Changing rooms

Last week I had some friends at my house to have a bite with me. Our talks were mainly in Portuguese, but once in a while we would say things in Chinese. The four of us studied Chinese for at least two terms and we love it! Our Laoshi came too and it was great, for she is the best and we're crazy about her. It was a great night. The boys played different songs on the piano and Camila sang some. I just stood there watching and clapping. It was awesome.

Camila is a good friend of mine and we love to spend some time together, but it's been quite hard for the last two months to meet and chat. On Friday we got the chance to talk about some of our experiences in China. Singing in the kareoke, saying wrong things in Mandarin and the experience our Brazilian had with her Vietnamese roomate.

Jessica was the other Brazilian girl that went to China with us. Camila and I shared the same room and Jessica had to share it with someone else. Jessica speaks fluently English and Spanish and is still learning Chinese. The girl spoke very little English and Jessica spoke very little Chinese. They could communicate using both languages but only in simple things. The Vietnamese girl had some of her friends over and they would call to other rooms and say things that were not true. When you get a hoax from one of your friends is one thing. Specially because you know them. The language is not a barrier and friends can be friends no matter what. Getting a hoax from your roomate's friends in a language you are not still comfortable in speaking is mean.

Jessica went to bed quite early on our first night in Beijing. Everybody was tired and needed some sleep. In the middle of the night Jessica answered the phone. It was a hoax. They were saying she needed to change rooms. She freaked out. She didn't know how to answer back and she got desperate. She called to the reception again and they spoke poor English. She could understand that they said that no one had called to her room and that everything was fine. Well, all I know that then they came to her room, they didn't speak English, she didn't spoke enough Chinese, her roomate woke up and then they noticed it was a hoax. I still laugh when I remember this. =)

Tian Zi Shan 2

When we were still waiting for our friends and our guide, we were able to rest and take pictures with Chinese kids. They were so many!

I think I didn't quite understand that our ticket back was not paid and that if we wanted to go back by cable cars we had to pay for the fare. We all came back walking. On our way up, in the cable cars, it didn't take us more than 10 minutes to reach the top. Going down was a whole other story.

It was wonderful to travel with my best friend. We had some disagreements on the way, but we got to solve them right away. We had great times in different situations and places. Some other that were not as pleasant. Camila knew that I was a little bit tired and she would often talk in a harsh voice to me b/c she thought I wasn't enjoying the trip. She was often sure about it. I almost didn't enjoy the beautiful view in the Great Wall because of a headache. I would be pissed off with myself if I had allowed that to happen. Camila, Jessica and I and our Irish friends decided to go walking. I guess we didn't expect to be such a long way. We had to focus not to fall on the way down. Too many ppl going down at the same time and some going up. Also, there were some pretty steep parts of the mountain. I was sure if I fell down at any time, no one would ever find me dead or alive. The view was magnificent, but we didn't enjoy as much as we should. We were so worried about going back on time that we did our best to be together with everyone in the same pace.

I recorded a little bit of what I had seen that day. The mountains are simply spectacular. It is possible to see the top of the mountains kinda blurry because the smog doesn't allow us to see clearly.

When we thought we were getting to the bottom...haha... we weren't! It was just a place for people to stop, rest, breath, eat and drink something. Camila, Jessica, Lily, Emmett and I had a bottle of water...but it was not cold... far from being cold, actually. Lily is such a sweet girl. She has this maternal way of treating people. She is always concerned about people's health and well-being. I wasn't feeling okay at some point. Lily said it was because we were all losing too much water and that we hadn't eaten for hours. True. My legs were shakey but they had theirs too. After drinking some water and using our Chinese shangzi - fan - as much as possible, we took some pictures and headed back to the hiking path. On our way out we saw some typical Chinese food from the mountains. I still don't really know what was it. Maybe a kind of bird or chick. I don't know why they would eat that... but yeah. We were all like: "Yewww!"

Tian Zi Shan

In one of the days we spent in Zhangjiajie - five hours from Changsha - we went to this place called "Tian Zi Shan" 天 子 山 which means the Mountain of the Emperor. Beautiful view. The mountains contrasted with the big Chineselike building in front of us. Each bus had to stick together. So we had a whole line just for 四号车 - bus number four. One of our guides was handing in a card. She said to each one of us: "Be Calful! To days!" We were like: "Whaaat? Be careful with what? Are we gonna die in two days?" Lol.

