The Worcester community holds a remarkable Doherty family that upholds excellence, talent, and diversity among our student and faculty body. Worcester is a place where you can learn so much about people around you and experience life-changing interactions with different individuals. Lucky enough to already possess admirable and endearing qualities, it is a great and astounding accomplishment to be lucky enough to behold the presence of our exchange students from Piaui, Brazil.
The exchange students are a class of seniors along with mentors/teachers in their state. Brave enough to share their stories, with the help of Pedro Vitor Melo and students, we were able to translate from Portuguese to English as well as share their experiences being in the U.S. for a month, from November to December.
The interview started off with a student sharing, “we were picked by a government program that recently has changed the name to From Piaui to the World.” He explains the process involved entrepreneurship projects, showcasing their pitches. Further saying,“it was a really nice experience to be creating ideas to improve.” For example, his project included candles that were made with reused cooking oil. The projects were a test to their creativity and talent, talents well applied that led them to the United States. “Coming to the U.S. I personally think it has been such a great experience to be here and be in high school. It’s like how I imagined it would be when I watched TV series back in Brazil.” Just feeling the awestruck words, he describes how it’s been a dream to be here and he wishes to come back one day. In a way he feels at home. Grateful to feel that connection, Worcester would be happy to have these students come back.
Even though some of the students felt at home in the states, no doubt schools are drastically different in Piaui. The response I got was “yes, definitely.” Instead of four grades, there is no ninth grade and grades are actually 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year. More fancy if you think about it! Another contrast to our life in Worcester is teachers move from class to class and students stay put. The students spoke about having to move very quickly here and joking about the balance of eating and talking ratio because in their school they have around an hour of a lunch block. Boy would students here be happy to have a longer lunch! While this is a main difference, Brazil additionally has no seasons except summer they “use the year as it is.”
Once the year ends, students are done with school. There are two semesters in the school year and drum roll please…..the seniors will actually graduate before Christmas! So, right after their exchange experience, the students will leave high school. In Brazil there are not really big ceremonies or wearing a cap and gown, it’s more common in college. Students instead will host their own graduation parties considering how tightly wound they are in their classes. More on the down low but celebratory nonetheless.
In case you were wondering, a typical day is longer in Brazil, as reported by a female student. She responds by saying she will leave at 7:00 am for doors to open at 7:20 am, leaving around 5:20, 5:30 and this changes depending on breaks. Students everywhere can agree school can be tiring and rigorous so she stays home on weekdays. She spends time with family, goes to the park, or visits markets. A part of the leisure time is dreaming about life in Brazil. A different student says the country is so big that she wishes to explore more. Possibly looking into becoming a flight attendant along with exploring the complexities of Brazil plus other continents, this would be her hope in the future after high school.
Now onto the fun part. One student talked about his favorite music. For all the students and staff, he recommends Los Hermanos, a Brazilian band. Check out Anna Júlia-Ao Vivo, a song by the band! Listening to everything, the students all have different tastes in music like many Americans. He specifically gives voice to indie rock, Alex G, The Marías, Scorpions, and of course Los Hermanos. “At school I don’t have my phone so I can’t listen to music there. But when I am home or any other place, I am with my earphones on and I listen all the time.” What an ideal statement that is applicable to many. We can all agree at some point in our lives we have drowned out the world and danced around our house like we were performing our own one-man band concert. Similar to music, concerts provide the full experience. He mentions,“It’s very fun. I think it’s different from here. It’s more loud. There are a lot of people.” Pedro adds on humorously, further describing concerts with Brazilians as more lively or energetic. Bringing up the icon Dua Lipa, she was in Brazil describing Brazilian fans as the craziest and most noisy. When Brazilians arrive at the function, there is no hesitation they will deliver.
Festive, festive, that’s what we’re on! A part of those festivities are the June festivals with amazing food and dances, a Brazilian tradition. Pedro Merlo states, “Forró, it’s a rhythm we usually dance along with another person, [starts to dance and explain] two steps to the side, two steps to the other, two steps to the side, two steps to the other.” A very intimate and joyful dance, these festivals are to die for. If you’re ever in Brazil, you have to catch one.
As the interview was wrapping up, a big thanks goes out to who made this interview possible and the students and staff who put their time in to share their experience. We are all Worcester, we are in this together. What was so amazing about the interview process is the backgrounds of everyone. Pedro Vitor Melo, who shared his experience as well as interpreted, is from the Department of Education for Piaui and graduated in journalism. His job is to take care of the students as well as report what happens each and every day to families and the government through videos and articles. “I tell everything that happened during that day for our governor [and] our Secretary of Education. I’m not a teacher but it’ll be a dream to become a teacher.” He announces that he studied English since he was a kid and never could have a real conversation with the lack of English. To be invited by his department because of knowing and being able to communicate in English is yet another dream come true. What he responded to the department was, “It’ll be my pleasure because it’s such an opportunity to practice and I’m so happy for this.”
We wouldn’t want to forget the two other teachers; Leandro Hipoliro and Girleny Fontinele are two adults serving as mentors on their trip. Leandro teaches Spanish at his school as well as working with AI. Girleny is a professor of physics and AI now too. As voiced by Pedro, Piaui is the first in America to take the initiative to bring discipline to AI and use it in an ethical way. The teachers teach lessons and show the students how to make prompts and such. Will Worcester develop these lessons….we’ll see :)!
With these amazing staff and students showcasing their life in Piaui, this gives Worcester a taste of yet another culture, further fueling Worcester’s diversity and initiative. And it’s not just these individuals either; the native speakers, students, and staff at Doherty have showed astound interest in everyone and anyone can be over the moon about the love and D-High spirit given to our new Highlander family. I personally thank Nicole, Hélio Henrique, Sara, Eduardo, Thaís, Tauíane, Klioya Maria, Marces Vincicíus Veana, Mariave, Yoré Neto, (spelling may vary) and the staff for listening and contributing so our community could hear their strong voices. And for our exchange students: We know you miss home, we would too. However, we are so grateful to learn from you. We’re 100% ready to welcome you back into our arms again. Who knows, maybe we’ll visit you in Brazil. So long, Highlanders.
