I've received many comments on the lack of books in any of my pictures, or talk of real studies in any of my posts...so here, let me ease your mind and assure you that I am indeed here principally to study. However, needless to say, most of the learning has taken place outside of the classroom. The official learning experience began the minute I stepped foot into BWI airport and has been evolving ever since.
This is what my schedule looks like:
Monday
8AM - 12PM: Contemporary Latin America (Social Movements & Revolutions)
Tuesday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
Wednesday
2PM - 5PM: Brazilian Culture: Issues and Realities
Thursday
12:30PM - 2:30PM: Portuguese
7:30 PM - 11PM: History of the U.S.
Each week there is a TON of reading to do for each classs. And we are expected to be able to discuss in detail what was read, defend or criticise the author, etc. As american students, attention usually gets brought to us to present the "american perspective" and give our opinions...this has presented a problem for me since I've avoided developing opinions on lots of things until now. For my two classes at PUC, after each unit, we are required to write a paper synthesizing everything that was covered, using the texts and lectures as references...if you don't keep up with the reading, this can be a BIG challenge when it comes to the night before the report is due (and the computer at home is slow running and it happens to be thunderstorming heavily outside and the electricity suddenly cuts off and you lose all your work...NOT FUN. But then, it's Brazil, and in situations as these you repeat "tudo vai dar certo" almost religiously until you yourself believe that "everything's gonna be alright", and with a stress-free attitude, everything ends up working out out in the end).
Things have started getting really busy one the academic scene especially since i realized that i have less then 2 months to finish all the work that's left to do.
The assignment for the Contemporary Latin America class is actually a magazine - to be worked on individually or in a group. I joined up with two girls in my class and today we did some informal planning during our intervalo/coffee break (the 20 minute break we get to divide up the 4 hours of class). The magazine is going to have an artistic/cultural theme to it with various articles, photos, poems, etc. I'm looking forward to the final product. Plus, it's seems like a lot more fun then writting a research paper.
In my Portuguese class, we've had a lot of mini writting assignments, grammar exercises, and our first exam last week.
Brazilian Culture is by far one of my favorite classes. I'm convinced that Prof. Lourival knows everything...or close to it. You can ask him any question about anything related to history, anthropology, sociology, and he will produce an answer right there that will leave you astounded. It's like for a second you understand the world. But only for a second. Because then you get back to reality and try to fit things into the grand scheme of things you've ever learned in life and how this new understanding should affect the way you live from that point on....and then life gets confusing again. For his class, we have weekly reading assignments on various topics of Brazilian culture (religion, brazilian soap operas, economics, politics, poverty, violence, etc.) and have to write a paragraph summary on what we've read.
At the end of class we have to turn in a 10-15 page final paper on a topic of our choice. After much thought and changing topics, I think I've finally pinned something down. I've decided on a research studying European-Jewish immigrants that fled to Brazil during the Holocaust and the formation of a Latin-American identity within the context of Judaism.
The interest sprouted from the fact that my mom's parents fled Germany during World War II; my grandfather was actually among the many that planned escapes from concentration camps. They fled to Santiago, Chile, and that's where my mom and aunt were born and raised. I also recently found out that on my dad's side there are contacts in Cuba and I think Argentina. So I am a mixed product: born and raised in the United States to a chilean mother of German descent and an american father with relatives in Latin America, raised Jewish, converted to Baha'i...and in the end, next to being a human citizen of the world, I identify with the latino culture. Oh life is fun, hehe.
2 comments:
I KNOW you didn't come to Sampa just to play. The amount of reading and writing you need to do will keep your eyes and your mind busy. You are 100% right about classes. The biggest classroom you have is the city of SAMPA and the daily interactions you have with the SAMPANS (? people who live in SAMPA) on a regular basis
Regarding not having fun when you have a paper due and the power threatens to go out, you are right. A little prayer works wonders. As a matter of fact, one thing I've seen from time to time is that when a person starts a project, some set backs occur. Overcoming these set backs and moving forward makes the end result of the project all the better.
This idea works not only with home work but other things as well. Go back 50-60 years. My parents had a very good friend named Miriam. Miriam's mother was an excellent baker and a good cook. When a guest asked for the recipe for this particular dish, Miriam's mother would respond in the sing song of Eastern Europe, you start the recipe. a small tragedy occurs, you say a small prayer, and everything turns out well in the end.
I KNOW you didn't go to Brazil to play.You have used creative use of the free time that you were given hehe.)
You made nice summary of your courses. The topic of your paper for the Brazilian Culture class sounds like a lot of work while as well as challenging project.
You are 100% right about having most of your learning taking place out of the class room. The academic work gives your mind a good exercise. True lessons about LIFE are taught every moment of your waking being as you move in response to your surroundings as you go through your daily routine.
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