July 15, 2013

I've been really bad about blogging lately (if you haven't noticed.) it's combination of being very busy and also being very lazy about blogging. Ya know, I really don't know how people can blog for a living or how people enjoy running daily blogs! They're tiring! (Though, I am sure these people know how to type with more than two fingers haha)

So let's see- what's happened this past week? Last week was my first week of teaching English at base5. I teach beginner level students (though they know more English than I had assumed.) My students range from about eight years old to about 30 years old. However, the mode is definitely around 12. Teaching English is really a lot of fun, and definitely a good break between the hospital. I  Iearned that I'm also pretty good at it. (Future teacher?? Nah.) Some grammar we taught them was irregular last tense verbs; when to use articles such as a, an, and the; when to not use articles; and different prepositions for time such as ago, past, before, etc.. They really struggle with the articles. They always add "the" in front of things, like "the New York City." With practice, they will get better though. Some vocab we taught them was extreme sports, landscapes, weather, extreme weather, and traveling words. We played a lot of games like pictionary and jeopardy to reinforce what the words. We would play jeopardy against the intermediate level students. There were three teams of the intermediate kids since their class was so large, while our class made up on team. Not bragging or anything, but my beginner level students won most of those games!!!! I was also really surprised at the creativity of their team names. My team named itself "game over" and "play again." How good is that!? The other teams named themselves "piña colada", and "forever alone." LOL. During the hour or so after lunch, we watch American tv with them. The first day, the group decided to show "how I met your mother." The entire episode was about sex and I have never been more embarrassed. Hopefully, they couldn't understand the English anyway.

So- I've always heard from my family members who are teachers that teachers will always remember the name of the students who were pains in the asses in their classes. The average student's name you forget with time, as well as the really smart student's. But the clowns or pains- you'll never forget. I totally understand that now!!!! There's this girl Beatrice in my class. She's one of the girls who rolls with the boys and avoids other girls at what seems like all costs. She sits there with her hair in her face and her back super slumped, and I don't think I have ever seen this girl smile. Also, she refuses to speak in class. You ask her a question, and she sits there silently pretending she doesn't know any English. Then you keep telling her that she needs to answer the question, and she'll call her boy friends over to translate what I'm saying to her. She pretends sensors by understand or can't form the answer to the question herself. But this chic KNOWS ENGLISH. She wins every game and hands in assignments with perfect grammar. Ugh she is so frustrating!!! And then we'll do writing assignments in class. She'll sit there not writing a thing, but as soon as all the other students leave the room, she'll do her assignment in two seconds. Maybe she's shy or something? Maybe she thinks the act makes her look  cool to her guy friends? Who knows? I made slightly more progress with her at the end of the week though because I would sit there for five minutes until she answered my question. So eventually, she would.

Another thing I've realized is what a pain in the ass I was in high school. Haha I was always that girl who got good grades, but talked the entire class. My Spanish teacher used to send me to sit outside in the hall. I remember once I was sent out twice in one class. That was a low point. She sent me out a lot with my friend Kyle- because we were always talking with each other. But I never understood why she did that. We just sat in the hall then continuing to talk freely. Gosh, I was so annoying. Sorry, señora Ginsberg. 

Another nice thing about teaching is that I get to spend time hanging out and talking with the other Atlantis project fellows. We don't get to do that at the hospital, and I live in a homestay so I don't really get to see them until the weekend or if we go out at night. And since I am a lazy sack of suds when it comes to going out at night, that's not too often. 

Overall, base5 was great. It was refreshing to go back to the hospital on Monday though.

TGFA (Thank God for Alberto)

The House

The Back House

My Own Kitchen

On Right: The fan that exploded in my room (notice there are no more blades)

The dragon that guards me above my bed

3D puzzle of Taj Mahal that hangs from my room.
There is a string you can pull to lower and raise it.

I chose a homestay for a few reasons. Firstly, I really wanted to get to know what Azorean people and culture are like. Secondly, I was hoping to meet locals who could show me around the island. Thirdly, it would be cheaper and easier for me because homestays would provide some meals. And lastly, I just came off of my freshmen year of college, followed up by a study abroad program, during both of which I lived in dorms. I missed home, and I wanted to live in a house with family dynamics, a kitchen, a couch, alone time, etc. I was sick of dorm life and just wanted a home. 

