First post worth reading: American Education and culture

Today I and a really nice talk with a friend. It was unexpected and a smart talk (remember, I'm in the united states, smart talks aren't that common). I can't recall all the subjects we got into. Besides the usual conversation with a foreigner about culture and how things are in brazil, we talked a lot about religion and beliefs. That's when I realized it's been such a long time since I talked about philosophy with someone. Or someone that even just mentioned this word. Plus that people here are so enclosed on their religion and beliefs that it's a really picky subject.
I can't really recall how was to talk to people about that in brazil, but just the fact that I had philosophy mandatory since fifth grade and we had a philosophy club already tells something. I think that in the US everything is so easy that people get used to not do their best. If your goal is a decent survivor, you can even work at Krogers or Walmart for your whole life in a small city and you will own and maintain a decent car, decent house, medical insurance. So the goals end up being too reachable. Not having a college isn't that crazy to think about (which is changing now with the recession).
In brazil we had the big tests to get in our "Ivy Leagues", that were great colleges and for free. So everyone had to study like crazy in high school just to be able to know what they were talking about on the test (and not actually pass)
Here in the US, this study hard is called AP classes. And people that take it think that oh my god they are doing such a hard word that their butts should be kissed. It's just a different point of view because the "normal" here is low. So any effort on top of is exeptional.

Note (before I get sued): the comment about AP classes are generalized and does not apply for every person taking AP classes, since many of them do study hard and deserve their credit (or some of them... Actually, a few of them... Ok, a couple...)

University home...

I should just end up pulling a mattress here in OU. I couldn't go to sleep last night because of my Calculus test, and I had the lightest sleep. After a lot of tossing and turning and waking up a few times during the night, I woke up at 5:30 and couldn't go back to sleep... So I got in OU at 7 in the morning (at least got a good parking space). Well, it's almost 11, and I'm still here. It would be a lot easier to just go to my mattress here and wake up for my Calc class tomorrow at nine... Who needs a shower? lol.
Today I worked out and I am finally going back to my Kung Fu practices. Right now I'm getting back used to staff and trying to remember 太极拳 (Tài Jí Quán). Just now I'm feeling my body back to some kind of shape (like going from round to oval) and I'm realizing how much I miss it. Everyone should get regular exercise. Usually the first or second month feels stupid, useless and uncomfortable. But when you can actually do it... man... it's addictive.
Too tired for this too. Hopefully I wont sleep on my way home and I'll be able to write tomorrow for all my 1 readers.

Calc III...

I'm now posting almost all the blogs from my iPod. This thing is a miracle. I still forget every day about writing here, but this saves my life. Tomorrow I will have my calculus test. I've studied so much for it, and still don't feel prepared. Calculus is terrible. And you actually have to think. I always thought this was not encouraged here in America (or maybe forbidden). But that may be the reason why we only have 6 people there.
I forgot I was going to talk about quantum physics today. Sorry guys, my fault. I feel bad about bringing all the one reader's hopes down, but I write about it some other day.
Ahoj.

An (almost) exciting post

Oi.
I don't think I'll stop the blog. Even though Jen is the only one that reads, LOL. But I'll try to pick more interesting subjects. Like quantum physis, the fourth state of matter, infinite series or something exciting like that.
Today it may be an exception though. Last Friday I went to sleep at 5 and Saturday I at 6. Yesterday at 1:30. So it's 10 and I feel exhausted. And I can barely remember what happened today. So the new exciting subjects topics start tomorrow. This us just an ornary teaser. 在线。

I was thinking about stopping this blog. It's a little pointless, I don't know.

I haven't been sleeping well for the last couple days. I go to bed, toss and turn, and give up. Then I watch my Kung Fu movies, do something on my computer, or sometimes, and a proof it's something serious, I study. Today I finally spent some decent time with Jen. It was great, we visited a place someting Arboreto (which sounds like burrito) and had a picnic. I loved to actually have time to talk and do nothing, without a hurry. Well, tomorrow life's back, same old. Really excited... uhu. Adios.

