Brynn Barineau

Author: Brynn

  • Brasilia: Poorly Executing Good Ideas

    Brasilia: Poorly Executing Good Ideas

    Brasilia, the Washington DC of Brazil, is coming out with a new slogan for the country as part of a rebranding for the 21st century.

    “Brazil, using the best technology moderately well.”

    Ok, it’s not an official slogan. Just an accurate one. Brazil is rapidly becoming a global player with steady economic growth and the world’s fifth largest population, but the country still has serious development challenges ahead of it. Fortunately, politicians love nothing more than shiny, new, development projects.

    The goals behind Brasilia’s plans (improve efficiency, access, or capacity) are worthwhile. The problem with many of the government’s projects is deadlines. The haste with which many improvements are put into place results in half-assed solutions.

    My last post was about the disaster that is the new college admissions exam. The ENEM is an excellent example of a good idea hastily and poorly implemented. Another example is the Federal Judiciary’s “Processo Virtual.”

    The Federal Judiciary is on it’s way to being a paperless institution. All records, procedures, decisions will be virtual. Anyone who has ever been asked to provide three certified copies of their 8th grade report card (which in Brazil is everyone) will applaud any effort to reduce paperwork in Brazil.

    How can Brasilia ruin such a good idea? Assign a deadline giving all first instance courts of the Federal Judiciary less than two years to make the transition.

    In order to meet the deadline, courts quickly adapted previously-made software to use for cataloguing cases. Because the software was not designed for the courts there have been constant problems inputing records. Adding to the confusion, different regions are using different software. While lawyers have the option of filing petitions online, they are not required to. Cases submitted on paper are than scanned by the court staff.

    The records of the Federal Judiciary did not warrant the creation of specific software? Maybe no one told Brasilia that nowadays people create new software daily. While not as exciting as launching angry birds with a slingshot, judicial record keeping certainly deserves it’s own app. Maybe that Facebook guy would do some pro bono work as part of his image rehabilitation.

    The Federal Judiciary is trying to improve and move into the future. Admirable goals but rushing the process will only cause problems that have to be fixed later. I know politicians think in terms of election cycles but when it comes to development long term thinking is crucial.

    Note to Brasilia: Replacing an outdated system with a flawed one is not progress.

  • The Entrance Exam: a comedy of errors

    The Entrance Exam: a comedy of errors

    Traditionally in Brazil, universities have each had their own entrance exam. A student applying to six universities, would need to travel to each university and sit for six different exams. The process was inefficient and costly for both students and universities.

    In order to make the admissions process more egalitarian and streamlined, Brazil created the ENEM, a national entrance exam. This year is the second year the exam has been in official use and is now used by many universities as the sole entrance criteria or a first round exam.

    How’s it working out?

    Putting aside my personal belief that a single test score on a single weekend is a terrible way of determining a student’s merit, the ENEM in Brazil has been a tutorial on how to screw up administering a national exam. A true comedy of errors, that is unfortunately not funny at all since kids, already in one of the most stressful times of their lives, are the ones who suffer.

    Let’s start at the beginning.

    In 2009, the answers were leaked in advance and the exam was scrapped days before the testing date. Every student in Brazil hoping to attend college had to regroup, the exam rewritten and universities across the country had to push back start dates in order to use the ENEM as their admissions criteria.

    Earlier this year a software error within the Ministry of Education released personal data for millions of students.

    Last weekend the 2010 ENEM was given. This time around the test was successfully kept secret. Not quite as successful was the printing. At least 2000 tests had the Natural Science and Human Science questions inverted from the results sheet, some tests were missing or repeated questions and there are reports the essay theme was leaked in advance.

    Inevitably, someone sued. That “someone” being both state and federal agencies arguing the test failed the very basic standard of being equal for all students. A federal judge ruled the exam invalid. Inep, the federal agency responsible for the ENEM, appealed the judge’s decision and as of Friday the ENEM results are reinstated. But the appeals court’s decision is, of course, being appealed. The minister of Education said it would take at least two or three months to organize a second exam for all 3.4 million students and is therefore in favor of keeping last week’s test. A final decision could be weeks away.

    In the meantime, a second exam has been schedule for the students who received misprinted tests on the same days as the individual entrance exams for many of the top universities. Those students will have to choose which exam to take either forgoing application to a top university or the many universities who use the ENEM.

    And the students, the children who spent hours preparing and planning futures based on the results of this exam, they are being told not to worry and go on prepping for any other entrance exams they have.

