Vestibular. The most difficult time in a teenager’s life

Every year, millions of students go through vestibular in order to get a spot in a university. And this is not an easy task. Some of them try it for years before accomplishing such achievement. Three students that are going through that situation were interviewed. Allan Farias, who is trying a spot in Med school, Carolina Delvaux, Law school and Thiago Morais, who is seeking a chair in Mathematics.

The first question asked to them was what they found the most difficult part of taking vestibular.

Carolina said that there are a lot of subjects and a lot of content on each subject. It makes it hard to keep up. Allan and Thiago agreed that the psychologic side is very important either too. There is a lot of pressure coming from their families, their teachers and ultimately, themselves.

The next question was how they chose their career. And their answer were very similar. They have all been exposed to the career they chose by their parents, which made them love it them.

Now, vestibular this year has come to an end and they are all expecting the results of their tests and hoping for the só so dreamed spot in an a university.

About the human mind.

By Ana Beatriz Andrade.

Sandra Moura, 32 years old, geriatric psychologist decides to open her heart to me and tell some critical and happy experiences about work in this profession her job.

What do you do for a living?

I am a psychologist and I specialize in geriatric psychology which is working with older adults. I work mainly in nursing homes.

 

How would you describe what you do?

I talk with the residents to try to help them cope with the challenges that they’re facing and adjust to the nursing home environment.

What’s a typical workweek for you?

Typically, I see about thirty to forty residents of the nursing home a week. I talk with the staff every day and I have a lot of paperwork to take care of.  It’s always interesting and often challenging. When I go into work, I have a certain number of people that I need to see so it’s pretty flexible in that I start at a certain time, I see who I need to see, and when I’m finished, I can leave.

 

How did you get started?

I got started in the mental health field when I was in college. I started by working at a counseling center at the university I attended. It was really interesting and I felt I had an aptitude for it and I continued on to graduate school. I was young in my career at the time so I wanted something that would sustain me throughout my career and found that I really enjoyed it.

What do you like about what you do?

I do feel that I am very helpful. I make a tremendous impact on the residents’ lives and I know because they tell me. I like the flexibility of the job. I like the challenges of it. I have an opportunity to be very creative in my approach to handling problems in a community setting.

 

Is there anything you dislike at all about your job?

Usually, being a psychologist, you see people when they’re having trouble and when they’re better they say thank you and then they leave. So one of the challenges is that when people want you and need you they’re having a hard time, so you have to get used to being with people that are having a hard time.

What education or skills are needed to be a psychologist?

Frst you need to get a high school degree, then a college degree, and then you need to get a graduate degree.  And you need to have a PhD level. So that could be a PhD, a PsyD(Doctor of Psychology), sometimes people work with an EDD(Doctorate of Education), but it’s a doctoral level program. And then you would have to be in a clinical study so that you can be licensed. You have to take a licensing exam in order to work as a licensed psychologist.

 

What is the most challenging part about your job?

I think as part of my job I tend to fall in love with everybody that I work with, at least to a certain extent, and since I’m working in a nursing home, some of them do pass away. I miss them and have to deal with losing them, so that is the most challenging part for me.

 

What is the most rewarding?

My residents give me such compliments, it’s quite lovely, and it’s very rewarding walking into a room where somebody is anxious or depressed and seeing them within the span of my meeting feeling so much better.

 

What advice would you offer someone considering this career?

I would caution them to think carefully about whether they are able to spend most of their time talking to people that feel bad, and are having trouble.

Robbed Childhood

By Fabiana M. Santos

It’s not hard to notice that children are behaving and dressing up like adults. It seems to me that dolls and doll’s houses are not the dream of consumption of the girls any longer. But the thing is: is it healthy for them? The process of insertion of children in adult’s world has been done in a so subtle way, that it is considered common by society. On the other hand I talked to 2 mothers and they were dissatisfied and frightened. One of them is the housewife Cláudia. She told me that she loves her child, Isabela, the age of 6, and encourages her playing with dolls e watching cartoons such as Peppa Pig and Turma da Mônica. Claudia does not even let her plays with her makeup.

