4 months down, 5 months to go

Well, we’ve reached the mid-way point.  Five months to take advantage of this beautiful experience I’ve been blessed with.  It’s a mid-way point for you, too. Today is July 1^st.  Time take all those New Year’s resolutions you broke and try them again,lol.  But seriously, I love this time off year. It allows me to reflect on the ways I’ve grown in the first half of the year and to think about where I’d like to see myself at the year’s end.  Do my best to stop trying to control everything and let God guide my will to align with His. I also read this great phrase which I’d enjoy sharing. “Never worry about what may happen in the future because if it doesn’t happen you’ve worried for nothing. And if it does, you have to worry twice”

As for events Michol and I got to go to an indigenous reservation.  The Xerente there were having a naming ceremony where they registered babies into the community. It was a unique experience to say the least.  I’m not posting pictures because I don’t know if I have their permission and I just wouldn’t do that anyway.  We went with the indigenous group on campus.  I was nervous because not only are we not indigenous but we’re not even Brazilian (obviously,lol) They were so welcoming though and seemed genuinely excited to share their culture with us.  They told us we could move about/take pictures freely. The only restriction they had was that everyone had to be painted. So I watched them make henna-like paint and was covered in it for a while.  I also met the resident pastor (a really cute intelligent old guy) who spoke really good English although he didn’t believe me.  He said the men who trained him were English-speaking missionaries. I said I hope my Portuguese is as good as his English when I get to be his age.

We took part in Flit (International Literary Fair of Tocantins).  We along with Elisa and another woman named Geane gave a four-hour workshop about sustainability.  Aplitins is the Association of English Language Professors of Tocantins and Elisa is the president.  The workshop was for public school English teachers.  Sustainability is a practice that doesn’t really exist here.  People throw their trash on the ground and the only recycling is at the university.  And even there people don’t do it.  But it was a good experience. The next day we went to another workshop Alessandra was presenting about phonetics.  It was really helpful in understanding why my students have a hard time pronouncing certain sounds and gave me ideas on how to teach them better J

You’re getting your post today because I’m going to the beach tomorrow. One of our friends is going abroad for the semester and won’t be home until after we leave so I’d like to spend some time with her before she goes.  One of the great things about this program over previous abroad experiences that I’ve had is that I have friends here. I have an incredible bond with my host family in Chile, for example, but I never made any lasting friendships with other Chileans.  I’m glad for having done so this time around.

So, I got on my professional game this week. Got a legit e-mail address, updated my resume, etc. A big decision this week is that I decided to apply to Vanderbilt. The deadline to take the GRE for them to get the scores on time is Oct. 22^nd so I’m excited to have a “concrete” study goal in mind.  And my mom is sending me a care-package.  Complete with study book and other goodies I’ve been missing here.

So… that’s it. Below are the pics I promised of the Aloha Party. See you next week.

This last picture is a bonus. It's a moto taxi. You can tell who they are because they where blue long sleeve shirts and orange vests which must be a killer this time of year.  Moto taxis are half the price of regular taxis and my transport of choice whenever Michol's not around.  (I'm talking casually now, but my first day on one I literally had a hand ache from holding on so tightly,lol) When I first got here I used to be amazed at the women who wore dresses and heels and rode side saddle. I'm not so amazed anymore but I definitely still think it's a talent or a skill.