The dilemma of raising children in Brazil

Write on the board the word MORALS
They stole the chalk, teacher!

I'm a little behind, but this article was circulating Facebook a while back:

http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/educacao/o-dilema-da-criacao-dos-filhos-a-etica-compensa

Now I can't say I've "studied" the article, nor that my quick scan of it has allowed me to fully understand the depth of the issue.  But I can say that I think I get the main idea, which is that Brazilian parents face a significant challenge while trying to raise their children.  Parents want to (and have the responsibility to) teach their children values, but they are doing so within a country where the "Lei de Gerson" (take advantage of everything and everyone whenever you can).  Essentially, those of us living in Brazil know that you really have to be looking out for number one here, because it really is a dog-eat-dog world.  The expectation is that others will take advantage of you.  They will take your son's stuffed animal one minute after it falls out of his bedroom window (true story, unfortunately).  Salespeople will over charge you for inferior products.  Those trying to buy a car will try to falsify documents (hence, the elaborate laws around verification and the existence of Cartorios).   They will throw trash in front of your apartment.  Elected officials steal money without shame.  Now, I realize that I'm speaking in generalizations, and there are exceptions, and there are many, many Brazilian citizens who are making the hard choices to be think of others before thinking of themselves.  But the article interviews parents who are afraid that if they teach their children morals, if they teach their children to obey laws, to follow the rules, to be honest, that their children will fall behind.  Parents fear that their children will be taken advantage of if they don't learn how to operate within the reality of the society.  So which is better, to uphold a higher morality, or to teach your children to be shrewd and successful within a culture of corruption?

As a foreigner with children, and as a teacher working in a school, I find this a particularly interesting challenge, and a cultural issue.  I'm not trying to make a value judgement here (I could, but I will avoid).  But I think that we face a difficult situation.  I want my children to grow up to be honest, responsible citizens who care for those around them.  And yet, we live in a culture where we are daily faced with a multitude of examples of dishonesty, irresponsibility, and a total lack of respect for others. How do I reconcile this?

And apparently the "levar vantagem" (take advantage of) came from this:

Vale Verde

Bea's class went on a field trip to Vale Verde, and it just so happened that it was on a day when it didn't conflict with my teaching schedule. So I offered to go as a Mom/Teacher. I've wanted to go ever since I read about it here.  It is an ecological "park" built and maintained by Vale Verde, a company that makes cachaça.   I'd heard it is beautiful, has good food, and has some fun activities for children. I was excited to go.

But I neglected to really prepare myself for the fact that it was a field trip. Thankfully I know all the kids, and so I knew where the challenges were going to come from.  But we started off on the wrong foot by forgetting one of the children at the school. And the money. Thankfully we were only 5 minutes away, but turning the tour bus around proved to take an extra 20 minutes, and made us all feel nauseous.  Bea's teacher got sick on the bus, and the other parent chaperones were good for nothing, so I ended up helping kids get to the bathroom on the bus (the kids were so amazed by the bus bathroom, they all had to try it out!), get water, break up fights, etcetera.  Needless to say, I was feeling a little motion sick by the time we arrived.

line up, line up...

touring the grounds

snake!

snack

The grounds of the park are nice and very landscaped.  They were actually making cachaça while we were visiting:  you could smell the fermenting sugar, and I saw lots of steaming copper distillery thingys. I don't know the names because we bypassed the cachaça museum, which is too bad, because I think some samples would have helped me enjoy myself more....

thingys

barrels of cachaça

The kids played in the playground, played with clay, looked at the animals in the very small zoo they have, and took a little walk around the grounds.  They got a snack.  They listened to a storyteller and then made a finger puppet, and then it was time to go home.  We ran into traffic, and the teacher got sick again.