Sheeba

Today our black, butt-naked, cat peed on our one-day-old furniture. It wasn't fun. After all the looking around to find her to fix some Chinese supper, nobody could find her. She hides in a room besides my bedroom and there's no way she can be found. So we closed that door. Later at night I was talking on the phone and she heard my voice and started meowing, probably to pee on the chair this time. So I closed everything, got a towel and opened the door for her. When she left she trusted me, I even got to pet her (that's a big privilege). Then she tried to go upstairs and saw the door was shut, tried to go back and the door was shut. Then she looked at me and realized it was a trap. I felt terrible because of that look. I felt like a traitor. But now she went outside for the first time in her life. After crying like a baby, I was actually glad because now, if she makes until the morning, she will have the chance to see the sunrise for the very first, and maybe last, time.

加拿大!

Today was a long day but it felt I got nothing done. At least I'm starting to have an idea of how my summer is going to be. Besides of the 40h a week of painting, I want to go to Canada. In a couple weeks I'll buy a minivan (hopefully) and I can see if I gather some people to go with me. Or not. I really like to travel by myself. So I can do whatever I want and change my mind and improvise. It is great. Of course road trips can be a bit dangerous and lonely by myself, but it's a great feeling. I want to do that because I paid about 300 dollars for my Canadian visa and it will expire the end of this year without being used at all. I don't really know what there is to see in Canada, but I guess I will find out.

I BOUGHT THE BEST MOVIES EVER!!! This is for my brother in Brazil to be jealous! Lol. I went to blockbuster and saw the movie Forbidden Kingdom (which is not that good, but has the Kung Fu Dream Team in the cast), which I already had, thanks to my lovable and cute girlfriend, lol, but with the special features. Then I ended up going through the movies on sale and bought Fearless (I love this movie, one of the best) and Kung Fu Panda, which I think is really funny... So I wasted twenty bucks just because of pure childish impulse when I saw Kung Fu stuff, lol. I just have to find some time to watch it. And I was excited to take back home to watch with my brother... guess what... no Portuguese subtitles. I wonder why...

There's a guy in my Chinese class that works for AT&T, Lance. He is really nice. While we were waiting for a speech in the auditorium, he started saying how the cell phone companies convince people that they can't live without their cell phones. When we leave our house without our cellphone we freak out and drive back just to get it, that's how dependable we are right now (right Judy? lol).
While walking to get a drink here, I was thinking about the picture I just posted from Lancaster and how cool it is to be able to snap something from a device I take in my pocket and post it in real time and people 5,000 miles away can see it within seconds... And I thought what I'm going to do when I go to Brazil. Probably I'll buy a cellphone just to use there temporally. Which mean a basic phone. The service there is more expensive than here. And not only that. Here I pay 10 dollars a month for unlimited text messages. And I remember in Brazil it was about 80 cents per message (about 35 cents of American dollars). It is going to be weird to go to Brazil and get a phone to actually talk, lol.

Vizinhanca no centro de Lancaster

Yesterday was Jen's and my 6-months anniversary! Half year. Unfortunately I was so stressed out because of my quizzes that I ended up not giving enough attention to it :( Plus the fact I had Math, Chemistry, Chinese, work, dance and then more work so we didn't have much time together. But I'm happy, even though I haven't been the greatest boyfriend in the world showing that lately. And other reason I'm happy for it is pretty unusual. Just imagine: if every time I stepped in a country I would start dating the first girl I see and staying with her as long as I can, in the last four years I would be able to have 4 relationships of 1 year! Every year I change my country, and don't take girlfriends. So, half-year, that's a really long time to me! lol. And I'm glad. And I'm happy enough to have several other half-years to come...

For the first time in quite a while I am actually studying instead of procrastinating. It is funny that I am realizing I was more afraid of Chinese than anything else. How stress is so psychological! Just to sit down with calm and actually study, now it looks like it's so much easier and it feels like I'm in a baby class with a baby subject (of course I wouldn't dare to go too many units ahead in the book). I just set to myself that "I don't have time; I can't understand; it's hard" and that stops me, making me not have time, not understand and then going to class and find it hard. What I think made me stress out more throughout the quarter is that the teacher is a native speaker, and don't have much experience teaching. I think we are his first try. And once I asked what something meant and he said "How you don't know that? You should know it. We learned it in the last unit. You should know it". It's funny, teacher and student end up being a really close relationship in the learning process. The learning process happens when both parts work well together. So if I don't learn, who's fault is it? I would say both, and in different ratios for different cases, but still both. And also when I learn I would say both. What do you guys think (if there is actually someone reading this blog, lol)?

