How Different Could It Be?
In the anthropology class I am currently taking here at ESALQ, I read piece by Laura Bohannan called "Shakespeare entre os Tiv" or known in English as "Shakespeare in the Bush". You have probably heard of it? In case you haven't or don't remember, in this story the author read Hamlet to a Nigerian tribe and the story didn't make sense to them in the same way it did to westerners. For example, ghosts did not exist in the Tiv culture so they didn't understand how Hamlet's father came back from the dead. Ofelia in their minds had to have been under a spell to have become crazy and Polonio was an idiot for not coming out from behind the curtains when Hamlet yelled "a rat". Contrary to what the author and main character in her own story believed, basic human nature, motivations and the understanding of a plot and when something is sad or wonderful, is not the same all over the world, and that was the main point of the story.
Tests
I took my first two tests this week. From what I have observed, it is not the Brazilian way to give study guides or hints on how to study or what to study. So for the above mentioned Anthropology class, I studied the best way I knew how. Over the weekend I reviewed the papers I had written for the course and the notes I had taken over the past six weeks and used these materials as my guide.
Feelings Post Test:
After the test, I felt a bit shaky, and am certain that I did poorly on at least one of the six questions on the test. ...of six.
I took the second test of my semester abroad career this morning at 8:00 am. This one was for my class about horses. To prepare for this test I started memorizing the anatomy of the horse two weeks in advance. I spent part of the weekend and the majority of the days and nights on Wednesday and Thursday studying six weeks of notes I had taken. Earlier in the week I asked the professor for the slides to study (we don't have text books) and he gave me a short national geographic-like movie that we had seen in class, a movie of him giving a class (literally), and a cd that had the word "slides" written on it, but was actually a bunch of pictures, some of which I recognized from the slides I had seen in class. Sigh...
Feelings Post Test:
Morose. My study technique did not work. I have never felt more lost in a test than I felt this morning. Technical vocabulary had a bit to do with my difficulties, but I did the worst on things I just didn't know. Why didn't I know them after so much intense studying? I don't know. Oh my gosh.
Realizations
I do not know how to study appropriately for a Brazilian test. I will likely not get good grades here. This study abroad is very likely to hurt my pretty GPA. In my Thursday class my professor gave a brief speech about how he was not going to make copies of the texts he wants us to read and leave them in the copy room for us to make copies because we students need to "go after it". Again I heard a similar lecture from the substitute who handed out this morning's equine test that we need to "go after it" . What we learn in class is not enough to prepare us for the tests and we need to read books and articles and study outside of class. I agree reading outside of class and doing additional studies are excellent ways to further ones knowledge and interest in a subject, but to prepare for a test?
Katie in the Bush
Like the Tiv tribe not understanding the nature of Hamlet, I am a bit lost on the nature of Brazilian education. I am going to email my professor and ask for a way to get extra credit (I don't need to see my grade to know I need it). I am going to ask him for tips on how to study and I will find Brazilian study partners. Wish me luck.
sexta-feira, 27 de setembro de 2013
sábado, 21 de setembro de 2013
Beep Beep! "Horny" Brazilian Motorists
Flash Back
In 2009, during my very first month in Brazil, I met up with a group of English speaking Brazilian students at a bar. At this point I knew "quase nada" in Portuguese. As I (in heals and a short black baby doll dress...yep 2009) was crossing the street with my host father towards the bar, a male motorist yelled something towards us that I didn't understand, but I understood. My host father quickly barked back at the male motorist, possibly marking the first time I heard Portuguese profanity. For a second I questioned my outfit, but my 18 year old self shrugged it off and went on to have a good night. I wish I could hug my 18 year old self.
Culture Shock
My early memories of my first time in Brazil are foggy like the memories of my early life. I always assumed this had to do with the culture shock. Like a child's first years, for an exchange student there is so much new brain stimulation with the sights, sounds, taste and smell and then on top of it all people are babbling at you and you have to make sense of it all. The first months of being an exchange student are actually really similar to being a toddler (trying new food, people think you're cute, completely dependent on nice people...I'll develop this and blog about it later). But this early memory, this one stuck with me. I don't mean to make this one incident sound over dramatic. Drive-by harassment happens all the time in the USA too. I'll get to the point.
The Walk to Campus
Every week day I walk to campus and I am reminded of that evening. As I walk for about ten minutes along a high traffic road, generally in jeans and hiking boots, I receive multiple shouts and beeps from male motorists, many of them truck drivers. A lot of the men will dangle their heads out of their trucks and cars to get a better look. The head danglers stare until they get too far away or another car blocks there view. Double beeps are common. Honestly I don't always hear the content of the shouts but "gostoso" or "delicious" is pretty common.