It wasn't my favorite day, but like I said, I should have known better. I also realize I didn't get to see all that Vale Verde has to offer, but to be honest, I don't think I'd return. First of all, it's about an hour away from Belo Horizonte (traffic). But then it's expensive:  it's about R$20 to get in, but then you have to pay for all the extras (fishing, ropes course, riding that plastic globe thing in the water where you kind of look like a hamster in a hamster ball, horse rides, trampoline, etcetera), and then you have to eat there, which I can only imagine is expensive.  I know I shouldn't complain about the price of things, but in my opinion, if I'm going to drive an hour outside of the city and pay upwards of R$100 a person for the experience, it better be darn well worth it.  Vale Verde has a promotion going on right now with Peixe Urbano, and I know that if you have an Itau account you can get half price tickets.  But considering the distance, the cost and what they have to offer, I honestly don't find it worth it.  

http://www.valeverde.com.br/

Festa Junina

June is over, and so are most of the Festa Junina parties.  I've blogged about them before.  They are a big part of the culture, and a part of every school's calendar.  The party is a big deal at Maple Bear, and families tend to spend a lot of money on outfits, especially for the girls.  This is VERY different from the artsy-fartsy school we went to, where the children made their own costumes.  Since I'm a cheap "make it yourself" kind of person, I opted to create Beatrice and Sebastian's outfits.

Reflections on culture: School Performances

I realize that many of my recent posts have been rather on the "fluff" side.  So I thought I'd venture into the subject of culture.  I realize this is a rather larger topic, with potential to irritate readers.  But I feel a bit irritated, so you can join me.  I'm going to focus in on what I've perceived as one cultural expectation that I have perceived in Brazilian private schools.  Here we go.

As y'all know, I'm a music teacher at a Brazilian private school.  I teach in English (thank God!  Can you imagine the mess it would be if I were to teach in Portuguese??!)  I love my job, and I love the opportunity to influence students, to enjoy music with them, and even sometimes hear them say "that was fun!" or "I learned something!"  One thing I DO NOT like about my job are the performances.  After 3 years of wanting to pull my hair out from the frustration that I experience with these performances, I finally this week realized that it may have something to do with Brazilian culture and expectations.  As an American (and as a parent and educator), I do expect that my children would participate in some kind of performance at their school.  My expectation for preschoolers (age 3 to 5) is that they would hopefully be able to stand in front of a small group of parents and family members and just do something.  Clap.  Move some body part.  Shimmy or shake.  MAYBE move their mouth and have some kind of sound come out.  But for me, just seeing them doing something is enough.  Since I am American (and a parent and educator), I bring these expectations with me to my job here in Brazil.  My first year teaching, I was asked to help the Kindergarten class prepare for their graduation.  Naively, I agreed, making the assumption that it would be a cute little song with some motions performed for the families.  Boy, was I wrong.  I should have known by the professional invitations, professional memory books, and tailored caps and gowns. 

My culture says school performance 

= 

educational, enjoyable for the children, simple

Brazil private school culture says school performance 

=  

ESPECTÁCULO and SHOW.  

School performances (from my perspective) in Brazil are not really about the children.  They are about pleasing the parents (after all, who is paying the bill).  And parents want to see their kids singing and dancing.  Even though their 3 year old doesn't speak in complete sentences and will only obey when bribed with cookies, somehow the expectation is that their little João Felipe Pedro II is going to be AMAZING.  There will be live music! There will be props!  There will be elaborate choreography!  

Obviously, I can't get on board with this.  For 2 years, my mantra has been "developmentally appropriate."  It's not "developmentally appropriate" to expect a preschooler to perform in front of a group of 500+ strangers.  It's not "developmentally appropriate" for young children to be able to sing songs written for adults.  It's not developmentally appropriate for preschoolers to sing and dance simultaneously.  But all my talking has been for nothing.  Because I'm dealing with culture. It is part of the culture to have/value/participate in "shows."  It's part of the culture that celebratory events would be extravagant.  And it's especially part of the culture that you plan for something WAY bigger than you can pull off, with the hopes that it would miraculously come together (and often times, it does!)  All this didn't become crystal clear to me until I had the chance to speak briefly with a Canadian education specialist that has been visiting the schools.  She shared about this same phenomena occurring at other Maple Bear schools in Brazil, and how she has finally had to realize that these expectations are part of the culture.  And even if the expectations are crazy and developmentally inappropriate, they are culture.  We North-Americans working in Brazil can't expect research and logic to trump culture.  I suppose it would be like a Brazilian going to the US and scheduling a major test for 2nd graders on November 1st.  It might be the best time to give a test, the children might be ready, and it might be convenient.  But there's no way that any parent would deny their child the chance to participate in Trick-or-Treating or a Harvest Festival or whatever celebration your family enjoys on October 31st.  