Anyway, after that we got in and we had to get into another bus. All buses were completely full and everybody had to go in it together. It took us around 10 minutes to get into it. When we were going in, another bus, out of no where, starts parking right beside our bus. Jessica and I were almost smashed by the crazy driver if it wasn't for Josh, the cute Auzzie. We got into the bus and the view was AMAZING! And I'm glad we didn't go to the next line by foot b/c it was far far away from where we were before. Also, there were many curves along the way. We couldn't stop paying attention to the driver b/c we all thought we were about to crash at any moment. Chinese people drive in a nonsense way. For real! And during my time there I saw ONE car accident. Unbelievable.

When we finally got to the queue we were supposed to, we had to wait for 30-40 minutes. On the line next to ours there was a KTV - Kareoke. Someone was actually singing right beside us. Chinese way of having fun in the line. Haha. Some Chinese people started talking to Eduardo, my Mexican friend, also known as "el amante latino" and "presidente". They were amazed to see how different he was and the fact that he spoke very good Mandarin dazzled them. They asked him to sing Chinese songs and some Mexican too. The men got their cameras and recorded his singing. The women called their friends and put him on the phone. People are AMAZED when they see "waiguoren" (foreigners).

The top seemed to be almost touching the clouds. We got to the top and that meant we had to go in by cable cars. I really wanted to go with Camila and Jessica, my two Brazilian friends, but they separated us. So I had to go with Leo. I was a little bit afraid at first. Haha. Leo is the kind of guy that LOVES women. Hehe. But sometimes he says things that are not very polite. Plus, haha, the button of his pants was always open. He said it was more comfortable that way. And I'm the kind of girl that gets shocked by anything ppl say. I guess I'm getting better at not being so surprised now. Lol. Leo was really nice. We spent some time talking and observing the view. At some point we couldn't see anything. The smog was so thick that nothing was visible. Our ride only lasted 10 minutes or so. I'm sure we would be able to see a breathtaking view if it wasn't because of the smog. That was disappoint, but I got to take some nice pictures while we were going up.

In order to meet our group, we went to this big square. Most of us sat on the stairs. We spent some time talking. Chinese ppl as usual were in awe when they saw us. They talk about us, they point at us... and they think we don't understand or see them doing these things. Lol. One little girl came to Marco and asked him if she could take a picture with us. Of course she could. =) She was so sweet and she was happy to see us. Then some other kids wanted to take pictures with us too. One by one. After a while we just said: "Lai, lai, lai!" (Come, come, come).

tea house?

In one of our nights in Changsha we decided to go to a typical Chinese tea house. One of our friends told us that there was one on our hotel. Sixth flour to be exact. It was pretty late. I believe it was past midnight. Steven, Camila, Jessica, Lily, Sam and I went there. Everybody ordered olong tea but Sam. He had Tsintao, a common Chinese beer.

All the Chinese people that worked in this place were watching soap opera or playing some games. After a while we were chatting and drinking. It was good to relax from a day full of activities. We noticed that the Chinese ppl that were playing majong and chinese checkers were gambling. Some in a private room. And that is illegal in mainland China. Actually, the only place it is allowed to gamble is in Macao.

All men were smoking, as usual. 99% of men smoke in China. And they smoke everywhere! The smoke gave to the scenario a feeling of mystery and crime. So, I was like: " Guys, doesn't it look like those movies that we are in a place that the Chinese mob uses to lauder money? Then, the police is gonna come in and shout 'Waiguoren! Tamen shi waiguoren!' And I'll only be able to say: 'Wo bu zhi dao!!! I don't speak Mandarin!'" Everybody agreed with me. We couldn't stop laughing. My friends were like: "Don't worry about it. It just looks like it, but it is a true Chinese tea house." We paid for our drinks and went to our bedrooms. We were going to have a busy day. At some point of our trip someone talked to the friend that recommended the place. Leo said: " No man, there's no tea house on 6th floor! That is a clandestine gambling place!!!"

Yeap, I was right!

love at first sight?

Before I even knew I would have the chance of going to China this year, I pictured my China in a lovely way. It was a sort of romantized China to say the least.

