Friday marked my three-month anniversary in Londrina. I can hardly believe it. Some days I feel like the time is flying by and some days it seems to move excruciatingly slowly. Since it's already been three months, it's about time I explained exactly what I'm doing here (I do more than visit natural wonders of the world and jump around on trampolines, I swear!). So let me explain how I ended up here and what I'm up to.
My ticket to Brazil came as a Fulbright
grant, for which I applied when I was still in Peru (waaay back in October 2010). The Fulbright program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides grants for U.S. citizens to study, teach, and research in other countries, and brings non-U.S. citizens to the U.S. to do the same. The goal is to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Oh, I realized that I've been remiss in stating that this blog "is not an official Department of State website, and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the Department of State." There. It's officially not official. As if that needed clearing up.
So, based on my education, experience, and interest in teaching, I applied to Fulbright´s English Teaching Assistant (ETA) program. In anticipation of
certain upcoming world events (Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014 and the
summer Olympics in 2016), Brazil is making a strong effort to expand the teaching and
learning of English. Brazil is hosting one of the largest number of ETAs of all Fulbright countries this year - there are 30 of us and we've been assigned to work at various state and federal universities throughout the country.
While I had to specifiy Brazil as my country of choice during the application process, where exactly I would be placed in the country was up to the Fulbright Commission in Brazil. My destiny was the Universidade Estadual de Londrina (State University of Londrina), also known as UEL (pronounced 'well'). The majority of students come from within the state of
Paraná. UEL is large - roughly 20,000 students in
all. I would compare it to UMass Amherst in size, quality of teaching, and general feel (although UEL has a prettier campus). One big difference between universities here and in the U.S. is that instead of taking the SAT once and filling out various college applications, students in Brazil have to take a separate university entrance exam for each school they are applying to. They also have to take the exam specific to the area they want to study (e.g. English, Biology, Law, etc.) in order to be accepted. Here are some pics of the school itself.
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| The main walkway. It takes about 10 minutes to walk briskly from one side of campus to the other. |
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| The Central Library |
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| This is the building where the LEM Department has its office. |
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| Rachel and Lucas, two of the English professors and good friends of mine. |
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| Institutional meals....Yum. I eat in the UEL cafeteria (the "University Restaurant") a couple of times a week. A meal costs R$3.60 or about $2USD. They always serve rice and beans, the meat and the salad change daily. |
As a Fulbright ETA, I have a part-time gig (a whopping 20 hours a week - yes, be jealous), working with the foreign
language department (LEM – linguas extrangeiras e modernas), in various ways. One of the biggest challenges so far has been figuring out exactly what and how to best support the learning of English and the exchange of cultural knowledge. As Fulbrighters, we aren't given many guidelines, which has been both a blessing and a curse. It took a lot of time to figure out how to best apply my specific skills and knowledge in a way that will also be beneficial to the students and teachers at UEL.
My current schedule looks something like this. I'm a TA for a few different classes; this semester I worked with 1st and 2st year oral comprehension classes; next semester I'll work with Literature, Writing, and Post-graduate courses. I also teach two classes, a Digital Storytelling workshop for the 3rd and 4th year students and a Basic English class to low-level, first-year students. I also give monthly lectures on "current issues in the U.S." and lead extracurricular activities such as a Book Club and a Drama Club. Details on these in Part Two!
So, what do I do with those other twenty hours that I'm not officially "working"? I study Portuguese! I take salsa classes! I read books! I train for half marathons! I do all of those things that you wish you could do if you didn't work 40 hours a week. Yeah, sorry....
A few photos from the most recent monthly discussion. The topic was Immigration in the U.S. Good stuff.
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| Small group discussion |
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| A very short lecture and then a whole group discussion |
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| Thanks for the close up, Francielli! |
My ticket to Brazil came as a Fulbright
grant, for which I applied when I was still in Peru (waaay back in October 2010). The Fulbright program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides grants for U.S. citizens to study, teach, and research in other countries, and brings non-U.S. citizens to the U.S. to do the same. The goal is to "increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries." Oh, I realized that I've been remiss in stating that this blog "is not an official Department of State website, and that the views and information presented are my own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the Department of State." There. It's officially not official. As if that needed clearing up.
My current schedule looks something like this. I'm a TA for a few different classes; this semester I worked with 1st and 2st year oral comprehension classes; next semester I'll work with Literature, Writing, and Post-graduate courses. I also teach two classes, a Digital Storytelling workshop for the 3rd and 4th year students and a Basic English class to low-level, first-year students. I also give monthly lectures on "current issues in the U.S." and lead extracurricular activities such as a Book Club and a Drama Club. Details on these in Part Two!
