First week of classes

15 march 2011

It's Tuesday, the second day of classes have started, and I have already experience so many new things. Monday I learned about the traffic of the city. I have a class that starts at 7 30am, so I left the house one hour early, because I thought with it originally only going to take 30 min extra 30 will be great. WRONG, I got on the bus at 6 40am and I didn’t get in front of the campus until 8 15 and didn’t get to tmy class until 8 30am. Good thing it was the first day of classes, the professor was really understanding and said she was late as well. I read over the sylabbus and asked about reading material. The professor was very helpful with helping me print out the readings so I am feeling pretty good about this course, Brazilian Anthropology .

My second class was Latina poetry, well I felt really stupid, because once I got to the class students and I began to talk about the course. I though the course was going to be poet authors from latin American poetry, now its latin poetry the language latin. So I left that class, looked on the board with the listing of courses and decided to check out the intro to brazilian literarute. The class was huge, I’m not even sure if there will be a seat available for me but I will try anyways, otherswise its back to the drawing board. The class went well the professor had a lot of energy she went over the syallbus a little bit to much, she really wanted to use the 2 and half hours. After her class I had a break for lunch, met up with friends and spent R$2, 45 on some crappy lunch but it was food. The food in Portugal is better than what I ate here. I guess with good company bad food doesn’t really matter.

After lunch I had my last glass of the day iconography of slavery. Two students. Two. I mean the professor was really cool, we talked a lot, I guess I like the smallness of the course. We talked about what the course would be about, our experience with iconography, what does diaspora meant. Something interest is that the professor said he hates the words diaspora, if I remember hearing him right in Portuguese, I think he said he didn’t like it because its affliated with Jesus. Jesus having a diaspora. (Not all the way sure, don't quote me on this, I need to re-ask him why he doesn't like the word). Anyways, he started a virtual datebase called the center of cultural studies about the Presence of Africans in the Modern world at UFMG. After that class I had to run over to a potential “job” well its basically private tutor for englsih for different people around belo horizonte. Had a fast yet detailed course of training, books, and told to study study and always prepare lesson a day in advance. (Currently preparing lesson for tomorrow) after the two hour headed home. Only to eat shower and sleep in the order. Set my alarm for 5am because I had training at 8am-10.

So...next day woke up early knowing that the bus would be in traffic, I guess at 6:10ish traffic is alright, so I guess that is the time I will have to leave from now on. After the two hour training I headed back to campus, only to get lose. I read the bus line information and the one I took the last stop said ufmg, boy did I get a surprise. Got off close, and then within seconds it rained, it poured. Like poured so hard!! My whole body was soaked and all my bookd and my backpack. But I was determing even with all the rain to get to my graduate course. The graduate level course about African diaspora in brazil, what a great class. Even with myself being so tired and mentally exhausted all went well. The professor Miriam Jorge had such a great presense and set a really nice tone for the course. I really enjoyed the class particpation, the questions that were thrown around the room, the different perspectives it was really great. More than I expected from a classroom. I look forward to learning more from my collegues as well as learning more about what I may want to studying graduate school. This course could be the key to me knowing. So I pray to God for direction. After the course I took advantage of the wifi and then headed home, again in the rain. Ate dinner and now I'm going to head to bed soon. Now its 9:17pm, so funny I'm tired at this time, usually I'm not.lol

Back in Brazil

I can’t believe its already March, felt like just yesterday I was leaving Portugal. But here I am trying to catch up again with my blog.

After my time in France I had a flight out of Paris to Salvador do Bahia, Brazil. An overnight flight, but I couldn’t complain it was basically empty so I was laid out on the chairs, sleeping. I arrived in Bahia to the burning sun, I was literally peeling off clothes in the airport it was so hot. I had a 2 hour lay over at 5am in Rio so I tried to sleep but mostly people watched. Brazil hugged me warmly with: brazilian accents, tight fitted jeans, guys that look like they work out everyday(the gym=capoeria), tighted fitted jeans on woman, high heels, cut little tops, and the beautiful different skin colors. I think that’s one thing I love the most about Brazil everyone’s has such a unique skin tone. Come to Brazil I leave the black and white perspective we’ve grown up in, come with an open minded with a country that has similarities as well as very different history than the US.

After a day of sleeping, I met up with my friend Caelli to eat Açai (not sure how to explain, i think Açai is fruit, its really cold, and then it has granola and banana on top)

It was really great to catch up with her because I literally haven't seen her or talk to her in years. I really enjoy catching up with old friends, sometimes you see how far a part you both have really grown and sometimes you see how the individuals path interweave.

