Just Dance

This is my very poor attempt to cut together some things to show the student dance presentations from one of the schools we went to in Pocos.  Please forgive my editing and enjoy their skills.

Photo Links

All my photos are housed on Picasa. It occurs to me that I shared the links with my Facebook friends, but I haven't posted them here. Here are all my photo sets from Brazil.

 Brasilia -- This album has miscellaneous scenic pictures from Brasilia

Public and Private in Brasilia - This link will take you to photos I shot in Elefante Branco and Marista

Pocos de Caldas - Non-school photos from the "homestay" portion of the trip

Sao Paulo - Photos taken on a the field trip we went on the first Saturday in Pocos.

Schools in Pocos de Caldas - Photos taken in the various public schools we visited.

Presentation to Pocos English Teachers - Shots taken during a professional development session for English teachers

Coffee and Wine, Minas Gerais  - A journey into the hills outside Pocos

Brazil by iPhone - random shots from everywhere, many modified with Instagram or Pixlromatic

Greek Eye

Almost everywhere I looked in Brazil, I saw this little blue charm.  I first noticed it in the Hippie Market in Brasilia on my first day. There was a delicate bracelet in a shop with items made from Brazilian stones.  I liked the look of it, and when I had a chance, I asked someone about it.

They told me it was called the "Greek eye."  It was a variation on a charm I have seen elsewhere (including the picture here), something to prevent the evil eye from getting you.  Here's a pretty good description of the belief as it is found elsewhere.  It seems to work much the same wherever it is found.

I am intrigued by the concept of good luck charms, medallions, and amulets from everywhere.  I have a collection of o-mamori that I used to buy from Japanese temples and shrines whenever I visited one, a collection of maneki neko from various makers and materials, a St. Brigid's cross from Ireland, a horseshoe from Kentucky Derby land, and other items tucked into various corners.  I suppose it was a natural thing, then, that the brilliantly blue glass Greek eye should catch my attention.
I already had a pendant at home made by one of my best friend's friend's husband.  (If you can follow all of that....) It is more like a real iris and pupil than these stylized traditional ones.  I really liked it, so that was another reason I wanted to get something with this on it.  


When we were in Pocos de Caldas, we went into a crystal shop, and they had murano glass Greek eyes as charms and made into bracelets.  I bought both, got some to bring home as gifts.  The light catching the cobalt glass was lovely.  

Much to my surprise and delight, the second time I went to the Havaianas store, they had two pair that had a pattern based on the evil eye.  I got the dark pair and had them put extra little eye charms on the straps.  I ought to be about as "protected" as any one person can be.


It fascinates me that this motif turns up in so many cultures around the world.  I wonder how it spread as far as it did, why it is found in so many different cultures and on so many continents.  I might have to do some digging to satisfy this curiosity.  In the meantime, all the things I got make good additions to my collection of charms and good souvenirs, too.  Aaaand...if they should happen to keep me free of bad luck, too, well... tudo bem, right?

Continuing Fascination

Even though I am home now, I am far from putting this trip on a shelf like an interesting artifact, something shiny to look at but with no real meaning or power.  Instead, I find that even though the actual travel has already occurred, the changes from it will continue to ripple through me for a long time to come.

There's the simple act of looking at and sorting through the vast amount of information we gained while we were there about everything education in Brazil.  We were privileged to see it from so many different angles that putting together something that feels cohesive and inclusive is a mammoth task.  We saw education through the eyes of high government officials, local superintendents, classroom teachers at both public and private schools, pre-service teachers in training at one of the best schools in Brazil, students everywhere, and instructors at specialized  places like language schools.  That is a huge box of stories to consider as one sifts through for the best description of the system as a whole.

There is also a desire to fill in all the huge gaps in my knowledge about Brazil.  A book I had bought before I left, The Brazil Reader, is helping to do that in an interesting way, made up as it is of source documents, first hand accounts and unusual perspectives on the history and culture of Brazil.  I wish I had taken the time from somewhere to read it before I went.  I think I would have understood several things better.  Of course, as I've been reading, I have frequently thought, "Okay, I get that bit because I saw (that place or that thing)."  Without being there first, it might not have had as much significance to me.

It's not just non-fiction, though.  I finished Dona Flor and have Gabriela waiting to go as I continue to enjoy Jorge Amado tremendously.  A book suggested by our Brasilia guide, Roberto, called simply Brazil, has a sample chapter on my Kindle to see if it suits my current obsession or not.

I'm also seeking as much music as I can get my hands on.  Pandora, my old standby, has been of some help with this, but I know I'm probably not getting the latest hits.  Instead, I'm trying to get a feel for standards and famous musicians (more than my friend D. already shared).  Certain names turn up over and over again everywhere, so I think that's a good place to start, especially when I start to read the biographies.

And then there's Portuguese itself.  More than before, even, I want to learn it.  I just have to figure out how and with what tools.  When I first got home, even though I had only been out for 14 days, it was still strange to hear English surrounding me.  Usually, I have to be gone a lot longer than that to have that reaction.  There was something about the Portuguese that was familiar, maybe the Spanish similarities.  I don't know.

