AP 2010 Information and Application

Last Update: December 4, 4:15PM














After a successful 2009 edition of the Atlantis Project at UNC-CH, we are very excited to spread the word about this great summer opportunity for students at Carolina.

The Atlantis Project at UNC-CH enables a group of UNC-CH undergraduates to explore the island of Terceira (population: 54,000) in the Azores archipelago in the North Atlantic.

Students live in the town of Angra do Heroismo (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) at the island’s university housing, participate in internships with a public organization on the island and engage with the community through (1) discussions with local professionals and leaders and (2) through the creation and execution of events with positive social and/or environmental impact. The third edition of the program will run from May 14 until June 30, 2010, and will offer internships at the following organizations:

• Hospital de Santo Espirito de Angra do Heroismo: multi-department internship in the local hospital including scrubbing in the OR.

• Secretaria Regional do Trabalho e Solidariedade Social: social security division of regional government

• Camara Municipal de Angra do Heroismo: local government; experience program through several areas of this local institution, both in the urban and rural parts of the island (basic Portuguese or Spanish fluency required)

• Secretaria Regional da Educacao e Formacao: working with English classes from Kindergarten – 12th grades at local public schools

In addition to internships, the Atlantis Project is implementing a new component called 'Community Connection' to foster relationships between Carolina students and the Terceirense community. Each participant is required to set up two events for the entire group. The first, Discussion, should be arranged individually with a local member of the community that is informational and discussion-based. The participant is in charge of providing the group with background information on the event contact before the meeting, structuring the discussion and assuring each participant responds to the discussion on the blog. The second, Service, should be action-based and does not necessarily require a local contact. It can be done in groups of 3 so there will be approximately 4 events. The events should be community-based, and can be anything such as trash pick-up, discussion on American culture, football with students, etc.

The native language of the islands is Portuguese, but knowledge of the language is not required for participation in the program. Thanks to the generosity of the organizations and individuals supporting the Atlantis Project, the program itself is free of cost, and students only have to consider the cost of their flight, university residence housing (subsidized) and personal expenses in Terceira. Past participants have traveled to other islands after completion of the program.

E-mail UNCAtlantisProject@gmail.com with any questions, and consider attending our interest meeting on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 7PM in the Union Room 2511.

Applications are due January 20, 2010. To apply, please answer all of the following questions and e-mail to UNCAtlantisProject@gmail.com.

Name:
Year:
Major:
Internship position of interest:

Hospital --- Education --- Local Government --- Regional Government (Social Security)

How familiar are you with Portuguese? (Knowledge of Portuguese is not a requirement for the program):

Fluent Conversational Basic Not at All

What are you involved with or passionate about at school?

What attracts you to the Atlantis Project?

Describe experiences you have had, if any, with cultural immersion. If none, what do you hope to get out of the Atlantis Project?

What languages do you speak?

The Atlantis Project is not graded or for credit. How will you make the most of this experience without official guidance?

The team facilitator helps coordinate the group, plan events and is the liaison between the AP group and local (Azorean) contacts. In the 2010-2011 school year, the team facilitators will help arrange the AP11 edition. Would you like to be considered for this position?

Please e-mail to uncatlantisproject@gmail.com

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Frequently Asked Questions:

What costs are there to consider? Your flight, your housing (approximately 300 Euros), your food and personal expenses. The cost of living (groceries, dining out) is very reasonable on the island.

I'm graduating in May. Can I still apply? Yes! Graduating seniors are eligible.

Where exactly will we be living? In the residence of the island's university, ideally located a couple of minutes walking time from the center plaza of Angra do Heroismo. You will be living among university students (who are mostly from the islands or mainland Portugal, but also come from other countries - Argentina and Angola are past examples) as well as other European students participating in Erasmus (Europe-wide internship program). Will I have a roommate? Yes. Depending on the rooms available, you may be living with either a student from our program or a university student. Each room has its own bathroom.

Is Terceira safe? Terceira is very safe, and the residence is guarded 24-hours a day. The security guards log everyone's time in and out of the residence.

How does the application process work? The written application (above) is due on January 20. Shortly thereafter, within a week, we will be calling back for interviews. We are not asking for GPAs or standardized test scores, etc... We're looking for students who will be passionate about the program and about giving and taking all they can from the experience and the different components required (from the internship to events). As there is no credit given for the program, and therefore no threat of a good/bad grade, it will take motivation and dedication to the project from each participant. As such, we want only those students who will give 100+ percent to our program and the overall experience. The students selected to be participants will be notified around the middle of February. There will be approximately 12-15 students chosen to participate; year in school will not be a factor in the selection process.

