AP 2010 Information and Application

Last Update: January 14, 2:45PM

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.

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.

Ana Maria - Amputations & Adventures

I will never forget the sound of a steel saw on a human leg, nor will the image of a human femur with all of the tissue, muscle, and fat peeled back ever lose its power in my memory. On Tuesday, while I was in the OR, I walked into a leg amputation surgery in OR #2. I knew right away that I should walk back out, but there was something about the surgery – already in progress – that mesmerized me and rooted me to my spot. Even when one of the nurses pulled up a stepping stool for me, I couldn’t leave. Instead, I continued to watch from a better vantage point. As a result, those sensory images will never be erased from my memory. It was awful, gruesome, and one of my worst nightmares, and yet in a way I knew it was necessary. The doctors helped to prolong the patient’s life, so it was a necessary surgery. Still, it was horrifying. Let’s just say I’m not going into orthopedics…

Courtney, Suzanne and I opted out of camping this week, and instead we rented a car for 24 hours. We drove all around the island, stopping any and every time we felt so inclined. I have about a million pictures of Suzanne embracing nature in various forms, be it flowers or cows or indigenous plants… And we have several exploratory pictures taken with self-timers. Terceira is a beautiful island, and it was a great experience to be able to see the other three quarters beyond Angra. At the end of the day, however, we all realized how much we like Angra. Now that we’ve explored the other three sides, I feel much better about just relaxing on the praias of Angra or munching on delicious pastries in the cafes around here.

Yuen-Pastry Price

I have talked to a few other people who have had similar experiences but I've gone into the same cafe/restaurant multiple times gotten the same thing and been charged a whole variety of prices. Some days the chocolate croissant is 80 cents sometimes 1.20 euro, sometimes the cafe is 50 cents sometimes a euro, even if it is the same waiter or waitress serving me. I guess its a disadvantage of clearly being a foreigner. However, once a waitress or waiter has been won over, the prices tend to be better. I would like to know if the locals get an even better bargain.

Yuen-Making One Portuguese Language

Today we were talking with one of our elementary school teachers, Edgar, and he told us about how Brazil and Portugal are trying to change their languages to become more similar. Portugal is changing its Portuguese to match Brazilian Portuguese. A few examples he gave us were that Portugal's Portuguese would drop some letters that are silent in certain words in order to make the spelling of those words identical to the Brazilian spelling. To my knowledge, this practice of language merging is not very typical. The United States and Britain are not trying to merge their two types of English into a uniform language, and certainly there are many other instances in which the same language has both different spelling and pronunciations depending on the part of the world it is used in. I am curious to learn more about the reasoning behind and also the objectives of unifying Portugal's Portuguese and Brazilian Portuguese and to what extent and how fast these changes are going to occur.

Yuen-Cantinho

Cantinho is a very small elementary school that we've taught at a few times. There are only 6 students in the first grade, 4 boys in the second grade, and about 6 students in the third grade. The school is very small and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade are combined into one classroom. Nevertheless, the teacher we work with calls it a "paradise of a school" because the kids are incredibly well behaved, very sweet, and like to do work. They are very productive and get through 2 or 3 worksheets or exercises when other classes we've taught in at different schools struggle to get through one. Next year Cantinho is closing and the students will attend Tomas de Borba. Though these small village schools are probably not very cost efficient, still there is something being lost by combining everyone into big schools in which student behavior is out of control. From teaching and visiting a few other small schools, in which almost across the board the students are drastically better behaved than at Tomas de Borba, one has to wonder which factors are most important in improving student behavior. Whether its being in a smaller community, having less space to run around in, not having both kindergartners and highschoolers attend the same school, the fact that these smaller schools have been open much longer than Tomas de Borba, or other factors, hopefully these things can eventually be improved upon to fix the behaviorial issues at Tomas de Borba.

kevin - ivory

today i was enjoying a nice quiet lunch at the cerverjaria and i witnessed an interesting transaction at the adjacent table. two very distinguished looking older gentlemen were enjoying a beer and speaking quietly. they were impeccably dressed and had finely trimmed white beards. a younger, sketchy looking, wirey dude shows up and joins them. at this point they were certainly an odd looking threesome. after several minutes the most recent guest pulled out three pieces of ivory and sold them to one of the older gentlemen for 150-200 euros. he wrapped the bills up and rubber-banded them and put them into his breast pocket. they then proceeded to leave the ivory on the table for the duration of their conversation.

kevin - ivory

Kevin – The Base

Dearest Blog,
“Have you been to the base yet?” every one fluent in English asks me in our first conversation. “No. Should I?” They don’t usually have a response, but often make an uneasy face I’ve yet to comprehend. People from the island haven’t been allowed on the base for some years after claims that a black market had arisen because of local doctors and other professionals given permission to shop at the base’s notoriously cheap stores. I’ve decided I would like to visit once and I have no reason to believe there wouldn’t be an opportunity to do so at some time or another. I admit I’m eager to see what’s been described as ‘America outside of America’; however, given my recent understanding of how many islanders view Americans, this doesn’t strike my as a necessarily flattering description. Here I have to admit a bias of my own – out of the 10 or so GIs/private contractors I’ve come across over the last 2-3 weeks, I can’t say any represent a side of America/Americans I would choose to present to people outside the states.

More importantly - why do we have a base here? Since when? Why do we still need it? What is of pressing, secret importance here? I’ll find out when I go and I think I’ll have to do some outside research as well. Maybe in another blog.



Kevin – Bull fights and students
I’ve come to realize that a lot of the kids surrounding me and trying to make gestures to me to understand something at a number of bullfights are in fact students of mine at Tomas Borba. In retrospect its ridiculous I didn’t think about it in the first place. The kids are always stoked when they see me and at bullfights and even more so when I recognize them in school. They usually come up for a high-five or just make a smiling nodding face that I would translate as ‘right on’. At first I was concerned what they’d say to their peers – that they were hanging out with that American teacher at a bullfight having some beers – something like that. Then I realized it doesn’t matter. The kids have fun; I do too, and I’m relating them in a way that their actual teachers can’t.

Also, the kids all go to the same discos as us, so that’s a bigger concern.