Today I set the date of my trip back to Brazil. It makes me a little nervous to think about that. Not the part of leaving everyone here (and having a real break from Ohio University, ah...), this I don't even want to think about (or talk about and remind Jen). But the part of being back in Brazil. It's been several months already and the image on my mind of Brazil has been distorted badly. I don't remember how was the weather, it's always good on my mind. I don't know what's the money situation, the prices, the economy, traffic; can't remember how is to get buses to go around; can't remember how to speak Portuguese; how people are doing; if they still live there. It's going to be weird now that I started to think about it. See those people that I don't see for such a long time. And change my routine, different lifestyle, food. I don't know. Probably I will get there and everything will be normal, barbecue, beer, friends, family and cats, like I never left. Oh well, let's wait and see.

In the end everything went (kinda) well. In my math quiz we had two questions and I knew how to do it. But, I ended up making a sign mistake and that made me get the question wrong. I just have to see how much the teacher will consider. And my Chinese stuff was (by some heavenly power) being postponed to Thursday. So, in other words, God gave me a chance to not commit the same mistake for the 134th time. I'll hope I can take this chance now and get in a better studying rhythm for college. I just end up putting so much on my back and so much pressure to overachieve everything, in the end if I end up having something good, I'll discard it because it wasn't as good as I wanted.

It's so frustrating. I am doing the same mistake over and over again. It's midnight and I have a Chinese and math test tomorrow and I just studied for the math one and the Chinese, again, got postponed too. The thing is that I've been doing that since first quarter. That's a year trying to change and nothing happened. Sometimes (like a lot of times) I just feel like giving up this college thing. It's not for me. I can't read, I can't focus, and I can't keep any kind of routine, including one I have to focus AND read. Not even this blog I cab keep posted. Of course I won't quit, but I freak out once in a while. And I feel like doing it. But oh well. Suck it up. Try it again and again. And if in four or five years I'm still doing my chronic procrastination, at least I'll have my degree and won't have to worry about that anymore (only at work, of course... But that's another story...)

Non-resident surcharge my butt

Yesterday at work I was just clicking around on Ohio University Lancaster's website and somehow I ended up in the tuition and fees page. For those who don't know, we have three quarters every year (trimestre in Portuguese) and for each quarter I get something like the following bill:
$1,500 Tuition
$1,500 Non-resident Surcharge
$22 Generation Fee

$3,022 Total for this quarter

And I'm in a regional campus in Lancaster, which is a lot smaller than the main campus and doesn't offer as many classes or majors. But if I transfered to the Southern regional campus, my tuition would be the same and my Non-resident Surcharge would go down to $400.00! Making me save $3,300 each year! Without scholarships or any aid!
And then what do you think: "Well, probably is cheaper because it's smaller..." No! Lancaster offered 320 classes this quarter. Southern offered 350! And they have more majors, including Computer Science, which I would be interested on doing!
Now the real question: "What the f-word are they doing with the extra thousand in Lancaster? Shoving up their a-word?" And I really have no idea. And they probably have no idea. But that's how it is.

For me it's really hard to write a journal. I feel that when I sit here and try to recall something interesting that happened, my mind goes blank. I don't know if it's all the rush or my life is in such a big routine now that nothing appears to be that exciting to me. Or, the more likely, I just have a terrible memory (which proves that the Memory Training class didn't work that well, hahaha). My English is getting a lot better since I started this English class though. I think I was in a better level than English 150. But even though, I never had a formal class of English - that I actually paid attention to - so this is a kind of a hole patcher to me. And it doesn't consume that much of time studywise. I have way too much going on right now with my 20 credit hours.

Right now (actually, it has been around one month and a half) I am going through the trouble of buying a new used car here since mine is close to retire. I am like his sixth owner and it has 148,000 miles on it. And it went through overheating, and a lot of good stuff. Once, with the last driver, she was driving on the highway and the front right tire went off. Just unattached, like this. So that side has quite a few bumps.
Here in the US people buy new things fast thought. every day there are millions of new cars being sold. The average number of cars per person and per family is big, and not all of them are being used. So it is not that hard to find a good deal actually. I'm just giving it some time. But now with the recession the number of buyers also went up since people are holding their money more tightly.

On time... Brazilian time...

