Beaver Dam

VOLUME LXII 2012

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1982 - 2012

Lucia Santos Executive Director Isabela Villas Boas Academic Superintendent Katy Cox Project Developer

30 1982 - 2012

Beaver Dam Production Staff: Abraão Duarte Antônio Barros Betânia Ribeiro Bianca Tasso Carla Arena Clarice Pereira Clarissa Bezerra Cláudio Fleury Deborah Soares Deyvid Sousa

Domingos Di Lello Elisabeth Blom Frank Couto Kátia Falcomer Lueli Ceruti Márcia Ribeiro Maria da Luz Delfino Pabliane Isaac Robson Moura Ronaldo Mangueira Jr.

We would like to thank those who dedicated their time and effort to making this project feasible.

BEAVER DAM VOLUME LXII 2012

Index Abner Lima Adriana Passos Alessandra Rodrigues Kozovits Alexandra Caiado de Acioli Aline Menezes Dias Amanda Nunes Maniero (elephant) Ana B. Gartner Ana Beatriz Cunha Wirthmann Ana Clara Silva Moroishi Ana Claudia Megale Ana Lucia R. Cubas Ana Luíza de Carvalho Maia Leite Ana Luiza Rossi Jordão Ana Maria Assumpção Ana Paula de F. Corrêa Ana Paula Guimarães Pinheiro Ana Rosa de Passos Saraiva André H. M. Rossi Andrea Jansen Watanabe Andrea Maria Pacheco Andréia Matias Araújo Angela Figueiredo de Freitas Angela Maria de Souza Alves Antônio Vieira de Resende Arnaldo Braga Avolio Arthur Villas Boas Rios Aubrey Sue Bárbara de Luca de F. Gouveia Bárbara Miyuki Takenaka Fujimoto Benigna Maria de F. Villas Boas Benvinda Dias Cavalcante Bernardo Patury Assumpção Bruno Toffano Seidel Calazans Caio César Fernandes Constatino Caio Ernesto do Rêgo Castro Carla de Paiva Bezerra Carolina Cordeiro de Moura Catarina Castro Catherine Guimarães de Azevedo Sousa Chiara Bortoloto Cajazeira de Araújo Christiane R. Pantoja Clarissa Thomazelli B. Braga Cloviz Zapata Cristina Almeida Xavier de Brito Dalva Pereira Garcia Daniel Guedes Almeida Daniel Lins Danielle G. C. Perpétuo Danilo Assis Pereira Daucleber José Teodoro Débora Maria Santos Junqueira

41 57 99 69 71 97 46 115 115 60 27 130 120 13 23 37 57 64 80 42 87 69 39 64 105 115 14 110 77 52 32 19 128 94 120 74 127 63 115 120 44 130 45 57 54 81 40 24 74 73 59

Denise Sankievicz Diniz Raposo Eduardo F. Aguiar Eduardo Henrique F. Moreira Eduardo José de Oliveira Eduardo Miranda Cesar Eduardo Shlaepfer Pereira Elisa Scandiuzzi Maciel Elka Regina de Magalhães Érica Versiani Lima Fernanda Brandão de Souza (camel) Fernando César Mesquita Junior Fernando Ramos Lopes Fernando Sampaio Flávia Diniz de Rezende Flávia Nunes Flávio André Gabriel Almeida Borges de Araújo Goes Gabriel Avohay Gabriel de Medeiros Rodrigues Gabriel Port Carvalho Gabriel Silveira Vargas de Queiroz Gabriel Soares Coaracy Gabriel Sousa Gavião Gabriela Brandão Gabriela Ferreira Alfama Gabriela Gomes de Souza e Silva Gabriela Vilela Santos Gleizer Vieira Guilherme Bonaccorsi de B. Menezes Guilherme Marques veroneze Guilherme Motta Henrique Esteves Laterza Hoffman Xavier Gouveia Monteiro Irene de Azevedo lima Isa Mônica Isabel Vinchon N. de Andrade Isabela do Vale Klin Isabela Machado Viotti de Barros Isabella Cezario de Almeida Ishlah Abdullah Ivens Gasparotto Filho Jacira Torres Jackeline Dellabianca Salomão Jane Simoni Silveira João Bosco de Oliveira Santos João Gabriel de Araujo Almeida João Lucas Amaral Tonello João Pedro Torres Souza João Víctor Oliveira de Araújo João Víctor Vasconcelos Tavares Maximiliano Jordanah Schroder Josenilson Antônio da Silva Júlia de Barros Azambuja

44 58 48 131 131 133 75 132 82 91 97 50 68 20 132 62 74 108 113 115 95 120 51 115 114 129 89 120 88 134 92 100 103 85 81 48 49 78 23 107 84 63 61 80 65 87 98 107 115 115 115 112 129 115

Júlia Lima Parente Julia Maria Barreto Fonseca Costa Juliana Carvalho Karina Ellen do Nascimento Miranda Karina Guimarães Karina L. Holler Karina Nascimento Cardoso (lion) Karla Fontana Kelly Pinto Amorim Larissa Sodré Polejack Laura Guedes Léo Rodrigues Leonardo Ferreira de Oliveira Leonardo Licio Couto Letícia da Nobrega Barreto Ligia Francisco de Deus (pig) Luan Assaf Amorim Luana Ferreira Brandão Lucas de Almeida Vasconcelos Lucas Tâh Hsin Scherrer Ma (bear) Lúcia Menezes Brazil Luciano Xavier Pereira Lucyara de Castro Sylvestre Luis Gustavo Pedroza Luísa Colela Doyle Luiz Eduardo Zancanaro Luiz Fernando Vieira de Castro Ferreira Luiz Guilherme Nogueira Lim Luiz Paulo Guimarães de Azevedo Sousa Luíza Silva Brito Maguimar Maria Paula Manoel Marques de Oliveira Manoelisa B. de Melo Marcella Vanessa Belluco Pinheiro Marcelo Lapa Márcio Almeida Paes Márcio Almeida Paes Márcio Jibrin Marcus Henrique Almeida Marcus V. de Lira Ferreira Marcus Vinicius de A. Redondo Maria Cecília de Vasconcelos Maria Celia de S. Corrêa Maria Eneide Lima de Araujo Maria Luisa Souto Silva Marília de Assunção Mauricio Max Gabriel Timo Barbosa Mayara T. Yano Michelle Amaro Meneses Milene Chaves Freire Muriel Chauvet Norio Takaki Júnior Núria Lopes dos Santos

72 120 72 104 36 43 97 57 21 83 48 102 134 51 90 96 115 120 90 96 93 75 18 53 71 113 97 131 115 128 54 40 45 115 29 56 60 100 67 66 59 49 19 22 120 86 33 111 66 79 95 54 38 25

Paola Bembom Garcia Poliani Ferreira Castello Branco Rafael Gonçalves de Castro Rafel Peres Peres Nunes Raíssa Pacheco Siqueira Mendes Raquel C. R. da S. Castro Raquel Pati Correa Ravena Figueiredo Alves (platypus) Rayssa da Silva Passos Rebeca Cameiro Rebeca da Cruz Santana Renata Rabello Ricardo Tabosa de Córdova Falcão Roberta Azevedo Roberto R. Moreira Roberto Wagner Rodrigo Cerqueira Gonzales Pena Rogério Cândido Troncoso Ronie Paulucio Rorfirio Rosana Braga da Silva Sabine Alexandra Sabrina Maria Tardin Abreu Salejandra Alves dos Santos Samantha Louise Cunha Kersting Samuel Caetano Galdino do Carmo Sandra dos Santos Fonseca Silvana Aparecida Bragatto Silvia Rosenberg Soraya R. Fleischer Staff Editorial Staff Editorial Susane Muniz Pereira (frog) Suzana Teixeira Grangeiro Talita Monte Lucio da Silva Tatianny Fonseca Thais Porto Thessa Laís Pires e Guimarães Thiago Oliveira Miranda Tiago de Oliveira Vieira Vinícius Blom Teixeira Vinícius G. F. Branco Vitor Farias Costa de Carvalho Viviane de Aguiar Costa

