12-10-09

Today we had to give ten minute presentations on any chemistry topic of our choice in Portuguese. They went okay. A lot of accidental Spanish speaking and a lot of mispronunciations. The problem with mispronouncing something in chemistry is that syllable change may completely change the meaning of the word. Example: an alkane becomes an alkene. But it was reassuring that, however shakily our presentations went, we were able to give them and it is only week two.
All of our technical education sessions are held outside so there are always interesting distractions. Today a chicken and a pigeon got into a loud fight so our instructor had to go over and shoo them away. And apparently chickens can fly because this fight occurred on a second-story ledge. Chickens, ducks, quails, goats, dogs, and cats roam the streets and yards freely often fighting with each other and otherwise causing commotion.