Man... I never can get stuff on time. I can never follow a routine. Every thing I try to make with a set time end up going wrong. If not, just wait a few times and will go wrong. This assignment was supposed to use only about 15 minutes to write down a blog entry. Couldn't follow it. Can't answer emails, text messages, or anything. And when I have a free time, I'm so tired that I end up going to do something else like YouTube or just surf the web. I have to go back and do a lot of entries now. And too much homework going on. I don't know, it's probably my Brazilian blood. All I want is a barbecue this Sunday...

Welcome to sping...

Today we had snow! Isn't it great and beautiful? No, not really. Before I came here to the US I always wondered how was snow and how it looked like. Snow ball fights, snow angels, white Christmas... Like in the American movies. Then I got here, had a blast, froze my butt off. Then I got a car. And snow is not that pretty when you don't have time to enjoy it. Or when you start worrying if the water in your coolant reservoir in your car freezes up and some hose blow up. Even worse when you drive on ice storms. When I was an exchange student two years ago I saw a snow storm. I didn't go to school and didn't drive. Now I'm a college student. College doesn't cancel. I went to work. Drove and almost got in five wrecks while I didn't have the car insured. Now it's a different point of view. But ice and snow still looks pretty in the pictures I took, when I'm looking at it in my house during a Brazilian 55-degrees-Fahrenheit winter...

Memory Training

Today I had a class called "Memory Training". It is an one credit hour class just for this Saturday, but from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon. After getting 50 minutes late for class (or on time for Brazilian time) we had class until almost two (technical problems with the computer). The teacher was explaining techniques on how to remember stuff. That's everything the class was about. It was pretty interesting I have to say, and it worked for the first exercise. I can't really say if it works or not, because I haven't used it yet. But he showed me some ways to use it for Chinese (the most interesting one was using a grid) since we have to memorize all these symbols.

The only thing that made me think was that all that class he was saying about Acing a test because you memorized stuff and these methods to "learn stuff faster". But I always kept thinking that it's not learning, it's memorizing. And how different these two are.

For example, I can learn the properties of distribution in math by understanding how Algebra works and the proof that shows how we get there, and never forget it. OR, I can memorize it using the Acronym FOIL (First, outside, something, left... I don't know) and never forget. But they are totally different things.

I will never forget what I read (in one of the only books I read) in one of the books of Sherlok Homes where he said that our brain is like a basement of a house. You can keep saving stuff in, but eventually you will start running out of space. That is why he would only "learn" useful things for him, but he would careless about what are the planets on the Solar System.

Note: The best part of all this, I was trying to remember what's the name of these "techniques", but I forgot it.

Roadtrips

I was checking the other day, just for the fun of it, how would be a road trip from the US to Brazil.
So, to get from here to Mexico border is about 1600 miles. Then from there to the Brazilian border, through Central America, is about 3004 miles all the way. And from Amazon to my city crossing the whole country is more 3480 miles. A minivan holds 8, so I can get my host family, girlfriend and some friends. Eight thousand miles total. Going average of 60mph and driving 12h a day (we can do driving shifts), we make to there in 12 days easy, really easy. I just have to get my minivan and pack. We just have to make sure the brakes work and take some extra engine oil to change it about three times on the way. Plus the 450 gallons of gas...
Anyone wants to join?

The traffic today was terrible! The city of Lancaster with the population of 35,000 people had more traffic on that time than my city in Brazil, Jundiai, with 350,000... Probably because the average is 37 cars and a half per family and it has no public transportation. And there's no one-way streets.
One-way streets make a little confusing for foreigners because it is different, but it makes the traffic flow so much better. You can have 24/7 synchronized lights so you will get only one red light per street you are going. And street signs here in the U.S. is a little messed up. Too much confusing stuff, confusing signs and some of the intersections has lights with 12 different combinations of left turn only, then straight, then straight and left turns, then only west, only north, it's like Frankenmuth on Christmas' eve.

Wednesday

Oops....
Missed my one yesterday.
"Today I have to work until eleven... I might as well pull a mattress here in OUL and make it my bedroom. I have to operate for the Distance Learning classes (which basically means sit there and wait till a problem comes). It is funny that the students pay the big bucks to have that class once a week. And I get paid to take the same class. My package just does not include teacher support and the right to make questions. Of course I end up studying, facebooking and getting bored, but it is not that bad to get paid to get bored."