94 33 95 126 101 86 46 96 100 73 111 62 120 76 31 30 102 109 79 55 35 25 106 120 115 34 28 47 29 17 16 96 115 77 50 70 78 61 114 120 26 115 59

30 1982 - 2012

This issue celebrates the 30th Anniversary of the Beaver Dam, a publication dedicated to showcasing the work of our students in a variety of levels, on a diversity of text genres and topics. Three generations of students have had their writings published in the Beaver Dam, which represents Casa Thomas Jefferson's unique dedication to the development of students' writing skills in English, a tradition that has been maintained steadily in the past 30 years and is documented in the 62 issues of the Beaver Dam.

I can confidently say that all our students know the Beaver Dam. What many students today might not know, though, is that there is one special person behind it, a person who created the publication in 1982 and has nurtured it all these years with her love of writing and reading students' products: Katy Cox. She has also been the person behind this solid tradition in teaching writing that the Casa Thomas Jefferson has established. Katy has inspired generations of students to develop their writing skills in English. Though she doesn't teach regular students anymore, we, her colleagues, continue to be her writing students. She is still the expert who reads our writings, polishes our syntax and our punctuation, suggests more colorful words, helps us find the right tone.

I, for one, have always enjoyed writing. It was my passion for it that led me to major in journalism, though I later followed a different path and became a teacher due to another passion, English. As a teacher and then Course Supervisor, teaching writing was always “my thing�, reason why I chose this topic for my Master's and Doctoral research. Along this path, Katy has always played a major role. I remember taking a Creative Writing class with her and learning a genre that wasn't as natural to me as journalistic writing. I also remember her guidance when I developed Writing Programs for the courses I supervised and inspiration during my graduate studies. I was able to show in my doctoral research that the methodology used for teaching writing at the Casa Thomas Jefferson plays a major role in students' writing development not only in English but also in their native language. The person who built this foundation is Katy and the main symbol of this foundation is the Beaver Dam. Today, Katy still helps me with everything I write in English. She is my constant and faithful reviser and editor. I'm truly fortunate to have such a dear mentor and so have been all the students, teachers, supervisors, coordinators and deputy coordinators whose writings she's helped refine all these years.

Katy has been the Editor and the writer of the Beaver Dam Editorial all these years. This time, she is our Guest of Honor, the protagonist of this publication. I'm sure you'll enjoy reading this inspiring interview with her.

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Interview with Katy Cox

by Isabela Villas Boas

Could you describe what the Casa Thomas Jefferson was like thirty years ago and what led you to create the Beaver Dam? In other words, how did the environment at that time and the characteristics of the school contribute to the launching of the publication?

Reflecting back over that incredible number of years, I feel that one characteristic of our academic program and of our students is still very much the same; the inclination to write about anything was and still is low on the list of priorities.

The usual attitude toward written communication or expression is that it is relatively laborious, that it requires a line of detailed thinking in opposition to the relatively superficial or instantaneous content of oral production. The idea was at the time that the stimulation of off- the - beat creativity would activate more willing written production; in fact, the earliest Beaver Dam contributions were made on the basis of competitive organization, with the selected items displayed on panels in the CTJ Main Branch art gallery. In any case, the school was less developed technologically and certainly more connected to hand-made, paper-based productions…and they were assessed by one person, who then enlisted the aid of the cohorts necessary for the typing and illustrating of the final form of the magazine. It was seen as a way to show-case students' productions in a way which would stimulate collaborative interest in a project that could be enjoyed in a collective form by colleagues and relatives; in fact, each student whose contribution was selected for inclusion in a given issue received five copies of the magazine to offer to family members or friends!

Why did you choose the name Beaver Dam? A beaver dam is the result of the diligently patient application of a relatively mundane skill; at first glance, there is nothing spectacular or inspiring about an assembly of twigs and branches which affect the flow of a stream and build a safe home for a busy beaver family. I saw our magazine as a repository of the personal production of many students who would not be distinguished in any other way from the small hoard of uniformed youngsters surging on an hourly basis along the halls of the school. The collection of their ideas manifested concretely in a magazine seemed like a unique inclusion in what was otherwise a fairly routine pattern of grades, tests, and homework in the lives of teachers and students alike.

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How did you come up with Beaver Dam topics? Where did you get the inspiration? How has the topic-generation process changed throughout the years?

I confess that some of the topics were the result of a whim on my part, my curiosity to see what the response would be to a question or topic that would not be usual in the students' scheme of thinking. For example, how did elephants get their trunks or giraffes get their long necks?

But there were also topics which suited an issue or concern of the moment: In response to the ecological conference programmed to take place in Rio de Janeiro, each writer chose to be an animal who had to justify its existence, explain why it should not become extinct; in response to the election of a new president, advice was given with regard to how he should conduct his new mandate. The topics in recent years have become less speculative and less dependent on imagination, more connected to the actual and immediately visible: descriptions of tourist havens, the best and best-priced restaurants in town. I think this reflects the current organizers of the magazine.

If you could choose one or two favorite issues of the Beaver Dam, which one(s) would it/they be and why?

The ecological issue, with various animals defending their existence on the planet, and the issue in which fairy tales were retold in a modern version were among my favorites. The originality and heart in the writings made it very difficult to choose “best” compositions, and these issues attracted attention far beyond the borders of the Federal District: these were two issues which required an enormous effort in the selection and editing process but which were proportionately rewarding…at least for me!

Besides being a superb writer, you are also a magnificent storyteller. Can you think of a particular story behind a Beaver Dam topic/issue that you could share with us?

The issue that was supposed to be a tribute to the president-elect that first semester had been conceived on the wave of hope and optimism that buoyed up the spirits of a country feeling strengthened by the muscular development of a new democracy; the nature of the election, the expectation of a new kind of government and civic reality, gave rise to the belief in people's individuality and the humble viability of their opinions. When we were faced with the tragic reality of the death of Tancredo Neves – after an exhausting period of medical bulletins, hope and despair – the magazine had to take another, very different direction. I remember trying to write the editorial page and weeping so copiously that I couldn't focus on the page; I felt like a character in a Shakespearian play, railing against fate and destiny…and having to control my expression to fit the occasion and the purpose of the piece: a relatively realistic introduction to what other people had to say. I don't know if this fits your notion of “story”, but it was the most emotionally momentous moment in my Beaver Dam direction.

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What were the greatest challenges in keeping the Beaver Dam alive all these years?

In all, probably the growth of the school and its various dimensions has constituted the greatest challenge; with more students, more venues, and more teachers, the nature of the magazine has acquired a different identity. It has become a more thinly-spread community property, supervised by several people who relay the responsibility among themselves and, in doing so, lend the publication a varying “face” and objective. Even its physical appearance has been changed – in many ways for the best – by the resources which contribute to its layout and constantly changing covers.

Probably no one at Casa Thomas Jefferson has read more student texts than you have, as a teacher and then as a Beaver Dam editor and Replacement Test composition reader. How would you summarize the characteristics of a good piece of writing? In other words, what leads you to choose a piece for the Beaver Dam or to give a good rating to a piece?