So, here I am.  I'm trying to figure out how to operate within this culture that I have chosen to live in. By no means do I want to try to whip these little 4 year-olds in to shape so they can be singing like Mary Poppins.  And by no means do I want to work myself to the bone in the next month.   I haven't quite figured out how to merge these two cultures, so right now I'm just hanging out in the clash.  But I'll keep you posted.  

Sweltering

http://www.southfloridatheatrescene.com/2009/07/scene-for-july-10-2009.html

Oh my.  It is hot.  I've always told people that Belo Horizonte is the San Diego of Brazil.  The temperature generally is around 75 degrees.  But this past week has been miserable.  It's been hovering around 30º Celsius/86º F, and we had rain last week, so it's been horribly humid.  The thermometer may say 85º, but it feels like 95º.  Keep in mind that air-conditioning is very rare.  There are some stores, the mall, the movie theater, some university classrooms and some cars (thankfully ours!) that are air-conditioned.  But for the most part, we just have to suffer through it.  Fans help a bit, but really, everybody is just sweating profusely.  

I'm NOT looking forward to going to work today.  First of all, I have to walk uphill with my backpack full of supplies.  I'd drive but parking is impossible, and besides, Matt is taking Sebastian to his futsal (soccer) practice.  Then I get to teach 3 classes of about 20 preschoolers in the morning, and then 3 classes of 20 preschoolers in the afternoon.  The classrooms are upstairs, and essentially saunas.  My classes involve dancing/jumping/stomping (think, "what do 4 year olds really like to do?").  But these 20 preschoolers are hot and grumpy, and so they tend to not want to follow directions and cause all sorts of discipline problems.  So imagine me with sweat pouring down my legs, hair all frizzed out, trying to herd a class of hot kids.

Phew!

Back to School

It's February, and that means back to school in Brazil.  As a reminder for my North American readers, we are in the Southern hemisphere, so it is the end of summer here.  Vacation is over.  It's time to go back to bad traffic, more noise (thanks to traffic), and back to work. 

Well, almost.

As I mentioned in my last post, most things just go on hold between Christmas and Carnaval.  And Carnaval happens to fall during the 2nd week of school here.  So really, REALLY things don't get back to their normal routine until after Carnaval.  But that's okay with me:  I don't mind easing my way into the school year, breaking it up with a 5 day weekend at the beginning.

What does back to school here mean?  I've mentioned before that most Brazilians with the means pay to send their children to private schools.  Quality public schools exist, but for the most part your local neighborhood public school is unfortunately not very good.  The teachers are underpaid and overworked, the facilities are in disrepair, resources are lacking, and unfortunately expectations are low.  So, most middle class Brazilians have to decide which private school their child will attend.  By late January,  most people have figured out where their children will study.  The application process starts back in August/September, which involves paperwork, paying application fees, and usually having your child take a test to see if they will "make it" in said school.  However, sometimes a child doesn't pass the test, and so the process continues until you can find a school that works for you.   This is what happened for Sebastian's best friend, and just last week his parents got everything in order for him to study at a different school. 

Then once you decide the school and are accepted, you have to pay a full month's tuition in advance.  In Belo Horizonte, private school tuition runs between R$600 to R$1600 a month, with the American School being twice that amount (but the American school is "full" day, from 7:30 am to about 3:30 pm, or a traditional North American schedule).  But most schools will be about R$900 a month.  The school day will be between 5 to 6 hours a day, either a morning shift or afternoon shift.  I'd like to say that most young children (before 6th grade) study in the morning, and old kids in the afternoon, but it varies from school to school.  Also, education starts at a much younger age in Brazil than in the US:  usually children will start at age 2 or 3, and it's very rare that a child would wait until they are 6 (1st grade) to start school. 

