Bus Rides with My 100 Best Friends

Semana de 11 de junho-15 de junho de 2012
Escrito o 16 de junho de 2012

Portuguese Words of the Day:
- Trabalho = work
- Gravidez = pregnant
- Cunho = stamp
- Caqui = persimmon
- Menina = girl

This week at work was the nothing out of the ordinary. My daily schedule here goes as the following:

Wake up at 07:30
Leave for work at 08:00
Work from 08:30-15:00, with breaks for cafezinho and lunch
Take the bus to Univille/home/center around 15:15
*On Tuesday's and Wednesday's I have a Portuguese class at Univille

At work, I am doing marketing and coming up with fundraising ideas for Instituto Amar. My current project is creating a video highlighting the classes that Instituto Amar offers. Instituto Amar has manicure classes on Monday afternoons, hair styling and how to be a waiter on Tuesday mornings, home economics on Wednesday afternoons, and another manicure class on Thursday mornings. These classes are free to people who sign up; upon completion of the course, the participants will receive a certificate stating that they have experience in that area.

On Wednesday, I went with my co-worker Fabricia to teach a class on home economics in a poorer neighborhood within the city. The drive from the Institute to that neighborhood took over half an hour, and at one point I thought we had left Joinville. But we made it there, and Fabricia explained to the ten participants, mainly middle-aged women, about how the Institute can help them improve their lives and find a job. Though the place that we went to is "muito longe" from the Institute,  I really enjoyed going there, and will return there on Monday afternoons with Fabricia.

Near the end of the week, we were preparing for "Dia da Feijoada." Feijoada is a typical Brazilian dish consisting of beans and meat. We were expecting about 500 people to attend the event, and so on Friday, the Institute was filled with boxes of plates, utensils, and everything else in between. More details to come in my next post about the weekend's Dia do Feijoada and Festa Junina (June Festival).

The reason why this post is titled is "Bus Rides with My 100 Best Friends" is because after work, I take the bus everyday after work to either Univille, home, or somewhere in between. The buses to Univille isn't so bad since I usually walk to center to take the "Tupy-Norte" to North Station, and then "Bom Retiro" to campus. Since those are more popular buses, they come more frequently (except when you're in a rush. Then it feels like they don't ever come). However, the "Canto do Rio-Circular" bus that I have to take from North Station never comes. Well, it does, but since it is going towards the outer parts of the city to more residential areas, it mainly comes during rush hour.

On Wednesday, I went directly home after work, and there actually were one hundred people on the bus. I was the last person to get on, and the doors shut as I walked in and my bag was stuck (so embarrassing!). The boys that were sitting on the seats by the door had yell for the driver to open the door. But since they were in the very back, the bus driver did not hear them, and I was awkwardly standing over the trash can with my bag stuck in the door. Finally, the other passengers in the front heard the boys yelling and asked for the driver to open the door. However, the doors on the bus open inward, and though I was able to get my bag out I was awkwardly squished between the door, the trashcan, and another woman. It was not a pleasant bus ride to say the least. I really do love living here, but it is so far away from everything. I received a ride from a friend one day, and he made the joke that I live essentially in Curitiba I live so far away from the city center and work. I honestly am considering moving to somewhere that is closer to work.