Becky in the Amazon

Back in the good ol' US of A

2008-01-11T09:45:00.000-08:00

I came back home to California on December 15th and enjoyed Christmas and New Year's here with the family. It is always strange coming back home, especially from another country. The first two weeks or so I really missed Brazil terribly, and really hated feeling cold all the time. (My blood got really thin down there close to the Equator). Now I am settling in a little better and am beginning to look forward to things here in the USA.

I have applied to Teach for America and have already been accepted to the final interview day, so think kind thoughs about me the first week in February. I will know by the beginning of March if I am accepted and where I'll be placed. So, I probably will be moving away from SLO yet again around June/July.

Until then I am going to start looking for a job, perhaps substitute teaching. I'm exercising, going on dog walks, and doing a lot of work around the house. I know that description makes everyone jealous.

Meagan, my Notre Dame roommate, is coming to visit me next week. Woohoo! I'm not sure what we will be doing, but it will be good times, and I will post pictures.

Best wishes to everyone and happy new year!

Last Day of School

2007-12-20T17:35:00.001-08:00

See what happens when you put ten 3rd graders in a smal room after giving them copious amounts of sugar. I love these kids!

Iracema Falls

2007-11-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

Taking advantage of the three day weekend. I took a day trip to Presidente Figueiredo and went to Iracema falls. Another really nice waterfall and this one also had some really cool caves nearby as well. Enjoy my ridiculously touristy pictures from downtown Presidente Figuereido. Enjoy! ;)

Fun Night

2007-10-21T14:47:00.001-07:00

In celebration of Children's Day (October 12th) our school
had its first annual Fun Night. The older kids made booths with games and we had ourselves a little carnaval. It turned out well, and it looked like eveyone had a good time. One of the game was "prison" where you pay to put someone in an designated area for 15 minutes. I, as a teacher of course, got put there twice. Good time all around.

Art Class Fun with the 3rd Grade

2007-10-17T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of my third graders during our art class. Sidewalk chalk is always a good time wherever you go.

Camp

2007-10-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

What happens when you take 20 11-15 years olds camping in the Amazon? Surprisingly no serious injuries and a lot of fun. We took the kids on a school camping trip from the 5th-9th graders. We went to a simple family farm outside Manaus and let them loose for three days. There was lots of swimming, hiking in the jungle, and encounters with various creatures. By the end the two other chaperons and I were exhausted, but glad we bothered to help out. The kids had a blast although they complained every step of the way about having to do chores. We had them carry water in the house to wash dishes and flush toilets because there was no running water. It was pretty rustic, and the kids took baths in the creek on the farm, but they didn't complain about that at least. Anything is better than a regular school day I guess. Enjoy the pics.

Trip to the Interior

2007-09-25T16:25:00.000-07:00

Over my July vacation I also made a trip up river to a small town called Anori. I went on a wood river boat called a recreio. People bring their hammocks and sleep in them for the overnight trips, which is what mine turned out to be. It took 17 hours to get there and about 15 to get back.

It's hard to believe there are a fair number of people who live on the eadge of the river out in the middle of nowhere. I actually attempted to explain to a Brazilian what the "middle of nowhere" or "no meio de lugar nenhum" means, and they agreed that we were in it. I feel like I am in the middle of nowhere when I am in Manaus, but that is nothing compared to what life is like in the interior of Amazonas. We're talking some serious isolation.

The boat ride is pretty comfortable, although I found out only too late that the food served on these boats is not exactly sanitary. (Let's just say I lost a couple of pounds after this trip unintentionally.) Anyways, it was a one in a lifetime experience, and I now I say that I have been river boating on the Amazon.

So here's some pictures and a video from the boat.

Presidente Figueiredo

2007-09-20T17:04:00.000-07:00

In July I had some vacation time and went north to Presidente Figueiredo about 2 hours north of Manaus. I went with some friends and we stayed at Marupiara, a ranch that is owned by some of the students at my school. It was gorgeous. There are waterfalls everywhere and lots of forest.

We did some hiking in the jungle, kayaked in the river, and bathed in the waterfalls. Totally tropical paradise. Some of the streams are so clean you can actually dirnk out of them.

We took one hike to get to a waterfall that took about an hour. It was really cool to walk in the forest. We didn´t see any animals really, but the plants alone are amazing. Our guide showed us this vine that holds water inside that you can cut open and drink. The best part about the trip, it was warm but not hot because of all the trees and there were almost no mosquitos. Amazing.

We did see some animals at a refuge in Balbina. They had manatees, river otters, turtles, macaws, and many other types of birds.

Spring Break in Fortaleza

2007-06-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

If you've ever done one of those meditations things were you are supposed to imagine the most relaxing, perfect place with white sand beaches, warm sun, coconut trees, etc... it's actually Fortaleza, and I went there for Easter break. My friend Stacey and I got to stay in a resort outside the city.

