English School Update

Written Tuesday February 24, 2007, 3:15 PM.

Join me as I look at the belly-button of amerInglês.

I would love to just say that the English business is going well, and all that. It is unstable. December was a good month. January was pretty bad, but bearable. And February has been pins and needles. We aren't starving or anything; we have food and are (so far) able to pay the bills.

The problem we ran into (some of this is deduction, and some is information from students) is sort of two pronged: Christmas came, and people had to pay bills in January. And, in late January, or early February is when all the other schools start their year.

While I don't have very many younger students, I have a lot of parents of younger students, who pay for school, books, and other supplies for their children. Some of them also have other things to do in life. One student is also studying for the college entrance exams, and no longer has time to come to class.

Many have complimented me on my teaching ability, so I am not considering that as one of the reasons they are leaving (though one or two may not have liked learning English very well...). The number of students per week has dropped to around 5.

A new class starts next Monday with 12 students (possibly more). That gives me hope, which I need at this point.

Technorati Tags: ameringls, education, english, job, Job, language, languages, Life, Life In Brazil, Living Outside the US, english school, school

Post Number Eighty-One

We have not fallen off the face of the earth, or anything. I have been in a bit of a funk lately, and not really felt like writing. We have also been working hard at getting the school going.

It looks like we have at least 12 students, and possibly more will sign up soon. I think what that comes down to is that people want to know if this is going to be a good school or not. There are some students who would like classes during the week so much that they are going to try to get others to sign up with them. I have no problem with working more than one day per week... :D

It was very exciting to see the students interacting with the material, and seeing that they can speak English. I had three two-hour classes on Saturday, with 4, 1, and 7 students respectively. I was more nervous with the one student, than with the groups–which was odd.

My impression from the students faces was that they had syllabus shock (the feeling one gets when a college professor hands out the class roadmap with all the assignments). But at the same time they seemed to be excited about the class, even though we had a lot of that “administrative” stuff to take care of in the first class.

After the last class, I found out that one of my students teaches teachers how to teach; She said that I was an excellent teacher. I also received other compliments about my teaching style. This was kind of odd to me, as I have no background or training in teaching–aside from a class or two in college that touched on the subject. It also makes me nervous, because now I have expectations to meet.

The weather has changed here in Teresina: It is supposed to be 105º F today. If the past couple of days are any indication, it might even be hotter. If you want to visit us, please do, but I recommend waiting until February or March for a bit cooler weather.



Just for fun, I thought I would show you this image, which demonstrates the sunrise and sunset times through the year in Teresina. If you want to compare it to your city, the website can be found here. [If the image does not show up, try looking up Teresina at the website.]

Nádya is still enjoying her new job, and we are getting into somewhat of a routine with life again.

I guess I better quit writing here and start getting my lesson plan together.

How are you?

Weekend!

If you were not aware, it is Friday, which means that the weekend is here. This week I am really excited about that for two reasons.

First, Nádya started a new job this week. Yeah, the last one died because the boss wanted a lot more than she was willing to pay for. Things like not having a desk/workspace of her own were also factors.

So, I am excited because she does not have to work tomorrow, and she has been working all week. I have kinda missed having her around.

The new job is at a urology clinic doing the same things she was doing before (insurance billing). I visited the place once, and it has a fountain in the lobby. That would be unremarkable, but it is of an urchin... well, he is urinating in a pool. I almost laughed out loud when I walked in the door.

Second, school starts in only a couple of weeks, which means that I will have "a job." I am still going about my preparations, and so forth, but I think it will seem more real when I have a few students looking back at me wondering what I will say, and have them do next.

amerInglês Update

In case you missed the last couple of posts that mention this, I am starting an English school here in Teresina.
I seem, however, to have failed at explaining a few things about how schools work here; its different than there in the USA. The public education system is not very good here, according to all accounts I have heard. It is far better to go to a private institution to get one's basic education.

There are also a great many schools which only teach languages, the primary language taught being English. I have joined these ranks. You may remember that I have applied at several schools of this type before. The available hours and the pay have not been all that attractive to me, and for some reason none of the schools have followed through with hiring me.

So, I started my own school. We have contacted several churches that are very excited to host the classes in their buildings. Not just “sort of” excited, or “mildly excited,” either. My initial goal was to have three classes every Saturday; there may be four. And, there is interest in having some classes during the week!

It is not just the “churched people” that I am looking to have as students, though, so we hung a banner to advertise to the world that we exist (along with getting some business cards to hand out). We are getting people calling every day interested in signing up.

Classes start the 7th of October. I hope I am ready by then. :-) ;-)

This Works For Now

The interview went well! Nádya started work today. The pay is not “out of this world,” but it is livable. There may be some options for me, as well, but for the moment we are considering what is best. I will let you know when we have more concrete ideas.