After you pay, you then get the pleasure of paying more, for uniform and books/materials.  Uniforms can run between about R$25 a piece to R$50 a piece (piece means part of the uniform).  My kids always want me to buy the jackets and accessories, but I have to stop the madness somewhere.  I don't want to give you a heart attack and tell you the grand total of what we spent on materials/books, but I will tell you that Dora had LOTS of books, and they were between R$60 and R$125.  You have to buy ALL their text books, ALL their materials (notebooks, pencils, paper, EVERYTHING).  Beatrice had a list of materials for her kindergarten class that was crazy--paintbrushes, clay, cotton balls, cream of tartar, sand paper, playdough, construction paper, masking tape, etcetera, etcetera.  Thankfully I got the teacher [free] discount, and I didn't have to shell out the R$500 for all that stuff. 

The other fun thing about back to school shopping is the stores.  There are normally long lines, problems with the cash registers, extended coffee breaks taken by the employees that make for even longer lines, and lack of actual material to buy ("what?!?  The paper store is out of paper?!")   But then you add thousands of parents descending on the stores the last few days of summer vacation and you have insanity.  Just stay away from bookstores in the month of January and February, if you are wise. 

I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I finish getting all the kids school supplies.  I like to do it myself, and shop around (love me a bargain), and one things that I've found SO helpful is Google images.  Often times you get a list with something like "Pasta catálogo com 50 plásticos" or "TNT," and there just isn't an entry in the dictionary that can help you find out what the heck it is your supposed to get.  Doing a Google Image search for "TNT Brasil Escola Material" will help you realize that there is no need to blow up your child's school.  :-)

But on a positive note, it's my 3rd year of teaching.  I really, really like teaching.  And I think that I'm pretty good at it.  And now that I've done this back to school thing a few times, I don't feel so stressed.  I'm going to be teaching "ala carte" this year (i.e. I don't have a classroom), but I'm okay with that.  I'm looking forward to seeing my students again, and having fun with them. 

Countdown to the end of the year and a brush with fame

I'm getting a little tired of using my blog to vent about just how busy thing are.  But, this is my life.  Three kids.  Working.  Living in a foreign country.  Studying Portuguese.  It is very full.  We've run out of Brazilian holidays until Christmas, so now everyone is just "suffering" until the end of the year.  The weather has gotten worse (think "hot" and "humid").  Traffic seems worse (at least to me, since I'm driving the girls to and from school every day).  And then there is the realization that the end of the year is coming, so everyone has to finish all the stuff they've been putting off all year.  I'm a little bit angry about this, since my oldest daughter is someone supposed to miraculously complete 6 projects (areas of study, like "Mesopotamia" and "Protists") in 10 days.  Arg.

But!  Vacation is coming!  Christmas!  13th Salary!  School is out for summer!  No more driving across town!  Time with family!  A trip to the beach!  Just as long as we can all keep this in mind, we are going to get through it.  Right??!

And, on a totally different note, guess who my husband saw on his flight today? 

My son knew right away.   Of course he plays for the wrong team (according to my son), but I know he's going to tell all his friends at school on Monday.

Uniforms

Uniforms are important in Brazil.   Almost all students wear school uniforms, and of course the teachers wear uniforms also.  Dora and Bea's school (Escola da Serra) does not require a uniform, and actually prides itself in the fact that they the students get to wear what they want and express themselves with their fashion choices.  When we first moved here, I thought "Great!  One less thing I have to spend money on."  Because, like most things in Brazil, school uniforms are pricey.  But the thing that I didn't really consider was that school uniforms are about the same price as clothing (jeans, shirts, etcetera), but it's okay if they don't look sparkling white, or if they get stained or little holes.  Because they are uniforms, and they are meant for those kind of things.  After a few months at their school, which is also known for it's great arts programs, I found that the children's clothes were taking a real beating.  Schools here love to have kids use Caneta Soft Point Ponta Porosa, and it stains their hands and their clothes like CRAZY.  And the sad thing is that it isn't permanent, meaning that the ink doesn't stay on books, plastic, pens, and other important things you want to label.

curse you, Caneta Ponta Porosa!