I guess that in my mind and heart I wanted to fall in love with China, its culture and its people. I remember desiring to breathe in Beijing and feel something I had never felt in my whole life. I did fall in love with China, its culture and specially the Chinese people, but it wasn't love at first sight. Maybe it was love at first sight until I had my first meal. Haha. No, not really. While I was daydreaming during my flight, I could almost see my happy face about everything I would do in China. I really thought it was going to be a perfect dream.

The fact that food and some Chinese manners were a problem for me at first didn't make me give up on Chinese or China. It was just a matter of time and patience and I could cope with that. Experiencing a real, tangible, palpable China in 10 days was more than I could ask. I wasn't frustrated for not having the dreamlike country I was looking forward to.

China is a country full of surprises and unthinkable things. I didn't get the chance to see them all, but I'll enjoy discovering them.

My "firsts"

When I woke up on the morning of July 26th of 2009 I realized I was going to travel. Not to São Paulo or Paris only... but to Beijing. One of the first things I told Camila on that morning, my best friend who was crashing at my place, was: "Camila, a gente tá indo pra China!" (Camila, we're going to China!)

After 40 hours of waiting in airports and actually flying from one place to the other, we finally arrived in Beijing. We met Zhang Ye, the student that was responsible for picking us up in the airport. He spoke to us in Chinese. Every SINGLE word in Chinese. At first I was like: "Whaaaat?!" Lol. Yeah. But I didn't freak out much. :) I could understand a little bit more when he spoke veeeery slowly. =) We had to wait for the Korean and American students that were about to arrive. Waiting was not the problem... the anxiety to go out was.

My first meal in China was dinner. I didn't mind much about eating it earlier than I would in Brazil. The smell, however, was something I could not ignore. I still cannot put into words that describe the feeling of smelling what I smelt. It was probably a mixture of the scents of chilli, ginger, soy, tofu and some other spices. My stomach didn't like it much.

The table was served and everything seemed to be really tasty. I tried to used kuaizi (chopsticks) to grab a chinese bun/bread. Nope. 1x0 to the chopsticks. It was too slippery. But, somehow, everybody in the table managed to get it. So I thought: "Let me try again!" 2x0 to the kuaizi. Out of no where comes this petit Chinese waitress with a fork and a knive to end my struggle with the food. Yes, I failed to eat with kuaizis on my first night in CHINA !

The Chinese bun/bread was really good. I got some salad after that. It looked so beautiful! When I put some of the rocket leaves in my mouth and "savored" it, I just wanted to vomit. Once more Mr Stomach disagreed about the amazing taste of Chinese food. I couldn't eat anything because I was certain it wouldn't have a happy ending for Mr Stomach, Ms Mouth and some other fellows.

en paris

minha viagem comecou em sao paulo, mas eu soh fui sentir o que eh estar viajando internacionalmente mesmo qnd cheguei a França. os franceses sao mt educados e prestativos. nao eh verdade que eles nao falam com vc se vc falar em ingles. todos os franceses que conheci sao super simpaticos! todos os homens que eu encontrei aqui, tem um cheiro de perfume parecido, que, alias eh mt gostoso. maaaas... no metro todos fedem. eu esperava mais do metro, fede a xixi e tem mt pixaçao, mas fiquei mt feliz em saber que posso ir a quase todos os lugares principais usando metro. as coisas sao bem caras aqui. o ticket visite paris custou 18,50 euros! mas valeu a pena. nos teriamos gastado mt mais se nao fosse por esse ticket. tudo eh mt bonito e organizado em paris. ah! nunca vi tanto homem bonito em um soh lugar. a maioria eh loira e alta e minha nossa! they are breathtaking! lol! eu achei mt crowded, mas valeu a pena todo o cansaço e sono pra visitar Paris nas poucas horas que tinhamos. quero voltqr jah sabendo a lingua. proxima vez que eu vier vou dizer: je parle français!

i love teaching!

"Blessed are those who can please themselves" - Zulu proverb

Nessa semana eu participei de várias palestras voltadas para professores de ESL/EFL (English as a Second Language/ English as a Foreign Language). Muitas coisas novas e interessantes pra se praticar em uma sala de aula. Exercícios com música, vídeos, provérbios, figuras e entre outros, foram o foco do Driving Development. Eu fiquei fascinada com tanta coisa. É tipo, muita, muita, muita coisa. Meu caderninho de anotações tem escritos por tudo que é lado. E eu espero colocar em prática todas essas novas idéias. Agora, mais e mais eu quero me aperfeiçoar e aprender com os teachers mais antigos todas as techniques que eles usam nas classes deles.

