Gaúcha Ariana: Conhecendo Mais do Sul - Seeing More of the South

Olá pessoal! Tudo bem? Tudo joia aqui. Porto Alegre is tri fantastic and I love being a gaúcha! I apologize for the tri late blog post. As usual I’ve been running all over town and am just now starting to feel better after shaking off a mini cold. So what have I been up to since we last left off?

Research:

More school visits -

I’ve visited many, many schools since the last blog post. I won’t go into detail about their realities and challenges because you probably have gotten the idea by now from previous blog posts. I will note some interesting observations not necessarily research related, but still worth mentioning I think.

1. The food served at municipal schools is very good, far superior to school food in the U.S. (I’m referring to public schools). The Municipality of Education of Porto Alegre provides a nutritionist to oversee the food being made at the schools. The food is a healthy home cooked meal with beans, rice, meats, and fresh fruits and vegetables

2. While observing a history class, left wing and right wing were defined as:

Left-wing - more radical, wants changes that prioritize society, defends socialism and communism (mais radical, quer mudanças que priorizem a sociedade, defendem o socialismo e o comunismo)

Right-wing - more conservative, prefers to maintain things as they are, prioritizes economic development and defends capitalism (mais conservadora, preferem manter as coisas como elas são, prioriza o desenvolvimento economico e defende o capitalismo)

3. Typically, a classroom has a maximum of 30 desks. The classes that I visited had around 15 students (granted I have no idea if some students were absent or not). Many of my classes in public high school had 40+ students.

Meeting with SMED –

I had a meeting with the Municipal Secretary of Education of Porto Alegre (SMED) to discuss my research project and strategize on which schools to visit. They were very interested in my project and want me to make a presentation for them at the end of the year! They were also so kind to give me a list of schools to contact and sent a letter on my behalf to the schools encouraging them to meet with me.

Visiting the Holocaust Museum in Curitiba –

I took a quick 3-day research trip to Curitiba, the capital of Paraná. I visited the Holocaust museum, spoke with the museum’s director, and did some city touring on the side. The museum is very small but packed with information (it’s the only Holocaust museum in Brazil). Its main message is that the Holocaust is a terrible genocide, it has affected all of humanity and not just the Jews, and prejudice, discrimination, and racism can lead to no good. The Museum also focuses on terrorist attacks, dictatorships (especially those in Latin America), and other genocides that have occurred around the globe. On a weekly basis, the museum receives hundreds of visitors, and group visits must be scheduled months in advance. Coincidentally, the day I was at the museum a school from Santa Catarina was there too. I tagged along and toured the museum with them. Upon arrival at the museum, we were all given a passport-like document of someone who was in the Holocaust. The passport provides a snapshot of that person’s life before, during and after the Holocaust. Rather than the tour being like a history class, the museum guide made it very personal, sharing stories and anecdotes from those that survived and perished. She also mentioned her story, having grandparents that were Holocaust survivors and resettled in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais. The students asked very appropriate questions and were infatuated by all the stories.

It was nice to do some sightseeing in Curitiba too. The city is regarded as having the highest standard of living in Brazil and is known as being very well planned, organized, clean, and relatively safe with excellent public transportation. I visited the Oscar Niemeyer Museum and it’s absolutely fantastic! I usually have little patience for museums (I’m in and out in 20 minutes) but I stayed there for an hour and a half! The architecture was stunning and the variety of art exhibitions was incredible (including art taken from politicians as result of the Lava Jato investigation)! The only other art museum that I’ve ever spent so much time in is The Israel Museum. I then spent an afternoon on the Serra Verde Express Train. This is a touristy train that starts in Curitiba and goes to small towns in the interior of the country, about a 3-hour ride. For those of you scared of heights, this is not the activity for you. The train tracks are high up, gripping the side of a mountain and often ride over the treetops. The views were really spectacular!

Next up for research -

1. I think that my school visits are coming to an end. I have reached a point that now the answers, situations, and realities of the schools have become repetitive.

2. I need to speak with individuals and organizations from minority communities to get their perspectives and opinions on the law. So far I have spoken with two people and certainly there is more work to be done!

3. I’ve been trying to observe a class in action but it’s more difficult than it sounds! Lessons plans and curriculums are always changing, the nation-wide strikes have altered school schedules, and quite frankly, and completely understandably, I am not the teachers’ priority and therefore am rarely informed when they will be teaching about WWII and the Holocaust.

4. I still have a papelada of documents that I need to read. There are national as well as state and city curriculum standards that I need to go through. Also, currently there have been many new reforms here in Porto Alegre involving municipal schools. I’ve heard a lot about them but have yet to read concrete material on what they entail.

News in Brazil:

1. The U.S. Consulate in Porto Alegre is officially open for business!

2. There was another nation-wide strike on June 30th to protest President Temer’s reforms. You can read more about it here, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-politics-protests-idUSKBN19L270

3. President Temer has been charged with corruption and obstruction of justice. This is the first time an acting president has faced such charges in Brazil. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/27/brazils-president-michel-temer-charged-over-alleged-corruption

4. We are now in the heart of winter here in Brazil. I didn’t know what to expect being that I heard that winter in Porto Alegre is: very cold like Siberia, quite mild like Orlando, rains a lot, is very windy, etc. There was one week where it was pouring rain everyday, so much so that the city was completely flooded (but I’ve seen worse. There was a winter in Buenos Aires where I was walking through water well above my hips and there was so much flooding that parked cars on the street were floating). However, other than that everyday has been a comfortably sunny 70-75 degrees. People, and I admit that I am included in this, still go outside in their fleeces, boots, and scarves. Conclusion: winter in Porto Alegre is really quite nice and certainly much better than Siberia and NYC.

Travels:

Besides Curitiba I haven’t been doing much traveling. I took two day trips to the mountains located about 2 hours from Porto Alegre.

1. Bento Gonçalvez, the Napa Valley of Brazil - I visited a few vineyards, tasted some wines, cheeses, and dulce de leche.

2. Gramado, the Switzerland of Brazil – The architecture is very German influenced. Gramado is known for great chocolate, café colonial (over the top Brazilian brunch), a chique film festival, and outdoor activities. Because it is located in the mountains, Gramado is a popular winter destination and has a very cold climate. It is common for Brazilians to go there and take a picture next to a thermometer to show just how cold and exotic it is there.

Discoveries:

1. Due to violence in Brazil, apparently there is a law (I think it’s federal) stating that at night it’s legal to drive through red lights if safety is an issue. While I do agree that safety at nighttime can be sketchy, I think that many drivers abuse this law for their own personal benefit…

2. Brazilians love to brazilianize English words and put their own spin on the pronunciation. For example:

Web – pronounced as “webee”

Powerpoint – “powerpointchee”

Online – “onlinee”

Cupcake – “coopeecakee”

Facebook – “Faceebookee”

3. Valentines Day in Brazil is celebrated on June 12. I have no idea why. It is also only celebrated amongst couples.

4. Phone service providers (at least this is the case with Claro) can only service your phone locally. For example, let’s say that you have an 858 area code phone number (San Diego, CA) with Verizon. You go on vacation in Miami, FL, which is a 305 area code, and your phone stops working. Naturally, you go to the local Verizon store in Miami to get your phone serviced. However, even though it is the same phone company nothing can be done. Verizon Miami cannot access any accounts outside of its location and has no authority and jurisdiction on other area codes.

Até mais!

Abraços,

Ariana