October and the Final Weeks

I know it's been a month since I updated my blog, but I've basically been up to the same old stuff. I'm just going to talk about a few things I did this month and then talk about my plans for the remaining 2 1/2 weeks.

Oral Development Course- we wrapped up this course with the English teachers just last Saturday. Everyone said that the course was very beneficial and that they really enjoyed it. Hopefully this course continues next year as I think it was very useful and was also a great way to connect with other teachers.

Master's Class- I've still been plugging away on my assignments. I like the teacher a lot and I feel like I am learning a lot about gifted learners from the course too. The class officially ends on November 30, so I'll still have some work to do once I get home.

Lectures- Our final lecture was over gun policy and gun violence in the US. It was especially interesting for the people who came because they had a presidential candidate who wanted to put more guns into the hands of the people and it has been a huge topic of debate.

Conversation Clubs- During the last few clubs, I have taught my students how to play Taboo, we talked about music history in the US, and we talked about recipes. I had them bring in a recipe to translate into English and we also talked about measurements and abbreviations. I think it was useful for them as they always wanted to talk about food, but didn't know exactly what they wanted to talk about. Our last conversation clubs will be next Monday and Wednesday. I have the last week off so I have time to pack and say goodbye to everyone.

Holiday- We had a holiday from Oct 12-15. I hadn't planned on traveling anywhere so I instead spent the entire weekend with Maraina and her family. I ate way too much food and they still sent me home with an entire sack full of food and cake. It was nice having people to hang out with over the holiday as my other plan was just hanging out at home and ordering in food.

Election- As you may or may not know, the presidential election just happened in Brazil. Bolsonaro is now the new president. Most of my friends are absolutely heart broken as they believe this president will send them back in history to the military dictatorship. My LGBTQ+ students have said that they are now scared for their lives as bullying and threats have increased towards them. Women are terrified. Black people are scared as well. All minorities are worried that their rights and lives will be taken from them during this presidency. I'm really worried about what Bolsonaro will do to this country and how this will affect the world. Trump also commented that he endorses Bolsonaro and is glad he was elected; Brazil made the right choice. I wonder how much more hate and death will spread throughout the world if countries keep electing leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro. It's a very sad time here in Brazil.

Trick or Treating- Yesterday I was able to take some of my students Trick or Treating around campus. They had asked other courses like the Portuguese course and the Tourism course to bring candy for our students to get while trick or treating. The candy they pick up will then be donated to an orphanage and a low-income school here in Apucarana. Most of the students forgot to bring candy, but we are doing it again today, so hopefully there will be a better outcome. It was still a lot of fun and my students did a great job dressing up in their costumes. I spent two days making my outfit. I decided to be a brigadeiro since it's one of my favorite foods here in Brazil. Everyone laughed once they figured out what I was and they thought the costume was amazing. I had a lot of fun making the costume and also trick or treating for the first time in a while.

2 1/2 weeks left! I'm sad because I am going to miss my friends and students here in Brazil, but I also miss my family a lot and can't wait to be back for Thanksgiving. In the remaining weeks, I'll finish my conversation clubs, finish teaching my classes with 1st and 3rd year, have two Thanksgivings- one with Maraina's family and one with my students, I'll celebrate my birthday, I'll pack up all my stuff, and then I'll head home. I'm not excited about my flights as it will take me 23 hours to get home with my awfully long layovers, but it'll feel great to be home. I'll spend one night in Kansas City with Claire and Zach and then I'll head to Lincoln. I can't wait to see you all soon!