Apesar de estar inserida nesse teaching environment a pouco tempo, eu me apaixonei por TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language. É uma área que me dá um conforto, uma paz. É claro que nem todos os dias são assim. Alunos tem bad days por causa de uma grade, briga com os pais/amigos/namorado(a), perda de um ente querido, problemas de saúde... Porém, depende do teacher e como ele(a) vai se portar diante dessa situação. Teachers tendem a ver the bigger picture sempre pensando que o problema são os students ou eles que tem problemas. No entanto, o teacher tem que avaliar a sua postura dentro de sala, seus métodos, lesson plan, approach e forma de dar feedback. Eu sei que eu ainda tenho que melhorar muito e sempre buscar conhecer mais os meus students para que eu possa ser uma better teacher. Uma teacher que eles vão se lembrar pra vida inteira. =)

22

Counting down the days! :D

É... faltam só 22 dias.

Preparativos

Tem muita gente que se prepara para casamentos, festas de aniversários, almoços em família, solenidades, formaturas e muito mais.

No momento eu estou me preparando para viajar. Vou pr'uma terra bem distante da minha onde todo mundo tem olho puxado e a comida é bem apimentada. É um lugar muito lindo e cheio de contrastes. Assim como o Brasil, a China é minha casa. No momento eu não conheço a minha "família" nem meus futuros amigos, mas tenho certeza que vou me sentir a vontade.

Me acham louca quando eu falo que amo a China. Talvez eu até seja. Não, não, não sou louca, mas deve ser a idade que me permite falar e fazer loucuras. Tantas loucuras que ainda virão que nem posso imaginar. A barreira da língua vai ser um obstáculo que eu tenho que superar. Apesar de estudar Mandarim por um ano e meio já, sei por volta de 300 characteres entre os 40 mil que existem. Loucura, loucura, loucura. Eu ainda nem sei ler ficha de inscrição, quem dirá jornal! Estima-se que para ser possível ler jornal em Chinês as pessoas precisam saber no MÍNIMO 5 mil ideogramas. Não é mole não.

Pois é, eu estou na fase de preparativos agora. Mandar formulários e receber respostas tem sido um processo tanto quanto corrido. Mal posso esperar para embarcar na cidade que tem a grande muralha e foi berço para um dos maiores filósofos desde a humanidade. Ir para China é mais do que um privilégio, milagre... É a mão de Deus.

Samba?

Brazil was/is famous because of the beautiful beaches and the samba in the streets of Rio. Carnival has always been the big event that called the attention of many foreigners to visit in order to know a little bit more about the "culture". Many tourists who come to Brazil tend to think that workers are too all about samba. By observing my culture and examining the good and bad aspects of being part of an outgoing and friendly people, I can point out some things that have changed and are changing in our society. In a working environment, the Brazilian culture used to look at work and recreation as if it were a couple holding hands.

In the past there used to be a thin line between work and recreation. Many employees did not take work seriously and that was a big problem in working places and there are two main reasons for that to happen. One of the causes was related to the behavior in a job. It was common to see people who did not do what they were supposed to do in their jobs and didn’t get fired because they were funny and amusing. Sometimes even the boss allowed this kind of playful behavior. Another cause is that our culture allowed this slapstick attitude. Brazilians have never enjoyed being too serious and with time it was erased from our memory the correct way of conducting ourselves.

This mentality of having both things at once has been changing. Due to the access that globalization gives us today to all types of information and the influence that multinationals have in many countries and also in Brazil, the thin line that separated work from recreation is a wall that now isolates one from the other when the aim to be achieved at work is deviated to entertainment. The European posture has had a great effect on the role that Brazilian employees must have in a daily grind. Nowadays, it is easy to find in all the different kinds of jobs people that are committed to the ethics, value and mission of a company or institution. Workers are still merry, but in the right proportion.

