The past few weeks have flown by! It has felt so nice slowly developing a daily routine that I feel comfortable in. I have never been this far away from home before, and in the beginning, I was scared that all of the new things I was experiencing would never feel familiar to me. I couldn’t have been more wrong though, and now the streets that once felt so new to me are a sight I am reluctant to say goodbye to.
My mornings start off almost the exact same every day. Brazilians start their day very early (or Canadians start their day very late, as we have been told,) so I am slowly getting used to my alarm clock going off at 5:30, 6:00, or occasionally 7:00am. I start every morning with a hot mug of black coffee. Coffee culture is very big here (Brazil is the largest producer of coffee in the world), and so I will usually have at least 4 cups a day, but my morning coffee is the most important. I have tried lots of great coffee here, but the brand Rancheiro seems to be particularly popular and is what I use every morning to help wake me up. Breakfast, if I have time, is usually some eggs and lots of fresh fruit! The fruit I have been eating here is so incredible, and the variety is so much bigger than what I am used to in Canada. I have tried so many fruits that I had never tried before coming to Brazil, like cashew, cupuaçu, jabuticaba, açai, and more. Goiânia is not the most walkable city, so after breakfast, me and the other TAB girls here in Brazil will book an Uber to the school we are visiting for the day. Thankfully, the Uber rates here are very low, and split between the three of us can be as cheap as $0.65 CAD per trip
As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I have had the pleasure of visiting quite a few schools here in Goiânia. They are all fairly different from one another, but they do have some interesting things in common. Aside from the early start times, most of the schools I have been to have provided at least one meal to all of the students. These meals change every day and are surprisingly some of the best food I have eaten here. Usually, they consist of a combination of rice, a veggie, and some meat. I think it is incredible that all the students have equal access to healthy, filling meals. For some of the students, it is the only real meal they get during the day, and it contributes to the security of the school being a safe, welcoming place for them all.
The relationships between students and teachers are another thing I have noticed. In Canada, there is a very firm boundary set between students and staff, that cannot be crossed. Here, it is very, very common to see teachers hugging their students, kissing the tops of their heads, playing with their hair, and vice versa. The level of affection in general here in Brazil is much higher than I am used to in Canada, and it is one of my favourite things about Brazilian culture. I believe that this affection helps to create more comfortable relationships between students and teachers, based off of the level of enthusiasm and participation in class, as well as the emotional support I have seen in my observations. Most of the lessons I have “taught” here have been more conversational than anything. I have been able to teach a few English lessons on grammar and Canadian history, but usually, I let my students practice their English by having them ask me questions. I have really enjoyed this method of teaching since the students are so enthusiastic to speak with me and to learn about Canada! It is also worth noting that almost nobody at any of the schools can say my name properly, so I have adopted the Brazilian name “Julie.” That is what everyone calls me when I introduce myself as Gillian anyway, and I have become very fond of my new name!
In the evenings, we get to unwind a bit. My social life here in Goiânia is better than it has ever been in Canada, and I will definitely miss feeling so popular. The three of us will usually take some “introvert time” to scroll through social media, watch something on Netflix, and work on our assignments for class, before meeting up with our friends to go to a soccer game, watch a movie, or grab some dinner at a local restaurant. I have a whole blog post about my favourite foods here in Goiânia, and so it is pretty difficult to find a restaurant with foods I don’t like on the menu. The sun sets at around 6:30PM here, and once it gets dark here, the temperature becomes much more tolerable for me. Soccer games have quickly become one of my all-time favourite activities here! I am not much of a sports person, but the energy at the games we have been able to go to is incredible! Not to mention, tickets cost around $7 CAD for a full night of excitement.
Since our days start so early, we try to be in bed by around 11PM. I am not always the best at this, but I’ve always got my morning coffee to perk me up in the morning, so it’s fine