    I think it’s important to see this entire fiasco from the student’s perspective. In the US, the SAT and the anxiety it causes are well known. Imagine if the SAT was the only admissions criteria. No grades, no essays, no letters of rec. Just an SAT score. That is the situation in Brazil. I’ve worked with teens here during the process and American seniors a zen masters compared to their test obsessed Brazilian counterparts.

    Based on my work here, I have some advice for Inep.

    Unfortunately, there is no way to salvage this year’s exam. Either 3 million students have to take the ENEM again in a few months or 2,000 take it again and miss out on applying to the universities with overlapping exams.

    There is a solution for next year, however. Don’t offer the exam.

    The Minister of Education should take responsibility and admit the federal government is not yet capable of administering an exam to 3 million students simultaneously. Therefore, the ENEM should be suspended for a minimum of 5 years.

    Universities will return to offering their own entrance exams. Don’t worry. The ENEM has only been official for two years. I’m sure universities are still capable of administering their own exams at least as successfully as you have administered yours.

    Over the next five years you, the bureaucrats, will revamp security and printing protocol. You will follow the excellent advice of Maria Helena de Castro, a former president of Inep, expand the question bank from a meagre 10,000 to 100,000 so that you can always have multiple of versions of the exam. This way you will be able to offer the exam on multiple weekends allowing backup dates should there be problems and reducing the number of students sitting for any exam.

    The exam will be administered during the next five years on a trial basis. Scholarships for top scorers and emphasizing the chance to practice sitting for entrance exams, are ways to encourage students to take the exam seriously during it’s trial phase.

    If after five years Inep has managed to administer the exam without security breaches or the score sheet being printed in reverse order, then the test may be brought back for official use.

    A spokewoman for Inep called the 2009 exam a great success. That is wrong. It was successfully salvaged after a disaster. Now, officials are saying this year’s exam was successful save the misprinted exams, dismissing the 2,000 students who received those exams. Inep claims to have made the admissions process better for students, but based on the many student protests against the ENEM this week, I don’t think they believe you.

  • Dear Rio, It’s not you. It’s me.

    Dear Rio, It’s not you. It’s me.

    Dear Rio,

    I don’t really know where to start. It’s not easy to write this. I guess let me first say that you will always have a special place in my heart. The fours years we spent together were some of the happiest and most challenging years of my life. The sunny day strolls around Lagoa. Sipping coconut water next to the beach. We had some wonderful times together.

    It’s not you. It’s me. Well, no. It really is you. I mean, you do have some serious issues. Let’s be honest

    It’s both of us. We both know things weren’t perfect. In the end we’re not compatible. Even during the happy times there was always tension just below the surface.

    You are a blast. The definition of fun loving. Up for a dance party or round of beers every night of the week. And you do like the people. Always inviting more and more, until I can’t hear myself think. With you it’s always the more the merrier. Now, I’m not complaining. It’s who you are. But it’s not who I am.

    You don’t need me. With your amazing looks and fun loving spirit you will always have a string of lovers. Rio, you are truly breathtaking. A sight to behold. But I’m looking for more than just a pretty landscape. It’s what inside that counts with me.

    I know you have a violent side. You never showed it to me and for that I am thankful, but I’ve seen what you can do to others. I have to think about the future and I don’t want to raise kids in that kind of environment.

    Also (we’ve always been honest with each other so I have to tell you) you’re letting yourself go in some areas. All the pollution: air, water and noise. The crumbling sidewalks and potholes. The perpetual traffic jam. You’re not two centuries old anymore. For your own sake, and for those who love you, it’s time to start maintaining yourself.

    Now comes the hardest part. You deserve the truth and you deserve to hear it from me. The thing is, I’ve started seeing someone else. We’ve only been together about two months but, well, I think it was love at first sight. Her name is Vitoria and she’s everything I’m looking for.

    It has nothing to do with you. I need to stop denying who I truly am. The truth is, I love it both ways. I enjoy the activities and culture of urban life and the security and quiet of small town living. Vitoria, she gives me what I need.

    Yes, she’s younger but that’s not the reason. I’ve never been as outgoing as you. I like quiet and tranquility. I like to sit on my balcony and hear nothing but the birds. I want to walk down the street without feeling rushed and tense.

    She also makes me feel special. You can’t deny you’ve got a thing for foreigners. You just keep bringing more and more home. Did you honestly think you could keep thousands of expatriates a secret from me? For you, I’m just one of many.

    But for Vitoria, I’m special. She reminds how unique and therefore highly employable I am. Everyone wants to feel appreciated. Everyone wants to be one of a kind and for Vitoria, I am.

    I’ll end with goodbye and thank you. Thank you for the good times. Thank you for helping me learn what it is I’m looking for. I’ll think of you every time I’m nearly run over by a bus.