Our first day there we got sunburned under a beach umbrella in less than an hour, and then my friend got sick for like 4 days. So it was not a great start, but we definitely ended strong. We took two dune buggy trips where we drove up and down the beach with our local guide and stopped to check out all sorts of cool stuff: sand dunes, fresh water springs, cool sand formations...

It was off season there was almost no one there. My favorite part was when we did skibunda (literally "buttski"). We slid down a sand dune on a waxed board into a fresh water lake. Totally awesome. We had lunch at a restaurant literally on the beach where we got to pick out the fish we wanted to eat. We're talking fresh.

So yeah, after a rough start it was awesome. Here's pictures from our dune buggy excursions. You can see the dunes, the cool sand formations at Morro Branco, and the traditional fishing boats of the Northeast called jangadas.

Opera Festival

2007-06-08T04:43:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly enough Manaus has an annual opera festival in May. I went to see an orignal production of an opera about various legends of the Amazon region. It was a bit strange, but also very cool. My favorite parts were the dancers in complete head to toe spandex and the children's choir dressed like a bunch of little Indians. Here's some pics of my friends Stacey, Felipe, and I at the Teatro Amazonas.

Oh, and there were mimes selling programs.

IPA Fieldtrip

2007-06-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

In March our school took a fieldtrip to an agricultural school called IPA. At IPA they practice permaculture, which more or less means that they create self-sustaining, enviromentally friendly agriculture projects. Seven years ago this place was a barren field, and now it looks like the garden of Eden.. They are doing some really great work there.

The kids had a fabulous time. There was lots of plants and animals to look at. My favorite part was when the kids started playing around with this one plant (can't remember the name right now) that contains a natural dye. We all painted our faces and walked around this forest like area. It was sweet.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-03-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I went over to a friend's house. When went down to river to watch the sunset, a reporter and camerman came up and started talking to us. They asked us if we knew about the lunar eclipse that night. We got a short interview and our pciture taken (didn't end up in the paper though).
Anyways, so that night my friend and I watched the lunar eclipse from her balcony. It lasted over an hour. It was pretty cool.

Life in the tropics

2006-12-26T17:49:00.000-08:00

At school we have this gorgeous pool. I can't express how hard it is to resist the temptation to dive right in after a long, hot day at school. Yes, I have gone swimming in it and no, I have not dunked any of my students in it - not yet any way.

While I am living in a city of over a million, the jungle is never far off. This other picture is taken of the forest that is across the street from my school. Our gardener uses a lawn mower but he also has a machete for the big stuff. This patch of forest is also where I saw a two and a half foor lizard scurry off one afternoon. Right.

Tree Time

2006-12-26T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the fruit trees we have at our school. We have acerola (Amazon cherry), mango, star fruit, papaya, and a couple others that I'm not sure about.

Christmas Program

2006-12-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

The school year fiinished on Decemeber 7th. To celebrate we had a small Christmas program complete with decorations, American Christmas carols, and home-made Christmas tree costumes. The whole thing was really adorable. My favorite part was the 3-5 year olds singing "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town."

Hanging out with my students

2006-12-22T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures of me and some of favorite students Genianne and Carol.

Children's Day

2006-10-30T06:39:00.000-08:00

October 12th was Dia das Crianças here in Brazil. For children it's like a mini Christmas where they get toys and other gifts from parents and other family members. I think it's all a ploy by the Brazilian toy industry myself.

On the 11th we had a day of fun and games for the kids because we had the 12th off from school. Here are some pictures of the little darlings I teach here in the middle of the Amazon.

Teatro Amazonas

2006-09-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

This is the Teatro Amazonas. It is an opera house that was completed in 1896 at the height of the rubber boom in Manaus at the end of the 19th century. There are a few buildings left from that period around Manaus, but this by far is the most incredible. No expense was spared to build this place. Materials from all over the word were used to build this opera house which is still in use today. There are concerts and other events, as well as an opera festival every April/May. Much of the artwork and paintings were done in France and then shipped over piece by piece to Brazil. Kiran is sporting the sweet slippers we had to wear in the ballroom so as not to damage the rare woods used on the floor. The last photo is of the opera house at sunset, and shortly afterwards Karin and I took a horse-drawn carriage ride around the opera house.

Downtown Manaus

2006-09-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from downtown Manaus. The first one is taken from my friend Kiran's apartment. She's another teacher at the school where I work. In the distance you can see the Rio Negro and the Amazonian jungle. The next photo shows more of downtown, this time with the Teatro Amazonas, the famous opera house.

Where in the world is Becky Brown?

2006-08-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I've decided to set one of these up so that all my friends and family can keep track of me as I go South American way. I'll be teaching Enlgish for the next year or so in Manaus, Brazil.

Manaus is the capital of the state of Amazonas. If it looks like it is in the middle of nowhere, that's because it is. It's about 900 miles from the Atlantic, and there are very few roads to and from Manaus. Most things get there by boat or by plane. It's a city of around a million and a half people located on the Rio Negro, one of the largest tributaries of the Amazon. A few miles down stream it meets with the Rio Solimões. The two rivers are so different in density and speed that they two run along side each other and don't mix for miles.