First of all, I focus on how effectively the writer has addressed the topic: Is the development of an idea (or the ideas) linear, sequential, logical? Does the writing contain some aspect of originality or novelty which makes it dissimilar from companion pieces? Is the length convenient in terms of its balance with other pieces (not extensively long or inexpressively short)? Does it convey a message which is coherent with the purpose of the issue in question?

I see good writing as effective communication, a lucid connection to the various angles of rationality that provides literary paths for the mind to follow. Connectedness, a clear balance of entry, development, and termination, and originality of expression are essential to writing that deserves enthusiastic readership.

In what ways do you think students' writing has changed in these last thirty years?

I think that, in general, students' writing has accompanied the trend that both benefits and afflicts today's thinking : immediacy is key to success in many dimensions, and a great many aspects which affected criteria in the assessment of writing are seen as too finicky to realistically affect judgment; the use of accurate punctuation, the meaningful juxtaposition of verb tenses, the use of vocabulary which is chosen for specificity and not for generalization …these are aspects which are considered unnecessarily bothersome to the average writer.

Even technology and the need for speed have in some ways affected attitude toward writing; again contemplation is often over-ruled by convenience in the process of “composing” a message or story, and the overall interpretation is of more interest than the steps which created that general impression.

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You are an avid reader and a great writer. Who were your greatest mentors and what authors have been your greatest inspirations? Also, do you think writing effectively is a born or a learned skill?

I certainly blush at the thought that I might be considered a great writer, but I do know that I am an interested and often passionate reader. As long as she lived, my maternal grandmother's presents to me on Christmas and birthdays were books…never clothing or adornments or the many things that girls my age yearned for. I had loads of friends and a very full school agenda (was in choir and the madrigal group, was captain of the girls' softball team, was one of the editors of the school newspaper), but I was a constant visitor to the library and put towels under my bedroom door late at night so my mother would not see that I was still awake and NOT studying a math or geography lesson. I worshipped my teachers who most loved reading and the drama and lessons to be enjoyed in the adventures to be experienced between the covers of a book. One of my Shakespeare professors in college arranged for the class to see a performance of one of the Bard's more obscure plays, Coriolenus, and he threatened to flunk any student who didn't cry at the ending scene; I was so overwhelmed by the very prospect that I was in a semi-liquid condition long before that poignant moment…and came to be a great defender of the hero's message in the play and of its professorial champion.

I think that writing is a learned skill in all but the most accidentally talented cases; good writing comes from learning and reading in a caring way, a way that cares about what is not trivial and what manifests logic in sometimes the most unembellished forms. Sometimes the simplest expression can be the best kind, the most effectively communicative. I very nearly failed one of my English courses in college, and came close to that abyss in a Short Story course; the extraordinary person who was my teacher in both courses at one point said, “Katy, you say that what you are writing is real. That is irrelevant. You have to find a way to make it BE real. “And this is what I look for in good writing: Is it real?

What are your hopes for the future of the Beaver Dam? I hope that the Beaver Dam continues to attract expression in written form, whether it is on paper or on-line. I hope that the supervisors of the magazine will always have at their disposal ideas which will inspire or amuse, and which will involve energetic thinking. I would like to make special mention of one of the people who has most specially contributed to the beauty and the originality of the Beaver Dam; Robson Moura has been an insightful and tirelessly talented partner to the toilers on the Beaver Dam for many years, and I hope that he will continue to embellish the magazine's visibility and to be appreciated for the support that he provides to its quality and its uniqueness.

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Beaver Dam - 1/1982

From the World of Words...

If you have been a foreigner in another country, you know what it means to make a fool of yourself and consequently have others enraptured over an “insignificant” mistake you have made; generally it is something so subtle that it will take you several agonizing minutes to realize what's going on and why people rejoice. By then, what you had or hadn't said will have been repeated, over and over again, until you're surrounded by all kinds of expressions on people's faces indicating amusement, surprise, disgust and even… forgiveness for your unbelievable stupidity.

A friend's experience has taught me how dangerous it is to venture into cocktail or dinner parties, without having been previously lectured to about all the possible booby-traps that might await an innocent abroad. Harmless comments or replies are always responsible for the sudden plunge into the most treacherous of quicksands.

The victim in question had been living in Brazil for several years, and she was extremely proud of her proficiency in Portuguese which enabled her to communicate in fluent language the state of her health, soul, and finances. Unfortunately for my friend, that fateful night came by when, at a social occasion, she was confronted with destiny disguised in sheep's clothing. An amiable and courteous colleague, probably tired of or bored with seeing her in somewhat dull work clothes semester after semester exclaimed, not able to control satisfaction and surprise: - “Oh, Katy! You look wonderful tonight! What a pretty dress!” and then in Portuguese to tease her, “Tirou da naftalina?”

- “Não, é meu mesmo. Eu nem conheço a Naftalina…”

Ana Maria Assumpção

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Beaver Dam - 2/1982

Darts The History of the Game Around the year 1530, Anne Boleyn presented Henry VIII with a set of Darts of Biscayan fashion, richly ornamented. In 1620, as the Mayflower breasted the white water en route to America, down in the steerage white collars were loosened and tall black hats laid aside as the Pilgrim fathers played darts.

You would think that nothing would be less antisocial than going down to your local pub and throwing a few arrows… But, until the Historic Foot Anakin Decision of 1908, the legality of dart games was in question. The Law then was that games of chance were illegal in Public Houses. And Foot, a Yorkshire Licensee, was taken before Leeds Magistrates and accused of operating a game of chance. But there was a touch of William Tell in Foot's make-up. He obtained permission to set up a Darts Board in Court. As the Magistrate watched attentively, Foot placed three darts in the double tops (20's) – then did it again for an encore. From out of the stunned silence echoed the Historic Words of Judgment: “This is no game of chance!” The scene was set for what many dart players, now in the twilight of their careers, regard as a golden age.

Tools of the Trade Darts are the first things that are needed. They come varying in weight from 16 grams to 38 grams and may be found in brass, copper, nickel or tungsten, which is the most expensive. These may cost up to US$80,00.

An official tournament Darts Board made of bristle and measuring 18 inches in diameter, has a 13 3/8 – inch scoring area that is divided, like a pie, into twenty equal pieces. Each piece is numbered 1 through 20.

The dart board is mounted so that there is a distance of 5 feet 8 inches from the floor to the center of the bulls-eye. The throwing distance is 8 feet from the face of the board.

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The CTJ Dart Team (Beavers) The CTJ Dart team, which can be considered the first – ever dart team in Brazil, was founded in 1978 with the participation of teachers and administrative staff. The players were Aubrey Sue, Erotildes Moreira, Waldenor Moraes, Marcos Tulio Silva, José Alves, Igor Stepansky, Lynn Reer, Tony Pereira and Leonardo Mendes. The team started to practice on Saturdays and have intra-CTJ competitions. It was soon discovered that the American and British Embassies also had people who played darts and the CTJ team started to challenge them. However, with the lack of equipment and experience they always lost to the Embassy teams. But the CTJ players rose to the challenge and began to dedicate more time to practicing and developing their playing technique. Their effort were soon rewarded, and, in 1980, the tables turned and the team defeated both the British and American teams. From then on, they rarely lost any of their games, and their opponents began to tremble at the thought of having to play against the Casa team. Along with the fame of the team, an interest in darts at the Casa soon developed and, in the second semester of 1981, the CTJ students were invited to take part in the dart team. The interest of the students was so great that an-all-student CTJ team was formed with the supervision and collaboration of the old members of the team, who in turn started the Snipers Dart Team.