Sarah- 6. U.S. Air Force

On Wednesday the 6 people working at the hospital visited the U.S. Air Force Base in Lajes with our intern leader Marta and 3 other doctors who work in Angra. Sergeant Onker, Ellis, Benedict, and Misker (?) all gave us presentations about their experiences working at nurses or doctors in the Air Force. They spoke mainly of trauma patients and how to deal with emergency situations. One of their stories was about a dog named Rocky, trained to detect bombs. While they were deployed in Iraq a local boy came into the ER accompanied by an elder. Rocky kept trying to get to the elder, and although nurses protested at first they let him go towards Rocky. The elder was searched, and had a grenade! Rocky the dog had saved everyone’s life. Later, when Rocky was injured he was given first priority and we saw a picture of Ellis’s that showed Rocky going into an X-ray machine. Another story that stuck out to me was the story of Bay 2. Sergeant Onker had been stationed in Iraq and worked in the hospital there as a nurse. The hospital wards were made of tents and in the emergency room were 5 bays, all stocked with supplies and ready for any trauma victim. Bay 2 was where the patients that were the worst off went. At one point during the war Bush and other government officials gave to the hospital and they noticed how the floor of Bay 2 was dented from the beds being pushed down on the floor. There were stains and all the signs of people being over that floor trying to save lives, and succeeding. The Bay can now be seen in the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington D.C. The experience of going to Lajes and hearing these stories warmed my heart. Not only did I get a medical perspective (one of the main points of the trip), but I felt touched that these people had risked their lives to save others fighting for America.

Sarah- 5. First Bull Fight

On Monday I attended my first real bull fight. We met up with Carolina, one of Courtney’s students, in her village when the torrada was taking place. She showed us around and we ended up at a small coffee/pastry shop where we sat until the bull fight started. When the first shots went off- warning us that the bull was about to be released we jumped onto a wagon that had wood beams blocking us from the street if the bull were to ram the wall, which it did. We didn’t see the bull at first because it was farther down the street, but when we saw mass amounts of people running in are direction I knew it was coming. The bull was huge! Its nose was bleeding from being frustrated, and men would try and rile it up. The fight lasted maybe 20 minutes per bull, and there were four bulls. During half time we moved to a different location- Carolina’s grandmother’s house, which had bleachers set up to watch the fight. It was a great view and really entertaining. The only bad part was the weather- which was freezing and rainy! After the bullfight we went to Carolina’s house to have food. Her house was in the prettiest location, with a view of fields and the ocean on one side, and the mountains in the other. Her grandparents were there and were so nice! We ate so much food, and came home feeling fully satisfied from the day.

Sarah- 4. Tuna Performance

Tonight we made our way to Havana to hear Joao and Hugo play in their Tuna band called Tusa. We got there and waited around for a while, and then their band, a group of about 20 people came into the small bar. They were all dressed in traditional clothes and looked very professional, even though moments before they had been smoking, drinking, and hanging out with everyone at the bar. They introduced themselves, in Portuguese, and then in English. It was nice of them to do translate the whole time and I enjoyed feeling welcome and comfortable with a different culture. The music was great! People sang, played guitars, tambourines, and other instruments. In the middle of some songs our friend Hugo would come to the front of the band and play the tambourine while dancing. In between songs people would tell jokes to the bar, and would once again translate them into English for us. During the performance a couple of Tusa members came and grabbed our hands, asking for a dance. All the girls joined in a traditional dance, consisting of a lot of clapping, snapping, and turning. It was great! After they finished everyone in the bar, including the band, hung out for the rest of night. It was a night mixed of Portuguese tradition and coming together as different cultures to have a good time.

eric- driving

Driving here sucks. The roads are narrow and people fly down them. The other day I was out delivering ballots for the European parliament elections and I got clipped by a truck. I wasn’t even in the road. I was completely on the sidewalk and I got smacked in the elbow by the rearview mirror of a delivery truck. It didn’t really hurt but it scared the shit out me. One of the guys we work with at the government told us that last year a tourist crossed the street at what he thought was a crosswalk and was hit and killed by car. What a terrible way to die. At the same time, however, everyone who lives here seems to understand that driving, and even walking in the street can be dangerous. They honk when they are about to take a blind corner and I’ve never seen such a lack of road rage. Rather than complain about the street conditions, people tend to band to together to overcome them. Maybe if driving wasn’t so easy and convenient in the U.S. people wouldn’t be so unkind to each other on the road. Eh, that’s probably just wishful thinking.

eric - bulls

I learned something important last week. If you mess with a live animal, especially one that’s bigger and stronger than you, it will get pissed, and it will try to inflict pain on your naïve butt. A few beers into the most recent bullfight I attended, I was granted the liquid courage to tempt the bull. I figured, hey all locals do it without getting seriously hurt, Why cant I? Ill certainly be able to get away. Wrong. I slipped running and took a bull horn right to the butt. Grant it, this was not a full grown bull. It was a mere adolescent that probably has about a hundred pounds on me. If it had been full grown, I would probably be sitting on a doughnut right now with a broken tailbone. Fortunately, all the little bull did was lift me off the ground enough so that I could regain my footing and run away. The bottom line is, “damn nature, you scary”. You can’t control what an angry bull will or will not do. So why try? From now on, Im going to stay a safe distance away from large, ornery animals. Well, at least the ones with horns.

Ana Maria: Kayaking & A Labor of Love

On Saturday morning, Yuen burst into my room at an early hour to wake me up for our kayaking adventure. Even though for the first few minutes I had to suppress an urge to physically harm her, Yuen’s excitement and energy soon got me up and ready to go. We went out to the marina area and met with George, who gave us a brief lo-down on kayaking and let us get in the water. Initially, Andy was sitting shotgun in our kayak, so all I had to do was match strokes with him. I was thankful that I didn’t have to do any thinking yet because it was still before noon, and anticipating his strokes was a task that I could lose myself in. Unfortunately for him, Andy is um poco taller than the average Portuguese person, so he was losing sensation from the waist down, which I can imagine was not the most tickling of sensations. We turned around and went back to the dock to try and switch spots, which ended up working out for the best because Andy didn’t die out in open water and I got to wear the pants for a change. Although initially I didn’t really understand how the steering went and how to change directions, after a few tutorials from George and Andy, I was a pro. The weather was gorgeous, and at one point when we were out on the water I got so caught up in the panorama that I forgot to keep paddling. It worked out well because Andy toned his muscles while I made us look pretty. George almost had a heart attack on multiple occasions I’m sure, but we all survived the open waters. It was a phenomenal way to start the day.