    Beijos,
    Brynn

  • Expat Milestones: First Job Interview

    Expat Milestones: First Job Interview

    I’m bragging a little today. You see, in the life of an expat there are some standard milestones. At least standard for an English speaking expat who moves to a non-English speaking country with no previous knowledge of the language. For example…

    -There’s the first time you order a pizza over the phone in your new language.

    -The first time you notice and can yell at the taxi driver for taking you on the longer “tourist” route.

    -The first time you understand enough to genuinely enjoy a film in your second language.

    Last week I hit a new one: first successful job interview in your second language.

    On Wednesday, I received the official offer to teach here in Vitoria. I had been waiting to hear back and a particularly frustrating night of Portuguese had given me a sinking feeling that I had blown the interview.

    I didn’t know going into the interview that it would be in Portuguese. I had already been through one interview with the high school coordinator. We spoke in English. All emails had been in English. I was applying to teach in English. I was reasonably expecting more English.

    When I walked in for the second interview with the principal, as we exchanged greetings the high school coordinator said, “Vamos falar em português, tá bom?” We’re going to speak in Portuguese, ok?

    Had I known the interview would be in Portuguese, I might have abandoned the entire project. I do not have very good Portuguese. It’s not false modesty. It’s speaking only English at home and having only American friends in Rio. The Portuguese I have acquired has been in spite of a pathological fear of sounding like an idiot, so the announcement that I would be interviewed by the principal in Portuguese caused a shot of adrenaline urging me to flee out the door.

    As I sat down in front of her desk, I told myself, “Just keep talking. If you start thinking too hard you’ll realize all the mistakes you’re making. Then you’ll feel embarrassed, followed by panic, and you’ll end up either tongue-tied or crying.”

    So I smiled, kept my arms at my sides to hide the giant sweat stains appearing, and I kept talking. At the end of the interview the principal complemented my fluency.

    Now, I’m the newest teacher at my school and I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself. Not only did I interview in Portuguese but I got the job without any help. I researched and found the school on my own. I sent an email asking if there were opportunities for someone with my background. I sent my resume and had two interviews. I didn’t use my husband’s contacts or drop a single name. I got the job entirely on my own.

    The only downside is that I just found out American expats still have to pay US taxes. Damn.

  • Human Development Index Brazil & US

    Human Development Index Brazil & US

    This past week the 2010 Human Development Index (HDI) came out and marked its 20th anniversary. The idea behind the HDI report is that a country’s development cannot be measured in GDP alone. The quality of life for the people living in the county is what matters.

    Data on every type of development factor from internet accessibility to maternal mortality rates to average years of school has been collected from 169 countries. This year they’ve added a special section looking at global trends of the past two decades. And it’s all free. All the data, their methodology, the analysis, it’s all available to anyone with internet access. The internet is amazing! (So is UNDP for not charging us to see their very pretty graphs.)

    Just for fun (yes, I think comparing development stats between countries is fun) let’s compare Norway, Brazil, the US and Tajikistan. Why Tajikistan? Because Tajikistan is fun to say.

    Overall HDI ranking (out of 169 countries)
    Norway 1
    Brazil 73
    United States 4
    Tajikistan 112

    Life Expectancy at Birth
    Norway 81
    Brazil 72.9
    US 79.5
    Tajikistan 67.3

    Mean Years of Schooling (among adults)
    Norway 12.6
    Brazil 7.1
    US 12.4
    Tajikistan 9.7

    GDP per capita (2008 PPP US$)
    Norway $58,277
    Brazil $10,846
    US $46,652
    Tajikistan $2,064

    Inequality Gini Coefficient (0 is perfectly equal distribution)
    Norway 25.8
    Brazil 55
    US 40.8
    Tajikistan N/A

    Adolescent Fertility Rate (Births per 1,000 women 15-19)
    Norway 8.6
    Brazil 75.6
    US 35.9
    Tajikistan 28.4

    Homicide Rate (per 100,000)
    Norway 0.6
    Brazil 22
    US 5.2
    Tajikistan 2.3

    So, what can we conclude from all these numbers? Norway deserves some hearty congratulations for doing apparently everything right. I think the only reason we all aren’t heading to Norway and putting plaster gnomes in our windows is because most people want to see the sun more than six months out of the year.

    We can all be grateful we don’t live in Tajikistan no matter how fabulous the name is. Brazil has come a long way but still has serious problems particularly in terms of education and violence. Better public education would also go a long way in combatting other issues such as teen pregnancy.