We lost several items of clothing to Caneta Soft Point Ponta Porosa. 

Then there was the roughhousing.  That cost Sebastian a few shirts (ripped).  Make-up day (stains on Bea's dresses, not to mention a rash to her sensitive skin).  The massive painting projects for various events.  The kids clothes looked pretty bad by the end of the school year. 

So I decided that 2012 was going to be different.  Sebastian has to wear a uniform at Maple Bear, so that was easy.  A little pricey up front, and we are still adding pieces to his wardrobe, but I already notice that his "nice" clothes are still looking nice.  Because he doesn't wear them to school!  Beatrice and Dora now have to wear school shirts to school, or old clothes.  We had purchased one school shirt for them for field trips, and from the various events (Semana Olimpica), they've built up a collection of school shirts.  I'm also noticing the different with them too!  Their school shirts look like junk, but the cute shirts that Grandma bought, and the nice dresses that we found for US$3 at Goodwill are looking great! 

And, I've broken down and I've now joined the ranks of the uniformed.  I requested that Maple Bear provide me with a shirt, and I got my own special ones:

Hi cute little Maple Bear, holding a Canadian flag!

oh yeah.

Not only do I get to save my clothes, but I get the respect of wearing the uniform.  I'm not just this random non-Portuguese speaking teacher that wanders around the school.  I am the music teacher.  I never would have gotten so excited about something like this in the states (I HATED uniforms, and never wanted to wear them unless I absolutely had to).  But here, it's part of the culture, and a way to get respect and be recognized.  And I'm liking it. 

Unfortunately, they only got me 100% polyester shirts.  This music teacher works up a sweat in my class, jumping, moving to music, handing out recorders, and generally just being busy trying to keep the kids under control.  And my classrooms tend to not be very well ventilated.  And now I'm wearing polyester.  I don't think my uniforms are going to smell very good for very long.

Mangosteen and Groselha

Hi there.  I teach at one of the campuses on "Fruit Day."  Fruit Day is common for preschools here (from what I can tell; it's done at Maple Bear and at Escola da Serra).  Kids bring some kind of fruit from home to their class, and then the teacher talks about the name of the fruit, the color, if anyone has tried it, etcetera.  Then the teacher cuts it up the fruit and serves it to the kids.  It's a great teaching tool, and it helps the kids to try different kinds of fruit (peer pressure works for 4 year olds).  I've decided that this year I'm going to do a better job at looking at the leftovers from fruit day, and trying some of the bounty. 

Today, I tried two first.  The first was Mangosteen:

http://www.onlyfoods.net/mangosteen.html

 

I'd heard about Mangosteen before.  Back when I used to go to the YMCA in Tempe, there was a poster for Mangosteen Juice right in front of the stair master.  So I'd stare at the poster while I was working out (apparently it's super healthy).  The casca (peel) is SUPER yucky.  The ladies who clean the school got a good laugh when I started spitting out the peel.  But the white, inside part is very sweet and a little creamy. 

I also tried groselha:

http://www.ulicafotograficzna.pl/pt/foto/3353/

I found it to be a bit sour, and kind of watery, but I would eat it again.  Any guesses on what we call this fruit in English? 

the saga of Transpore Escolar, part 2

Ug.  Our motorista did not show up at 12:30 yesterday.  I tried calling him all morning (on all three of his phone numbers) but there was never an answer.  Of course in retrospect, I realize that I should have called him on Friday, Saturday and maybe even Sunday to make sure all the details were clear.  My Portuguese is improving, but it's still not 100% trustworthy.  Especially with these kind of the details.  I had to drop Matt and the girls off at their school (it was too early to drop the girls off by themselves) and then drive across town with Sebastian.  And then drive home at the end of the day.  Boo.

But, the funny thing is that the motorista did show up at 1:05 and spoke with our empregada.  Then my husband called him later, and made arrangements for him to come today.  I guess he wasn't clear on the time.  So we're going to try it again.  Oh please, let him come today.  I'll let you know.

the saga of Transporte Escolar

I shared last year about our decision to move Sebastian to the school where I work.  Way back in September when I enrolled him, I asked the school's van driver if he could drive Sebastian.   School transportation is one of those realities that one has to deal with here.  If you have the ability, you send your kids to private schools.  But, private schools don't offer (free) transportation.  I wonder if free public transportation for school children is a phenomena unique to the United States.  So if you can't walk to school or take the kids yourself, you have to hire a van.