My 22 Year Old Self
Two months into my third stay here, I find these incidences to be completely unflattering and too common and I could go on and on about why it's unacceptable to call a human being "delicious". I don't understand the reasoning behind the beeps. What do these men gain? Do they think it's funny? Do they think they are being nice and are giving complements? Are they simply not thinking and mindlessly playing the role the generation of men before them played? I'd like to get to the bottom of this. Who know's maybe these men have a very good reason for harassing women every time they get into their vehicles.
I am bothered by this. I hope by the end of this trip I find my zen but until then I am mentally violent about this matter. I picture myself picking one of the discarded bricks or wood pieces, that are for some reason scattered all along the sidewalk, and throwing it at one of the ugly dangling heads. But I don't and I won't.
In 2009, during my very first month in Brazil, I met up with a group of English speaking Brazilian students at a bar. At this point I knew "quase nada" in Portuguese. As I (in heals and a short black baby doll dress...yep 2009) was crossing the street with my host father towards the bar, a male motorist yelled something towards us that I didn't understand, but I understood. My host father quickly barked back at the male motorist, possibly marking the first time I heard Portuguese profanity. For a second I questioned my outfit, but my 18 year old self shrugged it off and went on to have a good night. I wish I could hug my 18 year old self.
Culture Shock
My early memories of my first time in Brazil are foggy like the memories of my early life. I always assumed this had to do with the culture shock. Like a child's first years, for an exchange student there is so much new brain stimulation with the sights, sounds, taste and smell and then on top of it all people are babbling at you and you have to make sense of it all. The first months of being an exchange student are actually really similar to being a toddler (trying new food, people think you're cute, completely dependent on nice people...I'll develop this and blog about it later). But this early memory, this one stuck with me. I don't mean to make this one incident sound over dramatic. Drive-by harassment happens all the time in the USA too. I'll get to the point.
The Walk to Campus
Every week day I walk to campus and I am reminded of that evening. As I walk for about ten minutes along a high traffic road, generally in jeans and hiking boots, I receive multiple shouts and beeps from male motorists, many of them truck drivers. A lot of the men will dangle their heads out of their trucks and cars to get a better look. The head danglers stare until they get too far away or another car blocks there view. Double beeps are common. Honestly I don't always hear the content of the shouts but "gostoso" or "delicious" is pretty common.
My 22 Year Old Self
Two months into my third stay here, I find these incidences to be completely unflattering and too common and I could go on and on about why it's unacceptable to call a human being "delicious". I don't understand the reasoning behind the beeps. What do these men gain? Do they think it's funny? Do they think they are being nice and are giving complements? Are they simply not thinking and mindlessly playing the role the generation of men before them played? I'd like to get to the bottom of this. Who know's maybe these men have a very good reason for harassing women every time they get into their vehicles.
I am bothered by this. I hope by the end of this trip I find my zen but until then I am mentally violent about this matter. I picture myself picking one of the discarded bricks or wood pieces, that are for some reason scattered all along the sidewalk, and throwing it at one of the ugly dangling heads. But I don't and I won't.
sábado, 14 de setembro de 2013
Os Onibus
Information Correction
Last week I was under the impression that the bus burnings here in Piracicaba were related to the widespread political protests. They aren't. The bus burnings in my city are related to an issue between the local military police and the local drug lords. I didn't even know that Piracicaba had trouble with gang violence until these recent happenings. My friend from school, Anna Paula, said that the local drug and gang violence began escalating about three years ago.
Back Story
This is what I heard; the military police went after a gang member who was wanted for armed robbery. They found him. Those who saw what happened say the gang member was sitting on a curb, unarmed and apparently surrendering, and the police shot and killed him.
Burn the Buses
So the drug lords decided to burn the buses to teach the police a lesson. On Thursday the Piracicaba Journal published an article that stated that five buses had been burned in one week in the city. My host family's cleaning lady, Mirium, depends on bus transportation and directly feels the effects of the bus chaos. The previously overcrowded and tardy buses are now even more crowded and undependable she told me. "Why don't they(gangs) burn the police cars" Mirium halfway joked.
Bus Carcasses
As of Thursday, two of the recently burned buses are still in the street where they were burned. Weird. Maybe it's just in my head, but I feel like fallen trees and "bus carcasses", as the Piracicaba paper put it, would be cleared from the street faster in the US than here.
