(Friday, April 29th)
Today is bittersweet, but technically not my last day of my senior project. On Wednesday, Ana and I agreed that neither of us wanted to cease meeting. So, next Thursday after I present my senior project to the whole school, I have another lesson with Ana. Today, I have continued to work on my defense and my senior project paper. I still listen to Brazilian music, read articles, and I know I will continue to improve my fluency even after this month is over.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
Senior Project: Day 19
(Thursday, April 28th)
I used my senior project time to look over all that I have done this month and review some material I learned in the beginning. I also finished the Alchemist.
I started my defense for next week and brainstormed all the things I could show my panel and how I would do so.
I used my senior project time to look over all that I have done this month and review some material I learned in the beginning. I also finished the Alchemist.
I started my defense for next week and brainstormed all the things I could show my panel and how I would do so.
Senior Project: Day 18
(Wednesday, April 27th)
Today, I had a super interesting meeting with Ana. She had me read a document out loud about a religious/spiritual group called Cantomble in Brazil. It is a belief brought to Brazil by slaves but has developed into something uniquely Brazilian. It is not like Voodoo in the sense that in Cantomble, you cannot wish harm on to someone else. But they believe in different gods/spirits called "Orixás" and each spirit is known for a particular thing and has there own "element". Everyone who follows Cantomble chooses one Orixá as their own. So, Ana shared the profiles of a couples Orixás with me and I got to choose which Orizá I liked best. I ended up choosing Iemanja, the same Orixá as my teacher Ana. I was never aware of this part of Brazilian culture so it was a lot of fun learning about it.
Today, I had a super interesting meeting with Ana. She had me read a document out loud about a religious/spiritual group called Cantomble in Brazil. It is a belief brought to Brazil by slaves but has developed into something uniquely Brazilian. It is not like Voodoo in the sense that in Cantomble, you cannot wish harm on to someone else. But they believe in different gods/spirits called "Orixás" and each spirit is known for a particular thing and has there own "element". Everyone who follows Cantomble chooses one Orixá as their own. So, Ana shared the profiles of a couples Orixás with me and I got to choose which Orizá I liked best. I ended up choosing Iemanja, the same Orixá as my teacher Ana. I was never aware of this part of Brazilian culture so it was a lot of fun learning about it.
Senior Project: Day 17
(Tuesday, April 26th)
I used my free periods to continue working on grammar, vocabulary, reading, and starting to collect my project materials to start planning my defense.
I also have a class with Ana, which ended up being mostly conversation. But then in the end we got into the subjunctive.
I used my free periods to continue working on grammar, vocabulary, reading, and starting to collect my project materials to start planning my defense.
I also have a class with Ana, which ended up being mostly conversation. But then in the end we got into the subjunctive.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Senior Project: Day 16
(Monday, April 25th)
I worked on my videos and read the Alchemist.
First Video Blog:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwAbUNNCNgsMcWVGRFVrVFBJM0k
Video of our Lesson:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwAbUNNCNgsMWHpydjlsbWE0QU0
I worked on my videos and read the Alchemist.
First Video Blog:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwAbUNNCNgsMcWVGRFVrVFBJM0k
Video of our Lesson:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwAbUNNCNgsMWHpydjlsbWE0QU0
Senior Project: Day 15
(Friday, April 22nd)
Today was an interesting day for my senior project. I had one period in the morning to finish watching the movie "O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" and get some reading done in the Alchemist and a couple Veja articles. I adde to my vocabulary list and reviewed my grammar work that I had not looked over in while. Then, last period I left school to drive to my Portuguese lesson. I arrived, sat down with Ana and we began talking. We went over the political research I did and had a conversation about Brazilian politics; what they were, what they have been, and what they will be like in the near future. We then talked about the movie and she had me answer comprehension questions.
Our lessons usually go over the hour by 15 or 20 minutes but I had to leave to go to my friend's Seder so I left after an hour but what felt like 5 minutes.
I filmed our entire lessons and pulled some of the clips out to show what a lesson is usually like. Hopefully I can upload the video today.
Today was an interesting day for my senior project. I had one period in the morning to finish watching the movie "O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias" and get some reading done in the Alchemist and a couple Veja articles. I adde to my vocabulary list and reviewed my grammar work that I had not looked over in while. Then, last period I left school to drive to my Portuguese lesson. I arrived, sat down with Ana and we began talking. We went over the political research I did and had a conversation about Brazilian politics; what they were, what they have been, and what they will be like in the near future. We then talked about the movie and she had me answer comprehension questions.