If we make thorough analysis of this situation, the early ripening of children has already happening for a long a time. Despite of being illegal, the exploitation of child labor is a way of early ripening of children. Nowadays media has strong influence on children’s behavior, encouraging them to use things that are not necessary as smartphones, makeup and bra bulge for girls.

The other mother who I interviewed is the secretary Rosa, 6-year-old Alicia’s mother the age of 5. She sad that Alicia asked her for an Iphone. According to her, media’s influence encouraging children to consumerism worries the parents because children can’t afford their expenses by themselves, and parents have to deal with it that.

Skiping stages on childhood can disturb their development on their adulthood, and as a result it might transform them on into immature adults. It is extremely important the participation of parents and school in children’s education, bringing back the ideal of a playful and fantasy world, because they need it. Children need to live each stages of their life, not skip them, once for each thing has the right moment to happen.

Read more about it on:

http://belicosa.com.br/adultizacao-infantil/

http://www.revistapontocom.org.br/entrevistas/adultizacao-da-infancia

Multiple Positions: How Amanda Carvalho Deals With it?

BY

JONATHAN FRAGOSO

Amanda Carvalho

Amanda Carvalho is a Brazilian student of English and Literature at Uerj, who has a very interesting life. She decided to not to talk about her age, but she said that she is over 20. The interesting thing about her life is the fact that Amanda has a daughter, she is a daughter, she is an English teacher and she study studies at Uerj, so in a single day she assumes four different positions.

  She is a young mother, however her daughter was planned, she told us that she had her daughter in the correct time of her life, because she was ready to this challenge. During that time she was also married, so this fact helped her to have a child. Amanda’s daughter is called Laura and Amanda had her daughter before the college. She has only started college after break breaking up with her husband.

Amanda Carvalho and her daughter Laura.

At the beginning of her college she faced some difficulties with her daughter. Amanda was studying almost the whole day and in her free times she was working in an English school. In a sad day her daughter said to her that she does did everything except give giving attention to her. These words made Amanda changes her life. Nowadays, she decided to work less and spend less time at Uerj. It is not an easy thing to do, but she thinks she is doing the best she can.

Amanda has always been was in love for the English Language, but she never thought to be an English Teacher. She said that this career chose her. She decided to start a college, so based in her love to the English Language, she thought she should choose this course. She said that:

“I didn’t plan to teach. I went to a school and “jumped” in this career. And I loved it!!!”

She was in love for the art of teach after her first experience in class. She felt it is the job she wants for life. According to her, teach is not an easy work, but it’s rewarding to know that she can help people do better in life. She thinks that be a good teacher is a relative thing, because the word “good” is relative. Maybe what she thinks is good for her it’s not the same for anyone else. In her opinion, a good teacher must love teach. A good teacher should be patient and creative, because teachers deal with different people and situations. She also said that sometimes she fits in the profile of being a good teacher, but not always. She told us that sometimes she wishes she could throw everything out and run away to the mountains.

“I wish I could throw everything out and run away to the mountains. But I try.”

At her job she lived a difficult moment with a student. She reported that one day a student said in class, in front of all the students, that she had never solved her doubts about the language when she asked to. All the students looked at her and she said, without thinking so much, that she tries to help all the students the best way she can, but she could not lost use the whole all teaching time in class explaining again a topic that had been discussed before because one of the students cannot could stop using the cell phone in class. The student hated this answer, she regretted to have been a little rough, but she continued the class as nothing has had happened.

Based on this interview with Amanda Carvalho, we all were able to see how hard it is to assume four different positions in life. Amanda has different characteristics when she assumes the position of a mother, a daughter, a teacher and a student, and each position requires a different way to behave. Amanda is a clearly clear example that no one should give up of their dreams, because if she can be a good mother, a good daughter, a good student and a good teacher, everyone have has the same capacity to achieve their dreams.

