Public Schooling

So all of those wonderfullll comments have motivated me to write more. Hehe!

So last week I decided to tag along with my host mom to the class she teaches at one of the public schools. (Adolf Kepler) She had told me earlier that she teaches the 8th grade, which is nearly equivalent to the 8th grade in the USA. (same work) That day she asked me to go along because it was near the end of the year and they were going to eat snacks and watch a movie. Well, to be totally honest, my host mom is an absolute workaholic. She is the owner of a store during the day and works there and during the night, she goes straight from the store to teach classes at 7PM and the classes end at around 10:30PM. So the day that I went with her to her classes she was running really late because she was working so hard in the store. (30 minutes late or so) So when I entered the classroom with her, everyone was already there waiting. And of course, I was expecting a bunch of noisy little 8th grade kids, ya know? Well, there was about 15 adults and maybe 2 kids, and they were noisy all the same. So I thought, okay...maybe I just misunderstood my host mom. So I just sat down and everyone in the room was staring at me like an alien, due to the fact that my host mom told them I was an American exchange student. After a while I was really curious about how this could be an 8th grade class, I honestly thought I misunderstood and that this was really some extra course for overachievers or something. So I asked the person in front of me what grade this was again. And he told me 8th grade. So then I just kept my mouth shut until the end of class. We watched "The 40 year old virgin". Then after class I asked my mom about it. So here's the story: Yes, it is 8th grade. Yes, they do the same work as 8th graders. And yes, the oldest person in this class is in his 50's.

And this is why they are old geezers in an 8th grade class...

-Some of them lived in the "interior" when they were kids. The interior is were few people live and there are no schools. So now they have moved to the cities and work in factories during the day and study at night. Some actually want to learn and graduate. Some.
-Some of them were in families that were very poor. When they were children they didn't have time to go to school. Instead, they worked for their family.
-The majority of them were just lazy and just didn't go to school at all. But there is a rule/law that says if you work in the factories here in the city you have to attend classes or something. So this is basically worthless, because these people come to class not wanting to study or learn...they go just because they have to in order to work in the city in the factories. So they are extremely distracting in class and they talk the whole time. And make noise. And yes, they are ADULTS.

The few people who actually want to study at the school I have A LOT of sympathy for. Many of them live outside the city and they walk every single night to and from class. They walk a verrrrry long way just to study and learn. Miles. In the dark. Every night. This is such a big problem I think.

During the break time countless "students" were drunk, smoking, or wasted. Completely normal, my host mom told me. And I'm not exaggerating.

My host mom gets countless threats from her students when they are doing bad in her classes. She has the authority to pass these students in her class, but students get mad when she is about to fail them. They make threats. About taking keys and scrtaching her car and hurting her family if she doesn't pass them. She has even received threats about them burning down her store.

But there are the students who want to learn. And make a living. And these people are the ones I feel very bad for.

Summer has arrived!

Well, it's been a while since I have written. But this is because I feel like no one reads my journals. =( Comment please if you read it! Then, I will feel inclined to write more often! =)

Sooo summer has definitely arrived here! A few days ago it was up to 104 degrees. Yes, you would think I died, but I really did survive. And this is the beginning of summer.

I will be traveling a lot this month. I will be taking a trip to the ocean with family and family friends after christmas for a week. Then, in January I will take the January Rotary Trip. I will get to travel to many cities all over Brazil...very excited about this. I'm sure I will return to my city completely black from the sun...haha! If you want to look at the trip program: http://www.terrabrasil.com/site/index_i.php?pagina=mostra_ingles/mostra_prog_viagem.php&cod_viagem=8

I did take a very short trip to Argentina a few weekends back. it was only for one day, but it was exciting! I went to a small city called "Obera". Very close to the border of Brasil/Argentina. My mom invited me along because she went with Christian to buy drinks and things because they are very cheap there. I have a few pictures on my picture site! (which by the way i did update this week)

-It's odd having Christmas in this weather.
-Brasilians always eat peaches with the skin pealed off.
-I called my mom and sister for the first time in 4 months a few weeks back. COOL!
-I have/use MSN Messenger here, so add it and talk to me! My MSN messenger address is: Rachasaurusrex@hotmail.com (just for messenger)