Our lessons usually go over the hour by 15 or 20 minutes but I had to leave to go to my friend's Seder so I left after an hour but what felt like 5 minutes.
I filmed our entire lessons and pulled some of the clips out to show what a lesson is usually like. Hopefully I can upload the video today.
Sunday, April 24, 2016
Senior Project: Day 14
(Thursday, April 21st)
During my senior projects periods and at home I continued my research into Brazilian Politics. I looked into the recent impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rouseff. I discovered much about her past as she was involved in the revolution agains the military dictatorship and was detained and tortured for some time. I also researched the past and career of Lula, who was Brazil's President before Dilma Rouseff and the President when I lived in Brazil. His story is absolutely fascinating and he is seen as one of the best politicians in Brazil of all time. He instated many welfare programs that have resulted in a 27.7% reduction in poverty in Brazil. My research for that continued and I also finished the movie for Friday. I kept reading the Alchemist and varying articles in Portuguese.
During my senior projects periods and at home I continued my research into Brazilian Politics. I looked into the recent impeachment of Brazil's President Dilma Rouseff. I discovered much about her past as she was involved in the revolution agains the military dictatorship and was detained and tortured for some time. I also researched the past and career of Lula, who was Brazil's President before Dilma Rouseff and the President when I lived in Brazil. His story is absolutely fascinating and he is seen as one of the best politicians in Brazil of all time. He instated many welfare programs that have resulted in a 27.7% reduction in poverty in Brazil. My research for that continued and I also finished the movie for Friday. I kept reading the Alchemist and varying articles in Portuguese.
Senior Project: Day 13
(Wednesday, April 20th)
Ana and I moved our meeting from today to Thursday so I spent my senior project time watching a movie in Portuguese called, "O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias"or "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" set in Brazil into 1970. It is a Brazilian movie completely in Portuguese about a young boy in Brazil in 1970 when the military dictatorship was in power and his parents leave him with his grandfather as they go off to join the communist revolution agains the dictatorship. The movie was fantastic, intervening Brazilian culture and history into a touching story of a boy in love with soccer who just wants his parents to come back home from "vacation". Besides watching the movie I continued to read the Alchemist, and researched Brazilian politics.
Ana and I moved our meeting from today to Thursday so I spent my senior project time watching a movie in Portuguese called, "O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias"or "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation" set in Brazil into 1970. It is a Brazilian movie completely in Portuguese about a young boy in Brazil in 1970 when the military dictatorship was in power and his parents leave him with his grandfather as they go off to join the communist revolution agains the dictatorship. The movie was fantastic, intervening Brazilian culture and history into a touching story of a boy in love with soccer who just wants his parents to come back home from "vacation". Besides watching the movie I continued to read the Alchemist, and researched Brazilian politics.
Senior Project: Day 12
(Tuesday, April 19th)
Swamped with school work and having a cumulative math test tomorrow, I did not work on my senior project today.
Swamped with school work and having a cumulative math test tomorrow, I did not work on my senior project today.
Senior Project: Day 11
(Monday, April 18th)
Today was an A day so I had a lot of time to work on my senior project. I got to school in time for assembly and then for 1st and 2nd period, 1.5 hours, I spent studying Portuguese. I completed the homework Ana had assigned - researching the Brazilian process of entry into university. They have exams called the vestibular, which is different exams that need to be taken for several different universities. Each school has their own exam and students take a year to study and take these exams to try and get into college. It is so stressful and competitive that it is very common for someone to have to do two years of vestibular before getting in somewhere. Aside from my research I continued to work on grammar, vocabulary, and kept reading the Alchemist.
Last period of the day I drove to my Portuguese lesson. As soon as I sat down with Ana we began conversing in Portuguese. Our lesson today was essentially just a conversation. We talked about my family, my school, my friends, my trip to UVA, her family, Brazil, Portugal, and more. During the conversation I would ask how to say things, practice my grammar, and she would occasionally correct my Portuguese. We ran over time as usual, had a great time, and I learned a lot.
Today was an A day so I had a lot of time to work on my senior project. I got to school in time for assembly and then for 1st and 2nd period, 1.5 hours, I spent studying Portuguese. I completed the homework Ana had assigned - researching the Brazilian process of entry into university. They have exams called the vestibular, which is different exams that need to be taken for several different universities. Each school has their own exam and students take a year to study and take these exams to try and get into college. It is so stressful and competitive that it is very common for someone to have to do two years of vestibular before getting in somewhere. Aside from my research I continued to work on grammar, vocabulary, and kept reading the Alchemist.