In the meantime, a friend wrote yesterday asking a few questions. They were so good that I thought I would reply by creating a new entry, and let you all in on the answers.

You haven't mentioned anything about the World Cup, it must have been a riot when they were winning.

I suppose it was. We moved to Parauapebas in the middle of the “Copa,” so we experienced it in two cities. Here in Teresina the Brazilian flag was everywhere, along with various other forms of decoration. Some of these were (ahem, are): Painting the street with the Brazilian flag, hanging yellow and green streamers from strings, and stretching them across the street, putting the Brazilian flag on the car.... They can get very creative, so this is just a few of them.

Teresina seemed more intense about the decorations (and fireworks) by a long-shot, than Parauapebas, but both towns shut down (including most government facilities) for the games. We were out walking Monday, and saw a flag in the very top of a very tall tree–it was no small flag, either.

[Image: The above image can be found here along with much interesting information about the ball itself.]

The fireworks went off anytime a goal was made. Here in Teresina it was pretty crazy in that way; in Parauapebas after the games (even the final loss) there were a great number of people driving through the streets in a “mom motorcade” honking horns and making a great racket any way they could.

What kind of timeline do you guys have for coming to the states? Or is there one?

Several people have asked this recently. The answer is still “I don't know.” Its kind of lame to keep saying that, but there are so many factors involved, that I can't make any prediction. I don't mind the prospect of staying here for a while, but we need a more stable (robust?) financial situation.

Essentially we are waiting for my Brazilian identification card to come through, which will allow us to apply for Nádya's visa a the US Consulate. Once that comes through (and depending on what obligations we have here when it does come through), we will have a better idea.

I have student loans to pay off, and need to either come up with a way to make enough money to pay them from here, or get back to the US, get a job, and pay them from there.

Most of all, though, I miss friends and family there. Nádya is looking forward to meeting you all, and I am looking forward to introducing you to my wife.

How is your Portuguese coming along? How about Nádya's English?

My Portuguese continues to improve. I have recently hit this patch where I understand almost everything that someone says to me, but may not understand a word or two. This can be very frustrating, but its all a part of learning a new language.

Nádya's family has noticed that I learned a great deal while we were in Parauapebas, and are sometimes surprised at how much I know now. I guess the strangest part for me is that I don't really usually have to think about it that much. I own the vocabulary I know, sometimes I have to think about a word, or two, but in general I am pretty “fluent.”

Nádya's English is doing well. Since we started focusing on my Portuguese, it has kind of taken a back seat, but we do continue to work on it. She helped out a lot with the English classes I taught in Parauapebas, which she said was good review.

Important: If you have questions about what we are up to please comment or email me! I will be happy to answer them the best I can.

Out of the Frying Pan

It feels cool here in Teresina, believe it or not. Upper 80º's F really feels good after hitting 100º F nearly every day in Parauapebas.

We went downtown yesterday to run some errands, and Nádya took her résumé to see if there were any jobs available. There are a ton of medical facilities there, and she has friends at several of them. After we got home in the late afternoon, she got a phone call asking for an interview. It is today at 5 PM our time (1PM Pacific)!

By the way, if you ever happen to be looking for a job in Brazil, it is good to know someone where you want to work.

Another cool thing that is happening, is that my friend Patrick is coming to visit in a couple of days. He and my sister(-in-law) Nyna have been emailing and chatting for a while now, and he is coming to meet her. We are all excited (for different reasons), but I think its cool that I will get to introduce him to my wife.

He is even spending a birthday here, so I am sure we will have some sort of celebration that will yield many photos, some of which will be posted here.

As I promised before, here are some of the photos from Parauapebas, and the area. An alternate place to view the same images with my comments is here. The first photo is at the entrance of the Carajás National Forest.



These photos are from the zoo. The one below is of the recycling cans in and around the park. I thought they were so cool that I wanted to take some home with me. I restrained myself (actually, they would not fit under my shirt...). Júnior is the one posing with them.







The indians were very threatening...

Here are some shots from around Carajás, click here for more information on them.

Five Days Short Of A Month

I apologize for it being so long since I updated. Not really much has happened, though. I guess in some ways that is not entirely true, but what I am trying to say is that no major changes have taken place.

Work:
We expect to know more on Tuesday regarding work for Nádya. We are fairly certain that will work out in our favor. As for me, I am teaching English using the course at called Spoken English Learned Quickly. I have one class per week. The students are so far impressing me at how fast they are picking things up (they are all adults my age or older).

As for my working at CVRD, the chances are not as good as they were. The guy we talked to evidently got transferred to another location, so we are going to be exploring other options.

I also have work in August teaching English at a school in the nearby city of Carajás. Its not full time, but it is a foot in the door.