My 10 days in Bahia I literally had dance class early in the morning with Mestre King and Carlos Ujumha, then walked home(35 min walk every day to and from=exercise) ate lunch, showered, and finally the best part I usually went to the beach till the sun was set. Towards my last couple of days I was introduce to this amazing burger place that begin to be my dinner spot. It was so good! Although one burger just wasn't enough..lol

Professor Mestre King, Jessica, and I

Class photo; besides Brazilians there were many students from Australia as well.

On my last day I hung out with friends and stayed up for my 2am taxi driver because I had a flight at 5 30am, wanted to get there early as well and wasn't sure how long the taxi ride would be. To my surprise i got there at 2 30am, so I had plenty of time for nothingness..lol I tried to lay around didn't work to well. When time finally passed boarded and headed to Bahia. Once I landed 28th of February I had orientation at the campus I would be studying at Federal University of Minas Gerias (UFMG). What a long day I had, with no sleep from the day before the orientation lasted from 9 am till about 5pm. Once over I just wanted to sleep, because we had to return the next morning for the same type of schedule.

So basically the whole first week that was mandatory for me to be here, which I understand although I would have loved to stay another week in Bahia, I got all the information I needed about visit, studying abroad in Belo Horizonte, met other students from around the world(mostly Argentina), and the best thing was looking and choosing courses. I have one of the best schedule despite the times, but I cant complain when I only have class MOnday, tuesday and Wednesday. So heres my course schedule:

1) Brazilian Anthropology 7 30 am every Mon. and Wed.(hope i make it to class..lol)

2) Latina Poetry

3) Iconography of slavery(iconography means the use or study of images or symbols in visual arts)

4)African Diaspora course of Brazil-> it's in the graduate school! I'm the most excited for this course, although it is 4 hours long on tuesday evening. but i have a plan, sleep before and lots of snacks to keep me awake, healthy snacks of course.

I thought about taking more courses but I don't want to over it do it and take on to much. I still am learning Portuguese. That never stops.

Catching up...

In order to catch up to where I am I have to go back. So I went to Aveiro, Portugal for a week after my program was over. It was a really nice and friendly there. Loved the sweets.

And then I traveled to France with my friend Marine and her father. 12 hour car ride.

We're getting closer!

Bom apetite!

A French desert other than a crepe.

Mash potato maker, we need one of theses in the States.

So I had a really amazing time in Poitiers, France with my friend Marine and her family. It was great to get away from Portugal and the city traffic etc. she lived in the country which was great and relaxing for me. We went to the center of the city it was really nice and close knit.

The little Norte Dome of Poitier

Vans and a UCLA back pack, I thought I was in Cali for a second.

We went to this club that had a open mic of artists fridays and saturdays, this night it was mostly reggae but I really liked it. I really enjoyed the saxophonist.

And then I went to Paris France for a few days

Me and the Eiffel Tower

up close

I had a really great time in Paris France. Past all of my expectations. Its a such beautiful black city I must say and the food is amazing! Next time I go to visit I will have to learn more french words.

I went to the Norte Dame

This was probably one of the best moments of traveling to Paris for me

Famous author Richard Wright use to live in this apartment building

France in general was a very great and humbling experience for me. I appreciate the people, the food and the historical buildings. I hope to come back soon.

Pieces

I’ve been feeling inspired lately. By others, to share more. So things I want to talk about that I haven’t talked about during my experience in Coimbra Portugal.

So here are some pieces:

I was walking around Coimbra one day with a good friend and he pointed out that these

They used these in the past to either hang slaves up or chain them in a line.

Living in a country where the history of slavery existed and was very prevalent it never seemed to leave my eyes as I walked through the city.

Another piece I want to share-->

So in this very popular mall called Doce Vita in Coimbra were I go frequently. They had an art exhibit of President Obama. When my friend told me I was surprise and said stop lying why would they have an art exhibit of a President of the U.S. here in Coimbra of all places? I mean maybe they would have one of the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, she is the first female president of Brazil. Anyways, I was curious and wanted to see it so we went down stairs and sure enough on the floor there it was. As I walked around the pictures, I was shocked and affected by the images and the negative messages spread.

I didn’t find any of the cartoonish funny

Majority of the pictures had him depicted as a slave or had some connotation to slavery.

Unfortunately my camera died that day so I couldn't capture them all. But they have a website for more information (http://www.cartoonvirtualmuseum.org/i_galobama_f_i.htm)

I know art is a freedom of expression and everyone is entitled to say and share whatever they would like. I guess I just wondered why there were none that expressed positive messages? Or perhaps those artist weren’t chosen.