To conclude, Amanda left a message to all the parents that want to do a go to college:

“Go there and start it the as soon as you can. It’s wonderful to know learn different subjects and meet new people. You grow with them.”

Exchange Program to Ireland – What to consider when planning an exchange? The opinion of whom has been through this experience.

Usually when people think about exchange programs, the first country that comes to their mind is the United States of America. Only few people think about Canada, England or other countries. What many people don’t know is that opening up their minds to different countries can make the exchange cheaper and they can enjoy even more this experience. Camila Costa, 26 years old, told me a little bit about her one month exchange experience in Ireland on in 2012 and some points to consider while choosing a destination. To start, she tells me her reasons to go on a trip like this: “I always wanted to go abroad, but I didn’t want only some nice pictures, I wanted memories and something concrete that I could include on my CV”.

Although she doesn’t believe that there is a right age to go on an exchange, Camila says that a certain level of maturity is required in order to enjoy the trip and make wise choices. Of course, these choices start way before getting on the plane, like when you are choosing the place you go, the duration of your trip, where to stay, etc. While planing her trip, she considered how much I it would cost, how much time she could spend there and how easy it would be for her to visit different places.

About the routine, Camila tells that it was very simple: classes during the week, from 9:00 a.m up to 2:30 p.m. The rest of the afternoon, nights and weekends were free, so she had plenty of time to have fun and know visit different places with people she met there. “Usually I got back from the school, did my homework, studied and then I got out to eat something or to know visit some places. Of course, I went to some pubs there and had looooots of beers! Beer, potato and bacon were mandatory! And, on the weekends, I used to visit places near Dublin, and had loooots of beer there too!”

One of the most common things to go through when you are on in a different country is the cultural shock. Even though Camila hasn’t been through anything very shocking, she states some aspects of the Emerald Isle that are very distinct from our country: “In Brazil, we go out to clubs around 1:00 a.m and in Ireland, at this time, we are going back home. Another example is related to bank accounts. Here we can go to any bank and we have a incredible facility to open a checking account, to move it, we get a temporary credit card, password and so on. In Ireland, this whole process takes almost a month! On the other hand, internet connection in Ireland can’t be compared to ours. The most expensive internet plan that we have here is worse than a cell phone plan they have there, that you can put €5 and make phone calls to Brazil for € 0,09 a minute.”

According to Camila, what she misses the most about Ireland is how polite people are. She also states that there are some exceptions, but in general people are very nice and helpful. Another aspect that she says she misses is how beautiful landscapes are: “I was in Ireland during autumn, so it was really beautiful to see the leaves changing on the trees. The view from Bray Head, the Cliffs of Moher and the gardens in Wicklow are absolutely amazing!”

Camila’s tip for future exchange students is to research really well before you go. She says that sometimes, going with an agency can be a good thing, because they can help you to solve some problems that can eventually show up. But if you want, you can go by yourself and try to find a place to stay and a school to study, since it is not so difficult to find them and you will save a lot of money. Another tip from her is to go before or after college because she thinks that the chances of you changing your mind and staying there are too high.

Photoepilation: The new thing.

By Juliane Martins

Nowadays people are more and more concerned about external beauty. Both men and Women are seeking for ways to improve physical appearance more than anything. One of the matters that was most discussed most discussed matters by females all over the years by females is hair removal. It has always been an issue. Beauty standards define hairless bodies as sexy and the trend of the moment. During the past year, some artists were criticized for public appearances without having gone through a process of depilation. The great point of it all is: What means of depilation should people use? The most known are either painful or too expensive, but there is a new thing coming: Photoepilation.

Photoepilation is the name given to a technique that uses intense pulsed light to remove hair all over the body. It has been used by cosmetic and medical practices as well. It can perform various skin treatments for aesthetic and therapeutic uses such as hair removal, photorejuvenation and even some dermatologic diseases. In comparison to laser hair removal it is lot cheaper. It is also painless compared to waxing (which is one of the biggest complaints from people that submit themselves to wax).