About 900 babies are born in the hospital in Terceira every year, and although this would calculate out to a couple of births each day, what actually happens is some days there are multiple births, while other days no babies are born. This week in Obstetrics & Gynecology, I had my heart set on seeing a birth. Unfortunately, the first few days, I missed the actual deliveries. On Thursday, however, I was determined to stay and see everything. A couple came in around 9 am, and the poor new mother was in labor until 7pm. However, at 7:04 pm, after a complicated labor, I witnessed the birth of Mathilde, weighing in at three and a half kilograms! It was incredible to watch. It almost sounds cliché because people gush about babies, but when you see that baby’s head emerging from its mother and entering the world for the first time, it absolutely takes your breath away.

Exploration and Greve - The I word

Today, for the second day in a row, there was a greve (strike) on the island. Yesterday 8 schools closed because of a teachers strike. Today at the hospital there was a technicians strike. I showed up actually a bit earlier than I have been and was shocked to find no one there. Not really knowing what to do I sat down and waited and studied some Portuguese. Dr. Miguel came in and told me there was a greve and wrote it down but didn’t know the English word for it – he logged me onto a computer and I looked it up and it means strike to be sure. 2 of the technicians came in anyways and worked harder than normal (they came in because they needed the money that bad, one of them I know to be recently married, not sure about the other) and the doctors were around a lot more – which ironically the tech’s didn’t like. Dr. Miguel at one point pretty intensely threw something into a trash can expressing frustration with the absence of the technicians as he now had to do a lot more paper filling and patient data entry and stuff than normal and he obviously doesn’t like doing it. I'll be interested to know the result of the strikes...


Abby and I went for an adventure – the second time I had been propositioned as such that day. This adventure was truly epic. We started just walking going nowhere in particular until she suggested we try for the top of the mountain (part two of my attempt to get there…). So we started walking towards there with the loose goal of trying for the top. We walked up the highway on a cow path for a while and crossed on an overpass designated for cows and then kept walking. Eventually we found a ‘road’ that sort of went the direction we wanted so we took it. Eventually it ended and we had to cross a fence which marked the beginning of crossing fields that we didn’t own. From there we hit a creek that we either had to cross or end our journey – naturally we decided to cross. From there we were in the trees and had to literally bush-wack our way through the forest all the way to the top. We weren’t sure how far it was or if we were going to make it but we started and kept going. Eventually we got through the trees and bushes and thorns and found a random pool. Apparently it was for storage for water for the animals but it seems really random to have a concrete pool with a road through the forest, up the mountain, that leads to it. We tried to finish our hike to the top of the hill but it was starting towards darkness and we didn't want to hike through the trees down the hill so after a small, failed attempt to climb to the top again we quit and walked home - down the highway, past modelo, past many churches, to la residencia - and it was good.

Kim- Ziplines and tunas and lantana, oh my!

We have been super super busy, and then all of a sudden, it has flatlined. Not that I’m complaining, but it’s definitely interesting. I love the mix of the two; running around, doing all sorts of different events, and then just relaxing and talking with each other. During Epicentro, on Saturday, I believe, Abby and I were on the small zipline at the playground, when a little boy comes up. He was probably about 5 or 6, and we found out that his name was Fabio. We then proceeded to play with him on the zipline for an hour or two, which I found incredible, considering we didn’t say more than 10 words to him. I think it’s great how children are like that; they’re not too concerned with who you are and what you think, but if you’re fun, and if you will play, you’re great! He would say, “your turn!” and Abby and I would go, “my turn?!” and then we would count to three, and then zip down! We were always running with him and laughing and it was exhilarating. It was really carefree and unexplainable. I miss working with kids. There was one point where he started talking to us a whole bunch, and we just responded with “yes!” and “oh good!” He might have told us the secret to life, but I guess we’ll never know.

On Sunday, we went to a tuna!! It’s a traditional kind of band that only exists in Portugal and Spain. It’s a big group of guys (girl tunas and coed tunas exist as well), and they all sing, and play instruments (guitars, mandolins, cello, drums, rainstick, maracas). There’s one guy who waves a flag around (think colorguard) and other boys dancing and doing cool tricks with tambourines. It. Was. AWESOME. They were just so great! The music was incredible, especially since there’s so much history and culture involved. All of the tunas know the same songs, and then within their own tuna, they will write their own songs. It’s very well respected here. I love how they blend their traditions with modern times, having fun and telling jokes in between songs. The jokes were dirty, and most of them translated pretty well when they retold them in English. The tuna we saw is called TUSA, which stands for Tuna of the University of …SA. Whatever that is. However, the term “tusa” itself actually means boner. It was described to me as “when you have power in dick”. Yay for experiencing new cultures.

I went for a run the other day around Monte Brasil, only I took a different path. Instead of going up the mountain, I kind of went around. It was this decently long dirt path, and it was beautiful. There was no one there but me, surprisingly, and it led out to this one bench, with an astounding view of the ocean. It’s so surreal, that we’re here. The path had lilies and lantana everywhere; they just grow wild here, which is ridiculous. It’s beautiful, though. I love that being here isn’t really just about the internship, but about everything in between; the people, the culture, and the natural beauty around us.

Courtney: Second Languages

Every once in awhile, Portuguese people are surprised that I can understand and speak Portuguese. Especially with the younger ones at school, it’s much easier to communicate with them when I can speak in their language. For example, today we were working on names of rooms and objects in the house. I was able to explain in Portuguese that ‘sink’ is for washing hands so they could pick out where they wash their hands in the picture and then associate the Portuguese and English words in their minds. The younger students show excitement when they hear me speak Portuguese, but it is much more impressive that they are speaking and learning English at their ages. Our taxi driver last night put so much effort into communicating with us in English - even though he knew that I could speak Portuguese – because English is ‘so important to learn.’ In sentences without verbs and articles, he told us a little about Terceira’s history. I wish the importance of learning other languages had been emphasized throughout my schooling as much as it is emphasized here (and in just about every other part of the world). We almost have it too easy learning the ‘universal’ language as our first language.

