Visit to Brazilian Public Schools: On May 17, for Brazilian Culture class, the topic of the week was public education in Brasil, so we went to visit a couple Public Municipal Schools. One school, C.E.U (Centros Escolares Unificados) is practically a camp: it's meant to maximize the time kids spend at school. It's got pools, a theatre, computer lab, areas to play sports, etc. It's free for students within a determined radius around the school and open to the surrounding community. The only thing is that building a school like this is really expensive, so there only exist 22 in Brazil.
After that we went to Amorim Lima, that uses a different method of teaching: there are no walls between classes. It is a little more modest than C.E.U., but the quality of education is supposedly better. Even with 20 gringos entering the classrooms, the students maintined focus on what they were working on. Impressive.
Of course there are tons of public schools that are falling apart or leave much to desire in the academic scene, but I thought it was a great idea to see an example of two models that DO function within the country.
Interesting fact of the day: Percentage of college age students enrolled in universities in the US = 73%. Brasil = 15%. Why the huge gap?
Carybé exposition: Friday I went with one of my classmates to check out the newest exhibition at the Museu Afro Brasil in Parque Ibirapuera: "O universo mítico de Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, o baiano Carybé" ("the Mythic Universe of Hector Julio Paride Bernabó, the bahian, Carybé". Carybé is a famous artist, born in Argentina as Hector Bernabó, and lived in Bahia for the later half of his life, nicknamed Carybé. He used all types of mediums and vibrant colors to portray brazilian history and everyday life in Bahia. He was also a collectioner and illustrated MANY books with brazilian themes.
Lunch on Paulista: after the museum i headed to Av. Paulista to meet up with Danielle, Darien, and Brittney to have lunch at this place called Bella Paulista...probably ate the best X-salada (cheeseburger) i've tasted in Brasil.
Pizza Rodizio and Salsa!!: a block away from my apartment there's this little Pizza Rodizio place that i've been eyeing since i got here ($6 dollars for all-you-can-eat pizza is not too shabby!). So Miranda, Darien, Lua and I hit it up for dinner Friday night (May 19). I adored it and the waiter was funny. Then we burned off the calories at Conexion Caribe! Seriously....if i ever come back, i would soooo work there. I love Conexión because it's a small place, same crowd, and people truly go there to dance salsa (and they can dance REALLY well). Of course there are the occasional guys that wanna rub up on girls and have make-out sessions in public, but they're easy to push off. Friday we were there for a good 4 hours. Having a passion for salsa allows me to say that there are some people that make the dance experience just magical. Chayanne in the ending scene of "Dance With Me" is one of them, and Samuel is another (i'm speaking strictly salsa here). You can take any girl in the club, dancer or not, and he's there with his eyes closed and a huge smile on his face, as if the music transports him to some paradise. And when i see people put that kind of heart into dance, it makes me happy.
Deepening: the youth committee launched it's first deepening series this past weekend on Sunday (May 21). We're starting with the book "Some Answered Questions" by Abdu'l-Baha, "Respostas a algumas perguntas" in portuguese. The book is a result of talks between Abdu'l-Baha and Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 while He was confined in the city of 'Akka by the Turkish government. The book is divided into 5 parts and delves into many issues we ponder about and question. The first 2 chapters we studied on Sunday had to do with Nature and the existence of God. It provoked great discussion among the 12 of us at the Baha'i Center.
Interview with a Holocaust survivor: Monday (May 22) I had the great pleasure of interviewing a woman who survived the ghettos of Poland during the time of the Holocaust. She gave a vivid account of her life as a child fleeing from ghetto to ghetto before her family finally sought refuge in the tropics of Brazil. The purpose of the interview was to support my research paper, but aside from that, it was an important experience for me coming from a Jewish background. It took about 10 hours to transcribe...no joke. In the end she gave a message to my generation (this is a translation):
Accept differences, defend all minorities, don't wait for an attack, as happened during the Holocaust...It's like a cigarette: put an end to any verbal manifestation. Put it out - or else, it becomes a fire that we can't control. Homosexuals, gypsies, jews, nordestinos, blacks: it doesn't matter. We are all the same. The only path to peace for future generations is tolerance. Don't discriminate and always be alert.
Declaration of the Bab: Monday night, after the enterview, I headed over to the Baha'i Center to commemorate the Declaration of the Báb. The Báb was the Forerunner of Baha'u'llah, prophet Founder of the Baha'i Faith. His mission was to prepare the world for the comming of Baha'u'llah and declared it on the evening of 22 May, 1844. The Báb was later imprisoned and executed for his beliefs. There was a beautiful devotional presentation that is worth watching even just to hear the music...i was moved. Then there was a delicious persian feast awaiting us...polo and tadeek and bademjan, oh my! Good spirit in the air, great company, amazing food.
Ruhi book 1, Esfias, "Sessão da Noite" and Salsa: Saturday was just full of activities. Miranda and I joined a study circle for book 1 in portuguese (not that it's offered in any other language in Brazil, hehe). After that we walked to a little Arabic joint down the street with Marcos and Jaqueline to grab a bite to eat. Esfias - i don't know exactly how to describe them, but they're delicious. They come aberto or fechado ("open" or "closed"). The "open" esfias look like mini pizzas, but they're not pizza. You can get them with meat, cheese, greens, etc. The closed esfias are those same "mini-pizzas" folded into a triangle...with the "meat, cheese, greans, etc" stuffed inside. They're really good with limes and garlic sauce. Esfias are great because they not only taste good, but they're cheap too. Maybe about $0.75 each for an esfia a little bigger than your palm. This particular place has won over my heart. They have esfias doces, which are basically dessert esfias, filled with BRIGADEIRO!! complete extasy, I'm telling you.
After that we headed back to the Baha'i Center for our first movie night, another activity launched by the youth committee this month. We're planning to have a monthly showing of a film (with soda and popcorn). A fun way to provoke discussion about different topics amongst the youth. This month we viewed "Quem Somos Nós?", the american film titled: "What the Bleep Do We Know?". All i can say is: Wow. I probably have to watch that movie a thousand more times to understand it. It's one of those really-make-you-think-in-a-profound-kind-of-way sort of movie. I really liked it, but definitely need to watch it again.
Then a bunch of us headed to McCafé (it's like a Starbucks by McDonalds) for some tea/cookies/coffee, etc., followed by some more salsa at Conexión.
Research and Papers: Now it's down to work. I've been spending a lot of time lately on reports and final papers. Due dates are around the corner and I don't want to spend my last couple weeks here suffering the consequences of procrastination.
other pictures....
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