Arapiraca (Ah-Rah-Pee-Raka)

This past weekend two fellow students from my graduate class invited me to visit their hometown, Arapiraca.  Arapiraca is the second biggest city in the state of Alagoas with about 250,000 inhabitants.  Not yet enough of a tourist attraction to make it in Lonely Planet; if they did have anything to say about the city I imagine it would sound something like this: Arapiraca possesses that unexplainable small-town charm.  Known for its plazas, many people choose relax on the romantic park benches shaded by vine-covered awnings.  While it is by no means has the draw of a big city, there are some attractions that visitors might want to check out while in town.  For example the Women’s Museum (Memorial Da Mulher), which was largely built in honor of Ceci Cunha, a politician who fought for social justice until she was murdered 14 years ago.  There is also a water park open on weekends with several pools, snack bars, and even some decent waterslides.  At night there are often free concerts in the various town squares.

The students in my graduate class aka my tour guides for the weekend, Rodolfo and Rosangela, are English teachers in Arapiraca.  They thought it would be a good opportunity for their students to meet a native speaker and for me to see a little bit more of Alagoas.  They live in Arapiraca and just drive the two-hour commute (each way) to Maceio 1-2 days a week to pursue their master’s degree.  After our class on Thursday Rodolfo drove me to Arapiraca.  That night I went with him to the institute where he works.  There he acts as a teaching assistant offering extra assistance to students who need it.   The students are all English teachers in the area though most of them rarely speak English.  In their classes they primarily teach grammar.  This is in part due to their fairly basic level of English and in part due to the large unruly class (classes usually average 40-50 students).  In the past English teachers were not required to actually know English.  Thankfully, though this is now starting to change. 

Though to change takes time and this problem is even more evident in Igaci, one of the small towns a mere 15-minute drive from Arapiraca.  Rodolfo’s family lives on a farm there and he is involved in a project to get the English teachers in the area to use more interactive strategies in the classroom.  So they focus on speaking and listening, rather than solely reading and writing.  I met with the English teachers there and many of them spoke limited English and explained that they struggled with speaking and listening as well.  I suggested some resources to help them improve their English and some English teaching strategies that I found successful when I taught in Colombia with my students who primarily had very basic levels of English.  Mainly I encouraged them to speak as much English as they could in and out of the classroom.  I definitely understand the challenges of learning a foreign language (as anyone who has heard me speak Portuguese can attest to), but practice makes perfect, right?

                             My Tour Guides for the Weekend
I also visited the university UNEAL where Rosangela works.   Students from all the different English classes and levels gathered to ask me questions.  Shy at first, after a few minutes, students opened up and asked me a slew of questions.  After almost 2 hours I felt as though I covered every topic imaginable.  I talked about everything from American food, to text message abbreviations, to education in the U.S.  I think I was the first American most of them have met.  It’s quite a daunting task to represent an entire country and culture (which is made of many other cultures) in the span of a few hours.  I tried to emphasize that I am no expert and my knowledge is of course limited to my experiences and my education.  I definitely don’t know everything, even something as seemingly simple as text message abbreviations.  Actually especially text message abbreviations; I think I was one of the last people of my generation to know what ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing, in case you were wondering).  So this year I have found myself learning about U.S. culture and the English language alongside students. 

 At UNEAL- after the Q&A session the cameras were busted out and after the group shot many students requested individual pictures with me  

Walking on Water, Turning Beer into Water

& other unusual discoveries in Brazil

My intention for this entry is to address the inevitable question, “So what’s different over there?”  (The second intention is to get my family and friends to stop saying “You know Rachel, you haven’t blogged in awhile . . .”  I figure a longer post will buy me more time)  I believe that there are some universal truths; it seems that everywhere in the world children know how to execute the perfect tantrum in a grocery store, and regardless of which city one is living in, they always have a semi-creepy old man neighbor who is never wearing a shirt (though really should be).  Apart from these similarities what is it that I find odd or different about Brazil?  Perhaps I should start by explaining the title. 