When I first arrived to Alberto's house, I knew I got the best deal as far as this program goes. The other fellows are together in this less than nice hotel, and Alberto's house is beautiful. He lives in a house that is the bottom floor, and his sister and her family live in a house that is the top floor. His house leads out to this outdoor patio area, which then leads into a back house. The back house is where I live. I have my own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living area. It is super nice to be there and away at night. Then, during the day, I spend my time in the main house with everyone. Erica's bedroom is in the main house.

The Man

Alberto is probably the nicest man ever. He treats us like his daughters and spoils us. His English isn't great but that's part of what makes it so fun. He has so many quotable lines that make Erica and I laugh until we cry. For instance, he called Erica "Jessica" by accident. When we asked him if he knew a Jessica, he said,"from the television." That probably doesn't sound that funny, but you had to have been there. He also had his dogs chained up and looks at us and goes, "the dogs say, 'LIBERTY me.'"That also doesn't sound that funny, but it really was.

Alberto has two sons, though they are older. We are unsure of what happened to his wife and don't want to ask. One son is 27 and the other is 24. The 27 year old is a physical Ed teacher on another island. He's very talented at swimming. (He has about five drawers full of metals in his room.) The other one is studying for a masters in Lisbon. The older one has come to visit twice, and Erica and I are in love with him! He is so Fine (with a capital F as Erica likes to say.) 

Alberto also has a 23 year old godson named Amadeyeu who speaks no English. He came over for dinner and showed us the weirdest videos he made on YouTube. They put his friend in a garbage can and rolled him down the street, and he slammed into a wall. His friend got out practically dead- no joke. Then at the end, his friend gets up and runs into a wall. This video has 20,000 views on YouTube. I do not understand. Though, Amadeyeu and Alberto found it hysterical. Amadeyeu and Alberto are also super close, and I'm pretty sure they were making uncomfortable comments/jokes about Erica because Amadeyeu is in love with Erica. Alberto seemed totally fine with this. In fact, he helped Amadeyeu send Erica love text messages. Once Amadeyeu left Alberto's presence, the message began to get a little more crude. However, Amadeyeu drives a race car and motorcycle, so Erica is taking advantage of the situation by staying on good terms with him! Can't wait to ride in that race car!

Alberto also has a 10 year old nephew who lives upstairs. He's so cute.

The Food

My new favorite beans. Don't knock 'em til you try 'em.

I know I briefly mentioned this, but the food at Alberto's house is prime. It's like we have the same taste buds because he cooks all of my favorite foods. He's diabetic, so he eats really healthy and says that the golden rule for diabetics is vegetable soup. We therefore eat vegetable soups every night as an appetizer for dinner. Alberto also does things with vegetables I didn't even know was possible. He is the key to getting your kids to eat their veggies. He also cooks tons of beans- also a favorite of mine. Additionally, every night after dinner, we eat fruit. Does life get any better? He hasn't cooked a single meal that I haven't loved. 

The Dogs

The Ghost

The Lady

The Ghost Harassing the Lady when I tried to take a picture of her.
All the girl wanted was a belly rub.

Alberto has two dogs, Lady and Ghost. Though, we have slightly transformed their names into "the lady" and "the ghost" because Alberto will say it like that sometimes. The first time I met the dogs, the lady was absolutely nuts. She was jumping everywhere and was so spirited. The ghost was really calm, cool, and collected. The first morning I was here, Alberto, Erica, and I took the dogs for a walk. Unexpectedly, I was handed the lady's leash. Now don't get me wrong- I have walked tons of dogs before. I've done my fair share of dog sitting Mr. Pluto Ginsberg and Mr. Riley Falvey. But I have not walked a dog like the lady. The lady wanted to sprint and stop and sprint and stop down the street. Under normal situations, I could handle that. Except this time the leash was TWO FEET LONG max. The lady dragged me down the block... and don't even get me started with the stairs- I thought I was going to die on those. I am surprised the lady didn't rip my arm socket out. All of the while, Alberto is walking the ghost obliviously. 

The ghost and the lady live in the outdoor patio area and have a dog house. Since that first day, the lady has calmed down significantly. Now, I actually have a soft spot for the lady, mostly because I'm a feminist though. You see- the ghost harasses the lady badly. I'm pretty sure 90% of the time the ghost is trying to hump the lady. Every time I make the walk from the back house to the main house or vice versa, BEFORE the lady even makes a move to run towards me to say hi and get some love, the ghost runs toward her to immediately start humping her. She'll snarl at him and try to get away. But mostly she looks at me with those sad eyes. All she wanted was some love from me and now she's standing there being humped by the ghost. Alberto does nothing about this! In fact, he blatantly favors the ghost! He's had the ghost for longer and the ghost is a dog native to Sao Miguel. In fact, once the ghost was harassing the lady, and Alberto looks at me and goes, "he is waiting for her desire." Ugh! This is so sexist! 