Courtney: Teacher Placement

The method used to determine the schools where teachers will be placed seems absolutely awful, but yet to a certain extent unavoidable. Teachers from all over Portugal are placed in schools, sometimes requiring moves from island to island or even continental Portugal to an island. Although it seems that it would make sense if there weren’t enough teachers from the Azores or particular islands to fill the positions, there are a substantial number of Azorean teachers without placements. There’s obviously more to the system that I am not familiar with yet, but it seems inefficient and inconvenient for teachers to have to uproot from island to island or continent to island for 10 months at a time.

Interesting Lunch: Amanda Karam

I had a very interesting lunch experience this week. Sarah and I ventured to the “euro sopa” restaurant which we had heard serves very good soup. As we entered this tiny place, we were automatically reminded of the foreign facade we undoubtedly carry everywhere we go. First, we awkwardly stood near the front of the restaurant; not knowing if we were supposed to wait to be seated or seat ourselves, which seemed impossible at the time because all of their four, maybe five, tables appeared full. But little did we know “full,” at this “euro sopa” cafe has a slightly different meaning than we were accustomed. Eventually, the busy waitress with a nose ring signaled us to sit down at a four person table, already occupied by a middle aged Portuguese man. So we hesitantly sat down for lunch. Nonetheless, we ate delicious soup, and carried on as normal, only with a slight sense of discomfort knowing a complete stranger was sitting beside us, yet acting as if we didn’t exist. But as it turns out, it really wasn’t that bad sharing a table with stranger in exchange for tasty sopa…the only real issue we encountered was wondering if it was appropriate to take the last piece of yummy bread.

Greenness! Amanda Karam

After arriving at the residence, it didn’t take me long to notice quite a few “life style” differences. I have been learning throughout the past few years how Europe has significantly surpassed America, and has become a world leader in environmentalism and energy efficiency, but I guess I never actually thought about or understood how using less energy could affect one’s day to day life. I LOVE the environment and am always looking for ways to reduce my ecological footprint but since my arrival I have found myself annoyed more than once as I try adjusting to the lack of energy at my disposal; at least twice, the dark hallways have facilitated my unawareness of that last step one must take before reaching ground level, the vacuum here would not stand a chance in an all out power sucking battle with the my heavy duty vac at home, and I must say the time and texture involved with hand washed/hung dried clothes bothers me enough to fork up way more money than I would like to in order use those convenient electricity sucking machines. The not-so-cold refrigerators have also provided some insight about the high price of electricity here, which is so cheaply supplied in the U.S. I know not all of these inconveniences may exist specifically for the purpose of saving energy, but they have helped me realize how I have lived a pretty spoiled life. I also see how many of the luxuries I have at home, while convenient, aren’t always necessary for people to get along with their everyday life perfectly happy!

Abby Furr- Day of the Holy Spirit

At my internship today, Caritias, the high school as well as the preschool and staff were having a celebration. We began at the preschool and processed to the chapel for a special mass to celebrate the day of the Holy Spirit. Apparently this was a pretty normal mass, except it was all in Portuguese, so I just did my best to stand, sit, and kneel at the appropriate times. At the end there was a coronation, which makes this service special compared to others. Then we all processed back and had a huge, traditional meal including lots of bread, this really good cabbage soup with some type of bread in it, a large dish of various boiled meats and veggies (tastes better than it sounds, promise), alcatra (yummy slow cooked meat), and sweet rice. It was such a great experience to eat this giant lunch with the kids and staff from school and communicate with them using any words we knew in common in either language. We talked about their lives, the coming festival on the island, and the historical importance of the celebration. Over all, Friday was a pretty successful, and fun day.

Abby Furr- Laundry

Here in the Residence, it’s kind of difficult and expensive to do laundry, and let’s face it, as long as we all have a few clean t-shirts and delicates, everything will probably be okay. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see someone in our group bent over a beday, trying to scrub the dirt out of our clothes and then hanging them outside to dry on the line, not that any of us really know how to use a beday for its proper function anyway. I’ve never hand washed clothing before really in my life, and really just did not realize what a complicated processes it could be. Lots of soaking, rinsing, rubbing together, and dirty, dirty water! It’s amazing how brown the water turns, and it’s a pretty eye opening experience for someone who’s used a washing machine her whole life!

Yuen-10 child family

During epicentro weekend, we were hanging out at the park at Monte Brasil eating some free food when we met a 14 year old boy Hugo and his 9 siblings. Hugo was the oldest and had dropped out of school to take care of his other brothers and to help provide for the family. Though it certainly isn't fair that Hugo has been forced to grow up so rapidly to help take care of his family, still it is very touching to see him look after his other brothers and be both a playmate and father figure for them. The school system here is undergoing changes to extend the mandatory education to finishing the 12th grade, though this will only become effective with the incoming kindergarten class still hopefully this will help change the futures of boys like Hugo who are in a compromising situation and cannot afford to pursue an education past the legal minimum requirements.

Suzanne - OR = HEAVEN

This week I shadowed doctors in the operating room. Being in the OR here was amazing, I could "surgery hop" or go from surgery to surgery as I pleased, depending on what was happening and what I was interested in!! All of the doctors were super friendly and very willing to answer questions (as long as you did not ask them during the middle of an intense part of the surgery, or the question only required a "yes" or "no" response.) The most amazing surgery of the week was a carotid artery repair on Thursday morning. The anesthesiologists were all really excited because an anesthesiologist from Lisbon or "the mainland" had flown in to show them another option for anesthesia during the carotid artery surgery (using local blocks and a small sedative as opposed to general anesthesia--under which the patient would be completely unconscious). Therefore, the patient was awake during the entire carotid artery surgery (which was done on the neck) and it was really really weird/ strange / amazing/ interesting to watch him talk as half of his neck was essentially "not there"-- during the surgery they had to cut all the skin and superficial muscles of the neck to get to the deep carotid artery. So besides the sci-fi engaging features of the surgery, the delicateness which which they cut open the artery, scrapped out the hardened walls and then carefully (so carefully) sewed a prosthetic onto the remaining artery was unbelievable. Such care and beauty and art and delicate workmanship -- the finished new artery was unbelievable!!!!!!!!! The stitches were close together and small and perfect...I wish I could watch the surgery over and over again every day.

