The Beach!

The School bus we took to the beach!

The other language school we visited.

Little Miz English at the beach!

Watching the soccer game.  Brazil won!! 

Today was massa!

Leaving Teresina

Our goodbye celebration

Our amazing hotel staff

Little Miz English gets to stay in Teresina with Alex and CCL and Integral!! 

I'm a bit behind on my blogs because we have been so busy! I'm going to post about my last night in Teresina and I'll add the rest of my posts later. 

My last day started with a visit to the state department of education. We met with a woman who is in charge of the exchange program for the state. She told us that the state is working on sending students to Spanish and English speaking countries. They will send around a hundred students this coming year. She was very enthusiastic about the program and the opportunities it will provide for the students in the state.  

  After meeting with Luanilde Oilivigede de Castro, we went to a market that had crafts from Teresina. I loved looking at the original art that told the story of the conflicts with the Amazonas. It reminded me of the conflicts the Native Americans had with the United States. 

   We had the most yummy lunch at Alex's mom's house. His sister is an AMAZING cook and I even had seconds! 

  After lunch we had a great visit with college students who are preparing to become English teachers. I was very encouraged by their enthusiasm and motivation. They had a lot of the same concerns that I had when I was preparing to become a teacher. They were optimistic that they could change the current focus of English teaching from grammar to conversation. The future is bright in Teresina!

    We then met with another newspaper and talked about our expectation of Brazil and the education. I had to admit that I did not expect Brasil, especially Teresina, to be so focused on improving education. I feel like sometimes in the US we are so focused on improving student performance on standardized tests, we miss improving the overall education of students. We could learn a lot from Terrsina about what's important in education. 

Driving around Teresina 

   After the interview,Alex, Erica, and I made some plans for collaborative projects this school year. So if you are one of my future students reading this, get ready to work with students in Teresina and Montana! :)

   Alex and the staff at CCL surprised us with a goodbye party with our favorite food and gifts. I'm going to miss them as much as I miss the teachers at West Hills even though we've only known each other for a short time! 

   We ended the night with a trip to our favorite ice cream spot. It was better than Blue Bell ice cream! 

I would like to thank the teachers, students and people of Teresina! They taught me so much about what's important in education and life. I will treasure the wisdom and experiences you have given me! Xxxx

Today was comparative.

Today we stopped at CCL (Alex's language school). This is a public school where students can go to study English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. This school is very important because the students need to pass a difficult entrance exam to go to college and part of the exam is an English proficiency test. Alex is a very intuitive principal who is always looking for ways to help his teachers, staff and students. 

  At CCL this morning we taught the students the Hokey Pokey to review the vocabulary for body parts. The students were just like my American students because they were shy at first but once we started, they came alive and had particular fun with "you put  your backside in and you shake it all about."  We taught another class at CCL earlier in the week about the sites in Utah. We read passages from the book A Is For Arches. Then the students wrote an acrostic poem about Brazil. Here is their poem:

B- beautiful

R- rare

A- amazing

S- soccer

L- life

Here is an acrostic I wrote about Teresina:

T- here are only three people in Teresina: you, me and somebody we know. This is a local saying reflecting how closely knit the city is. 

E- very one is ways smiling. I don't think I have met a single person who didn't have a big smile! 

R- emember to look up! The clouds in Teresina are very unique. They have

many layers and are different kinds every day. 

E- venings are when the town comes alive! It is very hot here so people stay inside during day. But at night the streets and parks are full of people talking and interacting together. 

S- weltering heat! It is very hot in Teresina! It is even hot to the locals :) 

I- gnite interest! The students here are so eager to learn. A treasured memory I will take home with me is the students at Integral trying to find ways to break the carbon fiber samples I brought from Hexcel. FYI: you can't break it :) 

N- ew experiences! I have tried many new things here like different fruits that we don't have in the US. 

A- lways! I will always remember how lucky I am to be in Teresina with Erica and Alex!!  

Today I was welcomed into a public elementary school.

Today we visited a public elementary school.  We were greeted with the school draped in red, white and blue.  Each student had made an American flag.  The students meet each morning for a welcome meeting where they sing and pray.  The students were amazing!  The principal expects the students to be behaved and organized but he also participates with the students and teachers.  The students sang us some welcome songs and the Brazilian National Anthem.  It was such an inspiring sight to see students waving American flags whilst singing the Brazilian National Anthem. I think it epitomizes the collaborative relationship that Brazil and the US have, especially when it comes to education. 
  The principal of this school is very innovative and progressive.  He has created a lot of programs that we have in the US but he created them on his own!  So far, this school has been the most like schools in the US.  They had lots of decorations on the walls that students have created and there were lots of pictures of the students and staff.  The principal has won two major awards and the school has won several awards for their academic performance.  While the school values academics, the staff also value the arts. The students participate in art, music, and crafts.  They even have a gymnastics team that has won competitions!  They performed for us and were very impressive!!!
   This elementary school is different from the majority of the elementary schools in Brazil because it is a full day school. The students go to school all day every day.  Most schools have students come for four hours a day in either the morning, afternoon, or evening.  The principal showed us how much the school's academic data improved by changing to an all day school. It doubled!  Sometimes students in the US complain about how long the school day is, but it is very clear that the more time you spend in school, the more you learn. 
    I personally learned a lot from this principal about good leadership.  He has a lot to do but he makes sure he goes to the students' performances and supports his teachers and staff.  Everyone has input and feels valued.  I felt very welcomed and learned a lot in this school and I LOVE Teresina!!!!

Teresina may be the hottest city but it is also the friendliest.

I feel very lucky to have been placed in Teresina with Alex and Erica. Today we went to local places of interest. First we went to a restaurant that had the yummiest fish. It is located where the two Rivers in Teresina meet. We visited a house where they make clay figurines. It is a very hard process and takes several days. The girl who was showing us how they make it was so friendly.

 

After lunch, we went to the bridge that is over one of the two rivers. We took an elevator ride to the top where we could see the whole city. I didn't realize how big the city is. Alex's son taught me how to "give five" the Brazilian way. Then we spent some time with Alex's family at his cousin's son's first birthday. They were so friendly and we had a great conversation.

   At the end of the day I was able to talk with my family who all got together for Father's Day. 

Teresina

The airport in Teresina is so cool! We walked right onto the Tarmac and there are only two little baggage things. Someone even packed tires for the flight. 

This is the whole airport. 

These are some of the awesome students at our host's private school. 

This is the main supermarket. 

A park

Coconut juice!

Quail for dinner

Doing a reading activity with students. 

Students with their Utah pencils. 

What's stronger than steal but lighter than aluminum? Graphite fiber! The students tried all different ways to break it but couldn't. This is what is used in air planes and sports equipment. It's made at Hexcel where my dad works. The plant is in West Valley. 

My host Alex who is a teacher and a principal. This is at his private school before the two evening classes. 

Even Brazil has signs against bullying. 

The fried quail.