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...