Championships The CTJ Beavers are at present taking part in the first Darts League championships in Brasília and have beaten the British team in their opening game with a score of 6 to 3.

Unfortunately, they lost to IBI in their second game but, however, they still have a chance of winning the championship as all the teams now have the same number of points. Their next games will be held on the following dates: October 23, against the American Embassy, and November 13, against the Snipers. These games are scheduled to be held at the American Club and British Club respectively.

Aubrey Sue

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Beaver Dam - 1/1983 The Majority of Times. We Have No Conditions As Language teachers, we live in a paradoxical society. The public complains of lack of variety and expertise in television programming; when the quality of TV fare improves, another complaint arises: “I can't do anything with my son. He sits in front of the television all day!” Parents want the best for their children. Middle class parents who have survived the maxi's and mini's of the bumpy economic ride see ”the best” as being at least better than what they had in their teens. Parents who are anxious to introduce their children to piano, guitar, and flute, to ballet, jazz, dance, and gymnastics, to judo, volleyball, and tennis.” And then, what is the matter with my children? They don't want to open a book! It's all I can do just to get them to go to school!”

On our part, we pick through files for exercises, cut pictures out of magazines, create role-play situations, outline grammar explanations which will go systematically onto the blackboard, and Xerox articles from “Time” and “Newsweek.” Our ballet, gymnastics, and deep breathing exercises take place in the classroom and at home, while we fend for restless children and demanding mates to prepare for the next classroom encounter.

And what?! The students don't do their homework?

They keep making the same mistakes in composition? They say “don't can” in 5A? They stare owl-eyed at the simplest Grammar Points on the blackboard and say “what??” when you mention the same point the following day? They are plainly trying to offend you. They obviously don't have any regard for their parents' money. They are lazy good for nothing, and – most probably – stubbornly ignorant.

All of us insist on the evidences of progress with a persistence which results in an almost maniacal devotion to entertainment, a thirst for diversion, a need for color, change, and action. We and our students both enjoy the technicolor environment we so enthusiastically sponsor. But, with our books and chalk in hand, we become Teachers. We, perhaps in the eyes of the students, carry out our role with black and white lesson plans. Should the young people who enter the confines of a school, with their books and pencils in hand, automatically become students?

Staff Editorial

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Beaver Dam - 2/1983 Eat Your Spinach. It's Good for You “But MOM! I don't WANT to study English! Nobody LIKES English; it's BORING!” “My dear, don't be silly. You need English. Nobody's schooling is complete without English. You'll be glad you know English in the future, believe me.”

“Look, I'm already suffering with Mathematics and History, which also are NOT going to do me any good in the future. One day after I've passed a test I don't remember one thing that was on it. What am I going to remember in the 'future,' like next week? English is just going to be the same thing.”

“My dear little son, think of how English can change your life. You'll be able to travel more easily, you'll understand American movies, you'll be able to read text books that aren't written in Portuguese. There are lots of things you'll be able to do with English…”

So the young person learns considerable English, berated, cajoled, and rewarded all along the way by his attentive mother. One day they decide to look into the possibility of a tour – to Disneyworld, perhaps – and go directly to one of a big airline company offices where the first thing they see – for the benefit of the American costumers – is a sign saying “informations.” On the plane (if he isn't economically discouraged from venturing this far), the young traveler may casually read the back of the airplane menu and find, in a description of an exotic Brazilian birds, “… they are fond of eating mouses and small lizards.” During his stay in the U.S., the daring English student probably eats nothing but hotchi dogi, homboorguer, and milkishaki, which he knew all about before studying English.

After returning to Brazil, he goes to a lot more American movies. He discovers that, in general, even the Americans in the theater are reading the subtitles because the sound is of quality which makes complete understanding of the dialogs virtually impossible.

And by the time he achieves university entrance, he discovers which texts (among others) are often written in English: Mathematics and History. He concludes that English must be a lot like spinach; your mother tells you that it's good for you, and maybe it is good for you (after all, look how healthy you are), but you can't see the effect. “Musculação” gets you a lot more girlfriends, that's for sure.

Mothers just don't understand.

Staff Editorial 17

Beaver Dam - 1/1984 Direct or Indirect Each Brazilian has to participate in the political evolution of his country. Everybody has to get his own opinion. Everybody has to have this right and it is only by participating and trying to give our opinions, that we know what is happening in our native land.

The most important thing that is calling our attention these days is the election. Indirect votes occur when the people who are in the government choose our representatives. In the case of Brazil, talking about the president, the choice is made by electoral college. But this organization is already dead and buried by the people. Direct votes occur when we give our opinion, choosing our president and being, later, responsible for what happens in the country. This is what we want and we know that it is our right.

Everybody knows that our political system has failed. The solution for it is policy. But no government will resolve our problems without the support and pressure of the people.

Although the government knows the necessity of reestablishing direct votes, it insists on being our opponent. It has to know that it has to talk with us and not stop or come against us. In the beginning of the campaigns, it tried to discourage the people, saying that political campaigns would disturb the country. But the people have already given the answer for this.

Many of the leaders of direct campaigns, with the discouragement of the government, thought about giving up, but they didn't. And until now they are fighting. Many components of the government party have already accepted the direct elections. But unless they have courage to come against their party and possibly face dismissal, the situation will stay the same.

More than 10 million people have gone to the streets for direct campaigns. More than 90% of the Brazilians want "Direct Elections Now." And the cooperation has been total. The people want changes and they are going to the streets. They are fighting. But it is the first peaceful fight I've ever heard about. And if the government hasn't accepted yet that the people have the conscience to vote, and if they don't have in fact, it is high time to create this conscience.

The campaigns are done, these speeches are given and the work is begun, but we have to wait for April 25. We are waiting for the conscience of these men, that say that they have it, to wake up.

For our victory is depending on at least 97 PDS men to complete the number of the votes we have to have. These 97 men can be our beginning or end.

Lucyara de Castro Sylvestre

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Beaver Dam - 2/1984

Why Does A Bat Hang Upside Down Instead Of Right Side Up

Why is the turtle so privileged that he can carry his house on his back?

We know that blood is the food of a bat. A bat needs a lot of blood in a day, so if he wants blood, he has to fly a lot.

So many years ago, the first bat called Tryxy couldn't fly anymore because he was so old and because the weather was so rainy. He started to be sick without the blood and he caught a bad cold. But on a pouring day, he had an idea: he was standing on a branch, so he overturned and stayed upside down. Under the branch, he wasn't going to be wet and he could dream about blood.

Why? Because when we are upside down, the blood goes to the head. So his thoughts were only about blood.

The turtle, as you know, was a fine little animal until she was to be punished for being a bad girl. God decided to punish her by making her a slow walking animal. (She was the only turtle alive.) The turtle was sorry about what she had done and decided to be a good girl. She played with the other animals nicely and went home at night.

One winter day, the turtle was playing when it was time to go home. It was very snowy; she was cold, and since she was already slow, she got even slower. It started to snow even more, and she was about to die.

She prayed to God, saying: “Oh God, please help me get to my little house. It's too far and I'm about to die.”

God decided to help her, since she had been a good girl. He decided to give her a house on her back. That's it! A house on her back, that would be perfect! If she had any trouble, she would hide inside her rock-hard house. And that's why the turtle has the privilege of having her house on her back.

Bernardo Patury Assumpção Class 351

Maria Celina de S. Corrêa Class 61

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Why doesn't the snake have any feet? And why does the zebra have stripes?

