I am now even more excited about the two weeks I will be spending at Natura!

Last night the six fellows staying with Natura and Liliane attended the party hosted by Natura for those consultants who have worked for the company for 15 years.  These employees are brought to Sao Paulo, where they are given a tour of the Natura site (absolutely beautiful!), put up in a nice hotel and given a piece of jewellery as a token of appreciation by the company.  The night began with the consultants being greeted by the company (and us), followed by drinks, a meal, the presentation of the jewellery and live music by a famous Brazilian musician.  We were all impressed by the care and attention the company give to their employees.  From the reactions of the consultants, it was clear that this was an important night for them and that it would be remembered for a long time.  For many, it was the first time that they had travelled by aeroplane and stayed in a hotel.  I loved the energy of the night, and felt priviledged to share the experience with them.

We gained a brief insight into the ethos of the company, particularly the importance they place on improving the lives of their employees.  It was understandable why so many of the consultants stay with the company for so long.  I am looking forward to understanding more about the company and how they put their beliefs into practice.

I have just sat through my first English lesson in a Brazilian school.  Although I am constantly impressed by the level of English spoken by the students here, I am surprised by the apparent lack of concentration in the classes.  Here, a large part of learning seems to be done at home or during revision and students take more responsibility for their learning (unlike the "spoonfeeding" culture in England).

Yesterday, we visited CEU (a state-funded community education centre).  I was impressed by the facilities there.  At the weekend, the local community (consisting of more than 60 favelas) can use the facilities at the centre, including the library and swimming pool.  This government project is clearly having a huge positive impact on the local community, and I believe should be spread further throughout Brazil.

With only three school days left in Sao Luis, I have realised how quickly the past two weeks have gone.  Blog more soon!

I am now half way through the family phase in Sao Paulo (and half way through my time in Brazil).  The last week has been spent at Colegio Sao Luis, learning more about the education system in Brazil and discussing this with other fellows and Brazilian students.  I spent the weekend with my host family.  Saturday was spent at their grandparents´ house by the sea with their cousins.  Here in Brazil, families seem to spend more time together than in the UK and are therefore closer knit.  I experienced my first Brazilian party Saturday night, it seems that teenagers behave similarly everywhere!  Most people spoke at least some English and were happy to communicate with us.  Sunday was Fathers Day, so we went out for lunch, then to an exhibition (of the human body, which satisfied by medic-geekness!)

Yesterday, we visited a local homeless centre Casa Convivencia.  Although not pleasant, this was a very interesting experience and sparked a lot of discussion amongst the fellows.  It made me challenge my view of homeless people, particularly when I learned that only 20% of the users of the centre want to be integrated into society.  Apparently, they can earn significantly more money begging on the street than they would earning minimum wage (500 real per month which is approximately 200 pounds).

More to come soon!

Just a brief blog entry about life with my host family in Sao Paulo.  From the moment I arrived they have been so welcoming and friendly.  They frequently check that I´m happy and have everything I need, which is as real help when miles from home in an unknown city!  The children speak English, but the parents do not so I have been attempting Portuguese.  Through a mix of slow English, Portuguese and miming, we have managed to communicate (often with hilarious consequences - I ended up miming "I used to have a rabbit" while their mother was miming "I have washed your underwear"!)

The family I am staying with are very family orientated, my first weekend here was spent attending the first birthday party of their cousin and then at a family bbq.  I loved the atmosphere in the house - three young cousins and an excitable dog made it pleasantly noisy!  I have the impression that families in Brazil spend more time together than most families in England, spending time after school watching TV and eating together.  In general, children are more open with their parents about their social and love lives.  The boyfriends/girlfriends of my host family spend a lot of time with the family, which is different to in England, where socialising is generally kept separate to "family time"

More blogs and photos of my experience here to come!

So, just when I thought I had escaped school forever, here I am again, getting up at 6 am each day for the school run.  However, being at a Brazilian school makes the early start worth it.  First impressions of Colegio Sao Luis?  Huge.  There are 2200 pupils ranging from under 2 years old to 18.  The school spreads throughout two high rise blocks in the centre of Sao Paulo.  The first difference I found between Colegio Sao Luis and schools in England is that the pupils are divided into two groups - the night students and the day students.  The day students begin classes at 7 am and finish at 2 pm or 5 pm.  The night students begin 6 pm and finish at 11 pm.  This is partly due to the large numbers of pupils, but also to their varied economic backgrounds.  The day students pay fees, whereas the night students do not (although they receive fewer classes and educational oppurtunities).  Many of the night students work during the day, before studying at night.  I have found this artificial segregation of pupils strange, although I believe that it is right that the night students should have the oppurtunity to study here.