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News article published on front page of 'A Uniao' during AP09: http://www.auniao.com/noticias/ver.php?id=16583

Interview done for AzoresTV.com:
http://www.azorestv.com/index.php?vid=296&mod=videocategoria&cate=8

Photos of AP09:













Hiking to and camping in Serreta.















Some of AP09 with other residents.














An Angra street decorated during Sanjoaninas.



Cooking out on Monte Brasil.

Walking to the caves.

AP09 with co-workers from Camara Municipal at Serra do Cume.

View of Angra from Monte Brasil.

AP09 event with Ken Patey, American entrepreneur living in Terceira.



AP09 with Senhora Toste, mother of AP founder Joao Toste.

Camara Municipal, Local Government internship.

Tomas de Borba, the main school for Education/Teaching Internship.

Kim- Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds becomes a reality

Potentially the most ridiculous blog ever, but I felt like this should be documented in writing somewhere. While in Serreta, Kevin and I were sitting and enjoying the view of the ocean and the cliffs and the town nearby. It was late; so everyone else was sleeping. In the middle of our conversation, a large, dark bird (they sound like demon frogs, by the way) comes down and swoops at us. I duck to the left, but apparently its two feet landed on Kevin, and he felt its wings flutter by him. He freaked out, saying that he felt violated, and in hindsight, it was pretty funny. What was even funnier was that everyone else who was sleeping heard this occur, and didn’t know what it was until the next morning.

Kim- Fields of Serreta

We went camping this past weekend, in Serreta, which is in the northwest corner of Terceira. It was absolutely beautiful. Much to the displeasure of the rest of the group, I’m sure, I went on a two hour excursion around the area. The whole road was just great, and it eventually forked into the large fields of grass for cows that we always drive past. It was great just walking around in them, and sitting down, and hanging out. It was interesting, just because whenever I’m by myself, I usually have Mr. iPod with me. Obviously, I did not bring him camping, so I just sat in solitude, and enjoyed the moment. It was different, but very nice. There’s just such a disconnect from doing that, and being there, that I’ve never done before. I can’t remember the last time that I’ve been that solitary, sans people, distraction, or music. Later down the road, there was a lot of wild hyacinth that was really pretty. Shortly after that, I was retrieved by my colleagues via car.

Amanda: Chinese Food!

For some reason, many people in our group, including myself, had been craving Chinese food for a good while. We heard there were a couple of Chinese places scattered about Angra and finally decided to go and eat dinner at one close by! The food was amazing, and not too different from a semi-nice Chinese restaurant you would find in America. I thoroughly enjoyed my hot tea, spring roll, wonton soup, beef with mixed vegetables, and fried rice, and hope to go back before we leave!:)

Amanda: Emergency (?) Room

When working in the ER at the hospital I found out it really wasn’t as much of an “emergency” room as I expected. Terceira is a very small island and I understand why the ER wouldn’t be very busy, but I didn’t realize how many people go to the ER as if it were a family practice. I worked with the pediatrician one day, and I can’t even count how many parents brought their children in for next to nothing. Half the kids were smiling and bopping around when they entered the room, obviously not that sick. The friendly lady doctor seemed very frustrated to see patients who should be making appointments with their family doctors, if even needed, and not be congesting the ER.

Amanda: Weather

The weather on Terceira has been so unpredictable. You may wake up at 8:00 am and think it’s going to be a miserable rainy and chilly day, but my 12:00 p.m. the sun is shinning and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. I must admit the frequent rain showers and windy afternoons can be a bit depressing, especially when you expect the warm sun to be shinning so you can go play on the beach and enjoy the island. But I still love being able to experience such a beautiful place and the uncertain weather makes the sunny days that much better!

Suzanne - Indiana Jones

For a glorious day this week, Courtney, Ana Maria, and I rented a car and toured the entire island. One of the highlights was a treacherous journey through Mata de Serreta (or the forest of Serreta...I think it translates as that....). It was basically hilly, holey, red rock roads bordered by plush, magical green forests!!! Sitting in the middle backseat, feeling the car jump up and down as we flew over the hills and up and down through the holes, I felt as though I was on the Indiana Jones ride at Disney World. It was INCREDIBLE!!! Even though we got stuck in a ditch once and had to push the car out, the entire journey was still unbelievably surreal.