Blog 2
Also amazingly (though not quite as), on Friday, I saw a total hip replacement!!!! As for the carotid artery surgery, I was given a stool to stand on to watch over the heads of the surgeons only a foot or so behind where they were working and I could see absolutely everything--> incredibly amazing paraezu. Marta warned me before hand that watching the surgery would like standing in a carpenter's shop...and she was NOT kidding. During the surgery (this patient was also awake but sedated...it was...interesting...he was a heavy snorer...) they cut deep down the the bone and sawed off the head of the femur (with a literal saw -- imagine bone chips and blood flying everywhere!) then stuck a large ball shaped drill into the socket and ground away until it was a perfect fit for the prosthetic new femur head. The surgery was the absolute opposite of the carotid artery surgery - delicate and painstaking vs. fast and merciless. However, both were absolutely amazing to watch and I am so happy I got the opportunity!!!!

Yuen-speak chinese?

On Friday night the Americans went to a club for some dancing and a woman approached me who was Terceirian and had lived in China and Taiwan for 9 months. She wanted to practice her Chinese with me but my Chinese is lousy and it didn't work out very well. Then we started talking about Portuguese and she offered to give me some Portuguese lessons in the future and we exchanged contact information. Hopefully she will get back to me and we can further the language exchange. Anyways, I've noticed that the people here are extremely friendly and approachable and often offer to help us. The other day, while we were in a pastry shop, we started talking to two locals and we ended up exchanging emails and they offered to take us to the American base in the near future because they had military connections. There's a huge sense of community here and though we stick out as the strangers, I've still experienced great hospitality from almost everyone I've met.

Ana Maria - Just Dance

Today was day 2 of Epicentro: Festival da Actividade! While all of the activities have been a lot of fun, my favorite part of the weekend was this afternoon. After an intense morning of physical activities on Monte Brasil, we had just settled down for lunch outdoors, when some of the staff members came over to our group and asked us if we wanted to get up on the stage and dance. A few of us had initial reservations, but soon our entire group was on the stage mimicking the moves and grooves of one of the staff members as we jammed out to techno music. We may have looked conspicuous, and maybe even a little ridiculous, but I was once again reminded of how wonderfully active and open-javascript:void(0)minded our group is. Everyone is such a good sport!

DAVID JARAMILLO EURO CHAMPIONS CAMPIONATO

ONTEM EU E ERIC FOIMOS A NA CASA DO UM COMPANERO DO TRAVHALO PRA ASISTIR O PARTIDO DO BARCELONA E MANCHESTER UNTD. ERAMOS NOVE E BEBIMOS MUITO SUPER BOCK Y TAMBEN LLANTAMOS DEZ DIFERENTES TIPOS DO PORCO E PAPAS FRITAS. I HAVE LEARNED THAT A BIG PART OF MALE CULTURE IN TERCEIRA IS TO TELL JOKES, A MAN WHO IS POOR AT TELLING JOKES IS LOOKED DOWN UPON AS SOCIALLY MEEK. MANY OF THE JOKES RELATE TO WHORES, SEX, AND SMALL PENIS. MANY TIMES ERIC AND I CATCH THE GIST OF THE JOKE YET CANNOT FULLY COMPREHEND THE PUNCH LINE BUT WITH TIME WE WILL GET BETTER. WHEN TELLING A JOKE THE MEN USUALLY LOOK TO PONTES FOR APPROVAL, I BELIEVE THIS THE CASE SINCE HE HAS WHITE HAIR AND AN IMPRESSIVE DOS XX SNOW/GRAY BEARD. THUS PONTES IS THE ALPHA MALE IN THE CAMARA'S MALE SOCIAL CIRCLE. I LIEK THESE SOCIAL EVENTS AND TODAY IT IS UNFORTUNATE I MISS PLAYING SOCCER GAME WITH COWORKERS YET TOMORROW WE ARE SUPPOSED TO SET UP AN OUT TO NIGHT CLUB TWINS.


ADIEU

Ana Maria - Gallo!

One of the first things I learned in Terceira was that “café” here does NOT mean the same thing as coffee in the United States (or anywhere else I’ve been thus far for that matter). Instead of your standard, albeit watery, cup of joe, a café fresh is served in what looks like a kiddie playset cup and saucer. You get two large packets of sugar with it, and in case there’s any doubt in your mind at first, you quickly realize that you’ll need both packets for your first Portuguese coffee. It’s more potent than any shot of espresso I’ve ever had before, and yet people here drink it black or with at most one packet of sugar. Now, I’m a pretty big fan of coffee, so I was trying to order café con leite. It backfired once because instead of a larger cup diluted with milk, I got maybe a drop of milk added to my espresso. However, after some perseverance, I was taught about “gallo,” which is a most delicious alternative to café fresh. It consists of ¾ of a cup of steamed milk with the shot of café poured on top. Plus, it’s a wonderful way to keep up with my calcium intake! The downside is that today, Dr. Rui told me that gallo is generally a breakfast drink, and it’s more of a kiddie drink than an adult drink, which would explain why every time we’ve ordered gallo in restaurants and bars, not only have we received 2 packets of sugar, but we’ve gotten some pretty funny looks. Apparently as long as I can’t drink like the locals, I’m bound to stick out. But hey, gallo is absolutely delicious, so I’ll take the looks of surprise if that’s the price to pay for such a yummy drink!