It was crazy to me that when I had read that the pictures were from all over the world. Canada, Brazil, Japan, Hungary, Russia,Unites States, just all over. And they all shared the same the same sentiment: a negative image of President Obama. To think that this is spread all over the world, this is not how I want people to know my president or think of him. I mean in the states I remember in the political section they would have a political comic sketch but those as well were never really funny to me. They elongated his nose, or gave Obama big lips and pictured him eating watermelon. I remember even seeing a cereal box created called Obama O’s. It’s interesting to me that people in the US want to say/think America is in a post racial era since President Obama is the first black president (but being a black person in power, will not magical change hundred years of institutionalized slavery thats been embedded throughout the US), but there’s nothing post-racial about making racialize jokes/drawings at the past/present. Double lives=double lies.

and another one--->There was a store in Amsterdam that made me laugh

What's left

So I took a trip one time to Conimbriga, Portugal. One of the largest Roman settlement in Portugal and one of the best preserved. (for more information http://www.quintadoriodao.com/eng/out/conimbriga.html)

I went with the woman in charge of my program in Portugal. She said it was must see place and that people really treasured. The lady kept telling me, "Oh this is so beautiful, oh look at the detail, ahh it's so historical it was built such a long time ago…” As we walked through I was silent.

All I could think about the whole time was “who built this?” “Who were the people that were forced to build what so many admire?”

This was also something I seen there, it reads: House of the Swastika was the home of a relatively wealthy family. It's construction goes back to the 1st century AD...yadda yadda

After this trip I began to look up more about the history of the swastika symbol because I am unfamiliar with it. I found out that the symbol was used 5,000 years before Hitler used it. The word swastika comes from the Sanskrit svastika, which means “good fortune” or “well-being." The motif (a hooked cross) appears to have first been used in Neolithic Eurasia, perhaps representing the movement of the sun through the sky. To this day it is a sacred symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Odinism. (Information from www.ushmm.org)

This also caught my eye, it is in-door and out door fountain and garden. For .25 I placed in a machine near the fountain and watched the water actually spring up in action.

Moving Forward

I know its been a while, but things got pretty busy for me. Going home for the holidays, nights in London, studying for finals, packing, saying goodbyes, moving, becoming stranded in Portugal because waiting for papers from Brazilin embassy, and getting ready for France. Yeah, I am bless through it all. I wouldn’t trade my worries and problems in for the world. It's funny how when we are going through something in life we think we are the only ones going through it, or we have the whole world on our shoulders. And then we act all surprise when we get through it like we haven’t tried the whole time to get pass it, like we are surprised in ourselves that we actually made it through. Funny right? I’m sure it's not funny during the time we are going through one, but it is.

I feel I am at a good place in my life. I am finding time to just reflect. With reflection comes growth.

I must admit it was hard to say goodbye to everyone in Coimbra Portugal, harder than I had attended. I may not have enjoyed the location of my 6 months but I will not forget the friendships I made in that short amount of time. I guess in leaving I felt like I was selfish for allowing them to let me enter their life their hearts, knowing that I would only leave in February. It hurts me to know that I’ve met people who have just been genuinely nice and amazing to me, just because they choose to. It takes action and work to be someone’s friend.

With all this time on my hands I am learning to relax, allow the days to come and drag out. Get so tired with doing nothing that at 7 pm you are yawning from nothing and being alright with that. That has always been so hard for me, but my other life back on campus in Madison is completely the opposite, so busy I am scheduling me time and when I will be able to eat with friends. I’m across the ocean and my life has literally switched from the hectic business with school and extra things to the long days of nothing. I currently have no classes until I get to Brazil, but that won’t be for a few more weeks. So for now I am enjoying this little break.

Well trying to.

Protect your Dreams

So one more thing before I head to bed, I stumbled across these 3 videos that I want to share.

Protect your dreams-

Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson, I shared this recently with Millah and Maia. Thank you both for reminding me how much I need to remember this, believe this, and share this.

We count! A black Agenda is the American Agenda- Powerful, powerful, powerful, I'm trying to sit at the next table.

Desire more from the world, demand it, obtain it, and share it.

Distance and Time

I find so much time to just escape through my mac book, for better or for too much time spent. Between reading blog posts from other sites, watching documentaries on different important figures(high profiled and low profiled), listening to music, watching movies, reading different news articles from around the world, chatting with friends on fb, phone conversation, skype, gchat: just feeling feed and full.

sometimes i just escape it all, being embracing aloneness.

However, I have neglected my own thusfarinlife. If it makes my blog readers feel better I haven’t been writing either. Even in my own personal journal its dating back sometime last month. When someone is MIA, we hope they are doing well. And I am. Been sick here and there, went to the doctor the for the first time since I been here got some meds and I'm surrounded by med students, so I am being taken care of and looked after(don't worry fam). Sleeping more with all the rain during the day: I typically have class early in the morning and then sleep. I guess I'm trying to catch up on all the lost sleep because usually I don’t go to bed till really late at night, I guess sometimes my head is in central time…lol(6 hr behind me).