Last period of the day I drove to my Portuguese lesson. As soon as I sat down with Ana we began conversing in Portuguese. Our lesson today was essentially just a conversation. We talked about my family, my school, my friends, my trip to UVA, her family, Brazil, Portugal, and more. During the conversation I would ask how to say things, practice my grammar, and she would occasionally correct my Portuguese. We ran over time as usual, had a great time, and I learned a lot.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Senior Project: Day 10
(Friday, April 15)
Today I was busy all day with Days on the Lawn, UVA events and meeting up with people I know. So, I did not work on my project at all. Tomorrow, I will have more time and make up the hours.
Today I was busy all day with Days on the Lawn, UVA events and meeting up with people I know. So, I did not work on my project at all. Tomorrow, I will have more time and make up the hours.
Senior Project: Day 9
(Thursday, April 16)
Today I left for UVA so I did not have much time to work on my senior project. I went to school for one period to take my Physics test and then left to go home, pack, and get on the plane. I managed to read a good portion of the Alchemist and add some words to my vocabulary list during all the travel time. I also had time to download my first video blog from last week off of iMovie; however, the file is too big to upload onto my blog so I need to figure out what to do with that. I am planning to record my second video blog today.
Today I left for UVA so I did not have much time to work on my senior project. I went to school for one period to take my Physics test and then left to go home, pack, and get on the plane. I managed to read a good portion of the Alchemist and add some words to my vocabulary list during all the travel time. I also had time to download my first video blog from last week off of iMovie; however, the file is too big to upload onto my blog so I need to figure out what to do with that. I am planning to record my second video blog today.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Senior Project: Day 8
I absolutely LOVE my Portuguese lessons with Ana. As we get to know each other better it becomes more and more fun. Today I used my senior project period to revise the homework she assigned and then had to use the rest of the period to drive to my lesson at 3:15.
As soon as I sat down with Ana we began talking (in Portuguese of course), but instead of starting into the lesson we simply conversed. Now, technically this was the lesson as it is a form of language education. This was how I learned at my Spanish school in Guatemala. I would sit down with my teacher and we would just talk for 3 hours and she would correct me along the way. I am a firm believer in this practice and I think it was what skyrocketed my Spanish fluency. So, I was happy when I could sense Ana was taking a similar approach.
We talked about everything: what we did since last time we saw each other, what I am going to do this weekend, Lovett, my friends, college, wearing a uniform, my family, and more. Along the way I would ask how to say something or she would correct me. She would also take notes as we were talking so she could remember what I should work on later. She had me practice a little with clothing vocabulary but that is basically the only drilling we did. We had a conversation all about the similarities and differences between the education system in Brazil and the U.S. Afterwards, we set the game plan for the next week and, unfortunately, time was up.
Tomorrow, I hope to post my video reflection that I made last week but have no uploaded and I will also upload a couple of photos to show exactly what I have been doing with Ana.
As soon as I sat down with Ana we began talking (in Portuguese of course), but instead of starting into the lesson we simply conversed. Now, technically this was the lesson as it is a form of language education. This was how I learned at my Spanish school in Guatemala. I would sit down with my teacher and we would just talk for 3 hours and she would correct me along the way. I am a firm believer in this practice and I think it was what skyrocketed my Spanish fluency. So, I was happy when I could sense Ana was taking a similar approach.
We talked about everything: what we did since last time we saw each other, what I am going to do this weekend, Lovett, my friends, college, wearing a uniform, my family, and more. Along the way I would ask how to say something or she would correct me. She would also take notes as we were talking so she could remember what I should work on later. She had me practice a little with clothing vocabulary but that is basically the only drilling we did. We had a conversation all about the similarities and differences between the education system in Brazil and the U.S. Afterwards, we set the game plan for the next week and, unfortunately, time was up.
Tomorrow, I hope to post my video reflection that I made last week but have no uploaded and I will also upload a couple of photos to show exactly what I have been doing with Ana.