In summary, the Brazilian people now stare to the present and future of the division of work and recreation. The actions that take place at work are balanced and much more serious. Employers and employees do not want to be an example of how things should not be. Workers now know that they can be happy without crossing the line and also that there is a time for everything inside and outside the laborious life. Henry Van Dyke, a famous poet, said once: “Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars.”

Tomé mi pelo para lavar

Hay una expresión en portugués que dice "Tirei o cabelo para lavar" (="Tomé mi pelo para lavar"). Hice eso. Me corte el pelo, realmente corto. Cortar el pelo puede no ser una cosa fácil. Sin embargo, una necesidad de cambio radical puede ser una motivación. La necesidad de cambio puede variar. En mi vida, mis decisiones, en general, están relacionadas con la forma en que las personas me tratan. "Gabriela, eres muy joven!" o "Gabi, esto no és correcto". Fuera de contexto, estoy de acuerdo com ellos. Na verdad, no estoy de acuerdo. Me siento libre cuando tomo una decisión que es mi propia. Yo no soy un títere de mi familia o amigos. Por otro lado, soy un pájaro libre que está extendiendo sus alas para tener su primer vuelo. Y eso es lo que estoy haciendo ahora. Me estoy preparando para volar.

Haiku

In simple terms Haiku is a Japanese writing style for poetry. At first it was only for nature and seasonal subjects. Nowadays it is possible to write any kind of Haiku.
Haikus have three main points:

1. Clear picture
2. Distinct emotion
3. Insight

Spring departs
Birds cry
Fish eyes fill with tears
Basho Matsu - 1664

A firefly lights up
Another firefly dead
Koi Nagata - 1920

For my writing class I wrote one too about nature. :)

Flowers flourish
Embelish nature
Comes a cow
Eats them all
Gabriela Nascimento - 2009

And about love... another one.

Good night
Sleep tight
Love is a dream
Love is a nightmare
Bed bugs do bite
Gabriela Nascimento - 2009

Cockney Rhyming Slangs and some other nonsense

Cockney Rhyming Slangs are so funny that sometimes I forget the real meaning behind'em. If you can't really understand them in the picture I'll help you out."I don't Adam and Eve it!" = "I don't believe it!" My students get bored easily no matter what I do in class they'll always say something about the lesson, the book or even the game. Lately, I've been trying to call their attention to simple but important things like slangs, tongue twisters, songs and games. I found this program called wordle.net and you can basically create anything random that you want. I decided to do with some Cockney Rhyming Slangs and Crime and Punishment vocabulary. It turned out to be really good and I hope they start liking English as much as I do. :)

One of my pupils often says words like "Ronaaaaldo", "Texas", "Generous", "Aldo" , "Perambulation", "Tropo", "Tombola", "Business" and some other nonsense words that I don't remember right now. My advanced students are quite often tired because of school and the amount of homework they have to do every week. I don't blame them for the lack of interest. This is somethings that is happening in many schools. However, I could not let trouble or worries to be the focus of these young teenagers. One of the topics of study in this planning is Crime and Punishment vocabulary. They have done some exercises already and they'll do many other too in order to keep and memorize the new things they've learnt. With this new visual realiaI hope they'll feel more encouraged to get out of their little box and take a further step in this big world we know as "Planet Earth". They still haven't realized that they are citizens of the world and not only living human beings of a region. In a near future I hope they step up and find their own Wonderland by using the skills and love for languages that their EFL teacher taught in a remote past.

dois patinhos de maiô

Soneto de aniversário
Vinícius de Moraes

Passem-se dias, horas, meses, anos
Amadureçam as ilusões da vida
Prossiga ela sempre dividida
Entre compensações e desenganos.

Faça-se a carne mais envilecida
Diminuam os bens, cresçam os danos
Vença o ideal de andar caminhos planos
Melhor que levar tudo de vencida.

Queira-se antes ventura que aventura
À medida que a têmpora embranquece
E fica tenra a fibra que era dura.

E eu te direi: amiga minha, esquece...
Que grande é este amor meu de criatura
Que vê envelhecer e não envelhece.






Mais um ano se passa e outros dois patinhos de maiô chegam.