Most of the time, these vans are operated by people who are not associated with the schools.  In Belo Horizonte, you can go the BHTrans website and find companies that work with your child's school and service your neighborhood.  However, Sebastian's school has it's own van (kind of).  The owner's husband purchased a van, and he can be hired to pick up and drop off your child.  How convenient!  I already knew the guy, he knows the school, he's good with kids.  Great.

So, back in December, I talk to him, and he tells me that they are probably going to have to buy another van, but again he reassures me it's no problem.  This is when I should have been worried.  And it very well may have been that he was giving me some big, Brazilian clues (inferred, implied) that I should look into other options.  However, I'm not Brazilian.  And my Portuguese does not include inferences and subtle hints.  And Mineiros (Brazilians?!?) don't like to say no.  So I took him for his word.  He told me to contact him in January.  I got his email.  And like a good and responsible mom, I emailed him in January, assuming that it was still going to be "no problem." 

He mentioned that he needed to make another route, and he would be in touch with me.  Again, I should have seen the warning signs.  But at this point I was still in the states, and I didn't know what else I could do.

We returned to Brazil two days before school started, so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to figure this out for the first day.  I had already planned to drive to Sebastian to school (especially since I would be working there the first day).  After teaching, I searched out the van driver, and tried to get an answer from him.  And finally he was straight answer:  there wasn't room in the van.  They needed another van.  He didn't know when that was going to happen.  Then I started to panic--did he know anyone who could help me?  Any suggestions, and he said he would help.  At least as far as I could understand.

The next few days I probably made 50 different phone calls.  I called all the numbers on the BHTrans website.  I wrote down every number of every van I saw in the general vicinity of the school.  I called friends asking for help.  I talked to parents.  And all the while I was calling the van driver, asking for help.  No luck.  I also spent between 2 and 3 hours each day driving across town to get Sebastian to and from school.  Traffic has gotten worse.  It was not fun.

After a week and a half, the driver tells me that they have an opening in the evening, and he can take Sebastian home from school.  Great!  I asked when he thought he'd get Sebastian home.  "Oh, about 7:30 pm."  An hour after school is done.  Not great, but not bad.  Unfortunately it ended up taking almost 2 hours for Sebastian to get home.  We started getting worried, and Sebastian was miserable.  And I don't blame him:  who wants to spend that much time in a van?!

I spent another few hours making phone calls, and realized that we were going to have to go the route of a motorista (driver).  I'd heard other people talking about drivers, and always thought, "I'd never be one of those kind of people."  Well, never say never.  On Friday, I finally talked to a motorista that wasn't charging an arm and a leg, and said he was willing to do it.  So, hopefully tomorrow we'll be testing out this driver, and Sebastian and I will be riding across town in the comfort of someone else's car.

What have I learned from this?  Unfortunately, I think that I've learned that I need to be a little more careful in trusting promises.  I probably should have learned this based on the vazamento experience.  I also (again) have realized that I need to continue to work on my Portuguese.  I wish I could say that I've also realized that "it will all work out in the end," because it always does (by some miracle).  But in this case,  I just feel more frustrated than thankful that it has "worked out."  But, if it all does work out, I can feel good that I was able to make all those phone calls in Portuguese and actually be understood!

I love the mountains...

We were hanging out with family the other day, sharing some stories, and I remembered a "blog-worthy" story.  Always looking for good material.