Lover of Indigenous Foods - Hospital 1, Hospital 2

Sometime during the morning of 5/26 I was asked by Dr. Lima if I wanted to go with him to the army base on the other side of the island when he goes later. Of course I said yes. At a bit after noon we went and drove over there. We talked about the island and family and such, where he was from and all that. He lived in Angola for the first 18 years of his life during the civil war there and all that jazz, kind of crazy. The base was really cool. A few thousand people live there permanently and they have awesome ocean side condo’s and everything you could ever want for services – movies, gym, restaurant, store, pool, etc. We went to the clinic since that’s where we were destined (Dr. Lima does consulting for them once a week). Once there we were told that there was nothing for Dr. Lima to do there that day so he had Bryan (their ultrasound technician) show us/me around their clinic. It was weird, I’ve only been here for 10ish days and seeing American money (once you are on the base property you are on American soil and they speak English and use dollars etc.) was really a novelty. After the tour we stopped and got basket & robins ice cream and then we went to tour the rest of the base and go home. Instead of going through the island on the way home we drove along the coast through praia da vittoria, porto martin, porto judeo, and back to angra. It was the most incredible drive I’ve been on in such a long time. Dr. Lima was so so kind to take me on this drive and show me swimming holes and towns and beautiful waters and coast lines.

Today (5/27) in Radiology I saw something that only happened on tv. A lady was getting a ct scan and she was unconscious to begin with (maybe why they were scanning her head) and she was really large. So they moved her from her rolling bed on to the CT bed and wrapped her up and scanned her head and then did a CT on her. The doctor watched the scan come up and decided that he wanted contrast to be able to see better. The nurse didn’t want to do it because it was a lot of effort to do to a fat unconscious person (the people here seem to really dislike fat people by the way, almost everyone makes fun of them – which may explain why there are so few). While she was debating it with him some shit went down and all the sudden the patients heart rate flat-lined. The nurses and people from the ER were trying sort of frantically to save the lady. The doctor that was there sort of moseyed up and started to try to help. They had put the tube through her throat because it had closed so the oxygen wasn’t getting to her and they couldn’t get it in. At one point the lady trying to do it said ‘we lost her.’ The doctor started doing CPR and was doing 5 compressions and 2 breaths which is not what I know to be the latest standard but I don’t know as much as a doctor so I won’t question it. After a big push the tube got into the throat and they gave her oxygen, her heart started again and they got her on a breathing machine and took her out of Radiology to the ER. That was a bit more than I was ready for.

Sarah - Hitchiking

Amanda and I were about to head down Monte Brasil- both of us tired and not feeling to great when a guy driving stopped the car beside us and waved for us to get it. To be honest I was super hesitant- this was the type of thing your parents warn you about from the time you are a young child - don't get in cars with strangers. Being a female, this notion has always been emphasized. In America I wouldn't dream of it. But- we did. The guy spoke barely any English, and through our small knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese we managed to tell him where we lived so he could give us a ride home. It truly was an experience hitchhiking with a language barrier. We made it to the harbor where his phone rang and he stopped the car...we were close to the Residence but heading a little away from it. I took the opportunity to get out of the car and just walk the rest of the way. The guy was really nice, but all the same I was still apprehensive most of the time-based on all the horrible things I've heard in America about girls hitchiking. The guy proceeded to circle around us twice-which was a little creepy, but hey we made it back in one piece. Overall it was a fun experience, a new one, and I got to interact with a local Azorean who proved to be very friendly and helpful like the other locals I've met.

Kim- Machines are female

I'm in Clinical Pathology this week, which is pretty different from the OR. It's quieter, definitely- it's pretty much middle aged women who can't speak English very well. There's a different sense of purpose though, which is cool. When they talk about all the different machines that they use to prevent coagulation, or to count the RBCs and WBCs, they always say "she", instead of "it", and I thought that was interesting. I'm assuming it must be because of the male/female genders of words in the Romance languages, but I'm not positive; I'll have to find out.

It was interesting how some of the machines are brand new, maybe 3 or 4 years old? While others were 20 something years old. I've never been to a clinical pathology department in the US before, but I do wonder how much is similar and how much is different. I know that this department is one of the last to lack network access, so they have to print everything out and plug it into the computer by hand, and send it to the doctor manually themselves. Claudia, one of the technicians, said that she's been working there 8 years and they still don't have it. I wonder if the hospital is actually trying, or if it's just one of those things that are going to be ignored. Potential triple bottom line project? Maybe.

Amanda: fala Inglês?

On Tuesday I had my first day of actual shadowing at the hospital. And thank goodness for swine flu; Sarah was able to come to cardiology with me because internal medicine doesn’t want the Americans in their department. I was so relieved I didn’t have to solely take on the challenge of figuring out what I was supposed to do in a department where the majority of people don’t speak English. After communicating with a cleaning lady, three nurses, a secretary, and a male doctor, we finally were paired up with a very friendly lady doctor who spoke great English.

Amanda: Spaghetti!

Abby and I attempted to cook this week, it didn’t go so well. Turns out, it’s really hard to cook when you can’t read the labels at the supermarket. You would think spaghetti is a pretty easy dish to make, but when you can’t find the isle with the “prego” or even know if a convenient jar of pre-made tasty spaghetti sauce exists, the task of cooking spaghetti becomes much harder. We also learned the Vinho de Mesa isn’t “wine for the drinking, but for the cooking!” We drank it anyways, and it only cost €1.60!

Fitting in- Abby Furr

two blogs in one!

