. Just another example of how globalized our world has become.

I'd like to add that I made the red hood myself :).