As you know, I teach music at Maple Bear Canadian School to young children.  I love my job.  I love the kiddos.  I'm always on the look out for different songs to teach them.  A few months ago, I was brainstorming a list of songs that I had learned as a child, and I remembered this one:

 

Any one else remember this one?   We sang it at Church camp and I think I sang it at school with my 2nd grad music teacher.  Cute, simple, harmless.  Right?  So I started teaching it to one of my 4 and 5 year old classes.  I sing about the mountains, the fireside, the lights.  No problem.  Then I got to the "Boom di yadda, boom di yadda" part, and the kids start snickering.  Huh?  I sang the whole song again, and of course the only part that the kids sing is "boom di yadda," but this time they are full on cracking up.  I don't get it.  Later in the day, I go to another class, teach the same song.  The same thing happens.  It wasn't until my THIRD class, that I finally asked the teacher if she understood why they were laughing.  She very kindly said, "it sounds like "BUNDA yada."

Oh great. BUNDA means "butt."  And Brazilians kind of like butts.  So I was singing "butt-di yada, booty di yada, butt-di yada..." over and over.  I've tried to change the lyrics to "oodi lada, oodi lada, oodi lada, oodi lada," but the kids still like singing about butts. 

I told this story to my family, and as soon as I started singing "Boom-di yada," my 9 year old daughter was dying laughing (before I told them what Bunda ment).  She thought it was hilarious.  I guess I'll have to have her preview my song selections for the next year.

Fruit day: what is it? Jambo!

****Thanks to Corinne and Corin it's been identified as a "Water Apple" or "Jambo" and grows in the Northeast!*******

Hi there.  One thing that is popular at schools here for the 3 and 4 year olds is "Fruit Day" or "Roda da Fruta."  The kids can bring a fruit from home to share with their classmates.  Then the teachers show the fruits, talk about the colors, the textures, etcetera, and then cut up the fruit so that everybody can try some.  Last week, this was one of the fruits:

It was about 3 inches long, and had kind of the texture of an apple, but really no flavor (I don't think it was ripe).  Can anyone help me out to identify it?  I've spent WAAAAY too much time google-ing "strange red brazil fruit" with no luck.  I know that the teacher told me the name, but I can't remember.  And I probably won't remember to ask tomorrow when I'm back at the school.  Thanks!

School for 2012

It's that time of year in Brazil.  Time to register your kids for the 2012 school year.  Thinking about my kids' education has been weighing on my mind the past few months.  When we moved here, I wasn't so worried about getting our kids into the "right" school.  Our older two kids were in gifted programs in the states, I knew they were probably ahead of the game in some areas.   Beatrice was only 3 at the time, so school for her was going to be all about socialization.   And in my mind, the first year was going to be about learning Portuguese.  And I'm very proud to say that they did great.  And overall, we were happy with their school, and so we decided to keep them at Escola da Serra for 2011.  It's considered unique here in Belo Horizonte, somewhat of a Montessori model, with a heavy emphasis on the arts.  It's small, has lots of social events, and at the end of the school day parents and children like to hang out in the "patio" and eat popcorn while the children play and the parents chit chat.  Very nice.

However, within a few month, some things became more challenging in regards to subject matter.  Dora started complaining about how boring her classes were and how kids were yelling during class.  Sebastian said he wanted to go back to the United States because he was able to better learn there.  We started having meetings with teachers and coordinators (coordinators oversee a group of classrooms, help with discipline issues).  I was very pleased that the teachers and coordinators responded very quickly to our concerns.

But I was worried about Sebastian.  I don't think that 7 year-old kids should be feeling so bad about school.  His classroom is 15 boys and 5 girls, including some kids with special needs.  Honestly, it was not a good combination.  And Sebastian was starting to have some problems with his behavior, and felt like his discipline issues and the noise levels in the classroom were making it hard to learn.  After much deliberating, and negotiating, we've decided to move him to the school where I work.  I know the kids in the classroom where he will be, I know the coordinators at Maple Bear, and I've looked over the curriculum.  It's not perfect (no school is), but I feel like I can better understand what happens in the classroom.  One thing that has been hard for us here is how little we know about what actually is happening at school.  I think that a large part of it is due to our lack of Portuguese, but it's also that parents are essentially not allowed in the classrooms.  This is the case at Escola da Serra, but also at Maple Bear.  In the US, you can ask and schedule to visit a classroom at any time--to help out, to observe, to help with a special event.  And you can always talk to the teacher at the end of the school day.  In Brazil, you pretty much have to be invited into the school, and it's on the teacher's terms.  And the only time you can actually talk to the teacher is if you schedule an appointment, which is done through the diary or agenda (the "planner" or calendar that you have to buy as part of the supplies for school).  I've been in Sebastian's classroom two times in Brazil--once for his 6th Birthday (and I actually wasn't supposed to, but I misunderstood) and then for a presentation he did on Robots.  In the US, I was in his classroom at least once a month, and I talked to his teacher at least once a week after school.  All this to say, it's been hard for me to adjust to this, and I really do want to know be involved in my children's education and know what is happening at school.

