Brazil is different. Rio is different. PUC-Rio is really different.
Let me explain.
The following is an account of my typical Tuesday and Thursday morning class between the hours of 09:00 and 11:00.
A TYPICAL DAY
9:00 – Class officially begins according to the PUC-Rio schedule of classes
9:05ish – Exit the bus (or van) that brought me to the university that morning
9:10ish – Say hello to someone in the quad or maybe pay a visit to the campus ATM
9:15ish – Arrive at the classroom, there are approximately five other students inside at this point
9:15-9:20 – Read, draw, listen to the ravings of prepubescent Brazilians or just stare at the chalkboard (personal favorite)
9:20-9:30 – See 9:15-9:20…students file in one by one
9:30-9:40 – Somewhere in here the professor arrives at the classroom
9:40-9:45 – See 9:20-9:30
9:45-9:50 – The professor speaks her first words to the students present (who all continue to converse amongst themselves)
9:50-10:00 – Professor actually gets into a bit of material (students continue to file in)
9:55 – A student’s cell phone rings, silenced
10:00-10:05 – Professor goes off on a tangent and begins a conversation with only the front row of students (the rest continue talking amongst themselves)
10:06 – A student’s cell phone rings, the student answers, and proceeds to have a conversation (in a normal speaking voice)
10:07 – A group of three students gets up and leaves the class, talking to their friends in the back of the room on their way out
(Professor is still talking to the first row of students)
10:08 – A student’s cell phone rings, silenced (the other student is still on their phone)
10:09 – The professor attempts to begin lecturing again
10:10-10:15 – The students in the front row begin to have an open discussion with the professor regarding some subject matter that has already been covered (conversations elsewhere in the class ensue, unrelated to the subject of course)
10:16 – The group of students that left earlier return with food and drinks purchased in the quad
10:17 – A student’s cellphone rings, silenced…students continue to file in
10:18-10:22 – The professor attempts to show the class something on the internet (conversations continue)
10:22-10:25 – One student in the front row asks an objectively dumb question and the professor attempts to answer it
10:25-10:27 – Roll is called…students begin to file out
10:28ish – I leave the classroom (everything is alphabetical by first name here for whatever reason so I fall after all the Anas, Brunos, and Marcos)
10:30ish – I have arrived at the açaí stand at the front of campus
10:30-10:40 – I enjoy my açaí
10:45 – Red Bull +1 on my way back to campus
10:50-10:59 – Converse with gringos, consume Red Bull
11:00 – Class officially ends
