Eqüinocultura

One Month and Ten Days.

I guess I have been here a while. I feel as though I should have I solid routine by now, like I would back in Ohio, but my routine is still in the developing stages. On Mondays and Wednesdays I do not have class, so last week I started volunteering for the equestrian therapy program on the ESALQ campus. For those of you who don't know, equestrian therapy helps patients with physical and mental handicaps by riding horses. On a very simple level, riding a horse is fun and brings joy to the patients. There is also a physical aspect to the therapy which has to do with the way the horse walks. What I was told is that the horse's pelvis moves in a similar way to the human pelvis, so for patients who have trouble walking, riding a horse helps to stimulate the nerves that would be used if they were walking themselves. With conditioned nerves the hope is that the patient will improve his ability to walk. My role in this therapy is very simple but cool. I walk along side of the horse and support the patient.

Ask and you shall..

Before classes even started I was interested in the program. I was walking on campus with my host sister one day and saw a horse and crew with a patient. I admired the program out loud and told my sister I would be interested in volunteering there. Two weeks later, once my classes started, I was unhappy with one of the classes because ON THE VERY FIRST DAY the teacher had zero control of the classroom. I took it as a bad omen and got the hell out of there. In search for another class and not one related to economy (as 4 of the 5 classes I am in are in the area of economy) someone suggested Eqüinocultura, a class where one learns all about the horse. I signed up and made friends with a classmate who volunteered for the equestrian therapy program. One day she took me to the stables and introduced me to the therapy directors and that was it. They didn't mind that I had no experience.

About that Crazy Class

You know, here, you don't always have to arrive on time to class. You can leave whenever you want and while you are actually in class you don't have to be quiet or pay attention. Logically you should, and the more serious students do, but 3 of the 5 teachers I have don't require these basic standards that USA culture tends to consider mandatory. Interesting isn't it?

Area Where the Patients Ride

Pasture on Campus

 Chubby Kitty named Sonho (Dream)

 Two Large Dogs

Long Distance Relationship

Communication 

I read somewhere that the majority of people experience, at some point, a long distance relationship. Last summer when I was studying in Florianópolis, Brazil I had to deal with it too for the first time. Before I left for Floripanópolis I tried to set up guidelines for communication between my boyfriend and me, thinking that too much communication would take away my focus in school, the abroad experience and would make me miss him more. The guidelines I set up were very quickly thrown out the window and I was Skype-ing my guy at least once a day. This time before I left I had a better idea of what to expect communication-wise. I downloaded Skype on my iphone and now I find myself sending messages about three times a day. It's a lot, and I'll admit that my mind and complete focus are not here with me in Brazil, but I can't imagine doing anything different. I miss him so much and I can't imagine that not talking to him would fix that. Silly me. It wouldn't at all.

Directness

I went out last weekend and again yesterday with my host sister. She semi-recently ended a four year relationship and is only now putting herself "back out there". Ju's goal when she goes out is to find the right guy. My goals on these past two nights have been to laugh, relax and avoid eye contact.

With Ju on the hunt, I and Ju's friends have had to put up with her prey's wing-men. The first night I was approached by wing-man X (who I will from this point on refer to as X). Within two minutes of chat,  X  learned I had a boyfriend. With my handy dandy iphone I showed him two of the grossest couple pictures known to single-mankind, you know with kittens, puppies and cheek kisses. "This is Rob. We are probably going to get married" I said. Surprisingly he didn't get the VERY DIRECT hint. After about twenty minutes of semi-awkward conversation (awkward in that he was flirting and I was dodging) he left and against his own freely given word, did not come back.

Again last night I used the ol' "look at my cute boyfriend" to dodge a different wing-man. This time the message was well received and respected. You know, I feel kind of bad shoving a picture of my relationship in the face of those who may be looking for just that, but being direct is best for everyone. Wing-men don't waste their time, I stay out of trouble and my boyfriend is happy. I know some guy is going to read this and think I am a bitch and say "girls in relationships shouldn't go out" as I have heard before. To him I say; "No no, you shouldn't go out...ever".

Get Your Head in the Game!

Tomorrow will mark the one month anniversary of my arrival in Brazil! It passed quickly and I can't help but hope it continues to go quick. I can't help it. One of the worst aspects of being in a long distance relationship is this consciousness of not completely living your life, not completely being in the moment. I have been given a great opportunity but I can't help but look forward to going back to Columbus. I miss my guy. Eu tenho saudades dele!

With that being said, I won't let myself miss out! Don't worry. I enjoy being here and I love my host family. I promise myself that I will make the most of this opportunity despite being a sad, silly girl in love.

School

Nerves
Last week classes started on Thursday. Both of the classes I have had since then have been interesting and taught by seemingly kind professors. The classes are very long however, four hours each. Each class only happens once a week, which is why they are so long. The length of these classes I am taking intimidates me and the fact that I don't understand 100% (I am around 90% comprehension) of what my professor says is also intimidating. I am nervous but, even classes in the states make me nervous at first, so I assume I will adjust.

Ongoing Complaint
I made my schedule two weeks ago. One of the classes I signed up for did not have a determined location. I was told to email the international office and that they would send me the location. I emailed them. They did not return the email. This ended up not being a problem. I made a phone call and got the information I needed. But what about the average exchange student? This international program administrators do not even know I speak Portuguese. Their thoughts are not "Oh yes Katie Drown has a lot of resources she can use to survive here so we can ignore her". I can't say I know exactly what their thoughts are, but I cannot help but feel forgotten or even worse, ignored. I can do well on my own, but I am offended by the lack of welcome, concern and responsibility on my host institution's end. I also feel bad for any exchange student who is here without all the advantages I have (a comfortable living area, concerned and supportive close friends, familiarity with campus and surrounding city, a cellphone, and fluency in the language).

A Guilty Ongoing Complaint
So I should do something about it! Right my American friends and family? Not quite, at least not yet. I told my host mom last night about my hesitancy to make a complaint and she confirmed my thoughts with her opinion that nothing would change and bad sides do exist. So I guard my thoughts until I find that they will be respected and not punishable.

Redemption
Though the institution has its faults, kindness from other students is making my school experience better. In my very first class I met a group of very helpful peers who invited me to lunch (couldn't go but I really appreciated the invitation) and took me to the library and helped me figure out what steps I needed to take to use the library system. Another student emailed me very descriptive instructions on how to access a type of student database online. :) They made me happy and probably do not know how much their kindness mattered. Some "thank you cookies" might be in order.