I am so very American. I like to think that I’m pretty adaptable, that I can always make new friends pretty easily, that, as corny as it sounds, a smile is the same in every language, and that I can always mostly fit in. While some of these ideas are not so far from the truth, others could not be more removed from the reality in which I currently live.
The first day I arrived on Terciera, I was equipped with a few Portuguese phrases, the most treasured of which was fala ingles? (Do you speak English) to which I generally thought the answer would be yes. Strike one. Um poco was the most common response, starting with a man in the airport whom I asked how to call a taxi. Fortunately, the word for taxi is the same in every language, and through some smiling and gesturing, he called one for three people: Amanda, Andy, and me. Moving right along with my adventures in language barriers, I thought my six years of Spanish might do me some good. It has, a little, many words are similar if pronounced pretty differently (gustar=gosto- that last o sounds like a u), but as it turns out, it’s a little offensive to reply no, but that you speak some Spanish when asked fala Portuguese? My internship leader explained to me that they gained independence from Spain some 900 years ago, and it’s still a little to soon to say they’re similar. Since we quickly formed a good relationship, I spent the majority of my day pointing out words like de nada, which sound exactly the same in each language. He eventually conceded laughingly that they may have some words in common, but Portuguese is still the more elegant and beautiful language; despite the gags and shhhh’s, I might have to agree.
This strange expectation of convenience and a timetable that I was brought up with has also become abundantly apparent. The internet goes on and off here frequently, much to the annoyance of those in our group from UNC. Everyone here seems so unaffected by it. I ask one of the students whose school work depends on accessing the internet when it will probably come back and the reply is always, “I don’t know, some time soon” as they switch to textbook reading to study for exams. Soon is a relative term meaning, some time this week, I think. Even my internship operates on a convenience basis. I don’t have a very strict time to come and go, and I get about a three hour lunch break. I’ve come to realize that not being on time here is not so much a sign of disrespect, as people at home tend to see it, but just more how things work. I’m pretty sure I like it.
I met the group which already included some Portuguese men who attend university here after I checked in to my beautiful dorm room. Upon nearly every introduction to a guy, I was kissed squarely on the cheek; whereas girls tended to air kiss each side of my face. I do my best to remember to return the gesture, but my firmly ingrained American need for personal space, which I only just realized existed, always makes me feel very awkward. Even meeting one or two ladies at the office required um besito. Once I figure out exactly who to air kiss, I’ll try and make sure to get it right, and stop confusing people by extending a hand for them to shake.
Even though I may find it impossible to fully integrate myself into this culture where flip flops are not always the accessory of choice with a skirt and wearing sweat pants is simply not done, I will try. Every time I look out my window at the very green mount Brazil and the hills with charming little houses neatly stacked along the sides, I feel so lucky to live here for just a little while. The people are so friendly, and willing to try and work with my abundantly obvious American-ness. Though my worse than broken Portuguese, southern accent, light features, and lack of fashion sense will always make me stand out just a little bit; the locals and college students will likely always continue to be as nice and welcoming as they have been thus far. I’ve already made lots of new friends in the residencia in the first week, and I genuinely like them…even if they do try to kiss me.

Courtney: The Group

Our experiences here have been wonderful and the island is beautiful. But I think one of the more interesting and surprising aspects of the Atlantis Project is the interaction between group members. At least half of us have met because of this Project and we have really all gotten to know each other only since we’ve arrived to Terceira. It’s fair to say that we come from different backgrounds and groups of friends at Carolina, and many of us probably wouldn’t have come together outside of the AP. Regardless of our differences, we have spent a week together now and the group still often travels as 12. We are getting to know each other better everyday. Yesterday, we spent the day at Monte Brasil for Amanda’s 21st birthday. We grilled tons of meat and ate straight off the grill and later watched the sunset. It makes me incredibly happy that the group gets along so well and that we can all enjoy our surroundings together.

Suzanne - KONA PIZZA!

I was expecting some really exotic food here in the Azores, however, for the most part the food has seemed quite similar to the food we have at home. Perhaps this is because we mainly only order things on the menu we can read/ figure out what they are but still... Kona Pizza, however, is the most "American-ish" food venue that we have seen so far. Apparently, all of the non-American students are the residence made fun of us when they heard we went to Kona Pizza for dinner... In any case, at Kona Pizza they basically take a slice of pizza dough, role it into a cone, put TONS of cheese (probably too much cheese) inside and a little bit of something else (like ham, or oregano, or pineapple...whatever you ask for) and then sent it through the oven. The out-coming pizza cone is usually SUPER (I think), even if it is a bit too cheesy.

eric - soccer

on thursday david and i played soccer with some of the guys that work at the local government with us. they were all older and more out of shape than us but damn did they take it seriously. after being stripped of the ball and knocked on my butt by the secretary of urban planning i recognized that this game was no intramural sport. we held are own out there but it was not enough to keep from hearing the phrase "fucking americans" after every time we made a mistake. after the game they took us to the bar where wave after wave of food and beer was provided for us free of charge. By the end of the evening we were all drunk and joking like old friends through a rough combination of english and portuguese. overall, it is evident that no matter where you are in the world, the comradery achieved through sports is universally effective in bringing people together.

Kevin – Bus ride

Dear blog,
Hey blog, it’s Kevin. So on Friday I needed to catch a bus back to Angra after some classes at the school. Yuen and Courtney were teaching different classes so I was supposed to meet up with them, but things didn’t pan out so I had to get on the bus alone. I was pretty confident I was on the right one, but without Courtney I couldn’t be sure. Luckily one of the few students I know by name came up to say hello and he was able to help me out. I realized two things then – firstly that I’m really at the mercy of everyone on the island when it comes to my inability to speak Portuguese. I can’t really expect to get by with the assumption that someone will know English to give me a hand when I need it. It’s ironic that a student of mine - who I am supposed to be teaching – could use his English to help me out. So the other thing I realized is that I need to make moves on my Portuguese lessons.


Kevin – Bull fight
At yesterday’s Torador Corda we ran into a teacher from Escola Tomas de Borba. After the bulls she invited us into her sister’s house for food and drink. I’m starting to appreciate the generosity people have here – even to strangers. At the bull fight last week it was the same way – strangers had us into their house and were incredibly generous and eager to talk to us. I’d like to say things would be the same way at home but I really doubt it. I ate some cow bacon – can’t remember what it’s called – but it’s dope. Also those spicy garlic potato things are pretty tight.

Kim- Hospital OR

So, for the first week of our internship at the hospital, I was in the Operating Room. It was really cool, and I saw lots of different surgeries; mastectomies, a C-section, cataracts, and one guy had some of his toes amputated…the list goes on. I always kind of got the same feeling from watching all of the surgeries, and it was kind of weird; some internal part of me would cringe, because they are dealing with a person with thoughts and feelings, but then again, it was also just the human anatomy. They knew what they had to do and they did it as efficiently and respectfully as they could. It was interesting to feel things two feelings simultaneously, with each surgery, no matter what it was too.