This is when the tide is "high" just imagine it low

Walking on Water:  As I mentioned in some previous posts, I am fortunate enough to live just a few blocks from the beach. As Iowa native Bill Bryson writes in his book The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, “When you come from the Midwest, the ocean is a thing rarely encountered.”  So I think I have my roots to thank for my great appreciation for the sea, and as you can imagine, I go to the beach quite often.  I thought I had seen it all but one morning I was shocked to discover people walking in the middle of the sea.  I promise I was not hallucinating; there is a reasonable explanation.  Every morning for about two hours or so the tide recedes.  There is a sandbank and so people will walk far into the ocean without fear of drowning or even getting wet.  From the shore it appears that these people are actually walking on water.  In fact, sometimes the tide is so low that people actually ride bikes out into the middle of the ocean.  I don’t believe even the Son of God attempted cycling on water.  

Turning Beer into Water, aka Light Beer: I’m not going to lie I am a fan of light beer.  However, Brazilian beer is just too light.  It’s not just that they have a light beer or some light beer options; all beer in Brazil is light.  I’m not saying that Brazilians are lightweights; they’re not your typical freshmen at the senior party.  Quite the contrary, the caipirinha is the national cocktail of Brazil.  They consist of cachaça (sugar cane rum), lime, and sugar and are normally served on the rocks.  They are anything but their weak watered down alcohol counterpart.  So what is with this disconnect?  Honestly, I’m not sure.  I may be missing a component here; for instance it is possible that Brazilians actually use beer to rehydrate, as an American would use water or Gatorade.  Or maybe beer is watered down so they can pace themselves and therefore party ‘til the sun comes up (which they do fairly often).  Even the way they serve beer is different.  Almost always when you order a beer from a bar or restaurant they will bring out a whole bucket filled with ice and several beers.  You drink as many beers as you want and only pay for the ones that you want.  This is a pretty smart idea actually since even if you only think you are going to have one or two beers you usually end up drinking everything in the bucket.  It’s convenient, and as we all know Americans love convenience so I may have a new business venture when I get back to the States.

       

Futevôlei: This is an incredible sport that combines soccer and volleyball; it looks exactly how it sounds.  Maybe you already know about it because apparently the sport has already made it to the U.S., in fact there is even a World Cup.  I like to pretend that the reason why I don’t know about American pop culture or recent trends is because I spend a lot of time abroad.  I’ve learned that you can only use that excuse so much.  For example, I was in Chicago this January hanging out with some friends when a song came on.  I mentioned that I know almost no new American hits after being out of the country for a year.  They informed me that the song was “Buy you a Drank” and that it has been out for 5 years.  So yeah, sometimes I’m just oblivious.  Anyway, just in case you are as clueless as I am, here’s what you need to know about Futevôlei or Footvolley.  The sport originated in Rio in the 1960s. It takes place on a sand volleyball court.  Instead of serving they kick the volleyball over the net.  Players are allowed the same amount of attempts to get the ball over the net they simply cannot use their arms or hands.  The ultimate play it seems is when a skilled player faces away from the ball then jumps in the air and kicks his leg high to connect with the ball and send it flying over the net.  You can check out the action for yourself at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFUEDsi42qg

 Elevators: (Warning: This is by no means life-changing or even really that interesting it just struck me as different) 

Every apartment building I have been in, in Brazil (which is quite a few thanks to my search for a place to live) has 2 elevators, no more, no less.  One elevator is “social” purely for people.  The other is “service” which is to be used if you have are transporting any pets up or down, or if for example you are moving.  Also almost all elevators here have 2 doors.  They have the typical sliding doors that one would see in the U.S., but in addition, there is a door you must swing open to enter or exit the lift.  This is apparently is to prevent people from absentmindedly walking into the elevator shaft before the elevator arrives and plummeting to a rather tragic death.  As a clumsy person (I regularly stub my toe, I have been known to fall up the stairs, and once I even walked into a sliding glass door) I for one am grateful for the added measure of security.

Style: Overall, I think Brazilians are very fashionable people, which is why I was surprised to see one style trend that looks like it was plucked out of the ‘80s and then tweaked by a designer who at the time was dropping acid.  I have seen Brazilian women everywhere in Maceió wearing these crazy, neon, floral-print leggings.  I think they are especially popular at the gym and at the beach.  Some women even have matching sports bras or tank tops so they turn into just one psychedelic blob.  And in anticipation of your next question, the answer is yes, I am definitely planning on buying a pair; you know what they say, when in Maceió . . . 

Sorry that these photos aren’t the best.  It’s hard to capture these outrages leggings on camera without looking too suspicious.  Also you can see that even some men don’t escape this fashion trend.  Fortunately, I have yet to see a man wearing one of those at the gym.