A year ago, I was walking at "Iate Clube de Brasília" when I saw a sailing contest happening at "Lago Paranoá". At first, it didn't interest me a lot. However, I saw that gorgeous boy getting out of his boat, discussing with his friends about their entry into a Brazilian, and even more, a world championship that they might participate. Oh my goodness, that's all I thought when I heard that. I had a good chance of being a sailor winner. Besides, what the future would have in store for me was something nobody knew. So in this sense, I started having classes at my club.
Five months after a hard training, I was invited by the nautical commodore to enter into the first Brazilian championship that would happen in Brasília, the city where I have always lived. Not only I had accepted pleasurably, but I also told all my family what had just happened, and they gave me a lot of support.
It's also true that I won the first and the second races. I couldn't believe it! I was exactly where I was supposed to be! I kept ahead of my sparring-partnerseven when I lost the third race. It happened when it was raining a lot. My boat went about and I fell in the water. I didn't have the strenght to control my little ship with this difficulties. I freaked out at first, but when I saw my general results, I was so happy and proud of what I had just done. I was the winner of the fair trophy, and not just because I was lucky, but also because I was dedicated.
This fact, nowadays, affects my daily routine. This means that I learned I have no limits to do what I like. Besides, my life is open with all types of possibilities, I only have to believe and realize them.

The first bike ride

The first bike ride is commonly unforgetable for people,and in my case it isn't different.I remember how happy and grown up it made me feel.

I was five years old and I had just gotten a shiny pink bike on Christmas.So my dad took me to Parque da Cidade on a typical sunny day of summer vacation,and taught me how to ride it.He was very well-prepared,he had a first aid's bag in the car,in case of an emergency.

Whereas my bike had two extra and small wheels that helped on the balance,I have fell several times.But whit dad's patience I ended the day knowing how to ride a four-wheel bike.

First and foremost this a childhood memory which reminds me how free and excited I felt, but also reminds me that we can't achieve our aims without patience and love.

Isabela Pedrinha

The First Broken Arm

I’ve been in love with dancing since my childhood. I’ve always danced wherever I wanted. I’ve already danced in the middle of the street, in my classroom, under the water and in the shopping mall. It’s never been bad for me, except one time when I tried to dance on a bus.

When I was in the sixth grade, we went to a farm hotel with the school. The hotel was a little bit far from where we were and, therefore, we had to do something to kill time: we chose dancing. However, dancing inside the bus was not a good idea. Even so, we didn’t mind and started to dance in the middle of the bus. We were having fun as if we were at a party, the music was great and the people were really excited.

Then, something that would destroy my happiness happened. Suddenly, the bus that was going a little fast stopped and everybody fell down. Nonetheless, I tried to hold the iron of the seat and everybody fell down above my arm. I screamed a lot but in vain, my arm was already broken. The worst part of this story is that we were just arriving and I really wanted to enjoy myself that day. Thus, I involved my arm with a band and went to have fun with my friends. When I came home, however, I had to go the hospital to plaster my arm.

Almost everybody that hears this story will probably think that I have regretted dancing inside the bus, but if someone asked me if I would do it again I would say yes because it showed me that I can do whatever I want if I know how to deal with the consequences. Even with my arm hurting I enjoyed the trip and it’s certainly true that I will never forget that day.

Swimming Competition

A long time ago, when I was twelve years old, I used to do swimming classes. Three times a week I used to do these classes, my teacher at the time told me that was going to be this competition within two weeks. I thought that I wasn’t prepared enough to go there and win, but I didn’t give up and went to the competition.

The competition was divided in many categories; I was in the one for people between ten and thirteen years old. I was very nervous, it was my first competition ever and I needed to compete with so many people that I had never seen. Finally, it was my turn. I went to the pool, my first swimming category was crawl and I was self-confident, so when the bell rang to begin the race. I couldn’t think of anything only in getting to the end. I finally made it to the end; the judges couldn’t tell who the winner was at the time, so they spent some time discussing and then gave the verdict. I had won.

I won the first place, in my first competition and for the first in my life I had won something. I was very satisfied with my medal and very happy too. After this competition, I tried again other two times but I never made it. So in this sense, I realized I wasn’t good enough to participate in swimming competitions and I gave up. Nonetheless, I learned to have some self-confidence because when I was competing, the confidence made me stay calm to do things the right way and now I use it for many things, like exams.


Lucas Aragão

The first time that I traveled abroad was truly unforgettable. I went to United States, more specifically to Washington, D.C., in December 2006. I was supposed to travel in July that year, but my visa interview was scheduled to August, so I had to reschedule this vacation to the end of the year.
I was fifteen years old and I traveled alone, but my aunt was there waiting for me. On the travelling day, I was really anxious and nervous. I took the airplane in Brasília and I had one stop in São Paulo. Arriving in São Paulo, I stayed alone in the Guarulhos International Airport all the rest of the day. I was afraid because my parents were not there with me and it was my first trip alone. At 10:00 p.m., the plane left to the final place. The trip lasted ten hours.
The plane landed in the capital of the United States at 6:00 a.m., and it was very cold there. I took the immigration line, and there I discovered that I had lost the form I-94. I started getting desperate, and I couldn’t speak English anymore. The federal policewoman who was working in the immigration, luckily, was a Brazilian nationalized American, and she started to talk with me in Portuguese. She gave me another form and I filled. Afterwards, finally, I entered in the U.S. and could enjoy my vacation with my aunt, who lives there.
I stayed in that country for 45 days and I had a lot of adventures. Above this problem on the arrival, I had few troubles in the beginning to take buses alone, because my aunt had to work and she couldn't stay with me all the time however, it was great and I handled it well. This vacation made me more mature, because I had to return home on time, control my money, and cook. However, I had a lot of obligations, I loved this trip and it was the best “doing something for the first time” of my life.