These are interesting questions. Many people try to answer these questions but nobody knows what really happened. Many things are not in the books, but in stories which people have told throughout the centuries.

A long time ago, when man didn't exist and the animals dominated the world, some facts changed the world that we live in nowadays.

The world was a big forest and its king, the lion, reigned with a lot of peace and justice. All the animals were happy and had a good life, but there were also the bad animals. One of these animals was the snake; it had long legs and ran very fast, and only one animal could beat the snake in a competition, the ostrich.

The snake wanted to be the fastest animal in the world, and for that the snake needed to kill the ostrich. Every year there was an animals' party with a lot of food, music and happiness. The snake had an idea to kill the ostrich, so she asked the king for a race between her and the ostrich, and whoever won the race would be considered the “king of speed.” The king accepted and invited the ostrich to participate in the race.

The snake would prepare a snare for the ostrich, but it needed an accomplice to help her. It knew that the zebra was a stupid animal, and at that time the zebra was completely white. She didn't have stripes, and wanted to be more beautiful than the horse. The snake called the zebra to her house and said: - Hello zebra, you are my best friend, I like you very much. You are very intelligent and I think that you are more beautiful than the horse.

The zebra jumped from her chair and said: - Really? Do you think I'm more beautiful than the horse? But no animal thinks like you do; everyone thinks that the horse is more beautiful than me.

- All the animals are as blind as a bat, but I can do something that can make you be more beautiful than the horse, but you have to help me.

- What is it? What is it? I'll help you! I'll help you!

The zebra gloated about the idea.

- No, this is a secret that belongs to my family, I can't tell you… only if you help me.

- What do I have to do? Asked the zebra.

- I want to play with the ostrich; at the party this year we will run and you will stay hidden and when the ostrich passes, you will pull a rope. It will be a little game… The snake explained the rest of the plan.

- OK! Said the zebra.

The zebra was so excited that it didn't want to know more details.

On the day of the party all the animals were waiting for the race. The snake and the ostrich were prepared. The race would be around the lake but they needed to pass a cavern that was near the lake. The zebra was hidden there, and it only knew that when it heard the second runner, it had to pull the rope; she didn't know what really would happen.

The start was given by the king, and the snake knew that it needed to pass in front of the ostrich in the cavern. The snake was winning the race but when the cavern was near, the ostrich passed the snake and passed first inside the cavern. The snake stopped in front of the cavern and the ostrich won the race. The snake didn't know what to do and stopped there.

The king was curious about it, because the snake had wanted to beat the ostrich and why didn't she pass inside the cavern? Why was she stopped there?

All the animals went near the snake to know what was happening. The king went there too and when he arrived, he asked: - Why are you stopped here? Why didn't you pass inside the cavern?

20

The snake was afraid because she knew what would happen inside the cavern and she said: - I'm feeling bad, very bad, I can't continue this race.

The zebra heard something and thought that was the second runner, and it pulled the rope. The rope was tied to a little rock, the little rock was holding a very big rock that fell down and made big noise. All the animals heard the noise. The rock was supposed to fall down on the ostrich, to kill it. The zebra left the cavern very quickly, because she was afraid, and said nervously: - I didn't know, the snake made a fool out of me! It said that it was a little game with the ostrich, it said that I would be more beautiful than the horse‌ - Close your mouth! Said the king. He was very put out and said to the snake: - You are a bad animal, and you don't have any right to live here, with good animals, which like the peace and love, you made a fool of me, you are an envious animal.

The king thought and decided: - Cut her legs! From now on, you will drag!

- You will remember your mistake forever!

The snake cried a lot, but the king didn't have any pity. The snake would be an example.

The zebra was more afraid and said: - Please king, I didn't know, please‌ - You only thought of yourself. You are a stupid animal! To be more beautiful than the horse you almost killed an innocent animal. I will punish you! Black stripes will be drawn on your body. You will never forget that you are a stupid animal.

This is only one of the many stories that are told by people and are not in books.

Fernando Sampaio Class 64

This is something I don't understand. The same way I don't understand why the politicians and rich people love power! They can have everything they want, but, they are not satisfied.

The same thing happens to fat people. They have lots of things to eat, like fruits, salads, milk, things that are good for their health. However, they always want chocolates, candies, ice cream‌ SUGAR! Where did people learn that we need money to survive? Where did people acquire their preference for one thing or another? We don't know it! These are things that happen to us and we don't understand why!

I don't think that cheese is the best food we have, but, rats might think so! Why not?

I'm not sure, but they acquire their preference for cheese in our refrigerators! They always eat it.

And this isn't all! They eat clothes, shirts, dresses, towels and everything they shouldn't.

They must dislike men the same way men hate them. They're wise, quick and, what is worse, they're dirty! They don't do good things to us and we do the same. Is it fair?

I'm sure they didn't acquire their preference for cheese in their own houses. They live in the worst places in the world! Their houses are trashes! And most of the time we don't find cheese there!

I have thought about the question you asked me for a long time, and, I really don't know where they acquired their preference for cheese.

Kelly Pinto Amorim Class 63

21

Where Did the Rat Acquire his Preference for Cheese?

A long time ago, there was only a couple of each kind of animals. They used to live in perfect harmony, working in helping each other.

The couple of rats worked by gnawing grass for a couple of cows, and they worked by giving milk to the couple of rats.

One day, the couple of rats were thinking about their food, and decided that milk was not the perfect food for them. They needed another kind of food, a hard one. To make this decision, they spent 3 days and then they went to talk with the couple of cows.

When they arrived, the couple of cows were hungry and angry. They were too lazy to cut the grass with their teeth. The milk was in a bottle and had become hard and curdled. It had become yellow and with a strong, but good smell.

The couple of rats told them about their problem and the couple of cows immediately solved their problem giving them the supposedly spoiled milk. First the couple of rats received the action of the couple of cows like an insult, but, when they smelled the good smell of the milk, they decided to taste a piece.

They liked it very much and decided to make a pact with them. They would gnaw a great amount of grass for at least three days, and the couple of cows would give a great quantity of cheese; that was the same name given by the couple of rats to this kind of milk. Since then they have liked to eat cheese a lot.

Maria Eneide Lima de AraĂşjo Class 304

22

Beaver Dam - 1/1985

New Chances Now we have a new president. The first civilian president in 20 years. All people in the country are expecting changes.

On March 15th, President Tancredo will be inaugurated to commemorate the New Republic.

Tancredo has the love and admiration of all the people in the country. He had a good political life.

He did important things for the population in his administrations.

All people are expecting that he will make this country a better and respectable country.

He has a great capacity and, if he wants to and makes an effort, he will make this nation a good one, because this is a paradise; it only needs to have good management.

Ana Paula de F. CorrĂŞa Class 403

Dear Mr. President, I'm happy to communicate with you. My name is Isabela Viotti and I'm fourteen years old.

It seems that for the first time the president of Brazil has the support of the people.

Finally the democracy arrived. You're a person that I respect very much and I'm sure that you will do good things for all Brazilian people. I hope that the cost of living will fall. There is a happy climate among the people because everybody will participate in this new situation. Better salaries, better housing, better opportunities and more jobs will come very soon‌ God bless you!

Sincerely Yours, Isabela Machado Viotti de Barros Class 52 23

“Exmo. Sr. Presidente”: Today, “15/03/1985” is the day that you begin to govern our country.

Today is the day that all Brazilians have been waiting for since 1960.

I and all Brazilians, always hopeful, see New Republic born with a lot of beauty.

I hope Your Excellency works with a lot of wisdom and responsibility, for our Brazil is growing more each day.