In order to know more about this procedure, we talked to Leonardo Costa, one of the entrepreneurs of in this area, more specifically the brand “Não mais pelo”, the leader of this procedure in Brazil. When asked why he decided to start a business in the aesthetic area, he told us that nowadays it has been increasing a lot due to the needs of the population. He also highlighted that men are now searching for hair removal methods as much as women are.

We also wanted to know what this procedure brings differently than others. Leonardo was emphatic to say that it is painless than others, cheaper than other similar options of the area, and it is a treatment of a long duration that brings immediate effects right after the first session. He tested on himself first and achieved interesting results that led him to start a business in photoepilation. “It’s efficient, I had results right after the first session.  It is a treatment, you have to follow it right, discipline is the word and you will have marvelous results”, said the businessman.

Photoepilation is not only for customers, the tendency is that this market will grow along the years. It should be a good investment for people who are seeking new options of business. If you are tired of being an employee, maybe you should consider this possibility to become your own boss. When asked about the sensation of having his own business Leonardo answered: “Sometimes there is fear and uncertainty about the future, but when you invest in a brand that is reliable you get more confident of what to do. When you achieve your goals you feel like it is all worth it. It’s good to see that the work is well done and it delivers to the customer exactly what he/she wants.”

What about you? Are you up to trying? Investing in it or experimenting in your own body?

If you want to know more about this, please enter:

http://www.naomaispelo.com.br/

Interviewing a Former Brazilian Illegal Immigrant On Illegal Immigration

By Denise Soares

 

 

In a speech, last November 20, president Obama announced a polemical decree (an executive order) regarding Illegal Immigration.  The plan is to protect from deportation and partially legalize some of de estimated 11 million illegal immigrants (or undocumented immigrant) in the United States, especially those who do not have criminal records, are married to American citizens, have American children under 21, and illegal immigrants under 21 who have legal immigrants parents.

That polemical decree reminds me of a friend who lived in the United States, in the city of New York under the status of an undocumented immigrant from 2000 to 2002, having returned to Brazil because of a disease acquired in a traumatic event while staying in the USA.

With that in mind, I asked my friend Simone for an email interview in which she recounts her experience as an undocumented immigrant and covers his her position on illegal immigration.

Simone told me she and her husband Paulo had decided to go to America to live the ‘American Dream’. She believed they could have a better life than the one they were leading in Brazil.

In order to make her dream come true, she went to the American Consulate to get the visa. When asked if it was difficult to get it she said that in fact it had not been that much. “I got a six-month tourist visa. I did not have to make any effort for it, just answer the interviewer’s questions,” Simone said.

Before traveling, they decided they would continue living in the United States, after the expiry of the visa, as illegal immigrants.  During her stay there she worked as a maid and her husband as a pizza deliverer.  She enrolled in an English course for foreigners in order to improve her English because she did not speak it very well. In addition, she only lived with Brazilians neighbors and spoke Portuguese with her husband. She said she had to work hard because the cost of living was high in America, especially in New York. Yet she was leading an easy life there. “I was leading an easy life.  Despite of the fact that I was suffering prejudice from the part of the natives and that I had to pay an expensive rent and buy food, I was also making my money. That was my aim there,” Simone said. After the visa expired Simone and Paulo did what they have had planned previously.  They continued to liveing in the United States. She believed she would live in America forever.  “I was wondering if one day I would come back to Brazil,” she said.

When asked why she and her husband decided to come back to Brazil since they were doing well in America she said it was because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “After the collapse of the World Trade Center everything changed in the United States. The government, the FBI and the Immigration Agents started a frantic hunt to find ‘terrorists’ in the American territory.  “The situation was getting worse day by day,” she said.  She was so frightened of living in that situation that she began to develop the Syndrome of Panic.

The turning point for her to return to Brazil was a Roadblock halfway down their home. The policemen were stopping all cars asking for documents.  She was terrified because she was undocumented. She thought she would be arrested and deported. In that moment she fainted and woke up in a hospital.