Anyway-

The Adventures

Alberto loves to show us around the island and take us on adventures. We are really lucky for this, because the other fellows are stuck in marisol hotel, or they have to take an expensive taxi if they ever want to adventure. The adventures are spontaneous. Erica and I will be doing something and then BAM! Out of nowhere, it is adventure time!

The Only Downfalls

As far as this homestay goes, there are really only a few downfalls.

1) Alberto smokes a whole ton (as most Azoreans do.) And he smokes inside the house and car. I am pretty sure I've already had a year taken off of my life from secondhand smoke.

2) Alberto insists on "refreshing" the house every morning (as all Azoreans do.) That means he opens every single window in the place, and I get yelled at if I try to close them. Unfortunately, I have a cold and wake up freezing and sneezy every morning. I don't want to refresh the house!

3) Erica and I have to walk a long distance if we want to visit anyone at the hotel. We also have to walk to the hospital and base5, whereas, the hotel kids (who are closer) are dropped off. 

Fun Facts About Sao Miguel!

• The official flower of Sao Miguel is the hydrangea and they are literally everywhere 
• The official colors of Portugal are blue and white, which is why there are blue and white hydrangeas everywhere.
• When people first found this island, there were NO people or animals on it. It was filled entirely with flowers.
• There are no snakes or squirrels or deer or anything like that here. There are few animals, all of which were brought here by boat.
• Sao Miguel was originally two islands that became combined through volcanic activity. Scientists are able to prove this by looking at two different snails species on each side of the island that do not mate
• The main industry in Sao Miguel is the milk industry. They also produce pineapples and tea.
• There is one cow on Sao Miguel for every human.
• Pineapples weren't originally native here. It's not a tropical island, so the pineapples need to be grown in greenhouses 
• There are aloe vera plants everywhere as well!
• All of the sidewalks here are made of pretty mosaics! 
• They are the #2 leading nation for alternative energy behind Japan. There are so many alternative energy plants here.

Aloe Vera

 

Meeting the Session 2 Fellows

Introductions 

So although I try to write at least one blog post a day, I'm still really behind on blogging, especially in regards to a lot of the activities I've done with the session 2 fellows. So these next couple of blog posts are going to back track a bit, so I can write some more about some awesome adventures we've had.

June 24, 2013

I actually met the session 2 fellows at a dinner on the day before the session 1 fellows left. I had just gotten coffee and the likes with some session 1 fellows with their base5 students. It was a bittersweet goodbye between the base5 students and the fellows, but some azorean pastries softened the blow. I was supposed to meet up with the session 2 students at Docas restaurant at 6 pm. Joao, as per usual, was late and ignoring any phone calls I sent his way. Hear this: he didn't end up getting to the restaurant until 7 pm AND he changed the restaurant without telling me. He's so freaking rude. Luckily, I had the company of the session 1 fellows while waiting, otherwise I would have been really pissed. 

When Joao finally got a hold of me and told me where they were, I ate a mediocre meal in the company of the session 2 fellows. They seemed really cool, although not many of them  had arrived to the island yet.

June 25, 2013
The next bonding experience we had was supposed to be a formal ball with wine and cheese tasting. It was stressed that you must dress formally- not even semi-formally. It was supposed to be at a fancy restaurant where we could dance. Get this- Joao, yet again, didn't make the plans until the last minute, so the formal ball that we all dressed up for ended up being held in the dingy hotel lobby where most of the fellows are staying. They literally dressed up to walk downstairs into this dark, musty room. And surprise, surprise, Joao was 45 minutes late.

Besides Joao being a very unlikeable human being, the wine and cheese party was relatively fun. We got to taste cheese from all of the different islands, and as per usual with all-you-can-eat events, I probably consumed a whole cheese platter myself. Being of an age in which I still don't like wine, I couldn't really appreciate the different flavors. (In all honesty, do adults even really enjoy the taste of wine? Or is it just that they have gotten so used to it?)