Living Situation:
It is not ideal. We are making the best of it, and learning a lot about relationships with others. Pray with us that we can afford a place to call home soon.

Weather:
Its hot. Every day. 100º F is pretty normal with 27% humidity. It still gets down to about 70º F at night–which is cold when you are used to 100º F on a regular basis.

Other:
I am experiencing sort of a homesickness lately. Usually its not terribly acute, but it is there. Part of that is because I know that my parents are in the final stages of readying their house in Vancouver, WA for sale. They are moving to Idaho to be closer to family. I miss my brothers a lot, too.

I guess I really miss my roots; all the friends and acquaintances that I have made through the years. I miss my church especially as well.

[Note: If you are a friend of my parent's, and would like to have their new address email me or them.]

[Insert Title Here]

I really am confused about how to write this. I guess I will start out with the general outline of what I know:

• The job offer is not full time. It would be a few hours a week.
  
• The job is teaching English via an extension program.
• I would be teaching English teachers in some classes, and in others, I would be teaching advanced students.
• I could supplement the work there with work at other English Schools
• The department head is the wife of one of the directors who interviewed me in December and January. (She said she would see if there was a possibility of my getting work there after all.)

I am pretty exhausted today, as it is quite hot today, compared to the last few days. I think its time for an afternoon nap.

If you have questions, post them here, or email me. I have lost many of your addresses, so if you have not received and update from me recently, and would like to, send me an email.

Postponed

Some parts of being in Brazil can be very frustrating.

When we went to the interview last night, I discovered that this was for an entirely different school than I originally thought. Then, when the person was not there who was supposed to interview me, my nerves fried. Its been a pretty stressful process, and not knowing all of the information does not really help.

So, this interview, which might take place tomorrow, is for the Federal University of Piaui. I am not sure what I would be doing there (besides something to do with English), and I am not sure of much else, either.

I love being vague. Perhaps more precisely; I love having a life based in vague "maybes," and not being sure of much more than what will happen today (if even that).

My hope is that the sarcasm of the former paragraph is not viewed by the reader to darkly. Yes, this can be frustrating, but I actually enjoy most of it. I am just to the point where I want to be able to say "This is our plan: ...." and have something to say, instead of just "..."

So, at this point, I am not sure what else to say. Part of me feels like quitting, but I don't really have anything to quit, so I guess I will just keep plugging along. [There goes that sarcasm again...]

Meanwhile, I will wait until next Friday at 11 AM our time for the "interview."

Carnaval begins tomorrow.

Another Interview

Had another interview today. This time it was at Skill (see the first comment in previous post). It went well, the guy seemed genuinely interested. He mentioned that I looked like a “white” Brazilian, as well as saying that my pronunciation of Portuguese words was very good (he said this after exploring the limits of my command of the language).

He was not sure if he would have any openings for me because my Portuguese is limited, which leaves me with more advanced students, and there are not as many of those. (For reference, this is the story I have heard all over the place.)

It is sort of funny how this interview got set up, so let me tell you the story:

My friend Phil left a comment on the last entry here mentioning that he had worked at Skill (the name of an English school here) when he was here, and that I should call them, and see if they might be interested.

During the day, my brother-in-law Allan saw the comment, and called to see if I wanted him to put in a good word for me. I said sure, and he called back a few minutes later saying that I needed to be there at 10:30 AM today.

Funny how that bounced around the globe like a hot potato in such a small amount of time.

The Job 2

The director did not call on Monday night, so we called last night. When we did, he said that he would call back in a half-hour.

We never received the call, so at this point we assume that I do not have a job.

Our spirits are up, and we are looking for other opportunities. We know that God will provide.

Thanks for your prayers!

The Job

Karl does not yet have a job.

I went to the English school that was interested in me yesterday. The director's boss is on vacation, so, once he gets back we will have a more firm idea of whether or not I have a job.

Monday is the day he will be back in the office I guess, so we should know by then.

Thank you for your continued concern and prayers. We look forward to telling you that I have a job.

The Interview

Well, I can't say I have a job. But the interview went well, I thought.

I have a test on Thursday at 10 am my time... that would be about the time some of you will be putting a turkey in the oven I suppose.

The job would start in February, and I would be teaching English to advanced students. I have two schools interested in me, so we will see what happens.

Both schools are exclusive (they would not let me work at the other school for example), and both class times start in Feb.

Technorati Tags: Life In Brazil, Our Activities, Our Story

Job Interview

For those of you who are personal friends and family, I thought I would let you know that I have a job interview on Tuesday. I suppose if you are not in either of those categories, that sentence might put you off... you can know that information too, though. I would be teaching English. I don't know how much I will make, but I am legally permitted to work here. The interview is at 7 am Pacific (noon here).