Caiman- Week 1

South America » Brazil » Pantanal
August 1st 2007

Published: August 6th 2007

Greetings from South Pantanal!

I just finished up my 3rd English class today! I have found teaching to be very rewarding both emotionally and physically. I am supposed to be focusing on the field guides but all of them have been at another lodge all week. So all of my students so far have been the kitchen staff, wait staff, bar staff, and the nurse. I am a lot more happier and healthier feeling now that I have become friends with the kitchen staff for the guest. The food they feed the staff here is very different than what they serve the guest. The staff’s cafeteria serves very hearth meals that only consist of rice, beans, beef or chicken, and either raw cabbage or lettuce leafs for both lunch and dinner. Breakfast is sliced white bread, milk, and coffee if you’re lucky.

The first few days I ate with the staff and it wasn’t that bad. However, after getting sick off the smell of the beef I have not been able to eat anything other than rice there. Also I did not bring any vitamins with me so I was not feeling well due to the lack of vitamins and antioxidants in my diet. However, that is no longer a problem. Everyday I am now eating the best lunches around! I have tried some really great traditional dishes that include a lot of vegetables and fruit! My favorite dish so far is feijoada. It consists of sausage, black beans and spices all atop rice. Also I really like amerao, which is very thinly shredded greens. It reminds me of Grandmas collards but not quite as good! Today I had mashed potatoes for the first time in a long time and I could have eaten a whole pot full… they were awesome! So enough about food for now… I’m beginning to get hungry again!

All of my students are very egger and excited to learn English. They all work very long hours so they do not have much time to study outside of our classes. But nonetheless I am very impressed with their determination to learn English. I feel that with a little more confidence they all will learn how to hold a conversation in English. I have been trying to build their confidence by telling them that they are very smart. They all seem very surprised to hear this and their eyes immediately light up and they give me the biggest smile you have ever seen. It is very rewarding to see the students smile and it makes my day every time!

Books are very expensive here. One of my favorite students brought 3 of his English books to show me today. They were all in a couple of pieces and from the early 90´s or 80´s. So when I come home I want to start collecting all types of books for all ages to send down here. I believe that if they had more books to read they would find it a lot easier and stimulating to learn a second language.

I have had the chance to go on a few of the tours and have seen a lot of really cool birds, deer, caimans, and howler monkeys. Yesterday I went on a three-hour horseback tour and although we did not really see that much it was still a lot of fun. Half way through the tour we stopped to try the traditional terera. Terera is served in a bull’s horn and you drink it through a metal straw. It is made by simply pouring water over a mixture of leaves and herbs. It was very tasty and reminded me a lot of green tea. Everyone shares from the same horn and straw and once you have had enough you say “obrigado ” (thanks in English).

The weather has been fairly cold for the past few days. Last night there was a wicked thunderstorm and the power kept flicking on and off. So I went to bed around 9 o’clock and slept like a rock!

I have also been conducting research on their waste management practices here by testing the water. So far everything they are doing looks good and their methods do not seem to have any negative effects on the water. The only problem I have encountered so far is avoiding the caimans (crocs) while getting my samples! 😊

Well I think that’s enough for now! Saude

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