Sometimes I hook up my phone with the intentions to make a call only to realize this time I feel compelled to have a personal conversation with myself. Embrace the moments when I am alone. Not a sadness type of feeling more like grounded and peace in mind. I think critically, askying myself those tough questions I may not want to ask, reflect on where i've been and where I am going and where god is leading me. Smiling and laughing at the things I've done in my life that are funny. Thinking back, looking forward and learning to be more present. Through all the distance and time I have spent here in Coimbra, Portugal I have grown. My mind has been expanded, challenged, I have a better grasp on not only who I am but the woman I want to grow into(knowing there is room to change and make mistakes), and more importantly I have been more deeply rooted in faith.I took this picture at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England.

Moving to another country: knowing no one and not knowing what to expect can be a scary experience. You don't know who to trust, your worried about your language competency, your out of your comfort zone. No family, no friends, nothing is similar. This strangeness, this newness can only do one thing for you:force you to grow whether your ready or not. But this is not alone, during these vulnerable/unknown times you are with the Lord. Only person there, the only person you can trust, talk to, and carry you through all the times you may find difficult. And before you know it instead of God carrying you, you are walking side by side. There's nothing wrong with being carried, being helped, being vulnerable, being scared. Why should you, should I feel ashamed for feelings these emotions? There natural and the more we take them in, feel them, the more we learn about ourselves.

As I prepare to return home for winter break, I want to give love and feel loved. Period.

I appreciate my family and friends.

"We are who We are because Someone Loved Us."

-Cornal West

Such a powerful /lingering statement, makes you count all the people that love you and see you in them. As well as think about the people you loved, knowing you've shaped their life in some way. Leaving a lasting impact.

Saudade

The word saudade has no direct translation in english, it can be described close with the words miss, or longing, but also it means to delight in knowing someone,place,thing. Saudade has these lingering sentiments of positive feelings as well as a sadness. Like smiling goodbye to a close friend who is moving to a different state for college(like all of my friends), and a tear roll downs your cheek. Inside your happy this person is going where they are called to be but at the same time you will miss their physical presence in your life.

This is probably one of my favorite portuguese words, saudade. It explains how I feel at the moment. I miss home and I wish I could be there, but at the same time I am very happy and feel bless for this opportunity to study abroad in Portugal. I am living and breathing everyday in Europe by myself, I came here knowing my program director via emails. I can count how many times I've seen her on one hand, and I've been here for about 2 months and some days now. So I basically came here with no one, an open mind, two big suitcases, and my portuguese phrase book. I must admit there are days when it's really refreshing to realize how much I am growing and how humble I am by this experience. I have met so many amazing people here in Portugal as well as other parts of Europe. They have really helped shape my experience to a positive one. Relationships. simple yet complicated. sometimes you have to let old friends go, for your own personal growth. (don't tolerate the apple in the barrel to be your life) relationships are so important in life, what would life be without them?Just like communication, I surprise myself sometimes when I speak portuguese or when someone talks to me in portuguese and I actually understand everything that they said. I get this big smile on my face and I nod my head with excitement.

But I will also admit there days that are hard for me. The days I wish I could just "jump" home just for a few hours, smell my mothers cooking, hear the school bells at Henry, hear the two dogs near my house bark at the neighbors walking on the sidewalk. I miss sleeping in my own bed. I miss my friends laughter, I can't remember the last time we were all together. Time has divided us but memories keep us together. I even miss my crazy first wave family. "where theres a will theres a Willie Ney," I miss long rehearsals, I miss memorizing lines and performing. I miss just bust and even the first wave checkins with Kahaema. I miss fleeing to Katrina for understanding, helping me remember education cannot come in the way of my learning and/or my growth as a woman. (shell woman). I miss state street with all those badger fans in red,lol. I miss everyone at FOL church, Pastor Gee's sermons were always real and deep. "Don't half way pray to God, he doesn't give you a half way blessing" so true!

Some of the FW family, when we were on our way to England for CTW. Man that experience was amazing, I still think about it.

I miss family dinners, the time you get to see everyone in the family at one time other than at a funeral. I miss that; setting the table, cooking, eating, everyone full and laying around. I'm laughing at the thought of all of us full sitting on the couch. We even play games together:Pictionary, Gestures, and Scrabble...ahh I miss that. But I'm sure there not missing the Scrabble champ Leslie to much..me being away gives them time to practice. lol

Last years Thanksgiving. Man I miss all that food oh ya and my family too..lol

Eu saudade minha familia. ->I miss(bittersweet) my family.

