Ensina Petrolina

Hi! I’m Chelsea: a Washington State and California native, turned New Englander, turned Brazilian nordestina. I went to college at Brown University and studied history, and in the process fell in love with Brazilian history and culture. The only thing missing was that I had never actually been to Brazil. Applying for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship was one of the ways I found to live in the country—which I did for a year and a half, teaching English, coordinating international programming, and practicing capoeira in Petrolina.

During my grant, I was an English Teaching Assistant at the University of Pernambuco (UPE) – Campus Petrolina. At UPE, I assisted in the classrooms of English professors, planned an academic English Week, and facilitated workshops on everything from language skills like reading and speaking to cultural aspects like baseball or theater. In the second semester, I taught a full elective discipline and offered an autonomous learning lecture/workshop series.

Outside of UPE, I involved myself in coordinating English and international programming on a regional level. My biggest projects, in conjunction with Cara, included two English Immersion Camps and the first Petrolina International English Fair. The blog’s “greatest hits” final post and links will lead to a lot more information about both of those projects.

When I wasn’t working, I was often at capoeira training. Let me rewind: miraculously, my capoeira group from Boston (Grupo Capoeira Brasil – Mestre Cabeça) has a huge number of students here in Petrolina, so getting assigned to this location was lucky for me! In Petrolina my capoeira group became my family, and I spent a lot of time training, practicing music and giving presentations at local schools. I made a video about what capoeira means to me for Dia do Capoeirista (Capoeirista Day).

One thing that my time in Brazil taught me is that I love, and am good at, developing and managing educational programs. I’m not interested in teaching English as a foreign language any longer, but I am planning to pursue a career in education with a focus on global competence and citizenship.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me for any reason at through LinkedIn. I’d love to hear your comments and questions.