Semana de Português

Speaking a foreign language as an adult is one of the most humbling experiences. We aren't used to taking risks. We are not used to purposefully putting ourselves into vulnerable situations in which we will look silly. We are not used to not having control. We are not used to being so aware of being bumbling idiots.

Portuguese is the 8th foreign language I have attempted to speak. I like the way it sounds and I feel like there is a chance of success, especially as we have three years here and it does not have an impossible grammatical system like Russian or Estonian. They say that language learning gets easier, and I am sure that I am proof of that. However, I feel differently about my learning now than I might have when I was in my twenties as a Peace Corps Volunteer or when I was teaching in Mexico. I'm more afraid, less precocious, and more aware of the impression I am creating.

The context here is helpful. So few people speak English with confidence that communication requires bumbling and ineloquent employment of the target language. There is an assumption by Brazilians that you speak the language. There are many Americans here who speak Portuguese with impressive fluidity -- my colleagues are all living in Brazil for the second, third, or fourth time. Several of them have Brazilian spouses and children. It is completely necessary and a little intimidating, to be honest.

This week I had a big breakthrough. I participated in conversations and gave presentations to three national bodies in Portuguese, sometimes spontaneously and sometimes with remarks that I wrote (errors and all) in Portuguese myself. The National Board of Education, Pro-Rectors of Federal Institutes, the Council of State Secretariats of Education... I think in a past life I would have felt more confident about the communicative successes, whereas now I have doubts about how I presented myself and how I might have been perceived by my own staff during those interactions. However, no calamity happened. No one died from bad grammar. And I have that small triumph on which I can build the next encounters.

Post #50: Work?

So, I am in Buenos Aires not for the wine, long walks, or tango but rather for a conference of Binational Centers from across all of Latin America, including many from Brazil. It was really useful to meet everyone at once and have such an excuse to travel and enjoy the city (yes, I did attend the conference and even presented and participated in a panel!). 

Maybe you cannot see it but this is the first conference ribbon I've ever had that says "tango dancer" (I signed up for a social lesson one evening)

Opening event included tango, of course!

Presenting! :-)

The delegation from Brazil

Post #19: Work Culture

I attended a seminar at work today on cross-cultural leadership that has left me pondering a thing or two. One of the items we considered and discussed was a blog post on Seven Ways Brazilians Work Differently than Americans. The generalizations posited by the author generated a lot of comments from the two cultures attending the seminar about observations of culture and places where they have felt tensions because of different priorities or values. 

I sat as a silent attendee on the periphery. As a newcomer to Brazil, I do not feel like I have a voice yet on such topics. However, I listened and absorbed and thought. One of my thoughts so far about landing in Brazil is that this is too easy. The differences do not appear as blatantly to me and they do not feel as great as they have in other workplace cultures. I feel less cultural distance here, and I am wary that it will be those sneaky differences that jump out of nowhere once I am safely in my comfort zone. I also have the idle thought about cross-cultural competence and global mindsets that maybe the world becomes more of a soup as you aggregate experiences. Not that differences do not exist or that they are less important, but that my awareness and acceptance of them is greater. I also start to feel less connected to my home culture in some of these values the more I work in international settings, so the distinctions become less tangible between us and them. I do not know if this is good, bad, or just naive, but I guess that time will tell as we sink into our life more deeply here in Brazil.

Post #5: Bean Stew Brazilian Style

The last week at work has been crazy busy with several events and visits happening all at once, so our section took a time out on Friday to celebrate together over a dish of beans and under a canopy of Brazilian music and the din of conversation...

First, the beans. There is a typical Brazilian dish of beans stewed with different types of meat that I had tried during Portuguese language study back in Washington, but the real thing was very much better. Beans slowly stewed with different parts of the pig gives it a lot of flavor. At this restaurant, you could load up on beans and rice and then choose your meat, each part labeled in separate pots so that you knew if you were getting those savory bits of tongue, ear, etc.! The dish is called feijoada and is a typical Saturday meal that you consume with family and friends slowly, and, if my sense of sluggishness after eating feijoada is in any way typical, a nap probably follows the meal at some point.

Best of all was the great company of my colleagues here and the rhythmic live music in the background. This felt like a wonderful taste of Brazil!

My Day Job

Wonder what I do as I wander?

Mindful Teachers just posted an interview that may make you wonder or want to wander.

Enjoy the read!

Töö

Töö is a lovely Estonian word which has a phonetic representation that somehow perfectly reflects its semantic meaning of "work." Some of you wonder if I really do any töö between taking pictures of the snow and socializing. For those that are interested in this other side of my life, the one that leads to international travel and intercultural dialogues -- the one that I find fascinating, challenging, intriguing, and sometimes controversial, I share with you the following links for you to navigate and test your Estonian skills:

University of Tartu Newspaper article about internationalization and English language support for faculty and staff (in Estonian)

The crux of my 8-5 (yeah, right!) and spring course offerings at UT

Any brilliant ideas, comments, suggestions, or ready-made curricula/syllabi/lesson plans are welcomed!

My job description

Okay, many of you are well aware of my penchant for geographic and philosophical wanders, but you have also expressed an interest in what precisely I am filling my time with here in Estonia. I am still somewhat in the process of discovery myself, but I'll attempt to fill in some of the gaps.

The English Language Fellow program is sponsored by the U.S. State Department and facilitated by Georgetown University. The program places TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) professionals in positions worldwide where they teach English, engage in teacher education, and take part in other language education-related activities. Each fellow in each country has a different set of job descriptions that are prepared by their host institutions (in my case, University of Tartu) and the Regional English Language Officer. All this said, there is a lot of negotiation and flexibility depending on the institution and the fellow who accepts the position.

As an applicant in the program, my skill set and preferences were matched to the description in Estonia. I am at the University of Tartu as part of an effort to internationalize their programs of study. During the next academic year, I will be working with faculty and staff on their English skills as they relate to interacting in university classes taught in English or relating to international students and faculty. I am also involved in a committee working on improving the overall curricula of the English language programs offered here. The university already has an impressive number of programs that attract a number of students from all over Scandinavia, Russia, Europe, and the United States. I feel fortunate to take part in some of the exciting changes taking place.

My teaching has not yet begun, but my workload for the next year is already starting to look ambitious. At the moment, my days are full of meetings with the university staff responsible for hosting me at the university as well as research for my course. This means some serious library time (the library is really well-stocked, by the way!) looking for resources, reading articles and websites about preparing faculty and best practices, putting together a placement exam, and visiting some of the courses taught in English that have already started this semester. I am extremely grateful for this time to breathe and learn more about my new environment so that I can actively and appropriately begin classes the end of September.

Tonight, I am the guest speaker at a welcome reception for for faculty, staff, and students . . . Ai ai ai! It's sure be animated and probably verbose :) -- wish me luck!