These are the hopes of an ordinary worker, and my sincere congratulations on your victory.

Sincerely, Danielle G. C. Perpétuo Class 403

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Beaver Dam - 2/1985 As everybody knows, so many good things can be found in this marvelous place called the world.

Unfortunately, we human animals are destroying our land, our air, animals, friends and sisters. It's very important to start thinking about what we can do to stop doing these kinds of things.

When you listen to the radio or watch television, the best news is that a new nuclear war machine was invented or, the people are suffering terrible crises in all over the world, like death provoked by hunger, racial conflicts.

If it was possible, each person could invent a human machine inside his/her mind. This machine would have only finalities like to establish no hunger because we have food to be shared with people that need to eat, no racial conflicts because color isn't a problem, no war because we were born to live and nobody can kill anybody, no country can massacre another country.

It's time to invent a human machine to end these kinds of problems. Why don't you start inventing yours? If you don't do it, we're not going to see children playing, beautiful flowers or birds flying. So, you won't see any life and, the most important, you're not going to find you.

NĂşria Lopes dos Santos Class 356

Since the first man was born, men have been inventing or trying to invent things. Computers, robots and every kind of machine has been invented and perfected by men.

At first, they say that these kinds of inventions are to help us, but in reality, they stay in the place of people in factories and offices. Many workers are fired because of these machines! Starvation, poorness, and many abandoned children are some of the results of the human necessity to know and have more.

We are destroying our land, our world. We are killing ourselves! We have to think a lot before doing something. We have to change ourselves and our minds, before thinking about changing our world.

I tried to see myself, and thought a lot before writing this composition. I saw that the only thing that has not been invented, and would be very useful and peaceful, now and always, is a mind-changer.

With it, we would change the world and our lives, only hastening the machine. It would be good, wouldn't it? But imagine a machine like it, being used by a bad person! The world could become an inferno in a few minutes. Because of it, I decided not to invent anything. The only thing I want to invent can become one of these kinds of inventions that help only at first, because, after, can turn our life into a real catastrophe.

Sabrina Maria Tardin Abreu Class 369

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Beaver Dam - 1/1986

Today the world is a great Market where people buy things here, there and everywhere in a frenetic way. It seems that the more we spend day by day, the more we have to buy and the less we possess.

Two centuries ago, when someone had to buy something, this person didn't buy it just to satisfy her ego, but to fulfill a necessity which, without this one, would make it difficult to do whatever she wanted. People bought things to make their lives easier and their work lighter to do. Buying a product was a direct consequence of the outstanding utility of it.

When in 1760 the Industrial Revolution took place in England, something in our customs began to change gradually. From then on, the goods that the factories made had to be sold on the market, but they had a doubt: “how to sell so many goods if we can't have so many purchases for what we produce?” Simple question, simple answer: “let the people think that they feel the necessity to buy it. How? Just making them believe it is fundamental for them, using marketing.”

As we can see, we are convinced to buy this or that just because we saw it on TV or somebody told us it's wonderful or because everybody is using it. There are persons that buy goods as a bad habit, without paying attention to what they really need and these people act in a circle that doesn't stop. They make loans to satisfy their craving: having two or more cars, buying expensive clothes, traveling every semester, in short, they let themselves splurge all the time without being conscious of what they're doing.

Where will it stop? I don't know, but one thing I've realized: I am talking about 20 percent of the world's population that spends money because the people have enough to spend and these are the ones that maintain the purchase power and the demand of merchandise, for the balance between man and industry, while the others (80 percent) don't have money even to buy food for themselves and live a worthy life.

Vinícius G. F. Branco Class 358 26

He Does Not Possess Wealth, It Possesses Him The main objective of this paper is to prove that the only way for people to be happy and satisfied is being themselves. It isn't necessary to be a wealthy person to be happy.

Nowadays it is very common for people to think that the way to be happy is to have great wealth. According to these people, happiness is liked to wealth. “Time is money” says a proverb and that opinion is widespread in our society. People think that they are being happy, in fact, is very busy and boring, they don't spend their leisure time in a good way, they don't do exercises in order to have good health and probably they suffer from insomnia.

According to my ideas, the only way for people to be happy is being themselves. I know that you have a question “How could they do it?” Answering this question, it is necessary to say that, first of all, it is important to emphasize the role of education in this process. Self knowledge is indispensable for people who want to be happy. They should have a human conception about the world and try to understand what their role and function is in it. Being persistent and having a special life objective, they'll have the most important incentive of their life, the right way to happiness.

A lot of people have great wealth and they are unhappy; it proves that wealth isn't enough for happiness. In order to be happy it is very important for us to have good health, education, career, love and freedom. I was talking to an old man who said that he is happy because he doesn't posses wealth, he possesses himself.

Ana Lucia R. Cubas Class 459

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Beaver Dam - 2/1986 A long time ago, when the horses had the gift of speech there was Kay, a little horse which was discredited by everybody. At that time, the horses and people lived in the same village named “Recanto Feliz” and everybody, without exception, considered Kay a silly horse.

Marianne, who was a beautiful little girl who wanted a feeling to her life over there, had to pick potatoes to maintain the village. One evening, after picking potatoes, she ran into a handsome boy called Peter, who was fishing in the river, so she fell in love at first sight.

Thus, she had come back to the village before talking with her friends about Peter. But what Marianne had not realized was that Peter belonged to the “Paraíso Silvestre”, a village which was an enemy of theirs. So, she understood that her parents would never let her marry Peter.

She was crying very much when Kay appeared and found out what was happening. It advised her: - When you have seen a falling star, make a wish and it will come true!

She didn't believe it and thought Kay was really a silly horse! How could she believe in a falling star's influence on people's lives!

On that night, coincidentally, Marianne had seen a falling star and, unbelievingly, she asked her wish.

In the next week, the terrible cannibal bears attacked the two villages at the same time. So, the two chiefs of the villages noted they would only defeat the enemy if there would be union.

Sir Logan, Marianne's father and chief of “Recanto Feliz” village, during the fight, was confined by Ben, the chief of the enemy bears. At the exact moment that Ben would kill him, there appeared Peter's fish line, which interlaced Ben's neck and killed him strangled.

When the bears noted their chief had died, they ran away rapidly. Marianne's father was so happy with the victory, and that Peter had saved his life, that he asked Peter if he wanted to marry his daughter.

Marianne was very happy, so she wanted to thank Kay for its advice, but she found it bloody and agonizing.

Afterward, Marianne looked at the sky, with her eyes filled with tears. She saw a falling star and, no more an unbeliever, but with faith, she asked that Kay be saved!

So, Kay, Peter and Marianne came back to the village to feast the union of the two villages and tell everybody about the miracle.

Since it happened, when all the people of the world see a falling star, they make a wish with faith that it will come true!

Silvana Aparecida Bragatto Class 319

28

There are many and many couples divorcing today. Many couples are not making a good marriage. Why? Do you have an explanation? I do.

I've been making an investigation here in Brazil, since 1984. Everyone who was joined from 1984 to February 1985 is still married and happy.

The one from February 1985 to February of this year are divorced and unhappy. And the ones who were joined from February this year are, again, still joined and happy.

The price of the rice from 1984 to February of 1985 was low. The price of it from February 1985 to February this year was getting higher and higher. And when the government decided to make a control of prices, the price of the rice got lower.

I think you are understanding what I want to say. I found a connection between prices of rice and divorces. And I, who was not superstitious, am believing this old superstition. So, try to do the same as I do: “Throw the rice at the wedding for good luck and fertility.”