Eu saudade meus amigos.-> I miss(bittersweet) my friends.

Lutada

So the end of October there was a four day festival called "Lutada." They have this tradition here were the freshmen are called "collouidos," the one thing I think it is the closest to in the US is fraternity and sorority but in public, not divided by sex but by what school they are housed in(science, pharmacy, letters, etc.), and its basically all month long until "Lutada" but they are still called collouido not by their real name.

When I first witness this tradition it was strange because they poured beer over this girl head in my residence halls. Then when my classes started as I walked to class I would see more and more "activities" taking place. Making them sing songs in public, act out plays, tie an upper-classmens shoe, hold hands and walked down the stairs together, wear pajamas all day, play tag, basically they did what ever their group leader would say or another upper-classmen(which usually is a person with a harry potter cap on which is called a toga but I prefer to call it harry potter clothes.lol) anyways i went to two events, the first one was basically tons of students drinking and acting crazy on the street. it started at 12am till 7am, it smelled so bad, after about 15 minutes of people watching, i headed home. the other event I cant remember the name but this one was during the day 4pm till i have no idea. The collouidos dressed up in different costumes and there was basically a chaotic parade with tons of stoping and chants. Also the upper-classmens were eating on some kind of vegetable that i dont know the name of, the same vegetable that a rabbit would eat. And the colluidos had buckets of candy or silly things like an empty can of shoe string, they tried to sell while there. Not sure what they did with the money but it was only like cents and they didn't seem at all serious about selling. I posted photos and videos below so you all can witness what I did.

My friends and I

Snapping a few pics of the collouidos in action

The beginning of the parade

the warriors

a man screaming on a bus stop

superheros

more students

the vegetable they were eating

Did I mention they collect patches here?

(brought me back to my childhood memories at camp voyager I use to love canoeing and archery..lol)

smile

Also big shout out to Jamillah: Happy birthday!!!

&

Congratulations to Ebani on her healthy baby girl Khamille.

I love and miss ALL my family

I'm smiling over here at their happiness

Praying

So I just found out that: In the United Kingdom they found explosive material package that had a destination in a place in the United States.

I picked the best time to come to Europe right? And this Christmas break I wanted to travel around Europe. The only thing worth doing is praying.

Praying for Haiti-There is a cholera break out going on that is killing many people and it has now spread to the capital city.

Sometimes I wish I had the heart for medical school so I can just be there for people. We all need help, especially medical help from a doctor. I wish I could be there, pack everything I have and just go. Just knowing that my extra pair of hands could help someone.

Contradictions

I’ve realize I haven’t posted any pictures of where I live. So below are pictures of my resident hall as well as the buildings and view around it. I live near the pharmacy school and biology classes. Also I live right next to an old antique church. I am beginning to become more aware of this contradiction of the city: old vs new. Traditional vs modern. I wonder how it will look 10 years from now, for some reason I believe it will still be torn like this. I mean not that the relationship is seen as bad, its just very obvious. Even in the people, on a daily bases the people I encounter are either students or an elder person (meaning like 70+). Sometimes on the bus I count them because I am so shocked how many there are, one time I counted 15(70+) people on the bus, on a regular bases I see like 7 or 8. The elder people here use the public transportation regularly, they still living their lives, which to me is motivational. When I reach that lovely age I’m trying to keep living and moving, not settle for my bed and a card game.

My resident hall


The old church right next to my resident hall (not in use)

Th new buildings, pharmacy school and other medical classrooms

To the right of the picture is another cantina=lunch room. also the hard cement benches they have..lol

The contradictions that exist here mirrors my feelings here: sometimes I like it here and sometimes I really don’t. It honestly varies I am loving the fact that I put this goal to study abroad and it is now my reality. Sometimes I feel scared when my goals and dreams come true. But the more my dreams/goals become a reality in my life and exist, the easier it is for me to think of new ones. I believe in them because God allows them to come true. And when one may not go my way or come true, it just wasn’t meant to be. I dislike that the student culture I have witness is something I really don’t want to be a part of. The student cultural I have witness is partying and drinking from 1am till 7am Tuesday and Thursdays. They party hard here, the first two weeks I experienced it but I honestly got burnt out and after self-reflection I realize it is something that “self” didn’t want to do it anymore. I had a desire to experience it and I also have a consciousness and a soul that deciphers that I really don’t want to participate. I guess I came here with an expectation that the student life would be different from Madison, the only difference are the drinks, times, music, and language.