 

As this is a prestigious school in Sao Luis, I expected the level of motivation of pupils to be far higher than that of English students.  Although I believe that the children are more motivated here (considering the length and intensity of the school day), the difference is not as great as I expected.  Sitting in on a class of 30 pupils felt similar to how I would imagine a class in the USA would feel (except obviously in Portuguese!)

 

Since being here, we have watched a documentary about the education system in Brazil.  The problems within the system were shocking.  The lack of funding for public schools in certain areas meant that teaching standards and resources are extremely low.  The levels of violence and delinquance within schools was scary, particularly listening to one girl describing without regret how she stabbed a classmate to death.  Prospects even after a secondary education are often bleak, one girl graduated high school to spend her life folding trousers in a factory.

 

Talking to students at the school here highlighted another problem with the education system.  Brazil has very high standard public universities which, in theory, should be available to allschool leavers.  However, the exams for university entry are sufficiently hard that even pupils who have received a high quality, private education need to pay for extra lessons in order to pass.  Therefore, the "public" university places are going to the children who have already benefitted from a private school education.

 

I believe that the problems with the education system in Brazil are deeply rooted into the society.  Therefore, although progress is being made, it is happening at a frustratingly slow rate.

So, just when I thought I had escaped school forever, here I am again, getting up at 6 am each day for the school run.  However, being at a Brazilian school makes the early start worth it.  First impressions of Colegio Sao Luis?  Huge.  There are 2200 pupils ranging from under 2 years old to 18.  The school spreads throughout two high rise blocks in the centre of Sao Paulo.  The first difference I found between Colegio Sao Luis and schools in England is that the pupils are divided into two groups - the night students and the day students.  The day students begin classes at 7 am and finish at 2 pm or 5 pm.  The night students begin 6 pm and finish at 11 pm.  This is partly due to the large numbers of pupils, but also to their varied economic backgrounds.  The day students pay fees, whereas the night students do not (although they receive fewer classes and educational oppurtunities).  Many of the night students work during the day, before studying at night.  I have found this artificial segregation of pupils strange, although I believe that it is right that the night students should have the oppurtunity to study here.

As this is a prestigious school in Sao Luis, I expected the level of motivation of pupils to be far higher than that of English students.  Although I believe that the children are more motivated here (considering the length and intensity of the school day), the difference is not as great as I expected.  Sitting in on a class of 30 pupils felt similar to how I would imagine a class in the USA would feel (except obviously in Portuguese!)

Since being here, we have watched a documentary about the education system in Brazil.  The problems within the system were shocking.  The lack of funding for public schools in certain areas meant that teaching standards and resources are extremely low.  The levels of violence and delinquance within schools was scary, particularly listening to one girl describing without regret how she stabbed a classmate to death.  Prospects even after a secondary education are often bleak, one girl graduated high school to spend her life folding trousers in a factory.

Talking to students at the school here highlighted another problem with the education system.  Brazil has very high standard public universities which, in theory, should be available to allschool leavers.  However, the exams for university entry are sufficiently hard that even pupils who have received a high quality, private education need to pay for extra lessons in order to pass.  Therefore, the "public" university places are going to the children who have already benefitted from a private school education.

I believe that the problems with the education system in Brazil are deeply rooted into the society.  Therefore, although progress is being made, it is happening at a frustratingly slow rate.

I will remember Rio as an incredible mix of rich and poor, of city and beach and favelas.  The views of the city are breathtaking, but completely unlike the naturally beautiful landscapes of England.  Instead, there is a kind of artificial beauty of favelas and high rise buildings crowded against the beautiful beaches.

 

Of course there are high levels of crime and violence in Rio, and we heard plenty about drug trafficking, police corruption and gang fights.  However, the area in which we were staying felt surprisingly safe and although I wouldn´t go out alone at night, I would say the area felt less threatening than many areas of London.

 

And the Cariocas?  (People from Rio)  Beautiful.  I found that most lived up to their reputation for taking pride in their appearance - there would be people working out along the beach throughout the day.  In general, I found that people had more time to help tourists, even with my pretty much non-existant Portuguese!  Waiters and taxi drivers were helpful with splitting the bill and not minding me miming directions to the hotel!  We had been forewarned about the level of physical contact between people, and it´s true - Brazilians do hug and kiss a lot.  But I think most fellows quickly got into the culture, and I will definately miss the hugging back in England!