 

She barely recognized her husband.  The doctor said she had had a nervous breakdown and she probably would undergo a serious psychiatric treatment.  He advised Simone’s husband that it would be better for them to return to Brazil because they did not have Health Insurance. They came back. Simone was treated for two years. “It was a hard time. I thought I would never recover,” she said.

But now everything is right with her. She decided to study English and is speaking better and better.  She brought a considerable amount of money from the United States.  She bought an apartment and a car.  The rest of the money she put in a bank.

She was asked if it was worth it to live in the USA as an undocumented immigrant. She believes it was. “It was worth it, but I would not return to America as an illegal immigrant.  It is folly,” she answered.

Regarding Obama’s Decree she believes it is a fair decision since the majority of undocumented immigrants has regular jobs. In that way they are helping the USA to recover from the economic crisis and to continue to be the most powerful country of the world. “I am very happy for all undocumented immigrants who are going to have the opportunity to receive a legal permission to live in America. I think they have the right to be recognized as real citizens because they work hard, pay taxes and make that country increasingly powerful and wealthy,” she opined.

 

The pros and cons of being a teacher of EFL

Clarice is graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and has been teaching English for four years, since she started college. She has already taught in many English courses in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Nowadays she is working in for only one of these those, place in which she works about 30 hours in a week.

Clarice says she likes her job and does not regret about the career she chose has chosen for her life, however there are some things that have been unsatisfying her lately, making her to think about changing her career.

How was it in the beginning?

Clarice said she has always wanted to be an English teacher, since she started the English course while just a teenager. “I used to look to my teachers and think: ‘I (one) day I want to do that.’”. When she finished high school, she decided to try for a course of English in a public University. Things went well and she was approved on her second attempt.

“Things were really fast, I entered the University and in the following year I was already teaching”. Clarice says that when she started teaching she felt really unprepared for that “I was just a fresh student, recently graduated from the English course”.

She said that in the beginning she had a lot of doubts and difficulties. “You do not have difficulties only about the subject you are teaching, but also about how dealing with students”. Clarice said that English was not the main problem, since she was a beginner; the coordinator of the course she worked gave her basic levels to teach, such as kids or initial students. The main difficult, according to her, were the students. She claimed that she did not know how to react in front of teenagers or kids. “There was a time in which one of the kids started crying and I really didn’t know what to do”.

However she realized that while teaching she learned a lot and that it was not so difficult to be the teacher, by the time she gained confidence. “Every class was a challenge and when I realized, I lost my fear of students”. She said that by the second term teaching, she was already confident to do that, she had already discovered the right ways of dealing with tens or kids.

How is it nowadays?

When asked about the differences about her career in the beginning and nowadays, Clarice said that today she knows she is a better teacher. She said that now she is graduated and of course she knows much more about the subject she is teaching, what gives her more confidence.

When asked about how she reacts in front of students, she said that it is not a problem anymore. She claimed that she knows each characteristic of students “I know the exactly way of dealing with kids, teens or adults. Each one has its characteristics, I just have to realize that and teach a class in the way they want.”

What do you like the most in your career?

Clarice said that the thing that most gives her pleasure is the face students do when they finally understand something they were having difficult. “I love that, the face they make when they finally got the subject”. She claims that she likes teaching, that is what she was born for.

Another thing that she likes about her career is that she learns a lot about the subject she is teaching. “A teacher is never only teaching, he is also learning. You have to study the subject you are going to teach. And by doing that, you learn”. She said that while preparing the classes, she learns many things she did not learn at college or do not remember anymore.

If you like your career so much, why are you thinking about giving it up?

It can seem controversial to think that Clarice is thinking about giving up her career after reading how much she likes it, but she explains herself. She says there are many reasons why she is pondering this choice.

• The excess of work

This semester Clarice is working 30 hours in a week. She has 10 classes and other students of the FLEX*. She said that it can may seem not too much, since in Brazil generally people work 40 hours per week. However, she says: “It can may seem that I do not work that much, but people do not realize that I have 10 classes to prepare every week and at least 100 pieces of  homeworks to correct every week. That’s a lot”.