The other benefit about sending Sebastian to Maple Bear is that half of his instruction will be in English.  His writing in Portuguese is pretty good, and he's probably about equal in reading in English and in Portuguese.  But his writing in English isn't so hot.  I've tried some things with him, but it's the "oh Mom, I don't want to do this with you," kind of response.  So the hope is that school will not only continue to encourage his Portuguese, but now help with spelling and writing in English.  And, that some of the discipline issues can be resolved.  Especially since I will now have the insider scoop.






Oh, and did I mention the super cute uniforms with the Canadian flag and cute little bear??

This is not a picture of my son, but one of my students.  Some of the uniforms have added Brazilian flags.  Too cute.



We're going to keep the girls at Escola da Serra.  They have good friends there, it's in our neighborhood, and it's what we've got.  I know I'll have to continue to work hard to understand, to be involved, and push to make sure that our kids are getting what we feel like (and they feel like) they need.  But now that the decisions have been made, and the conversations have been had, I feel a little better.

another story of a family of 5 moving abroad

My husband is a religious reader of the New York Times, and recently came across this article about a correspondent that moved his family of 5 to Russia.  He enrolled his kids in school there without them speaking a word of Russian, and he writes about what it was like for them.  I've been thinking a lot about this article, and I'm remembering what a gift it is to our children to live here, learning how to solve problems, learning to cope, learning another language and to learn first hand about another culture.  This article has been very timely, as I've been worrying a lot about my children's education.  We worry if Dora is stimulated enough, has enough to read, or if she feels like she is being held back.  We worry about Sebastian as an auditory learner in a classroom with discipline issues and 15 boys, and we worry about him saying that he wants to go back to school in the states because it made him "better."  These are still concerns, but reading this article helps me have some perspective, and counter-balances many of the things that keep me up at night.  I hope you like it:

http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/z-is-the-first-letter-of-the-alphabet/

snacking on Biscoito de Polvilho

Ever since the kiddos started school here in Brasil, we've been packing them "lanches" or snacks with Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches made with Shelly Scott's oat bread (do you read this Shelly??) However, there has been a revolt amongst the children. They are tired of sandwiches! Enough is enough! I'm still trying to figure out what a "healthy snack" is in Brasil (definitions of healthy are different here than in the US), but I have learned that lollipops and chocolate are not healthy (oops, not my best mommy days when I packed those lunches). But most teachers/parents think that highly sugared juice boxes or chocolate milk plus a cookie/salgado/cracker/piece of bread are a nutritious mid-afternoon pick me up.

I'm sorry, I'm not down with that. Plus, I'm not willing to pay R$1,50 per "juice" box (x 3 children thank you very much) for each child to get a sugar high that comes crashing down when I pick them up from school. Nor do I think that processed and packaged snacks are the way to go.


But I have recently found the Biscoito de Polvilho to be a pretty good option. They are made from the "powder" of manioc (cassava). Polvilho azedo is most commonly used. It's kind of sour, fermented by solar drying (or so Wikipedia says), and the kind of flour that's used in pão de queijo. Gluten free, salty with a tad bit of cheese flavor (maybe just because I always buy the cheese flavored ones), and just downright yummy. Now, granted it's fried, and pão de quiejo is probably even better, but these are just more convenient. And there are tons of options, from the mass produced, to the freshly made at the bakery.


I found them so odd when I first moved here, but the taste has really grown on me, and the kids all like them. And I'd be putting them in the children's lunchboxes tomorrow, except that I just managed to polish off a bag....