Kirk teaches Brooke how to tie a bow-tie

Portas dos Mar

After the "ball", we went over to Portas dos Mar (the bar and restaurant area near the marina) and hung out a bit. I saw one of session 1's old base5 students so I talked to him for awhile. (This would be the first of many times I would run into them all over the island.) After having a taste of sangria, I called it a night and had Alberto come pick me up. There was some confusion in communication, a language barrier and too much wine on my end, and I ended up going to the wrong church for him to pick me up. Ultimately, I felt like an idiot because I forgot my island phone at the restaurant with my friends so I couldn't answer his calls. I felt like I made a horrible first impression and was super irritated with myself for the night. When Alberto and I finally got home, Erica (my homestay mate) ended up being there waiting for us. She had just gotten off the ferry from another island, so therefore missed the "ball". Although I didn't know it yet, Erica is the absolute best and I couldn't have ended up with a better person to live with.

The main plaza at night

The rest of the orientation week was filled with everyone being pissed at Joao. 

The big dot in the sky was the moon.
It was the biggest I've ever seen it
in my life.

The First Tour: June 30, 2013

 

Tea Factory

Although this wasn't actually the first tour since we had a walking tour of Ponta Delgada (the city), this was the first real tour of the other side of the island with the session 2 fellows. Daniel, who runs all the social activities for the Atlantis project on Sao Miguel and is hired by Joao, decided to not lead the tour because he was so fed up with Joao and the way he runs things. (This guy really knows how to make a good impression on people. Have I mentioned that Joao gets into fights with everyone so that we're even kicked out of restaurants? Also the fellows on another island got kicked out of the hospital because of him.) The tour was therefore led by this blonde, Swedish lady named Noora. Honestly, she was awesome, and I preferred

Women at Work

her over Daniel only because Daniel now spends all of his time complaining about Joao (which is understandable but also depressing. I also realize that I have done significant complaining about him in this post, but only to fill you in.) The tour ended up being really similar to the one I had gone on with the session 1 fellows. But still, I had a blast. I got to see some new things, learn more about some of the old places I visited, and bond with the session 2 fellows. 

The tour started off with visiting a lookout point and then the tea factory again. This time, I learned that black tea is separated into bigger pieces and smaller pieces and then moved through two different parts of the machine before mixing. The smaller pieces are apparently higher quality. Green tea is not made this way, and instead all pieces are brewed together. This tea factory also has women who work there at a table, separating all of the pieces by hand. I was a little shocked at how old fashioned it was. After the tour, I got to try some tea again, and this time, it was much better quality than when I tried it the first time.

After the tea factory, we headed over to furnas- the place where there are all of the natural hot springs. There was a beautiful lake here, and it literally glowed green. We sadly found out that that wasn't natural, and that it only looked like this because of all of the fertilizers that the azoreans use (though they use significantly less than we do in America.) Furnas was super crowed, with restaurants and families alike using the hot springs to cook their meals. There are all of these holes in the ground that pots of food are put in for six hours to cook. After visiting and seeing how it works, we went to a restaurant and ordered the food. It was a wide assortment of meats and vegetables that were to die for. I now understand the true meaning of "meat falling off the bone." It was absolutely delicious. In the town with the restaurant, there was a large, holy ghost festival going on. The town members made a carpet of petals and leaves for the new priest to walk from his house to the new church. It was so beautiful.

 

 

The procession of the Holy Ghost

After a two hour lunch, we headed over to this natural spa. There are these natural pools that are heated by the volcano earth beneath us. It was so freaking cool swimming in a natural hot tub. Though, it was so hot! I couldn't even stay in it for five minutes. When I was in Italy, we saw all these ancient ruins of baths/spas that were so elaborate and would have been fantastic if they were still around. I imagine that those ancient ruins would be similar to this place if they were still around. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay too long because of how long lunch took.

Natural Hot Tub

The Evil Water

Our last stop was to some more hot springs in furnas. The tour guide Noora told us that we could grab some water from the water fountains here and fill up our bottles before going home. She conveniently left out some key information such as that this water was the most absolute DISGUSTING thing I've ever drank. There were all of these fountains that had all different kinds of water like copper water, silver water, etc. They tasted like carbonated metal, yet I tried every one. YOAO (you only Azores once)

I had such a fun time hanging out with these fellows. This kid Chris is probably the funniest person I have ever met in my life. So much sass. And overall, I love this whole group.

Azorean Graffiti

One of my favorite things about Sao Miguel is actually the graffiti. I've always had an appreciation for graffiti if it was done artistically, and at Sao Miguel, the graffiti is truly art. I will be updating and adding more pictures to this post throughout the summer, so if you're interested in seeing more of this street art, remember to scroll back down. It's truly impressive.