Kim- Conversacion y Estrellas

Please ignore the title- I'm more familiar with Spanish than Portuguese, but I'm learning! Two nights ago, I went up to the upstairs patio with two boys that live in the Residence that we are staying at; Vicente and Hugo. We went up to watch the stars, and gosh, it was absolutely beautiful. The sky was very clear, which is apparently very rare here in the islands; I believe it, because the weather here is completely bipolar. It will be cloudy and cold one minute, and warm and sunny the next. The light pollution also wasn't an issue for the star gazing, since we were also up high. Anyway, it was really fun just talking and having great conversation, about space, aliens, culture, languages, people, time...lots of subjects, even though all our primary languages are different (mine is Vietnamese/English, Vicente is Spanish, and Hugo is Portuguese). It was fun to talk, and when we came across a word that someone didn't understand, we would translate and figure it out, and then the conversation continued. It just reinforces that people can always relate to each other, and that language doesn't have to be a barrier. I mean, if I can do it here, it should never be a problem back at home, where the majority of the population speaks English. Good conversation, good people.

Yuen-Teacher call outs

Something strange I've noticed in the classroom is that teachers call out their students in front of everyone about how they're doing academically. In the middle of class in front of everybody, they'll spend 5 minutes commenting about how one student is very bright and promising or how another student has gotten lazy in their school work and just failed a test or something and then call out another student about specific grades they had received. In all my schooling in the U.S, teachers would never call out students in front of the entire class about their academic performance or specific grades. It's not good or bad, it's just something different that I've noticed many different teachers do here. I am curious to know if this is something normal that happens in all the schools around the area and if it reflects a difference in teaching philosophy in general compared to the general teaching philosophy and approach of the U.S.

Yuen-Hitchhiking

I would never be comfortable hitchhiking in the U.S, but here,for some reason, I feel really comfortable doing it. The bus schedule to get to the school can be frustrating and we are sometimes stranded there for 4 or 5 hours or just miss the bus because classes go on later than the last bus time. That being said, this has caused a necessity for us to get rides from all sorts of strangers just to get back to Angra. We decided to walk to the school one day and got lost and asked a man for directions and after giving us directions, he turned around in his car and found us to give us a ride because he realized that we were really lost and the school was far away. We've also hitched rides from unsuspecting faculty at the school. I have felt a huge sense of community here, everyone seems to know everybody in some way or another. Though the south in the U.S is known for their hospitality and friendliness, I have experienced even more friendliness and openness here. Strangers will strike up conversations and offer us food or a ride or anything else. Maybe this is what has contributed to my willingness to hitchhike. Whether its the sense of community or the overwhelming friendliness of the people here, hitchhiking is something I'd never though I'd do that I am doing here now.

Courtney: Luis de Sao Miguel

On Sunday, the group went for a late dinner at the steak house down the street. Our first surprise was that our ‘snack menu’ hamburgers were the size of our faces. As most of the group began to learn Portuguese, David and I helped the others order from the menu and interact with the waitress. From a table on the other side of the restaurant, a middle-aged man began calling out corrections to the group’s Portuguese. It wasn’t long before he moved his drink to a table closer to ours. We told him we are students at Carolina, working and living in Terceira for a month and a half. He noticed my ‘accent from Sao Miguel,’ striking conversation about my parents and my familiarity with the island. He was from Agua de Pau, Sao Miguel, and visiting Terceira for business purposes. He told us about his huge family, parts of which live in the States or Canada, and a niece there named Courtney. He finished his drink, and left shortly after we said our goodbyes and nice-to-meet-yous. Our table of four was dividing our bill and counting money when our waitress came over with 30 Euros. Luis had left her with instructions to put the money toward our bill. We were surprised by the generosity shown by the man who we had met only a half an hour earlier, and realized that the people here not only take care of each other but also the island’s visitors.

Sarah- Patients in Cardiology

I walked hesitantly into the cardiology department, hearing no English and following the doctor I was assigned to for patient exams. The patient rooms were painted a sort of bland yellow, but the view was magnificent. The windows were huge and looked across Angra and out to the sea. The doctor would talk to the patient, in Portuguese of course, and then explain to me and Amanda what was going on. Privacy is not stressed in the hospital at all. Over half of the patients that had a problem and recommended treatment refused the treatment and wished to go home. For example, we oversaw our doctor telling a middle age woman that she stay for further treatment, and through I could not understand the language, the woman’s face was of pure disappointment, and even anger. She wanted to go home, she wanted to not look out at the view but be part of it.

Suzanne - A Day in the ER

I spent the past week shadowing doctors in ER of the Santo Espirito hospital here in Angra do Heroismo. On Thursday, a burly 25 year old man with lots of tattoos came in complaining of shortness of breath and pain in his chest area. The doctors ordered an X-Ray, which showed that the man had pneumothorax. (Pneumothorax is a condition in which the pressure in the interpleural cavity of the lungs is compromised by a hole in either the visceral or parietal pleural membranes.) Although due to the language barrier (I don't speak any Portuguese and the doctors do not usually speak perfect English) it is always slightly hard to tell exactly what the doctors are trying to communicate to me, especially when they are explaining medical conditions or procedures, I believe they said Pneumothorax can occur spontaneously in young people, especially young men who smoke heavily. To fix his condition, they decided to put a chest tube in. The tube was HUGE for something that they were going to stick between his ribs. The circumference of the tube was probably larger than a dime. By the time they finally were ready to place the tube into his chest, there was an audience of approximately 5 nurses and 6 doctors watching, so the room was very crowded. This made it somewhat hard to see what was going on, and no one in the room spoke English well, but I believe they just gave his three shots in rapid sucession and then top the scalpel and made a cut in his side. The main doctor then took scissors and begin cutting and tearing the hole to make it bigger and bigger. Then, she was handed the tube and begin to press it through the hole into his lungs. While she was doing this, I looked at the man's face and his expression was horrific. I thought they had given him local anesthesia, but from the look on his face it seemed they literally just stuck the tube in there without any pain medication at all. The look on his face was much harder to stomach than either the cutting or tearing of the hole for the chest tube.