I cannot stress how wonderful this trip was and looking back on everything we’ve done in Brazil, it was all due to the wonderful people that we have met.  During the first week of staying in Curitiba, we met with one of the language professors, Anna Maria.  She had enough enthusiasm and energy for the entire group!  But it was because of her enthusiasm and energy that we all saw that she sincerely cared about us and was so happy that we were there.  We soon met Carolina (pronounced /Carol-e-na/) and she would serve as our mentor here in Curitiba when Megan, Paula, and Susan left.  She made us a map of the city with local places to eat and various necessity stores (post office, market, etc.) and served as a translator when we all met with the other professors from the various schools here in Curitiba.  Both Anna Maria and Carolina helped us get around the city to get to the schools which made the trip less stressful and welcomed us to Brazil with open arms.  
            For the whole month that we were here in Curitiba, we stayed at a hotel located in downtown Curitiba.  Some of us were kind of disappointed that we were not going to stay with a host family because we wanted to truly experience Brazil with a family, little did we know we were going to do just that.  I have never been far away from my family for an extended period of time.  Prior to my departure to Brazil a thought crossed my mind: I was leaving my home and had to establish a new home in a hotel for a month.  When we first arrived in Curitiba, we had little knowledge of the general information about the city.  Things like where to eat, how to exchange money, what to do in the city, and where stores were located were unknown to us.  We arrived at the hotel hungry, tired and filled with uncertainty.  We asked the man working at the front desk if he could speak English and he could!  We then asked where we could eat a cheap, yet filling dinner (since the airplane food did not suffice) and he told a place to eat and how to get there.  Later that day we thanked him and discovered his name was Hermano.  Over the course of the month we’ve stayed at the hotel all of the student teachers and I have developed a strong friendship with all of the men who work at the front desk.  The only male student teacher from NC State, KeJuan, was invited by Hermano every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to play basketball on his University’s intramural team.  Hermano, Felipe, Lucas, and Silva are all workers at the hotel and each one of them has taken the time to know us individually, share information about the city with us, and hang out with us when they weren’t working.  They all allowed me to create a home away from home and develop a Brazilian family that is going to be heartbreaking to say goodbye to.
            The last part of my Brazilian family is the seven other student teachers from NC State.  Although we are all elementary education majors, we did not know much about each other prior to the trip.  This experience in Brazil has brought me closer to seven wonderful people who share the same passion of teaching children that I do.  Each person in this group brought something special to the trip to make it memorable.  One of my favorite traditions that we started doing our first week here were dinners, but we didn’t call it dinner—we called it “family time.”  Over the past month being in Brazil, we were able to help each other with Portuguese homework, talk about any issues that were on our mind, and most importantly, we created memories that we do not get tired of talking about.  We have all made a pact that when we get back home to the United States, no matter where we end up, we will not lose touch with one another.
            These three, inseparable groups of people make up my Brazilian family.  Although I am leaving, I still consider them my home away from home and am forever grateful for all that they have done for me.  

           Today we had the wonderful pleasure of going to Vila Velha with our rainforest tour guide Rafa!  We got up early, had our share of delicious, Brazilian coffee and were on our way.  When we arrived we were required to watch an informational video that gave us a little history about the National Park and the general rules while looking at the landmarks.  We found out that there are 3 different types of landmarks and that the park began in 1953.  The video stressed visitors to not stray from the trail, feed the animals or touch the landforms because they want to preserve as much of the nature at the park as possible. 
            In Vila Velha State Park there are huge sandstone formations that were formed from the wind and water (rain) picking up and moving sand for millions of years.  Over 20 gigantic sandstones have been named for their shape.  The most well known is named Goblet (see us pictured with it below) and is the symbol of Vila Velha.  Other formations that we saw (and made up names for them ourselves) were Coco Cola, Boot, and Sphynx. 
            After we walked through the sandstone formations, we took a bus to the Furnas.  Furnas are craters that are formed as sandstone collapsed and water accumulates.  This forms beautiful almost a huge crater-like landform with about 50 meters of water in it.  Birds and fish are animals that are common to find living there.  One of the Furnas is called Hell’s Cauldron and is the most popular because it is the deepest.  There used to be an elevator that goes down to a deck above the water but it is prohibited to use it due to erosion. 
            The third and final landmark was the Golden Pond.  This pond was created similar to the large craters and so it was called Golden Pond because of the incidence of solar rays on it causes a bright, golden light to appear.  There is also mica on the bottom of the pond that also gives it its golden appearance.  

