Arriving at emef antunes de mouraSo, I am having an enormous amount of trouble getting pictures to upload. Here's what I have been able to do thus far; stay tuned while I try to troubleshoot. A beautiful 20 minute drive through the countryside outside Itapeva sits Nova Campina in the state of Sau Paulo. The rolling hills, gravel roads, and red clay are a familiar site to those of us from the Southeastern United States. Cattle, chickens, pastureland, fields, and forests provide an extraordinary view on the winding roads. Unfamiliar foliage in yellow, red and purple line the road. Huge logging trucks struggle to make it up the hills and cautiously inch down them. It's an unusually cold day, and the sun is not shining. The gloomy sky had absolutely no effect on the warmth and light that awaited us inside this school. View the slideshow to get an idea of our welcome. We arrived to beautiful signs decorated with Brazilian and American flags, images of friendship and peace. There was a receiving line introducing us to the administration, faculty, and staff--including the local pastor and a city councilman. We went to their sports court for a special welcoming ceremony. Several students had homemade American flags stuck in their caps. They began with a young student speaking to us in English--they are still learning the language and many do not speak English at all. She welcomed us, and then we stood for the Brazilian national anthem followed by the American national anthem. I was moved to tears at this outpouring of friendship. Liberato, our host country coordinator, presented a brief history of his country along with an overview of the educational system and its origins. There are over 200 million people living in Brazil and 146 million of them are Catholic. While there is a current movement to incorporate Christian beliefs into their government, Brazil is a secular nation by Constitution. The Portuguese colonization as well as the significant role the Jesuits played in education is compelling. There is an excellent film called The Mission that dramatizes the era of Portuguese dominance and the ultimate conflict between the Portuguese monarchy and the Jesuit order. In addition, it tragically and beautifully illustrates the well-meaning albeit tragic results of colonization and the Christian missions on the native Brazilians. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091530/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 BrasiliaAbove is the National Cathedral. We didn't get to go inside--one thing about international travel is that you have to be prepared for plans to change, appointments to be delayed, and you just have to smile and keep going. So, the history of Brasilia is only about 60 years old. You'll notice from the picture gallery below that the architecture is stark, geometrical. The entire city was designed by Oscar Niemeyer an architect with staunch Communist beliefs as an homage to that ideology. Click this link to read a brief biography of this artist who was ultimately exiled from his own country not long after Brasilia was built. http://www.biography.com/people/oscar-niemeyer-9423385. President Juscelino Kubitschek wanted to move the capital to a more centralized location in Brazil. In the late 50's the project began with his motto "50 in 5." That meant 50 years worth of construction would be completed in five years. And, they succeeded. This sculpture is in honor of the workers who built the city. There are only a few buildings over six stories tall, and no new construction can be over six stories either. "The sky is our ocean." Everyone should be able to see the vast, shockingly blue and clear sky. The city is shaped like an airplane with the seat of government--the branches and the ministries situated in what would be the cockpit. He wanted the city to be built for automobiles. The freeway system runs so smoothly---except when there is a public transit strike as was the case while we were here. The city was also planned for 500,000 people. Over three million live here now. You should see the parking situation. It seems like every man, woman, and child have a car--they just make parking spaces wherever. Brasilia sits on a savannah. It's a desert.The lake is manmade. This raises all sorts of environmental questions and concerns for sustainability. An eight hour flight (which was less than anticipated--and that's a good thing) is still a challenge. Getting to the airport, through security, shoes off, scanner, find your gate...whew. Sit down, and you have another hour and a half until boarding. Pay $15 for a turkey sandwich with a fancy airport French name, $3.99 for a bottle of water because you can't bring your own in, and you're ready. It's late. Finally, you squeeze into your seat, pass on the in-flight dinner, accept the crappy headphones to settle in and watch four movies back to back because you know there's no amount of Tylenol PM in the world to get you to sleep with two inches of leg room--one inch really because the guy in front of you has recline his seat all the way. A necessary evil unless you can pay for business class. Whatever. Enough of the air travel complaints. They are nothing new. On to the good stuff. I did get to see a bit of Brasilia today. We will do more tomorrow. I drove by the plaza that is the image above; I'll get a better look tomorrow. Today, we went to the central park in Brasilia. It was great to see typical life in Brasilia. Check out the slide show. I received some Brazilian currency today. I enjoy looking at foreign currency. Neil deGrasse Tyson discussed this at a lecture here at the Fox Theater recently. He noted the different countries that included their famous scientists, mathematicians, and symbols of scientific discovery on currency. He argued that it reveals a great deal about a country's priorities. You can decide for yourself on that one, but I love how Brazil has wildlife on their bills--called "real". A Golden Lion Tamarin graces the back of the R$20. Here is a website which has more information about the images on the Brazilian real http://www.bcb.gov.br/ingles/Mecir/cedulas/cedcomum.asp. This is the video I am taking to the Nova Campina school to introduce the students to Georgia. It was ridiculously difficult to determine what to include. It's an attempt at over 200 years of history while capturing the soul of the state. So, I applied for a fellowship. It was a longshot. I had no business applying. My life was a joke. Teacher, teacher leader--multiple projects in the school and in the county, doctoral candidate, daughter a two-sport elite athlete, son graduating from high school, never enough hours in the day. In fact, I didn't even tell anyone (other than my closest friend) that I had applied. Early May of 2014, I received the email. "Congratulations....," it said. Whoa. What a ride it has been, and I wouldn't trade a single bit of it. After a life-changing course on Global Education and a symposium in Washington, DC, I am preparing for an 18 day international field experience in Brazil. I leave Saturday.
The TGC fellowship caught my attention because of my doctoral studies. Ever since my first Masters level course with Dr. Otilia Salmon at the University of North Florida, diversity and multicultural education has been my life and my study. Having the opportunity to expand that knowledge to include global competencies has been extraordinary, and there is much more to come. You can check out the TGC site here https://www.irex.org/projects/tgc. I'll be posting often about my experiences and travels in Brazil. Let's go! |
Jayme Holaway HicksMs. Hicks is a 12th grade Language Arts and Advanced Placement teacher at Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia. Archives
October 2015
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