Senior Project: Day 7
(Tuesday April 13)
These days in my rotation are by far the most productive. I have two periods during the day to dedicate to my project. With both periods I completed all the work assigned by my teacher, Ana. I added clothing vocabulary to my document, practiced writing sentences using superlatives, and practicing preterite and imperfect. I conjugated a couple verbs in imperfect for practice, and then learned the conjugations of the irregular verbs in the imperfect tense. I also filled out a paragraph from my text book "Ponto de Encontro" with either preterite or imperfect, whichever it should be.
Once at home I talked to both on my parents who speak enough Portuguese to converse casually. I had to ask them in what weather they like to do certain activities. I wrote down their answers and composed sentences summarizing what they like to do and at the same time practicing weather vocabulary. I also made leeway progress in The Alchemist, which is proven to be a great practice for my vocabulary.
I also have vowed to listen to music in Portuguese whenever I am in the car, when I do homework, and when I do Portuguese work.
These days in my rotation are by far the most productive. I have two periods during the day to dedicate to my project. With both periods I completed all the work assigned by my teacher, Ana. I added clothing vocabulary to my document, practiced writing sentences using superlatives, and practicing preterite and imperfect. I conjugated a couple verbs in imperfect for practice, and then learned the conjugations of the irregular verbs in the imperfect tense. I also filled out a paragraph from my text book "Ponto de Encontro" with either preterite or imperfect, whichever it should be.
Once at home I talked to both on my parents who speak enough Portuguese to converse casually. I had to ask them in what weather they like to do certain activities. I wrote down their answers and composed sentences summarizing what they like to do and at the same time practicing weather vocabulary. I also made leeway progress in The Alchemist, which is proven to be a great practice for my vocabulary.
I also have vowed to listen to music in Portuguese whenever I am in the car, when I do homework, and when I do Portuguese work.
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Senior Project: Day 6
(Monday April 11)
Today was a turning point in my project. As I crank away at the verb conjugations, ever-growing vocabulary list, and reading The Alchemist my language fluency is growing at a exponential rate. However, my lessons with Ana is when I really feel myself learning.
Today I had one class period to work on Portuguese work. I started my vocabulary list on a word document so every time I learn a new word I enter it into my doc. By the end of the month I will have my own dictionary that tracks the new words I learned throughout my project. I do not add the words that I already can remember from my baseline fluency.
After school I rushed over to my lesson with Ana. From 4:00pm to 5:20pm we had our lesson speaking completely in Portuguese. I slowly feel more and more coming back to me. And quite honestly, neither of us feel an hour is long enough (probably why we ran over time). Ana had me read through all the conjugations I made to make sure I could pronounce everything correctly. This sometimes produces a problem for me because my initial reaction is to pronounce something with a Spanish accent. Afterwards, gave me a couple worksheets and I worked on them whilst reading out loud, working on the use of past tense preterite. We then reviewed how to describe weather, action vocab, and clothes vocabulary. Probably most importantly, we have an ongoing sheet of all the exceptions or especially tricky things when it comes to the Portuguese language and I need to familiarize myself with them.
I am enjoying my project and especially my lessons with Ana even more than I thought I was going to. I only wish my other classes that I did not drop did not require so much of my time and attention because I am finding it hard to do all that I want to do for my project when I have so much other work.
Today was a turning point in my project. As I crank away at the verb conjugations, ever-growing vocabulary list, and reading The Alchemist my language fluency is growing at a exponential rate. However, my lessons with Ana is when I really feel myself learning.
Today I had one class period to work on Portuguese work. I started my vocabulary list on a word document so every time I learn a new word I enter it into my doc. By the end of the month I will have my own dictionary that tracks the new words I learned throughout my project. I do not add the words that I already can remember from my baseline fluency.
After school I rushed over to my lesson with Ana. From 4:00pm to 5:20pm we had our lesson speaking completely in Portuguese. I slowly feel more and more coming back to me. And quite honestly, neither of us feel an hour is long enough (probably why we ran over time). Ana had me read through all the conjugations I made to make sure I could pronounce everything correctly. This sometimes produces a problem for me because my initial reaction is to pronounce something with a Spanish accent. Afterwards, gave me a couple worksheets and I worked on them whilst reading out loud, working on the use of past tense preterite. We then reviewed how to describe weather, action vocab, and clothes vocabulary. Probably most importantly, we have an ongoing sheet of all the exceptions or especially tricky things when it comes to the Portuguese language and I need to familiarize myself with them.
I am enjoying my project and especially my lessons with Ana even more than I thought I was going to. I only wish my other classes that I did not drop did not require so much of my time and attention because I am finding it hard to do all that I want to do for my project when I have so much other work.
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