            One thing I have found to be quite surprising is the amount of things we have found here in Brazil that are also found in America.   We often found these things when we were, what we liked to call, “Culture Shock” and were craving something American or missed home.  I have never traveled outside of the United States and so I thought that "American products" could only be found in America... I was very wrong.  After talking with some of the locals here in Curitiba, I found that a lot of them enjoy the same type of music that we do as well as the food!  Below I made a list of the few things that I missed from home the most and was excited to find them in Curitiba.  

• A lot of Brazilians who we met that knew English learned English from listening to music from America.
• Peanut Butter
• Goldfish
• Some of my favorite books in a bookstore- See above blog post
• McDonalds/Subway/Burger King

Subway was the first (and only) fast food place that I got food from because I was craving my usual turkey sandwich J

• Popcorn
  

Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t go too long without having some popcorn.  When I found some at the local market I literally got 5 bags!

• Pringles
• Coco Cola
• Ice Coffee
• Hot Dogs and Hamburgers
• Beach Volleyball

When we went to the Botanical Gardens, there were dozens of people playing beach volleyball.  One of the front desk clerks also used to play volleyball professionally!  It was really neat to see one of my favorite sports be so popular in another country.

            Before we came to this school, we were told that it is unlike any school we’ve seen because it is located outside the city and the school cares about preserving nature.  That was all we knew about the school and so we were all anxious to visit it.  Since the school is further away, we took a bus to get there…if you thought the Raleigh buses or Wolfline were busy, you will be blown away.  Curitiba is known for their busy system in how efficient it is in getting a lot of people where they need to go around the city.  We got on the bus, paid 2.85 R ($1.40 U.S. dollars), and arrived at the school 25 minutes later.
             When we arrived the first thing that caught our attention was the sound of children laughing and playing.  It wasn’t a minute later when our jaws dropped.  All of the schools we’ve seen up to this point (including in the U.S.) have been in 1 large building with maybe a few trailers.  At Aldeia Betânia Escola, there are 3 classrooms in “houses” and there are 4 houses:  the red house, yellow house, blue house, and green house.  All of the houses are cylindrically placed in a courtyard surrounded by various kinds of trees.  There are 3 large playgrounds and several open areas for the students to play.  The way the school is set up welcomes children and supports their enthusiasm to learn.
              I was able to help out in the school’s vegetable garden (yes a vegetable garden!)  I was talking with the teacher in charge of tending the garden and told her that I was amazed with the students’ ability to take care of the garden on their own.  She said that there is a 15 day cycle- after the students plant the seeds, they take care of them each day by watering it, and then they pick the vegetables.  She also mentioned that they alternate between eating and selling the vegetables after they pick them.  Right next to the large garden is a pen where chickens, a rooster, and a goose are kept.  If a class of students is at the garden during specials, they are also welcomed to go into the pen wit the animals and pick them up.  None of the children were scared and all were eager to show me how to hold them.  This made me think back to when I was in middle school and I invited one of my friends over.  At the time I had 4 dogs (2 were labs) and my friend was very afraid of them.  I later found out that she had never had any pets before.  The students at this school are growing up learning how to care for a garden, ways to keep our earth clean, and that you don’t have to be scared of animals as long as you respect them.  

