May 14, 17

May 14

We started teaching the workshop this week, and after the first two days, I think we're doing all right. We definitely could have improved a few things, and every time I teach I realize how much more I need to improve my Portuguese, but it's been nice to have people participate and actually teach the class to people who haven't ever had it before. The class is interesting because it's pretty diverse. Most of the students are in their late teens or early twenties, and they're looking for work to break into their career or just trying to get any kind of work experience. But there are some others, like a guy who's about 30 years old and very well educated. He has worked as a branch manager for a bank. He just moved to Fortaleza for some reason I didn't understand when he told me, but he's looking for a specific kind of job. Then there is a mother of about 45 years who is also looking for her first job, and she's got a pretty good idea of what she wants to do, but she seems to be pretty flexible. Then there's another guy who is about 20 years old who knows how to read and write, but not very well, so he has required some extra help to get some of the assignments done in a timely manner. But they're all wonderful people who are eager to learn.

I feel bad because I haven't really done much since I've been here. We've just been trying to get our bearings and make some friends. But the worst is that I haven't really done any homework. That's not good. Guess I better get started.

May 17

We finished teaching the workshop, and only 4 people that started didn’t finish! We had been told that a lot of people drop out, but out of the 26 or so people we started with, some 22 finished the workshop. It was awesome. Someone even gave Skyler and I clocks as a gift to thank us for teaching the workshop. Why a clock, I’m not sure, but oh well.