Clarice also said that this is not what makes her sad, she says she understands that this is part of the job of a teacher, but the problem is that the course she works at also asks her many other things.

This week the course implemented the preparation of classes, what, according to Clarice is more unnecessary work to be done. She says that every class she teaches, she has to fill a form of it according to the standards of the course. What irritates her is that it is unnecessary, since she does not use it during her classes. She says that she uses to prepare her classes in common sheets of paper at home, with a bad handwriting, but she understands that and is able to give an excellent class with this. However, nowadays she has to fill a form with the information of her sheet of paper, what is unnecessary since she uses it for nothing.

* FLEX: It is a modality of English course in which the students do not study in common classes, the study alone at the course, but with the supervision of a teacher.

• The money

Clarice said that another fact that is making her to think about changing her area is the money she makes every month.  She says that she works a lot and in the end of the month, the money is not that much.

“I have to prepare my own classes, I have fill a form that I won’t use, I have to teach at FLEX, I have to correct a lot of exercises and tests, I have to fill the report cards of students, I have to be aware if a students are doing bad or skipping many classes and in at the end of the month I make less than one thousand.”

• The difficulty in getting a job in a better English course

Clarice says she knows that there are English courses that pay better than the one she is working currently, but she claims it to be difficult to get a job in one of these. She says that she has already passed in an exam of one of these courses, but they did not call her yet.

About this subject, Clarice also says “First of all, you have to go there and do a test, if you pass, you have an interview, if they like you, they call you for the training course, which is generally hard and with a lot of competition. If you pass the training course, they hire you and give you some classes. It is a long and hard process.”

 

To finish, Clarice says that she still loves teaching and does not regret her choice at any moment, but there are some things that are demotivating her, she still does not know if she will or nor change her career, but this is a thing she has been pondering well recently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Choosing a career…choosing a path…choosing a future

Camila Machado (25) tells us the challenges and struggles she has been facing to find her own way.

Camila Machado

By Thais Contino

Choosing a career is not the easiest thing in the world, especially when you need to decide it at such early age as it happens here in Brazil. Is it possible to be sure of your future at the age of eighteen? Well, it cannot give a definite answer for every single person, but it is a fact that many young adults find it really hard to make a choice and eventually during their college years they wish they could have experimented different things before choosing a career.

The interviewee of today faced the same situation. She actually started studying at college at the age of seventeen and since she graduated she has been having many different experiences,  which culminated in a  twenty-five-year-old young woman who is not quite sure of what she wants for her future.

Camila Machado owns a bachelor degree in Biology at Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, a prestigious university in Brazil. During her grad years she was able to take part in a project to do research on breast cancer, a very bold choice since she started developing this academic research soon after her mother passed away from cancer.  When we hear her talking about her research  and her interest on this disease  specifically, we wish she would not have walked away from this field.

When asked about why dropping out  the academic studies in biology- and she was very encouraged to pursuit a master’s degree- she is emphatic: there is no future for academic researchers in Brazil, mainly in the public sphere. Camila explains that academic researchers make a living with scholarships, there are no befits, no social security and this is something she worries about a lot since she is her own provider.  However, she feels sorry for this situation and wishes things were different, she claims that would be amazing if academic professionals were more valued and had more guarantees in terms of financial security.

Her own experience in her former lab was not the most positive one. Though she is fascinated by the subject she used to research and  feels that she achieved a professional and social growth,  her guidance counselor did not act as it is expected from people at this position and made the work at the lab very tiring and exhausting.  Definitely,  the lack of interest of the person who was supposed to be  her mentor was the key point to frustrate Camila to work in this particular lab.

Despite this not so great experience at UERJ lab, after finishing  college, Camilla  did have the  opportunity to be in three different labs: one in a hospital of Rio considered pioneer in the treatment of cancer,  the other one with a professor in Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro  and the last one was a paying service as a laboratory technician  in Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Once again, her reality was determinant to her choices. The first two mentioned labs she was not getting paid, actually she was going to apply for a scholarship that would last two years, but was not something certain to happen. And in Fiocrus, the money was not bad but she did not get her work card signed and had  no social security or benefits.