Photo by: Fernanda Zanetti
sábado, 7 de setembro de 2013
Protests on Independence Day
The Protests
This morning, instead of waking up to Independence Day celebration preparations (passing sunscreen, painting flags on faces, preparing picnic cooler etc), I woke up to the news showing live footage of protests in Rio, Brasilia, São Paulo and Curitiba. Hundreds of thousands of protesters were marching all over Brazil today and no where was is exactly peaceful. Police were throwing gas bombs and chasing the protesters, making arrests, protesters were causing or attempting to cause damage to private and public property, people were getting injured, etc. It was pretty crazy to watch. Even my medium sized city was affected. The Independence day parade was cancelled because of earlier violence that occurred in the week (two buses were set on fire).
Where did this Madness come from?
Well, protests certainly are not new here in Brazil. Where there is corruption there are protests and Brazil certainly has its share of all that is corrupt. *Please don't deport me* From what I perceived Brazilian protests caught US attention a few months back when the cost of public transportation rose and consequently a few modes of public transportation burst into flames. The rise in the cost of riding the bus was the last straw, on top of a 792 thousand other straws that caused the population to revolt. Brazilians are pissed. They want the members of their corrupt government, who went to trial and were found guilty of being corrupt (I am over simplifying a specific situation), to go to jail. They want the government to stop investing billions in extravagant stadiums and infrastructure to support the World Cup and Olympics in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and invest in a much needed better education and healthcare system. They want politicians to stop giving themselves huge bonuses of tax payer money. They want lower taxes. One of the cities of protest I saw today, I can't remember if it was Curitiba or a city in the northeast of the country demanded free public transport. In summary the protests are vast, but in my opinion, thus far they are just.
A Few Strange Details
~The 2006 film V for Vendetta really seemed to strike a chord with Brazilians. Remember the masks in the movie? I saw about 50 of them today on the news being used by protesters all over the country.
~My host father seems to think the the World Cup has been purchased by the Brazilian government. He believes the government purchased the win believing that the euphoric aftermath will temporarily blind Brazilians and the rest of the world from Brazil's corrupt state. Conspiracy? Perhaps. But whether or not my host father's beliefs are true, his thoughts about his government, the thoughts of a stable, kind and intelligent man, say something.
~I've heard a few times that protesters threaten that if steps are not taken by the government to fix previously mentioned issues, they won't allow for the World Cup and Olympics to take place. I am not sure what that means exactly...but even peaceful protests in large masses placed in strategic areas like, lets say the airport, could really "F" up all that international $$ Brazil was looking to take in. Not to mention, São Paulo and Rio are already sketchy places to stick tourists. Throw protester violence on top of that and a lot of people are not going to want to travel here. My personal interest in working at the 2016 Olympics in Rio has already deflated, sadly.
~There is no plan B for the FIFA World Cup location. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/there-is-no-plan-b-fifa-rule-out-taking-2014-world-cup-away-from-brazil-8672459.html
For pictures and a retelling of the story in English:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24003945
For even more pictures:
https://www.google.com.br/search?q=protesto+brasilia+hoje&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hfsrUsjpEoOy9gT724CICg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643
This morning, instead of waking up to Independence Day celebration preparations (passing sunscreen, painting flags on faces, preparing picnic cooler etc), I woke up to the news showing live footage of protests in Rio, Brasilia, São Paulo and Curitiba. Hundreds of thousands of protesters were marching all over Brazil today and no where was is exactly peaceful. Police were throwing gas bombs and chasing the protesters, making arrests, protesters were causing or attempting to cause damage to private and public property, people were getting injured, etc. It was pretty crazy to watch. Even my medium sized city was affected. The Independence day parade was cancelled because of earlier violence that occurred in the week (two buses were set on fire).
Where did this Madness come from?
Well, protests certainly are not new here in Brazil. Where there is corruption there are protests and Brazil certainly has its share of all that is corrupt. *Please don't deport me* From what I perceived Brazilian protests caught US attention a few months back when the cost of public transportation rose and consequently a few modes of public transportation burst into flames. The rise in the cost of riding the bus was the last straw, on top of a 792 thousand other straws that caused the population to revolt. Brazilians are pissed. They want the members of their corrupt government, who went to trial and were found guilty of being corrupt (I am over simplifying a specific situation), to go to jail. They want the government to stop investing billions in extravagant stadiums and infrastructure to support the World Cup and Olympics in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and invest in a much needed better education and healthcare system. They want politicians to stop giving themselves huge bonuses of tax payer money. They want lower taxes. One of the cities of protest I saw today, I can't remember if it was Curitiba or a city in the northeast of the country demanded free public transport. In summary the protests are vast, but in my opinion, thus far they are just.
