The One That Got Away

If you were paying attention to structure, you might have noticed that I left the third prong of my most recent post, Catching Up: Family, Food, School, and Sports. Obviously I meant to include a description of my school, but unfortunately what I had written did not save. I was in a hurry when I rewrote the ending of the post and clicked the "Publish Post" button, so I did not notice the omission. Here is the belated, extended version of prong number three: School.

School in Brazil is different. The schedule, the classes, the building, and the people are all unlike anything I'm used to.

I would estimate there to be approximately 600 students in my school. There are three grades, primera, segunda, and tercera: sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Students are assigned a single classroom where they spend the whole school day, 7:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., save biweekly lab periods and twice daily 15 minute breaks. I think each grade has three classrooms. The teachers rotate from class to class, and every student in each homeroom takes the same lessons: physics, chemistry, biology, math, Portuguese, English, history, geography, literature, and philosophy. English is the only class where I understand what is going on, but in the other classes I feel that I'm picking up words and phrases and improving my Portuguese ear.

My first day of school was the first day of second semester, and I was overwhelmed by how rambunctious the students were. Imagine 60 sixteen year olds being told to sit still on the first day of school after a month-long break.................................. Yes. That's exactly what it's like. With classes being in the form of lecture, even though the teachers were very enthusiastic about their subjects, they still struggled for respect. They practically had to implore the class to pay attention. During the first week, students felt completely comfortable talking loudly, listening to their headphones, texting, and throwing balls of paper at one another. On the first day I remember thinking that even Albus Dumbledore would have his hands full trying to keep these kids in line. But in the two weeks that have passed, a girl has been asked to leave the class for talking, and a boy's iPod has been taken away from him. I think this discipline has helped calm things down because now it feels like at least some people are learning.

Except in English class. Last week, we had a 'discussion' about AIDS and the legalization of marijuana, in English. As interesting as those subjects would appear to be from the perspective of high school students, the class still felt no reason to appease the desperate teacher's wishes. No one really wanted to talk to her in English. But as an analytical, opinionated, English-speaker, I was happy to share my thoughts with her. She told me that I was her favorite student, then asked me if her English was 'good enough.' I told her that it was not my place to be the judge of that.

It's difficult for me to describe the uniquely structured building in which I attend class each day. The front of the school has doors, but the back does not. There are three floors shaped like horseshoes, and the classrooms are on the outer edge of the semi-oval. In the middle of the bottom floor is the foyer, a slowly escalating ascent towards the 'back' of the school. If you walk far enough, you will pass through an opening forty yards wide and end up outside, near a playground and a fenced gym area. Next to 'outside' are two staircases that take you to the second and third floors. In the upper floors, there is nothing in the middle of the 'horseshoe.' There is a ledge that allows any viewer to look across to the opposite side, or down to the bottom foyer area. If I ever figure out how to post pictures on this blog, I will show you a better description of the school.

During break time of the second week, an acoustic guitarist/singer performed, as did a student rock band, in the foyer. They mostly played American music, songs like Seven Nation Army, Are You Gonna Be My Girl, Your Body is a Wonderland, and others that I don't remember. Some musician friends, in need of a singer, asked me if I sung or played any instruments. I told them I was still a novice guitar player, but I could sing. So in the near future I might be performing with a band during break.

I really like going to school each day, not because the classes thrill me, but because I'm meeting loads of new people (as well as kissing lots of girls on their cheeks, standard form for introducing oneself). It's not difficult to be an exchange student here because everyone is so welcoming. They are very patient with me when I speak Portuguese, and they talk slowly when I ask them to, so it's easy to make friends.

To me, learning a second language and meeting new people are both exciting things. And unlike many other things that are exciting at first, I highly doubt that this will ever get boring.

Thanks for reading, and as always, there will be more to come.