A Vision of Italian students today

Hey guys,

A class of students in Trentino, Italy, from teacher Seth Dickens, has created a video in response to the video A Vision of Students Today, from Professor Mike Wesch. Take a look it (at both, if possible) and write your reflections, reactions and follow-up questions in their website.

What makes Brazil a unique country?

I asked my students to think about the question "What makes Brazil a unique country?". Then they had to answer it using one word or phrase and two or three images. Here is the result:



Here is another one with some pictures from Brasília, our hometown, which I took in April, 2009:

Questions From Helena And Manuela

1. Do you lik the cimate in your country?

Yes. It's hot but not too hot and sometimes it rains.

2. What is the typical Brazilian food - meal?

The most typical Brazilian food is "Feijoada", that is a kind o soup of black beans and porc.

3. Which part of Brazil is the most popular tourist resort?

Rio de Janeiro, the city.

4. When isthe best time to join the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro?

Carnival normally happens at the end of February, during one week.

Questions from Nikol

How difficult is it to find a job in Brazil?

It really depends on the person’s qualification. Those with a better qualification usually have more opportunities of finding a job than the others with low qualification. This fact is mostly related the level of education that the person received.

What is the unemployment rate in Brazil?

There is a relatively high rate of unemployment in Brazil, about 10 %. The greatest responsable for that is the part of the population without a good education, which ends up out of the market.

Is secondary education free in Brazil?

Yes, but public secondary education still has a low level when compared to the private secondary school. On the other hand, public colleges are the best in terms of high level education.

Do you think the level of secondary education in Brazil is high enough to let students continue their studies abroad?

When you are talking about the private school, there is a better chance of students continuing their studies abroad. However, it is more difficult to happen in the case of public school students.

Question from Sunita

What is the best time to visit Brazil?

If you want to go to the beach or the amazon forest, you should come in the summer, but If you want to go to the south of Brazil you should come in the winter.

What kind of government is ruling Brazil?

A democratic Republic.

How many languages are spoken in Brazil?

Just Portuguese, but is a bit different from the portuguese of Portugal.

Which one is the Famous historical place in Brasil?

The are many historical places; but the most famous is "Cristo Redentor" that is placed in Rio.

When did Brazil become an Independent nation?

Brazil became an independent nation in 1822, but Portugal only recognized it in 1825.

Lucas and Nathalia

Questions From Elena

If I go all around Brazil on my own wich part of the country would you recommend me to see first?

The northeast coast. Where are stunning places to see and the people there treat the foreigners very well.

How many climate zones are in Brazil?

There are 5 climate zones

What food is the most popular in Brazil?

A food called feijoada. It's a soup with black beans and pork.

Is same sex marriage recognized in Brazil?

No


Lucas and Nathalia

Questions from Yamuna.

Is Brazil an independent country?
Yes.Our country has been independent since 1822.We used to be a Portugal's colony.

Who is the prime minister there?
In Brazil we don't have a prime minister,we have a president.His name is is Luís Inácio Lula da Silve.Commonly called Lula.

What kind of things does Brazil export?
Brazil exports soy beans,tropical fruits,coffee,airplanes,soccer players,models and oil exploration technology(Petrobrás).

What are the most important places in Brazil?
The most important places in Brazil are Brasília,the capital.Rio de Janeiro,with its beautiful beaches and São Paulo,the business city.

This is a video about competitivity.It shows how people can be over competitive sometimes.

iphone is awesome.hahahahahahaha

The teenager's gadget

There is no doubt that technology has been by far one of the most important causes of human development throughout the latest centuries. So in this sense, technology nowadays is being used for several purposes, most of them related to making our lives easier as we can see at the great variety of gadgets that exist. An example of those is the computer, which is definitely one of the most useful gadgets, especially for the XXI century teenager.

One of the reasons why the computer is the most useful gadget for a teenager from this century is the capability of storing a huge amount of digitalized information. This means that anyone with a computer can stock up as much information as he wishes, such as literature books, articles, music, photos, documents, etc. Therefore, it is possible for the teenager to have a very accessible virtual library, confirming the computer to be a really useful tool.

Likewise, the access to the internet also makes computers this useful to a teenager. It allows people to connect each other from any distance and to be updated with the latest news all around the world. By this means, the internet is a powerful weapon to spread knowledge and information as well as to share what you want with others. Besides that, the internet makes research a lot faster, facilitating many kinds of works.

In conclusion, the computer the most important and useful gadget for a teenager, especially because of the effective way it stores information and the almost unlimited communicating resources of the internet. After all, it is hard to imagine what this wonderful device has in store for the XXI century teenager, but then it is true that whatever it is, they will like it.

Computers - by Rayssa Marinho

Most of times, when people think about their future or how communication will have been improved in a few years, technology is always mentioned. At least for teenagers, this one is the most interesting subject to discuss, especially computers, which have been the most useful gadget for a XXI century teenager.

Nowadays, it's difficult to find a teenager who doesn't have a telephone or even more, a PC. Internet is used for all types of things. Playing games and talking with someone who is living across the world are typical actions of this grown-up kid. Not only "home computers" but crucially laptops have become more modern and practical.

When you don't know what life has in store for some economic problem, you can just imagine what will happen by clicking your mouse and searching on "Google". This means that ANY information or news that you would like know is found in this technological gadget!

So in this sense, you can improve your brain with all types of points of view about a subject. The computer is a miscellany of all planet knowledge.This means that, again, this gadget is the most useful for a XXI century teenager.