Eu gosto muito desses patinhos.
Pena que hoje eles estavam bem ocupados.
Mesmo.
Vamos ver como será daqui a 12 meses.
Espero que até lá eles estejam melhores do que nunca. :D

You say goodbye and I say hello

Oh well, my friend

It is really hard sometimes to keep a friendship going. And why is that? Well, many times there is a conflict, a lie or lack of trust in the relationship. Or maybe is nothing like that. Uncountable are the number of reasons for a friendship to be shaken. I'm not able to list it here but I have experienced some of them myself. One that I have lived recently was the fear of losing someone special. The idea of saying goodbye haunts me and scares me quite often. I cannot describe this feeling in the words my soul cries out. It's a deep emotion that breaks my heart. My friend and I are not as close as we were; however, I'm not ready to lose this friendship. And I'm not giving up. On one hand, girls and boys come and go. That's a fact. True friends, on the other hand, are like siblings that adversities bring in during our trials. Let's see what tomorrow will bring and rest on the hopes of today.

Proverbs 17:17

Braxília

Pois é, minha Brasília

No aniversário de Brasília vemos coisas que não são comuns na cidade do Poder. Festa, diversas músicas que agradam o povo, metrô de graça, passagens de ônibus a um real, vôlei, maratona de revezamento... São coisas legais, mas que só acontecem uma vez ao ano. No entanto, nenhuma dessas coisas definem Brasília. Pelo menos não pra mim. Meu retângulinho no meio do Goiás é meio abstrato e ao mesmo tempo muito concreto e real. Minha capital é composta por amizades, amores, arte, beleza e feiura. Esse lugar é muito mais do que Plano Piloto e cidade satélites. Minha Brasília é feita por situações e lembranças. E ela nunca tem a mesma cara. Nunca imaginei que a minha ideia desse lugar seria tão mutante. Nos últimos 3 anos ela mudou bastante. E muitas coisas fazem falta. Outras não. E hoje, especialmente hoje, tô sentindo saudade de vários pedaços da minha Velha Brasília.

" Braxília não, Braxília é sonho. A cidade que cada um de nós pode inventar e construir, sem tijolos e sem dor.
A utopia dentro da utopia, como se isso fosse possível." Nicholas Behr - Brasília ou Braxília?

VOZES DO CERRADO - Nicholas Behr

brasília!!! brasília!!!
onde estás
que não me respondes?
em que bloco
em que superquadra
tu te escondes?

É.

Os Pois És

Minha é vida é cheia de incertezas, mas de vez em quando a sensação de exatidão invade meu mundo. É um tanto quanto interessante, devo admitir. Eu tenho uma tendência de ser ansiosa e imediatista. Creio que deve ser por isso que muitas das situações e circunstâncias que estou vivenciando necessitam de paciência. Muita paciência. É Deus e a vida me ensinando a ser disciplinada e a ter essa grande virtude. Com o tempo tenho aprendido a aceitar os "Pois és" e até mesmo usá-los com frequência. Eles podem ser bons ou ruins. Acho que eles dependem do ponto de vista e da paz de espírito de cada indivíduo. Quando estou aflita ou mesmo impaciente, tendo a encará-los com um certo receio e estupidez. No entanto, quando me encontro com a alma mais leve, revigorada e dinâmica meus "Pois és" são bem divertidos e agradáveis.



Pois é, meu caráter



Independente do que esteja acontecendo, meu caráter tem uma forma fixa de ser. Ele tem sido aperfeiçoado e cuidado durante os anos. É claro que às vezes escapa uma coisinha ou outra. Deus tem me lapidado com muito amor. Confesso que sozinha o meu caráter seria uma coisa séria de se lidar. Já tentei me ver como uma pessoa de fora. Sabe, avaliar o meu modo de vida e tudo mais. Algumas das minhas facetas eram vibrantes e coloridas Porém, as outras eram bem feinhas, sem cor e sem vida. Nunca imaginei que EU seria uma pessoa orgulhosa e também ignorante. Logo eu! Ora bolas! Tentei ao máximo mudar esse meu caráter em preto e branco. E agora ele tá mais coloridinho. Não sei quanto tempo vou levar pra colorir por completo esse meu lado, mas vou buscar lápis de atitudes, canetinhas de vontade e muita tinta de determinação pra me deixar quaaase como uma obra de arte! Até me senti metafórica agora. Haha.



Pois é, meu caráter:

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." Ecclesiastes 7:8

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." 1 Corithians 13:4