 

There is definately a party atmosphere to Rio, even weekdays felt like weekends with people relaxing on the beach and in the bars.  However, I think that the experience would be very different if I were to live and work in Rio, as we were very much in the tourist area.  However, the work ethic in Rio is very different to that of other cities (like Sao Paulo), the Cariocas have a very relaxed attitude to punctuality - completely unlike ours!

 

I felt that there was an infectious passion for sport (especially at Maracana) and music (at AfroReggae).  Although I spoke to one Brazilian who complained of always being branded as the "passionate ones", I believe that the Brazilians do have a certain enthusiasm for living that is missing in England.

Sao Paulo is huge.  Seriously huge.  And nothing had prepared me for the immense number of cars here.  The traffic does not stop day or night, and people expect to be stuck in traffic jams wherever they´re going.  The city feels more like America than Brazil - everywhere is crowded with high rise buildings, designer shops, car showrooms and motorways.  The pace is much faster than Rio with business people rushing about in taxis and even helicoptors.  Unlike sunny Rio, it is cold and rainy here - hence rushed shopping trips for coats and jeans!

I found arriving in the city and meeting my host family an overwhelming experience - the city is of American proportions and I have found it completely disorientating.  Luckily, my host family are lovely and the children speak English, which is a real help (the parents are very encouraging of my attempts at Portuguese!).  I spent my first weekend here attending a first birthday party and a bbq with my host family.  The family are extremely welcoming and family orientated - the house has been full of small cousins and an excitable small dog!

My daily routine here is very different to the past two weeks in Rio, school begins at 7 am which means a 6 am start.  However, I feel this is less taxing than the routine for the evening class students, who begin later but don´t finish until 11 pm.  I did not expect there to be such a large difference in backgrounds of the host families.  Although they all attend the same private school, there is a huge range in the social and economic backgrounds of the students, and it is interesting to compare the very different experiences of the fellows.

The school itself is very different to schools in the UK.  Here, the 2200 students range from under 2 years old to 18.  The building complex is enormous (and I find a little scary!)  We had the oppurtunity to attend some classes here - class sizes of around 30 lead to noisy lessons!  Trying to understand physics in Portuguese was definately an interesting experience.

All in all, I am sure that I am going to have an unforgettable experience here in Sao Paulo, but I can definately say that i have been launched out of my comfort zone!

Just briefly, while it is still fresh in my mind, I thought I would share a few practical notes with any future fellows staying in Rio.

• Have fun!  Rio is an incredible place and you should really experience it to the full
• Use common sense.  Listen to the safety advice of the leaders (they only say it cos they care!) but don´t let worrying about safety ruin your experience
• Try to budget - the food allowance is definately enough for food as long as you´re sensible.  It´s a good idea to have more than one way of getting your money though, calling your bank from Brazil can be a frustrating and expensive experience
• Take a socket adaptor and don´t lose it (it´s proving near impossible to replace it in Sao Paulo!)
• Drinks (caiprinhas/cocktails) are stronger here than in England.  Therefore what would be a responsible amount in England is likely to be irreponsible in Rio.  Pace yourself
• It´s easy to get overwhelmed and swept up in the experience, but do try to record your experience right from the start.  At least jot down something everyday so that you can write it up properly/blog later
• Look after yourself.  The programme is incredible as it is so intense.  Make sure you get some sleep (power naps can help!) and eat properly so you can enjoy the experience fully

One major theme that has occured throughout my two weeks in Rio is the importance of education for the country. We listened to a talk by the communications director of Petrobras oil company where he highlighted the importance of education in order to keep up with cutting edge technology, which is invaluable in the search for new oil supplies. Although I found him an engaging speaker (particularly when discussing the importance of education and the plans for the future of the company), I felt as though his arguements that his company were engaging in corporate social responsibility were weak. I am looking forward to comparing this view with my opinion of Natura company later in the month. The Municipal Secretary of Education had a very different view of education. He believed that there is a lot more to education than teaching people the skills they need to perform a job. He saw education as a basic human right, that should provide everyone with oppurtunities. He described education as teaching people the values they need to be a good citizen as well as factual knowledge. I found his speech inspirational, and admire his detirmination to improve the standard of education in a country facing many difficulties(most notabably in favelas, where there is often inadequate electricity supplies and druglords are still in control of society) I am looking forward to spending time in Colegio Sao Luis and comparing the education system there to the education system in England.