             When we got back to our hotel on Monday night, the employees working at the hotel asked us if we had heard about what happened in Boston.  Since all of us were in Portuguese class that morning and at the elementary school in the afternoon, we had no idea what they were talking about.  They turned on the news and there we saw what occurred in Boston earlier that day.  We all were shocked.  I didn’t know then how shocked I would be again the next morning.
              My morning began with my usual routine of eating breakfast with the other student teachers and we headed downstairs to wait in the lobby.  I glanced over at the coffee table to find the front page of the newspaper and saw the headline and it was about the tragedy that occurred in Boston.  I thought to myself, “Why is American news on the front page of a newspaper in Brazil?”  I asked this question to our Portuguese professor at the university that morning and her response was, “Here in Brazil, we care about what goes on in America.”  I was stunned.  Since we have been here, the people of Brazil have been nothing but sincere to us and they continue to show it in various ways.  Unfortunately, there are people in this world that hurt others but there are copious amounts of people who are good, sincere and offer help.  The good-hearted citizens of Brazil and of the United States have proven to me that this is without a doubt a fact.  

            This weekend we ventured to Ilha do Mel or Honey Island. Our adventure began with a short cab ride to the bus station and after we got our bus ticket, we boarded the next bus and we were on our way!  About 2 hours later we came to a small town that had several ferries; we bought our ferry ticket to the island and set sail.  Without thinking that it had rained earlier that day, we boarded the ferry thinking it was going to be a peaceful ride (like the one we took to the rainforest), but we were very wrong.  The waves tossed the ferry up and down for the entire 30 minute ride to the island.  I can say that I have been deep-sea fishing and have never experienced a boat that has almost made me seasick like that one.  Needless to say, all 8 didn’t get sick and made it to the island safely. 
            On this island there are two parts: Encantadas and Brasilia.  We stayed for one night on the Encantadas side of the island.  The view from our front poarch was anything that either of us has ever seen before.  Where we stayed is right on the water, along with all the restaurants and stores and so when the tide comes in, you have to walk through the waves of the ocean to get from one place to another.  We also learned that you have to time when you want to visit the Brasilia side of the island because if you don’t, the tide could trap you!  We didn’t have enough time to venture to the Brasilia side of the island, but we were able to see the beautiful caves on the beach!  We could not believe that caves, mountains and beaches could be found so close to each other.  Although the weather wasn’t as sunny as we had hoped, the views and delicious sea food definitely made up for it!

This week we went to a private, Catholic Elementary School called Colégio Segrado Coraçåo de Jesus.  Similar to the other schools in the rainforest and in Curitiba, the older students (high school-aged) go to school in the morning and the elementary students go to school in the afternoon.  A typical school day lasts from 1:00-5:30 with a school-wide 20 minute break at 3:45pm.  I had the pleasure to observe and interact with students in pre-school, kindergarten, third, fourth, and fifth grade.  Here are a few things that I noticed about this specific school based on the classes that I saw:

• Every student, does not matter the age, writes everything in beautiful cursive.  All of the teachers write the assignments and questions on the chalkboards in cursive as well.  The school takes great pride in teaching each student how to have great penmanship.
• English is one of the specials that the students take.  This is different in the United States because not every elementary school offers a foreign language as a special.
• Each student (in grades 1-5) has their own agenda where assignments are written down.  I saw in third grade the teacher went around gluing the students’ assignment in their agendas verses them writing it down.
• Since the high school students are in school in the morning the teachers have to share a classroom.  This is very different from the United States because teachers have their own classroom and are able to personalize it more with theme decorations and work done by the students.  However, the kindergarten and pre-school classrooms do not have to share with the high school students and teachers so their classrooms are more elaborate and decorative.
• There is a playground for the younger students to play as well as a “playroom.”  Here there is a supermarket simulation (with fake food, grocery carts, and a cash register), cars, motorcycles, baby dolls, construction blocks and helmets, and a mock-doctor’s office. 
• During the 20 minute break, students are welcome to go to the cafeteria to buy snacks or drinks or play outside in a large, central courtyard.  The school bans the selling of soda or any carbonated drink to help the students to eat healthier.
• At the end of the week, we met with some of the administration staff to discuss how this school compares to the schools we’ve been at in the United States along with asking questions.  What was interesting to me was they asked a question about whether we see the “values” being taught before any question with regards to teaching content.  This showed me that yes the curriculum is important but what’s more important is what values are the students learning; they care about shaping the entire student and molding them into a well-rounded, kind-hearted citizen.  
  