A Few Strange Details
~The 2006 film V for Vendetta really seemed to strike a chord with Brazilians. Remember the masks in the movie? I saw about 50 of them today on the news being used by protesters all over the country.
~My host father seems to think the the World Cup has been purchased by the Brazilian government. He believes the government purchased the win believing that the euphoric aftermath will temporarily blind Brazilians and the rest of the world from Brazil's corrupt state. Conspiracy? Perhaps. But whether or not my host father's beliefs are true, his thoughts about his government, the thoughts of a stable, kind and intelligent man, say something.
~I've heard a few times that protesters threaten that if steps are not taken by the government to fix previously mentioned issues, they won't allow for the World Cup and Olympics to take place. I am not sure what that means exactly...but even peaceful protests in large masses placed in strategic areas like, lets say the airport, could really "F" up all that international $$ Brazil was looking to take in. Not to mention, São Paulo and Rio are already sketchy places to stick tourists. Throw protester violence on top of that and a lot of people are not going to want to travel here. My personal interest in working at the 2016 Olympics in Rio has already deflated, sadly.
~There is no plan B for the FIFA World Cup location. http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/there-is-no-plan-b-fifa-rule-out-taking-2014-world-cup-away-from-brazil-8672459.html
For pictures and a retelling of the story in English:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24003945
For even more pictures:
https://www.google.com.br/search?q=protesto+brasilia+hoje&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=hfsrUsjpEoOy9gT724CICg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=643
quarta-feira, 4 de setembro de 2013
Semana da Patria
One Week Off
My University has this week off of classes in honor of Brazil's Independence day (September 7th, 1822). My original plan was to travel, and I still might make it out of the city on Thursday, but I am not sure. After two weeks of the flu in the middle of August, my body didn't quite make it back to 100% before I got sick again. It's just a cold though.
Research
Doing a research project while hear, or at least starting one will help me make the most of my stay. Prior to arriving in Brazil I had a lot of interest in looking into the brand Victoria Secrets hear in Brazil. For some reason there are only two VS locations in Brazil, and knowing what I know about Brazilian culture and lingerie I didn't understand why there are only two locations. While I still have interest in this area, I decided yesterday that if I am going to do research, I should try to it something I can enjoy. The thought came to me to study improv in Brazil. What I already know about improv in Brazil is that is not common or well known. Then, I was thinking, I could attempt to start an improv group here at ESALQ. (My mom actually asked me when I first arrived if I was going to.) The attempt to start the group could be a test to see if there would be a demand for improv at this specific university. Then the crazy idea of making a documentary about starting this group came to mind.
Comes to Fruition
"Woah now Katie. You have no experience with making documentaries and you don't have your experienced friends here to help you. Start an improv group? Can that be done by one person? Again, you don't have your improv friends here to help you".
I realize the challenge, self! I do. But I really think there is a chance this could work and I might even enjoy the project along the way.
Brazil 101:
-Price of Perakeet at local market: < $5.50 USD
-Price of all you can eat Japonese rodísio: about $20.00 - $25.00 USD
My University has this week off of classes in honor of Brazil's Independence day (September 7th, 1822). My original plan was to travel, and I still might make it out of the city on Thursday, but I am not sure. After two weeks of the flu in the middle of August, my body didn't quite make it back to 100% before I got sick again. It's just a cold though.
Research
Doing a research project while hear, or at least starting one will help me make the most of my stay. Prior to arriving in Brazil I had a lot of interest in looking into the brand Victoria Secrets hear in Brazil. For some reason there are only two VS locations in Brazil, and knowing what I know about Brazilian culture and lingerie I didn't understand why there are only two locations. While I still have interest in this area, I decided yesterday that if I am going to do research, I should try to it something I can enjoy. The thought came to me to study improv in Brazil. What I already know about improv in Brazil is that is not common or well known. Then, I was thinking, I could attempt to start an improv group here at ESALQ. (My mom actually asked me when I first arrived if I was going to.) The attempt to start the group could be a test to see if there would be a demand for improv at this specific university. Then the crazy idea of making a documentary about starting this group came to mind.
Comes to Fruition
"Woah now Katie. You have no experience with making documentaries and you don't have your experienced friends here to help you. Start an improv group? Can that be done by one person? Again, you don't have your improv friends here to help you".
I realize the challenge, self! I do. But I really think there is a chance this could work and I might even enjoy the project along the way.
Brazil 101:
-Price of Perakeet at local market: < $5.50 USD
-Price of all you can eat Japonese rodísio: about $20.00 - $25.00 USD
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