Marcelo Lapa Class 403

Knock on Wood Attracts or Preserves Good Luck Every time something bad happens, we usually knock on wood to protect ourselves from bad luck. We knock on what's nearest. But why? Maybe it's because superstitious people are afraid of bad luck.

Since life in the past was so difficult, primitive man assumed that there were many more bad spirits than good ones. The question was how to protect oneself and how to appease with charms, amulets and talismans as well as every kind of counter- magic. When one failed, they tried another. That's how “knock on wood” appeared, as well as dozens of other countercharms we have nowadays.

Soraya R. Fleischer Class 54

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Beaver Dam - 1/1987

Thatcher and the Falklands Argentina was experiencing a very hard economic crisis, the same it copes with nowadays, but at that time there was a very intelligent general named Galtieri that was the president. Galtieri and his group of “consellieries” decided to invade the Falklands because: the people would develop the patriotism, repossess an old Argentinian possession and, the best reason, they would forget the economy and pay attention to the war. And also, Galtieri, thought: “Margaret Thatcher is not male enough to fight for these islands.” He was right; she wasn't male enough to invade the Falklands but she was female enough to do so.

Thatcher, when she was told what that group of Third World military men from Argentina had done, became extremely happy. Now she would finally fight with something more powerful than a group of “miners” from the British Isles. During that night her husband had no time to sleep because she was extremely excited and wanted to relive the “good old times”.

The result is obvious! She ordered her Navy to conquer the Falklands and, if necessary, explode a nuclear bomb in Buenos Aires. They spent some time to get to the island and the Argentinians prepared themselves to win over the army of the Queen. Thatcher called her “comrade in arms”, Reagan. He let her use his fantastic technology to locate the strategic positions of the enemy. The war passed! The most beautiful prince of England had to interrupt his love story with Koo Star and fight for England. General Belgrano was a Royal destroyer with the same destiny. After some time, the best technology of England, with atomic submarine and the famous Sea Harrier won over the Exocet, owned by Argentina but imported from France. And we also have to consider the best strategy from England! The Pope was called to help to prepare the people for the failure of Argentina. But, with the pope or without him, there was no way out: the military government was ended in Argentina!

Roberto Wagner Class 452 30

Beaver Dam - 2/1987 The Legend of the Seastar Once upon a time in the center of a far forgotten country, a young boy wished to know the sea. But the sea was so far that he could only dream about it, and even though he wished it very much, he never thought that someday such a wonderful thing could happen.

He had always heard about a big city near the sea, where people were happy and successful, and he thought that it could only be because of the sea.

He was only a child, when, while seeing a falling star, he made a wish: “I'll know the sea someday.’’

The years passed and he grew up dreaming, and now he was a young eighteenyear-old man.

Once, on a starry night, he was looking at the sky when he noticed that one of the stars was shining more beautifully than the others. This star went near him and said: - “Once, you made a wish looking at me, and now I'm here to satisfy you. I'll guide you in the right way to the sea, but it will only be possible if you follow three rules. The first is: each good fruit that you eat, you will plant and cultivate; the second is: you will have to teach the right way to everyone who asks you, without receiving any payment; and the third is a secret rule that you can't ever tell anyone and never sin against.”

Well, he walked for many years straight ahead to the sea, doing everything as the star said, and following those three rules.

When he reached the sea, he was a happy and successful man, but he was in trouble. He was passionately in love with the star. He had everything he wished, but he didn't have the only thing he really wanted, and so he tried to take hold of the star. But the star, who loved him too, threw herself into the sea. And as the legend says, on that day the first seastar was born.

Roberto R. Moreira Class 458

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The Legend of the Sunflower A long time ago, a wonderful region was surrounded by marvelous rivers full of colorful fish, which danced like geese in the reflecting waters under the sound of a delightful symphony of singing birds. The birds were the flying rainbow which contrasted with the green color of trees and made the Indians' hearts full of enthusiasm for life.

Beyond, the hills seemed to embrace the sky and kiss the golden sun's rays that were hiding on the horizon. The Indian Potiguara, since he was just a child, had loved that splendid phenomenon and, in spite of the existence of other beauties in that rich natural scenario, he was always staring at that incandescent ball. He loved to lie down on the grass and stay for a long time looking up at the sky, admiring celestial beauties. During the night, he faced the stars, but not for long time, because he had really fallen in love with the sun, his true passion.

Everyday he woke up early, very early, and began to run like a fool only to greet the sun.

The chief of the tribe, Pajé, was worried about Potiguara's behavior. Once, Pajé asked him not to stay staring at the sun; it was their god and it was very powerful. But the Indian didn't accept the Pajé's advice and, as time went by, he got more and more interested in his idol. Potiguara wouldn't accept the impossibility of fixing his look at that yellowish ball for as long a time as he used to do with other things of the world. He used to ask himself why he couldn't accept the challenge the sun offered him, since he was a strong, young, brave warrior, besides being an intelligent and healthy man. The Indian couldn't be resigned to that situation and he wished to force a duel with that invisible ball.

The first and the last of the sun's rays he had already beaten. It was necessary then to beat the longest and strongest fingers of the mysterious star. In order to do that, he used to stay among the trees. Sometimes looking straight forward, sometimes turning his eyes to the left and right, getting back to the shelter of the shadows. The war rebegan. He reflected, looking for new positions, he fought against the unbearable heat and, with an immeasurable effort, little by little, his eyes adapted to the flames of the indigenous god. Finally the Indian felt that he had the means to fight that powerful god.

Potiguara was convinced and proud of the possibility of an early victory. His mind looked like a child who smiles in order to please his parents. Day by day the Indian felt more and more confident in himself, his eyes were sparkling strongly like diamonds, his hair changed color, his skin became more beautiful. Both internal and external transformation happened. The young man was happy and anxious. The day of confrontation was approaching and he jumped joyfully and danced as never before.

On the day of the battle, Potiguara woke up later than usual. He climbed the top of the hill and waited for the rising sun until it got very hot. Then he lay on the grass and fixed his eyes towards the flames of his adversary. The warrior was determined not to lose the battle. Soon his eyes began aching and the tears came abundantly, rolling down his face, but he didn't give up. His pride was stronger than his suffering because he was just trying to make an old dream of his own come true. The pleasure was incredible, but it didn't last too long; the sun's rays burned his eyes, making him completely blind. It was the god's punishment.

After the battle, Potiguara became sad and weak, for he couldn't see the life around him.

Loneliness took place in his soul until he died. In the place where the battle took place came up a strange kind of plant never before seen by the Indians. From that plant bloomed a beautiful yellow flower which followed the same solar movements. The Indians called it “sunflower”.

Benvinda Dias Cavalcante Class 319 32

Beaver Dam - 1/1988 Old Age Oh my god how many wrinkles!

Everybody will say it one day. It is a real monster that perturbs all the people in the world: age!

A long time ago, the people were worried about the “eternal life”; they wanted to know one medicine that would cure all the sicknesses. They called it Iatropia. As you know, it is impossible.

There are other kinds of preoccupations now.

The people are worrying about their bodies and health. Many academies to make gymnastics were opened and there came many surgeons, such as Pitangui, that make you younger than the other.

Many industries are taking advantage of this problem. They make many kinds of products to make people young, because they know that everyone is worrying about age.

What you have to know is that age is the life and you don't have to worry about it; you have to be young inside you and take care of your body and health. If you make your age a problem, you won't utilize your life!