Our last day in the rainforest came too quickly, but we were excited because today we would go to a school in the rainforest in a nearby village.  One of the locals who lives at the resort is named Joåo.  He started the school, but does not teach anymore.  We then found out that many of the current teachers at the school used to be students of his.  He spends his days working on the buildings and trails of the resort to make them better and safer. 

We left the resort on a motorboat and arrived at the village 15 minutes later.  The school building was one room and the students (like others in Brazil) go to school either in the morning or afternoon.  This is how the school system handles overcrowded schools (instead of year-round schools in the US).  The older students go to school in the morning and the younger ones go to school in the afternoon.  There is no Internet on the island so the teachers use a lot of workbooks.  Most of the teachers are being asked to teach a subject/grade that they are not licensed in.  This reminded me of the United States because many teachers are asked to change grade levels from year to year. 

I was talking with a student who was a 6-year-old girl.  She asked about my family and so I took my iPhone out to show her a picture and almost all of the students surrounded me with my phone.  I then showed them pictures of the birds we saw at the park and in the rainforest.  By the time I left each student could navigate going from one picture to the next and zoom in and out of the pictures. 

After talking with the teachers and interacting with the students, I could instantly conclude that these kids enjoy learning and coming to school.  This school may not have the latest books but it has passionate teachers who love to teach.  They love nothing more than seeing their students grow in all elements of their life, not just school. 

We began our day with a home-cooked breakfast followed by a 9:00 hike.  We didn’t go 5 minutes and Rafa stopped us because he heard a bird nearby.  He pulled out his phone and played the call of the bird he heard.  A moment later, a green-blue bird flew over us.  I was truly amazed at Rafa’s ability to identify birds by their call and giving us an opportunity to see them by calling them.  We then hiked for 2 hours!  Most of our hiking was straight up a mount.  Needless to say, our legs got a workout.  However, the treacherous hike was worth it! In the distance we could hear water, a lot of water.  We could see in the distance a natural spring formed by a waterfall.  I just had to sit back and admire its beauty… but then quickly jumped in!  Like the other waterfall, the water is filtered naturally and was very refreshing to drink.  I was able to get a mermaid picture next to the waterfall on a rock and climbed up the rocks next to the waterfall and caught the view of the rainforest and spring together.  This type of interaction with nature is one that every one should have.  Why wouldn’t you want to help protect something so beautiful?

The only thing more tiring than a 2-hour hike up a mountain is a 2-hour hike down a mountain with am empty stomach.  By the time we made it back to the resort, it was almost 2:00!  Luckily a large (home-cooked) lunch was there for us.  We had an hour to eat and rest and around 3:00 we went kayaking around the mangrove “streets.”  It crossed our minds briefly that we could run into a caiman or snake but we didn’t let it damper the mood.  We arrived back about an hour later and I was exhausted.  Rafa offered to take us to another waterfall but I decided not to go because I was so tired.  When I was about to take a nap, I saw one of the woman’s children, the girl just sitting there.  And so I gathered a deck of cards and all the Portuguese I knew and asked her if she would like to play a game with me.  And she said yes!  With Portuguese and a lot of gestures, I taught her how to play Go Fish.  We played for a whole hour and a half!  Later that evening I saw her teaching her younger cousin and I had a really good feeling. 

That night we had an oyster roast and I will forever eat oysters with limes.  They were very good!  Earlier that day a “heart of palm” tree was cut down and put on the grill.  During the oyster roast, they said it was ready to eat!  One of the locals took it off the grill, cut it open with a knife, and we devoured it.  I’ve had heart of palm, but this was the best way I have had it… and it will not be the last!