Last week started with a Morphology Test. It wasn’t difficult, but I’m insecure and I hope the teacher corrects it soon. By the way, I wish I weren’t so insecure. I always feel that I need someone else’s opinion or that what I do is not good enough. But I’ve been learning how to deal with this characteristic I have.

We have reached the second module in the Applied Linguistics classes: we learned some very important definitions, such as theory, hypothesis and constructs. I believe these definitions will be very useful throughout our academic life.

On Wednesday we had our first Phonetics class. I was kind of scared - all those names and types of sound made me get very confused. But I think it’s really interesting – and important as well!

We had another test scheduled for Friday, so this week was all about studying until late at night! But when we arrived in class, we had a surprise: instead of a test, the teacher asked us to write two essays for Monday! As I’m very worried – I keep thinking about the things I’m supposed to do -, I arrived home and started writing. The first drafts of the two essays are already ready!

I started reading “Infância”, a Gracilianos Ramos’ romance, for my Literature for Young People class. It’s very nice, but I must finish it soon, since I have many other things to read for next week.

That’s the life of a language student: studying, studying and studying… The funny thing is that I love it! =]

This week's quote: “The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.”

“To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.” Anatole France (1844 - 1924)

Dreaming and thinking about the future is very pleasant and healthy. But that’s not enough. We have to act! That’s what I have had in mind: I try to do my best in order to achieve my goals.
Last week was full of activities: although I had no time to relax or hang out with my friends, it was worth it. I learned a lot! It was the “Journalism Course Week” at UFSC, and I subscribed to a course of “Cultural Critic” that took four days (from Monday to Thursday). I have always been very interested in the communication area (after all, I study language!), and Journalism has attracted my attention. Each day we had a different professor, and they talked about critics in literature, movies, music and theater. It was quite interesting! I specially liked the day we learned about theater critic, because it helped me a lot to think about the essay I’m supposed to write for the Drama class: a kind of a critic about the play we watched (As Troianas).
We had a review in the Linguistic Studies class, since our first test (about Morphology) is going to happen next week, on Monday. It will be my first test this semester, and I hope everything goes right!
The Applied Linguistics classes were very nice: we always learn a lot. People usually give their opinions and very interesting discussions always come up. I have learned a lot, not only from my professor, but also from my colleagues. I feel I am part of a very nice class which is full of students willing to learn!
On Wednesday we went to an open seminar conducted by Anna Camati (a post-doctorate student) about Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. Anna talked about the plays’ adaptations, and made me think about things I had never thought of while I read the play. On Friday we had a close reading class of the play, and it was funny. I was Demetrius, the one who loves Hermia (and then falls in love with Helena).
I only regret not having had enough time to study French. But my friend gave me a very nice idea: there’s a group of students that gets together every day of the week (except Tuesday) at half past midday to talk to each other in French, discuss grammar topics, watch French movies, etc. It’s for free and I think I would learn a lot from this! Next week I won’t have time (I have two tests to study for!), but the week after next week I will certainly join this French group!
I’ve written too much again! See ya!

New Challenges

If I had to define this second semester with one word, I would say “challenge”. After half a year at university, I’ve found out that there are many opportunities for those who are dedicated and really want a career in this area (the languages area, I mean). Now I’m sure that I am in the right place! In the first semester, I was introduced to the main subareas of the language area: Literature, Translation, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics. I liked everything – and I still don’t know what I like best. But I’ll have time to figure it out.
Time goes by so quickly, and “all of a sudden” I was already on vacation, excited to start a new semester. I think this semester has been particularly different. Besides those subjects we’re supposed to take (Applied Linguistics, Linguistic Studies and Introduction to Drama and Poem), I decided to study something just for the fun of it – Literature for Young People (“Literatura Infanto-Juvenil”), and I’ve been loving it. I’ve learned several things so far. I was surprised to discover that Applied Linguistics is a diversified area and I’ve been enchanted by it. On the other hand, I’ve been kind of disappointed with Linguistics – these classes remind me of the ones most people take before the university entrance exam. But I understand the importance of studying things like Morphology and Syntax, and I’m sure I am going to like it better pretty soon. Studying Literature is always nice – we have read some plays (now I’m reading Shakespeare!) and we have close reading classes, which are very interesting. We even went to the theater to watch “As Troianas”, a Greek play written by Eurípedes and performed by a theater group from Florianópolis. It was a very different experience, and I liked it a lot! I’ve also been very interested in my other Literature subject (Literature for Young People): now I know that there shouldn’t be such things as “Literature for young people” and “Literature for adults”. This is because children can read Jane Austen novels (even if they don’t understand it), just like adults can read “Harry Potter” (and they don’t need to be ashamed of it). We usually try to protect our children too much from this crazy world – we want them to read only those stories with happy endings and morals. And sometimes we forget that they also like to read scary stories (why not Edgar Allan Poe?), and they need to be exposed to a little bit of reality (at least). In this subject, we’re supposed to write a final paper, and I’ve been thinking about analyzing the books “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. I even dreamed about it!
This year I decided that I would study another language besides English. So I started a French course at UFSC. I’m in the second level, and I’ve been enchanted by this “fancy” language. We recently went to CIC (Center of Culture) and we watched “La Faute à Fidel” (A culpa é do Fidel), a very nice French movie. I’ve also listened to songs in French, and it seems like I’ve been discovering a new world.
On vacation I decided to apply to a program of teaching English as a volunteer (PET), and I was selected. It has been a huge challenge, but I’ve been enjoying it. This course is for university students and the community in general, and they don’t need to pay anything for it. It’s also an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about teaching by practicing it. I’ve been a volunteer in my city (Rio Fortuna) for five years, and I decided it would a good opportunity to continue working in benefit of my community. With this program, I can acquire experience in teaching as well, which is really important nowadays.
My university experience has been exciting, hasn’t it?That’s all for now. I have lots of readings to do, so I’d better go!

About the writer

My name is Leonardo and I am currently in my first year of university. I study English language and literatures at UFSC [“Federal University of Santa Catarina”]. I have moved some miles away from home and I’m living in Florianópolis.

In fact, I’m already halfway through my first year! This blog is all about my experiences of starting university and how I am settling in – it's a space of reflection about myself and my learning process. Here I’ll share my feelings, fears, ideas and impressions.