I enjoy the people I have meet here. I really love the conversations I have been having. Understanding different cultural things about Europe, the similarities between countries as well as the differences besides the obvious: language. Learning about the different reasons for the other students to learn Portuguese as well as their first encounter with Portuguese. There are many Asian students in my class that express the job opportunities and how their families have moved to Portugal for work so they have followed as well to help or find a different job. The people from Timor here want to learn Portuguese because it is the official language in Timor but they speak another language(cant remember the name, sry). But I found that interesting, like does the government keep education away from the people? Is it hard to learn Portuguese in Timor? Like are their no teachers teaching it? I’m sure language represents power and the ones with power probably speak Portuguese and it’s a privilege to know it. I don’t know just guessing. I had no idea that Timor people spoke Portuguese, or that it is their official language.

I don’t enjoy the lack of art here. I feel like if I had more time here I could start like a dance club or an open mic or something, but I don’t have that much time here.(yeah!..lol) and I don’t want to start something I cant finish, I would feel bad about that. They have tons of partner dance classes like tango and salsa but im not really into partner dances. I like to watch and mess around with them here and there at like a party or something but I don’t want to devote time and money to it. Also there are ballet classes but there in academies so I have to enroll for a year and pay for a year and also I found some dance classes an hour away for meninos-little kids. Ya should have seen my face when I arrived there, the lady was like do you want to try out the class, I smiled at her and told her thank you but I will pass. I mean the kids were 6 and 7 years old skipping all around the room. But maybe when I go to Brazil I will be able to do more, who knows. I will try to come with no expectations, I see from experience here in Portugal that’s all wrong. You end up disappointed. I cant expect that Belo Horizonte will be my experience in Bahia, and I cant have those expectations. I have to go there with an open mind and willingness to try new things and new ways. I have a friend Caleb there now so I have been talking to him and he is just loving it there, he spent a whole year there, I kind of wish I spent one year there just because the first 3-4 months your finally feeling settle-made friends, u know were places are, you’ve traveled a little, school is going well, and then bam you pack up to leave. Lol. I mean I couldn’t do a year here in Portugal but maybe another part of Europe, like Holland(lol) that would be a great experience. There is soo much cultural there, man if it’s one place I recommend in Europe it is Amsterdam.

I like were I stay, the resident hall is really nice and the people are very nice and helpful. I am enjoying the food I am eating although I wish cereal boxes came in bigger boxes, I feel like I always purchase two just so I can use all my milk in enough time. I really love the pastries here, yeah bread has taken over my diet. For better or worse…lol

This and That

I must say my cooking skills have heavily improved. I have adapted to cook like Portuguese people here, which a typical dish is chicken, rice, and salad. Also I learned that an omelets is cooked anytime of the day, so I have become really good at making omelets. (Eggs are really cheap here).

Also,

The weather is changing here, its getting colder and the heat is not getting any stronger. So when it first got cold here in Coimbra I literally had 4 shirts on and two pairs of pants like everyday, but that was inside my room. Since they don’t believe in turning on the heat, yet there’s no type of heat circulating in the building. During the day its usually nicer outside than inside (weird right?) but now the heat works but only works for certain amount of hours. As I’m typing this at 2am the heat is off and won’t be back on till like tomorrow night. So when do I really feel the heat? Well approximately from 8-12, at 12 o’clock on the dot it shuts off. ;(

And I must add,

I have been missing art and feeling lose here without it. When I reflect on my old life in Madison: the bust schedule, rehearsals, meetings, classes, work, social life, performances, and DANCE!!! Man if its one thing I miss the most its DANCE, not just the class but the drummers, the people, the sweat, the way I felt after the class, I just miss everything about it. I had a slight experience like that when I went to Amsterdam and took dance classes but I need MORE. So I’ve been trying to do just that, dance! Its hard to find motivation though, get out of bed and dance by myself. (lonely)sounds a little crazy but I need it, my body misses the feelings dancing can bring.

ps Yesterday I finally woke up stretched for an hour and danced! it felt so good. I tried to do that this morning my my dance space (really the common area) was being in use, I guess I have to wake up earlier next time..lol

Aulas

One half of my classroom

Classes=aulas are going, sometimes I feel like I’m not learning anything and other days I’m excited and energize and feel like I am learning so much. But hey, that’s class anywhere right? The class structure is different here, for one there is none. People talk whenever the class subject goes from one thing to the next. I must say I prefer the structure in a classroom. It would be hard to be a language teacher especially my class because every student has different needs and are at different levels of Portuguese. Many of the students in the class are graduate students and are taking the course because they have a Portuguese boyfriend of husband. I feel like most of the stuff is all about what you do on your own time. I spent like three hours by myself studying Portuguese grammar and I felt like “wow I taught my self more than what my week of 30 hour classes have done for me” but I don’t know. I’m going to stay positive about my classes though, I mean sometimes I feel like I learn a lot and I am getting a lot from them. I really appreciate the professors because i know they have to explain many things two or three times. They have to help individual needs as well as class needs. The role of a teacher, so important.

ps. big ups to the teachers in my life:God, Mother, Grandma, (family in general), Casey, Doria, CW, Shvonne, Prof Sweet, Sims, Pastor Gee, Alicia, and Life. Thank you.