In terms of choosing a different career, Camila  even started studying at college in order to become a vet, but she gave up before the end of the first semester. Then, she decided to study International Relations, but once again, after realizing that was not what she wanted to  be, she dropped before completing her first semester. She assumes  it was a very confusing period and she was eager to  find a new passion to pursuit.

When it comes to job experiences, she worked in a clothe store destined to tourists and as a receptionist in a hostel. She told us very enthusiastically about the experience of  working with tourism. She really enjoys meeting different people from all parts of the world, which she considers a very enriching experience. However, once again she decided to make a move based on financial reasons and took another job.

About choosing a different career, Camila is still not sure at all. She has thought about being a chef, a doctor, a  tourist guide and so on. Though she really loves biology she does not see herself coming back to her profession. At least not now. Camila says she is very undecided  and  is constantly changing her mind, we guess this is a trade of youth.

Now, she works in a shopping mall as a bilingual attendant and the only reason she gives for accepting this job is: money. The salary and the benefits are great, besides this she has the opportunity to improve her English and Spanish skills. Most of all, she says the experience is going to be relevant  when she applies for  a new job.  Also, this current work provides her to  save money to make a dream come true:  an exchange program. Her dream life is to have the opportunity of living abroad for a while and meet different people, cultures and lifestyles. She is absolutely fascinated by the idea of exploring the world.

Camila is a very lively, exciting and well humored woman. She is clever, witty and very well spoken. Sometimes, she seems older and more mature than any other twenty five year old girl, especially when she starts to defend her point of views.  However all her likeability factor and patience goes away when we bring a certain topic: dealing with the public. Camila’s smile suddenly disappears and she can no longer hide: ”people are impolite, rude and lazy, they do not want to think,  sometimes they ask me if they have to go up to get to the third floor when they are at the first floor”  she  tells us impatiently  rolling her eyes.

Well,  if we could give her a piece of  advice, we would say: Hang on Camila, in a couple of months you will be laughing of all this in Europe. Good luck  in your journey!

Easy English

By Augusto Souza

In order to interview some people I decided to go to a busy train station where I thought it was easy get information about anything I wanted to ask. I prepared some few questions about subjects that often appear in the news. This is what happened:
Questions:
1- What do you think about the water crisis in São Paulo?
2- Do you think we are about to face a series of black-out in our country?
3- What is your expectation about the PETROBRAS scandal?
I first met a 48- years- old worker and I asked him about the water crisis in São Paulo and he said that he had no friends living there. “I don’t care about that. We have too much many problems here in Rio. Let them solve their own problems.”When I asked him about a possible lack of electric power he replied: “I think this will not happen. The electricity bill has risen so much just to avoid that.”Then he was asked about the Petrobras scandal. “Nothing is gonna happen. This is Brazil.”
The next interviewee was a 19- years- old girl who declared to be not interested in none of these subjects. Then I asked her: “What are you interest in?” “Boys, of course!” She shouted.
After trying many and many times to listen to a lot of people who refused to say a word I finally met an old lady delivering pamphlets. When she realized that it was an interview and I was a student of English language she complained: “I hate English Courses!” “Why?” I replied.“I wasted several years of my life and a lot of money trying to learn English. One day I noticed that I was getting older and older and I was able neither to understand what native speakers said nor talk to them so I gave up.”Finally, the interview got interesting. Then I asked her why she could not learn the language and once more she complained saying that most of English Courses are only interested in make money because they really don’t care about being more efficient and objective. “They teach us things that we don’t need to know to reach our goal: Understand and be understood.” When I was about to make some more questions, she disappeared among the crowd however what she said made me think about the reasons which most of English Courses keep their students for too long in their classrooms. Is that really necessary? In the pamphlet she gave me it was written: “Jesus is coming soon”. Considering all of the time I was there and all of the people complaining in the station: He is not coming by train.