    And what about the US? There are serious problems facing the US, but the fear and despair manifesting itself in the media, political rhetoric, and comment streams isn’t warranted. Life in the US is good. Not perfect, but in comparison to the vast majority countries the quality of life you can have in the States is luxurious.

    If people would just stop screaming at each other as if we’re on a burning ship that’s sinking into shark infested waters, we could see that we have all the resources we need to fix our problems. Governing is not a game with winners and losers. It’s problem solving. Nobody wins until the problem is solved. We may not be Norway, but number 4 is pretty darn good.

  • Should hate speech be a crime?

    Should hate speech be a crime?

    Just when you start to think your country is the best at something, reality goes and levels the playing field. I thought the US boasted the craziest, angriest bigots but then a group of pissed off Brazilians took to twitter Sunday night and proved me wrong. It seems really hateful people can live anywhere. How unfortunate.

    The hate-filled twitter feed was brought to my attention by a fellow blogger (Thanks Rachel!). Obviously not everyone in Brazil is happy about Dilma’s election. A few people decided the best way to express their frustration was to send a flurry of tweets blaming voters in the Northeast and calling for them to be gassed Nazi Germany style. (Really, the casual references to Nazis and Hitler being tossed out these days show a disturbing lack of perspective. But I digress…)

    The group Diga Não A Xenofobia (Say No to Xenophobia) collected a few of the tweets and posted a summary of the subsequent legal action being filed against one of the authors. The tweets are at the bottom of the article and even if you don’t speak a word of Portuguese the hate comes through loud and clear.

    That these people are ignorant bigots and their messages racist, hateful and repulsive is beyond dispute. But should they be prosecuted for expressing that hate? No, I don’t think so.

    I know my opinion is grounded in a very American understanding of free speech. Hate speech is illegal in many countries, not just Brazil. Here the crime of racism results in 2-5 years in prison and a fine. While I think the sentiment behind such laws is good, I don’t think they are effective and I firmly believe they encroach on a person’s right to voice her opinion.

    I assume that laws against hate speech were enacted to combat racism, xenophobia, etc. Perhaps, supporters even believe they made things safer and cut down on hate crimes. Based on what I’ve experienced, the laws merely force racism underground. It is not extinguished. People will continue to voice their opinions in the privacy of their homes, between friends and in front of their children, but now there is no public debate about the issue. I think it’s better to know who the bigots are and what they’re thinking. You can confront them and debate the issue.

    On a more fundamental level, I believe that if a person wants to post 140 characters of trash that is her right. Unfortunately, she has a right to be a bigot.

    One exception to free speech is inciting violence. Calling on people to kill or hurt others should not be protected. The twitter author is being charged with inciting the public to commit a crime and it carries a penalty of 3-6 months in prison or a fine. (I’m baffled why inciting a crime results in less jail time than being a racist. Anyway…)

    So what crime did this tweeter ask people to commit? She asked for people to do SP (Sao Paulo) a favor and kill someone from the Northeast. Disgusting, yes but a clarion call to violence, I think not.

    Now, if she had gone on to list the names and addresses of several people then I’d agree she was trying to incite actual violence. But a tweet? Someone who takes the time to send a tweet to express her hate is not violent. Just ignorant and lazy. These people are too busy trying to figure out how many slurs they can fit within 140 characters to be a threat to anything other than their own reputations.

    What do you think? Should hate speech be a crime? Should the people who sent the tweets be prosecuted?

  • Bad Portuguese & Worse First Impression

    Bad Portuguese & Worse First Impression

    In my life, I’ve experienced very few things as disheartening as being unable to show another person who I am. Only slightly less frustrating is to still, after four years in Brazil, find myself looking like someone who has never had a single Portuguese class.

    Last Saturday, my husband and I went out with a group of his friends from work. The evening started with me mistiming the elevators doors and slamming my shoulder into them mere seconds after introductions were made. It was a pretty accurate omen of how the evening would go.

    At first, my Portuguese was just fine. When we arrived the bar was empty and the conversation involved one other couple. Then the bar began filling up. With each new couple that joined our group the conversation got busier and the background noise got louder. Soon I was trying to follow a conversation about John Marshall through waiters, drink orders, greetings and a BeeGees concert DVD with special guest Celine Dion.

    My lack of context for most of the conversation didn’t help. I’m not a lawyer. Almost everyone in the group was either a lawyer, judge or court staff, hence the discussion about John Marshall. I’m also not a parent on the verge of middle age or regular novella watcher.

    By 12:30am I was fighting the effects of two drinks, a day at the beach, and three hours of intensive Portuguese. The band was playing now and all conversation had to be shouted. I had ended up on the very end of the table, amongst the men, quietly eating peanuts without the energy to even pretend I could hear the conversation, let alone understand it.

