“I always encourage my students to get out of their comfort zone. You learn so much, I know I did.”
Ana Paula speaks from experience as sixteen years ago she broke out of her comfort zone and moved to the United States. She wanted to attend graduate school for linguistics, with a focus on teaching, but a barrier stood in her way – she barely spoke English. Ana Paula laughs as she reminisces, “I knew how to say, I’m from Brazil and my name is Ana Paula.” But she didn’t let this stop her. She spent two years in a language program to perfect her skills and then, with the aid of a fellowship, she attended graduate school.
With her typical lighthearted whit, Ana Paula reflects on her experience in graduate school and her current teaching experiences, “As a graduate student we are taught to teach a certain way… well I’m a very bad teacher according to these rules. But I can’t change who I am. I will comment on your new haircut and get close to you – I’m Brazilian! But I feel the students’ respond to me, they make me proud and I’m challenged to motivate [the students].” Along with motivation, Ana Paula says teaching allows her to be with her culture and coupe with her feelings of saldade – Portuguese for that missing and longing feeling. After all, it’s not an easy task to create a home in a new culture and leave your network of support behind you. Ana Paula faced many dark days and said, “I cried everyday and even packed my bags.” But she overcomes these emotions by giving into them, allowing herself to feel saldade and to take life one day at a time. “I don’t fight with this saldade anymore. I allow myself to cry and put on a song. I left Brazil but Brazil didn’t leave me.” Ana Paula’s inspiring outlook on life transfers to her job, as is evident with the increased student interest in Pitt’s Portuguese program.
After completing her graduate studies Ana Paula was invited to head Pitt’s Portuguese department, which at the time didn’t even have Portuguese 4. Ana Paula set to work, wooing students with her passion for Brazil and Portuguese to raise interest in the language and help shape Pitt’s current Portuguese department. She says, “My spontaneity comes from working with kids. I love my job, it really fulfills me.” Today a minor or related area in Portuguese is available to students as well as the student Brazilian community on campus: there are movie nights, a dance club, bate papo conversation tables and the annual Brazil Festival.
As the academic year draws to a close, the campus pulses with a mixture of angst and high stress. Do yourself a favor and listen to Ana Paula, take life a day at a time, turn on a good song. And for those of you lacking an exciting class in next terms schedule, check out, Portuguese I, and see for yourself what it’s like to be inspired by a true inspiration – Ana Paula Carvalho.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Pitt chapter.