School

I am so sorry I am slacking on these posts. I am so busy and can never find time to sit down and write an entry. But school: anxiously waiting the first day I would go. Not knowing what to expect, just like every other adventure here, I went. My dad drove me up to the school gate and my friend Livia was waiting there for me. After we walked up, met the principle, and after it was time to go to class. The school was already so different even just by the looks of it and the layout. Everything was so open and outside. The classrooms were the only thing that was actually all enclosed. The school is 3 floors, each are one long hallway with classrooms all along the left side. The grades go from elementary classes all the way up to 3rd year in high school (senior year). So, I walked in my class only to find out the first class is English class. The teacher introduced me and I took a seat. She introduced some students to me who spoke English pretty well. I talked with the teacher for a while, she was very interested in everything. While talking with her, I noticed that her English was lacking a little. She talked at a slow speed and would mispronounce words every so often. Besides that, I observed that the kids in my class were very shy, but I knew that once they warm up they would be awesome, and thats just what happened! Physics, Biology, and Portuguese classes were very hard. In general those classes are hard...try learning them in a different language. I did not really listen because everything just sounded like gibberish. I have acquired this new skill, where I can tune everything out completely just like no one is talking, it's very awesome! So thats just what I did. The schedule is confusing to say the least. I've been in school for about 2 weeks now and I still do not understand it. All I know is that we have classes and then have a little break in the middle for a snack (sort of like lunch in the US). School starts at 7 and ends at 12:15, and then we go home for lunch. Depending on the day, we go back to school at around 2, thats just if we have a test or a lab. The teachers and students have a totally opposite relationship here. In the US students and teachers have a thick boundary. The students and teachers are way more connected and they are friends. Here everyone are friends and live one another all the same. Hugs and kisses are normal when you meet someone basically a given. I feel so closed off because I was not brought up that way and it is hard to get used to. The next few days in class the students would come to my desk when they had to hand in a paper and they would ask me questions about the US and more and more kids would circle around my desk. They had questions on about everything; books, music, dance, food, parties, and just about everything. The next English class they made a circle with their desks and I sat in the middle answering questions. They were very interested in American parties. It was weird openly talking about the parties, but it was acceptable. Even the teacher was interested and was asking questions! I would always get introduced as "the Americana" and the person would usually look at whoever was introducing me and say "Ela fala Portuguese?" and everybody would turn and look at me too see what I would say. The next few days were better, I met more people, and more people talked to me on their own. Never did I think kids would soon be fighting over me to take the English test with (for) them, but I guess I thought wrong. SAT's all over again...not fun, but I didn't mind. Anything that was in English I now get excited for and I will willingly do, just to speak or write in English. Sometimes I will not understand people speaking to me in English because it is an instinct now to listen for Portuguese words that I know so I can figure out what they're saying, and embarrassingly I have to ask them to repeat what they said.