    Finally to round off the shy, boring persona I was cultivating, when my husband got up to use the bathroom I put head back against the wall and closed my eyes. Yup, I went to sleep among 12 of my husband’s colleagues at a crowded bar. About 1:30, when someone finally asked if I wanted to sit in the middle of the group near the conversation, I told my husband I was ready to go.

    The evening was both frustrating and bizarre. The few questions that were directed at me were nothing more than a blend of sounds. The amount of noise and the English lyrics being blasted through the speaker made me deaf to Portuguese. My Portuguese is still not strong enough to fill in missed words of syllables. I have to hear everything perfectly. With all the noise I could recognize some sounds but not enough of them to hear words. The result was that I just heard people making noises in my direction. It was an odd feeling.

    In the end, after running into a door, not talking for two hours, falling asleep at the table and asking to leave after the first set, I’m pretty sure I set a new standard for worst first impression ever.

  • The Delicious Moqueca Capixaba

    The Delicious Moqueca Capixaba

    When visiting Vitoria there are exactly four things to do: 1)spend the day at one of the nearby beach towns, 2) visit the Garoto candy factory, 3) see the 16th century Convento da Penha and 4) stuff your face with Moqueca.

    Moqueca (pronounced Mookecka) can generally be described as a fish stew. Or, more accurately, the greatest fish stew ever made. There are two kinds of Moqueca in Brazil, Moqueca Baiana and Moqueca Capixaba. The basic ingredients are the same for both, fish, onions, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro.

    The Moqueca Baiana, from the state of Bahia, uses dende oil (a kind of palm oil) and coconut milk

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The Dende Palm

    The Moqueca Capixaba, from Espirito Santo, draws more from native Brazilian cuisine. Traditionally, it’s cooked in a pot made with black clay and tree sap. The stew is colored using arucum, a natural pigment made from the urucu flower. Moqueca Capixaba uses olive oil instead of dende and doesn’t have coconut milk.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The urucu flower

    Which version of Moqueca is tastiest? Well, that depends on which Brazilian you ask. Unfortunately, I’ve not had the Baiana version in order to declare definitively that the Capixaba version is better, but I can say the Moqueca Capixaba is not just a dish. It’s an experience.

    If ordering a Moqueca, I recommend having a very early, light breakfast and foregoing food for the rest of the day. If you’re a calorie counter, you might as well plan on not eating for the preceding 24 hours. You should also have the afternoon blocked off for napping. There is no strolling or sight seeing after this meal.

    You’ll be able to choose what kind of fish you want, but in Espirito Santo it’s almost always a kind of hard, white fish. My husband and I always order dorado. That is a hearty fish. We also like to have a shrimp sauce. As you can see the restaurant in Ubu is pretty generous with their shrimp.

    In addition to the stew, you’ll also get white rice, piraõ (a fish juice goo, very tasty) and Moqueca Banana (amazing!). Our favorite place also includes a delicious and totally unnecessary fried shrimp appetizer.

    Everything is brought to the table in a steaming, bubbling collection of black pans. The steam rising off the stew is so thick for a few seconds you can’t see across the table. Serving yourself is like dipping into a witch’s cauldron.

    There is no better way to spend an afternoon than gorging on Moqueca followed by a long, quiet nap on the beach. It’s become our Saturday routine, weather permitting. We always love company, so shoot me an email if you’d like to join us sometime.

    The Moqueca pictures were taken at Moqueca do Garcia, on Ubu beach, directly in front of the sea. Find Ubu and you find Garcia.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Ubu, our hidden gem

    Ubu, our hidden gem

    For me, one of the greatest pleasures life in Vitoria has to offer is the opportunity to visit a gorgeous beach, on a gorgeous day. Can’t I do that in Rio? Yes, but I have to share the beach with 1 million other people. I don’t really like to share. That’s why I prefer this little, hidden gem called Ubu.

    The coast of Espirito Santo is lined with small beach towns. The relatively small population of the state will head out every weekend and drive to one of the three or four beaches within an hour of their homes. If you’re willing to drive an hour and half, you can have the beach to yourself.

    Yesterday was a perfect beach day. It was the kind of day against which all other beach days are judged. A blue sky with a few clouds like stretched out cotton balls. The temp was in the 80s and a constant strong breeze made everything perfect. There were not more than 30 people on the beach. A gorgeous beach, on a gorgeous day and we got it all to ourselves.

    I’d tell you how to get to Ubu, but then you might actually come.

    And did I mention the moqueca restaurant in front of the beach?

    The famous Moqueca Capixaba deserves and will receive its own post. To be continued…