The bus stop I go to everyday :)

Visit to an Igreja

Today I went to visit a Igreja=church with my friend Fellipe. Igreja de baptista- Baptist church. Felippe pastor in brazil told him about this church because the pastor is also Brazilian. Service started at 11:00am but we had arrived a little early and there was some sort of bible study going on. After that the culto=service began with a song and then welcomed the visitors. The people who were visiting for the first time were asked to stand up and share their name, where they are from, and what brought them to Coimbra? I was a little nervous about speaking but I said “ Ola bom dia, meu nome Leslie Thomas, sou Americana e estou estudante aqui em Coimbra.” Good morning my name is Leslie Thomas, I am American and a student studying here in Coimbra. There were other Americans there as well, from Texas that came to do missionary work, The pastor brought them up and they talked for a little bit just about why they came here and one of the guys expressed that he had been wanting to come here and share the word of God.

After that we sang a few more songs and prayed and then the pastor came up and before he preaches he showed a video. He explained that the video was in English which is good for the Americans who cant speak Portuguese because his sermon is about the same theme as the song, forgiveness=Perdão. The song was very beautiful and powerful. I was thinking in my head I should create a dance to this song and share. Maybe. After the song the pastor began to preach about forgiveness, he started with questions what is forgiveness? He quotes some scripture and began to elaborate on the meaning. He also asked and addresses these questions as well: Who needs forgiveness? And why do we forgive? It was a special moment for me being in the church and listening because I could understand parts of his sermon. To listen in another language someone talk about Jesus was beautiful. It reminded me the power of language and also how important it is to communicate. For example what if I met someone who didn’t speak English and wanted to know about the Lord, I would I be able to talk to them? What would I be able to tell them? Deus é amor=god is love. There was still many parts that I didn’t understand, especially when he prayed. He spoke very fast and soft which made it difficult to hear and understand. But just being there felt good. Sometimes its alright not to understand everything, but to feel.

I feel motivated to study more Portuguese today. I feel inspired to try harder at learning grammar. My biggest problem with the language is grammatical errors. I remember how to make the word in the past and present, the problems is within past and present there is indicative, subjunctive, present perfect, past perfect, pluperfect simple(I don’t know what is is in English) and future. And that’s not even all the tenses that exist. Furthermore when people talk they usually don’t speak grammatically correct so I am learning how to speak well but I cant write what I speak because ite incorrect. Learning two things at once, but of course I am able to speak better than I can write..lol eu preciso fechado meu baco a vezes e só ler=I need to shut my mouth sometimes and just read. Lol

Out of the biaxo

I know I haven’t wrote in a while I apologize. It seems I do so much thinking in my head that I forget to express it on paper (well blog form) There so much I want to share I just get overwhelmed even thinking about it. A brief synopsis of the event that happen last week when I thought I would be homeless:

So when I arrived in Portugal I was arranged to stay in a residence hall call Teodoro. The first week it was just me on the first floor with no roommate, it was great. I began to meet new people that lived in the baixo=basement and these people would stay in the baixo for a few days or weeks and then find an apartment and leave. Or they would return to their home country. I met people from Australia, Italia, Brazil, Angola, and Spain. Well the following week after recieveing a room mate and getting to know her I was told I had to move in the baixo. Well let me tell you about the baixo. It is very dirty and no one cleans up because people are constantly coming and going. The bathrooms have tons of hair everywhere, trash is overflowing and it smells(because here in Portugal the sewage isn’t great so you have to through the toilet paper in the trash). There are ants that rule the kitchen everyday. Once I found out I moved downstairs I double checked with my program director Ana Paula and she told me this is correct because I am a mobility student(mobility and ERMUS-students from Europe) have to live down there. I explained to her that it was very dirty and I didn’t want to move. She told me there was nothing she could do because she doesn’t work for the residence halls(I know that) and that I should look for an apartment. Yeah she is very helpful. I barely see this woman, I think there shouldn’t even be a program director if they are not helping you. I mean help besides the financial parts and helping me with class (which she didn’t cause she was out of town). I don’t know, but it makes me want to start my own program or be a program director for a university or school because I know first hand what the students needs are. It’s hard to move to a completely different country and just JUMP right into a new culture. A person has many concerns and questions, but it’s hard to express to a program director if they appear not to care. But hey not everyone in the world wants to be your friend, and we all learn that. Easy or hard way. Back to the story, I moved to basement and then I started looking for an apartments. SUPER HARD TO LOOK FOR APARTMENTS. I mean signs are everywhere but I get so nervous and I worry about how I am speaking Portuguese on the phone. I seen a few rooms but they were not right for me or to expensive. A friend from brazil who just moved to Portugal for school as well asked me did I want to move in with her? I told her I’m only her for 6 months and she expressed that’s alright. Well the two problems were her house was far and expensive. But on the flip side it was super clean, nice, big, and I would have my own room. The best part was the bathroom, it was brand new and ha not only a shower but also bath tub. So after thinking about it I decided I would rather spend more money to live with people I know kind of well then move into a place with complete strangers. So I moved in and gave my keys to the old residence person. After putting all my clothes away and making my bed I began to put up pictures and make it feel more like home. Well to my surprise the next day the lady who invited me to live with her and her other roommate came to my door and told me they wanted to talk to me. Well, it was early in the morning and I hadn’t woke up yet, so after getting myself together I listened to what they had to say. They told me that it would be better for them if I found another place to stay because they are staying in Coimbra for 2 years. I was shocked! I just moved in and you want me to leave?? What kind of stuff is that? I was confused and kept asking them why? Like what do you mean? You knew I was only going to be in Coimbra for 6 months, what’s the big deal? Then they said “It may be hard to find someone to move in after you leave.” Yeah ok. Well after that I packed all my stuff and bounced. Left my key on the table and say tchau=bye. I took a cab back to the residence that I just left. The lady was surprised and I tried to explain to her the situation. I was so upset that I couldn’t even think straight. I asked my friend Natalia to help me explain the situation in Portuguese. The lady told me that because I gave her my keys I lost my spot in the residence hall and I would have to find somewhere else. Well where was I going to go now? Ugg man I was super stress and worried. I think because of this situation and the fact that I was already overwhelmed about everything in Coimbra and I just broke down (a little bit, I’m alright now). I sat down in silence for like half an hour trying to figure out something. My friend suggested that I should see the head lady of the residence halls, so we walked to her office. We had to wait because they were on lunch break. So after want felt like forever she came to her office and opened her office with open arms. She was so warm and nice, I felt really calm talking to her. After explaining the situation she was concerned and wanted to help me. She said that she could find another room in the baixo for me or I could move into Polo III. My friend told me that I would love Polo III and that it was very clean and nice. Its father than Teodoro but its alright. So just like that I became happy, I gathered all my things and moved into Polo III after I left her office. She told me if ever I needed anything even to talk that I could come to her office, I felt sincerity in her voice and I told her thanks and I would visit her. Polo III is really nice residence hall. Its like 5-6 min by bus and 10-15 by foot, but its perfect to me because its super clean! Everything is white in the inside, I mean except the kitchen and the commons areas(like harry potter) have beautiful bright colors. The kitchen is a bright green which always puts a smile in my face. I currently don’t have a roommate (cross my fingers it stays that way) and I have meet nothing but nice people. Vanessa and Felippe have been really kind to me, we have lunch and dinner together often. They are both from brazil, Vanessa is here for 6 months and Felippe is here for 2 years( I told him good luck, but he likes it here so he shouldn’t have any problems). Vanessa is a great cook! She cooks the most flavorful foods I have ever had, we had this pasta with cheese and spinach and she made the tomato sauce from scratch, ummm.. man almost better than my mommas food..lol not.

Well, things are good now! Classes started October 11 and already got my head spinning. I have a packet of homework and a test next week! I think I’m going to bring my cell phone and use the voice recorded for my terra Portuguese course which is Portuguese geography. I really enjoyed the class, its an intermediate class and my other classes are elementary, but within elementary there are 3 levels and I’m in 3 ;) I have Portuguese language, conversation, composition, laboratory, and Portuguese geography. However the laboratory class I don’t received credit for at UW Madison so that’s why I am taking the Portuguese Geography course. So the laboratory class is optional although my program person told me is a great class that I should take. It’s a class were you learn the sounding of each of the letters and how to speak “proper Portuguese.” I put it in quotes because what I am learning here is kind of opposite of what I learned in school and in Brazil. The Portuguese speak with there mouth fechado=closed and the Brazilian aberto=open. Its easy for me to have a conversation with a Brazilian and understand then Portuguese people. I don’t have to many Portuguese friends here to even practice understanding, and my professor’s speak slowly and clearly so I have no problem hearing them. I must admit I am counting the days I am in Brazil, but of course I am taking FULL advantage of my education here in Coimbra because it’s a great university with lots of HISTORY. Like the harry potters that walk around every day..lol ps. cant wait till November a new harry potter movie comes out!

I'm serious, there just missing wands. lol

Excuses me have you seen harry around?