Trivially, I have even found Guarana on Amazon.com.  On payday (tomorrow, really), I will order some of it to go along with the Ito En green tea I get from them as a "taste treat" from my days in Japan.  It amuses me to no end that I can get the beautiful green and red cans delivered right to my house.  I know people will think I'm nuts for that, but...well...if it makes me happy and it doesn't hurt anybody...right?

It's all sticking with me, then, more even than I had anticipated.  It's a good thing, I think.  I already find myself saying in my head, "Next time, I want to...."  I have to stop and wonder if I will truly get back.  Somehow I think that I will.  I can't imagine it any other way.

Presentations

In many of the schools we visited in Pocos, we were treated to presentations by the students.  The students had apparently been preparing for our arrival for quite some time, and one day at Integral, a private school, we had a third year class of students do PowerPoints, sing, and present.  One of the younger classes had dancers, girls who are taking classes and choreographing their own routines.  We watched some of middle school students learning dances for their Festa Junina.   Because of the rules of the school, I don't have any pictures from there.  They asked us not to shoot pictures, and we were respectful of that.

Later in the week, we went to David Compista, Rita's public school, and her classes gave us a day of presentations including songs, dances including the traditional forms and freestyle, information about Pocos and Brazil through PowerPoint, and in the night session, rap.  It was wonderful to see all the talents the students had to share with us.  Ali and I each filmed and took pictures as much as possible, and I'm still working on getting all the video off my Bloggie and processed.

I want to be able to show my students how much they have in common with the students I met in Brazil.  I think they will particularly love the rap and freestyle dancing although they will undoubtedly find all of it interesting.  To me, it just goes to reinforce the idea that there are beautiful similarities that exist as a baseline for communication between those students and my own.  Too often, I think my kids think of everybody else, and not necessarily just those in another nation or speakers of another language, as people they have no possible connection with.  When they see people playing the guitar with passion or rapping or dancing or whatever it is that they themselves enjoy doing, I hope they are going to have that precious "A-ha!" moment where they begin to see commonality and points of connection instead of barriers.

As soon as I conquer a few cross-account problems, I will get the videos up here.

Language Center Conversations

For our last visit in Pocos, we went to a language center night session.  There were perhaps 11 students and three teachers in a small room.  I did my Mississippi presentation, and then we started a question-and-answer session with the students.

The questions they asked us and that we asked of them led to some very thought-provoking discussions.  One of the students had lived in the US until very recently.  Two of the teachers had been educated at least partially in the US.  When we talked about the differences between US and Brazilian schools, they were outspoken in their opinions and desires.  Two of them expressed a desire to go back.  Several of the other students expressed a desire to go to the US as well.

They expressed how much they missed certain things the US system has that are not in the Brazilian system such as extracurricular activities, and almost every student commented on the differences in education at public and private schools in Brazil.  They were frustrated and vocal.  We sat and listened, asked questions, pondered.

I came away from the discussion with an expanded understanding of student life in Brazil.  They emphasized what we'd been hearing again and again since we arrived, wrapped it almost like a vignette of the whole trip in that one room.  I will continue to turn these students' and teachers' comments over in my mind as I think about everything I have seen here.

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse

Everywhere I have been here in Brazil, I've been struck with how careful they are with their resources.  Even in the smallest schools, there are recycling bins.  It's everywhere.  From the earliest age, children are taught to separate trash so it becomes a natural part of life.  Reuse is something one just *does*.

And shouldn't it be?  Why is it so hard in so many places to get access to even basic recycling services back home?  Should money be an issue when we think about the consequences?  It's so refreshing here to see a different approach and to see everyone at every age involved.

Even in the classroom, teachers promote reuse in several ways.  They recycle materials like old magazines and household goods for student craft projects.  The results are lovely.  That, of course, shouldn't come as a surprise.  Give a kid something colorful, stand back, and watch them produce fantastic results, right?  I also saw them recycle old 2L soda bottles to make tiny trash bins in primary school rooms that could sit right in the middle of the clustered desks for the inevitable curls that develop when colored pencils need to be sharpened, the odd tissue, etc.  They also adapted these old bottles to make a tissue holder for a roll of toilet tissue making a never-ending kleenex dispenser that I am going to try when I get home for my own classroom.

It doesn't stop there.  In the Hippy Market of Brasilia, we saw gorgeous stuff such as purses made from pop tabs and bright thread which were very eye-catching and fashionable, patio sets made from old eighteen-wheeler tires that, if I could just figure out how to get home, I would HAVE, and laser-cut vinyl albums recycled into interesting wall art.  This is the short list, too....

It's refreshing to see "ecofriendliness" as something cultural, not as an afterthought.  Too often where I am, although I know it is different in different parts of our large nation, I think it goes by the wayside.  There is a lot to learn here from the strategies and simple applications I have seen.