SPOTLIGHT: Learning a 'Brazilian' lessons

By Ben Bromley

Like many exchange students, Rachel Lueders is doing most of her learning outside the classroom.

The Baraboo High School senior is spending the year studying in Brazil, at a private college prep school called Centro Objectivo.

She serves as the English teacher's unofficial assistant.

"Basically, my job is just to sit there and give thumbs up during English class as the students learn 'The book is on the table,'" Lueders wrote in an e-mail message.

She has picked up the native tongue of Portugese, but the real learning experience has been adjusting to Brazilian culture.

A driven scholar back home, she has come to embrace the local motto "Amanha," which translates to "tomorrow." Why hurry to do today what could wait until tomorrow?

"I feel that the most important thing I've learned is patience, caring and taking time to just enjoy things around in life. The United States, to me, was always a big rush.

However, the Brazilians, especially my wonderful host families, sat me down and told me to just sort of "amanha" the day away," Lueders wrote. "Although it can be seen as good or bad, it's different and it taught me a lot more than just what I figured I would learn when I brashly crashed into Brazil."

Lueders is in Brazil as part of Rotary International's exchange program.

She studies chemistry, algebra, calculus, Portuguese and English, but the main goal is to learn about a new culture.

She will remain in Sorocaba, Sao Paulo until July.

Brazil wasn't the first choice for the 17-year-old known as "Viva."

Each student lists 30 countries, and Rotary makes the picks. Lueders' top three were Japan, Italy and Spain.

"So, when I heard I got Brazil, I barely even knew it was a country, let alone where it was located," Lueders wrote. "Overall, I'm very happy that I got Brazil and I wouldn't change it for anything."

Lueders had studied Spanish for four years, and the language's similarity to Portugese gave her a head start.

Even after six months, she continues to learn lessons about the culture, including native dances and delicacies.

She has learned about tolerance and acceptance of foreign cultures.

Lueders also has found that independence, a virtue in the U.S., is frowned upon in Brazil. There, people work together, particularly as families.

Of course, a lot of the time, they don't work at all. "Brazilians are a very relaxed group of people. They take life easy and are usually late for appointments, school is taken less seriously, and life just kind of floats along," Lueders wrote. "In this way,

I'm learning to be calm and enjoy life much more than I ever had."

Lueders has more lessons to learn, but they can wait for tomorrow. Amanha. "The funny thing is, that no matter how much I learn about the culture, I know I still have much more to learn, and it's exciting," she wrote.