Poliani Ferreira Castello Branco Class 306 TV, The Monster TV Although you can't perceive it, there's a dangerous monster living at your home. That monster called TV is not only a complex wood or metal square organized in pieces with microfunctions and a lot of details. It's a brain sucker monster.

The so-called TV is able to suck your brain in a few minutes. When it shows you a lot of images, you don't perceive that your brain stops and only your eyes and ears are connected.

That process involving domination is not so hard to understand, because when you sit in a soft armchair holding your beverage (drink) and give life to your monster (turn it on), after some minutes you perceive a world of words and images penetrating your soul. That's exactly when the monster starts to attack you by showing tragic scenes that even touch your heart and also violent ones that take you to a state of shock.

After that state of shock, you will probably try to think about the causes and solutions to those problems presented so far; however, the monster is sucking your brain and you will not react because a funny scene will be presented by the monster TV and all the possibilities of reaction are cut.

Everywhere you go there's a monster TV. If you try to escape from it, probably someone will remind you to watch that special on channel 4 or maybe that new soap opera…

It's hard to combat that monster. No poison, no bomb, no garlic, no cross, no silver bullets, no He-Man can destroy it… I give up! Wait! I've just remembered there's a music special on TV… If you can't destroy them, join them.

Mauricio Class 504

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Scummy Skeletons My name is Sandra. I love different things, especially when they are monstrous. To give you an example: I had an uncle who inherited a very old house that was too far from the city. My uncle hadn't gone there for a long time so he decided to go there to see the house and I went with him.

When we arrived in that horrible place, I felt very excited and started to think about the frightful day it was going to be. My uncle told me some stories about the house. It was big. It had many rooms, a kitchen and a dark basement. Everything was dirty and old. For me the most interesting things were a wonderful rug made of tiger skin, the golden candelabrums and a remarkable coffin which was in the basement. My uncle told me that coffin was there only because my grandfather, the first owner of the house, wanted the endless souvenirs of his loyal twin butlers Scummy. The day was ending and I was really curious to see the coffin opened and take a look inside of it.

It was getting late, and we would have to go away. But it started to rain very hard, with too much wind, flashed and thunders. My uncle thought it was better that we only go in the morning. How I liked it! It was my chance to open the coffin of the twins. Since my uncle was very tired, he slept quickly. I didn't wait anymore. I went to the basement and opened the coffin. What a surprise I had! There were the Scummy Skeletons. They were alike. Suddenly one of them started to laugh and the other stood up and said: “How are you Miss? You look like so astonished.” Now the one who laughed said, “Oh! My dear. Don't be afraid”, he said calmly, “my brother and I are friends. We just have waited for several years for somebody's visit. We live here very lonely. We need to talk to somebody, laugh and dance.”

I couldn't believe it but the other took me and started to dance. It was like many bones floating. I had never seen anything like that.

Skeletons that could dance, talk, laugh and also eat spiders. Strange or not, the Scummy Skeletons made me feel like a ghost. They celebrated the visit with too much happiness and told me they would have liked very much if they had met me when they were alive. There was something interesting about them. All the time they helped each other do something. They were so kind that they gave me a tiny silvery skeleton with their name, Scummy, carved. Then they went into the coffin, said goodbye and I closed it.

In the morning, I went to my house with my uncle and until today I haven't gone back there anymore.

Sandra dos Santos Fonseca Class 62

34

Beaver Dam - 2/1988

The Fox and the Grapes There was a young man wishing to enter the important and famous political world. His dream was to become a minister. But he had never had any idea of how to do that, until a friend suggested him to start it by dating the daughter of a great politician. She was very beautiful but naïve. When she met him, she was surprised. She admired him a lot, and even fell in love with him. They went out a lot, made new friends and met many politicians. The girl's parents just loved the man, and even suggested an engagement. So they did it. Their marriage was expected all over the country, since they formed a very nice couple and nobody could deny he was an excellent man.

He was already the assistant of his fiancée's father. And love was still increasing between the man and his fiancée. But one day, the girl was advised by the man's friend about the trap. At the beginning she was shocked, and couldn't believe he had done that. In spite of that, she didn't say a word to anyone. Her fiancé noticed there was something different, and she eventually told him she had discovered the trap. He, seeing his plan falling into ruins, decided to be seen as innocent and defamed the girl. It was widespread that she was false and hypocritical, and marriage was impossible with such a creature as his fiancée was.

Asked if he wouldn't reconsider and marry her, he answered, “No, she's blond and I prefer brunette”.

Sabine Alexandra Class 552

35

The Ugly Duckling

with their thing to think about us. But it will change. I don't know when, because they have to do many things, but you can bank on it: someday, it will change. After all, they promised, they promised…”

“But, dad… they have been working since February of 1987. Can't you see? Our water is more polluted day by day, our food is worse day by day. Many ducks are sick. The tourists are disappointed with us!”

“Don't worry, don't worry…”

But the ugly duckling couldn't stop thinking about these problems. He didn't want to be ugly! He was waiting. Impatient, but waiting…

December, 1988 The politicians finished their work. The constitution was ready. All the ducks became happy. But the ugly duckling was upset. He was afraid that nothing would change. He knew that the politicians always promised a lot of things but they only sometimes did what they had promised. They only thought of their own problems. Maybe the things would stay the same way.

“Dad, do you see things changing?”, he asked his father everyday.

“Not yet, but wait, wait…” Was his father blind? Sometimes he thought yes. They were as thin as everyday, the water was as dirty as everyday, and he was as ugly as every day. But he was waiting. Impatient, but waiting…

January, 1989 After a lot of time, the things changed.

Some people cleaned the water and they were giving the ducks good food twice a day. In two weeks, all the ducks were beautiful again as chubby as they had ever been. Now the name of the ugly duckling changed; he was the most beautiful duck in all the place. He was very, very happy. Everything changed and changed to be better. The tourists were happy to see them swimming and always gave them a lot of popcorn.

Now there wasn't a noise of pollutions anywhere. The life that everybody had waited for.

December, 1987 It was a beautiful Tuesday morning when at the National Congress pond an ugly duckling was born. He was really ugly and his mother complained to her husband: “I said to you… this water is so polluted.

We aren't eating well. That's why our baby is so ugly. I don't want to live here. Please…”, and she started to cry.

“I don't like it here, either, darling. But don't cry. I can't do anything. Think about our relatives who live in Paranoá Lake. They are worse!”

“But look at our feathers. They are awful.

Nobody wants to give us popcorn. Nobody wants to see us…”

“We have to play, darling. Maybe the politicians will remember that we live here when they finish the constitution.”

She went to the baby's bedroom. He was asking her why there was so much noise in the building.

“The politicians are working. They work a lot. But they forget that we live here. They said that when they finished their work they would help us. They said that what they are doing is working to give us the best things. I really didn't believe it. Before you were born, they were working as today every day and nothing changed.

Maybe in the future we'll see some alterations in our lives. And maybe they will be good alterations.

Now, try to sleep.”

June, 1988 It was a cold day in Plano Piloto, and the politicians were in National Congress, working.

There was a lot of noise as well. The ugly duckling was listening to the noise and thinking about his life and his neighbors' lives. He had been living there for almost 6 months and he was the ugliest duck in all the place. His feathers were thin and he was as thin as bamboo. His neighbors were accustomed to eating bad food, but he wasn't.

They were accustomed to the pollution of the water, but he wasn't. He was sad because he wanted to be as beautiful as his father was when he was 6 months old. And as chubby as him, too.

But his father talked to him: “Don't worry; the politicians are too busy Karina Guimarães Class 62 36

The Real New Clothes Adaptation from “The Emperor's New Clothes” Nowadays, noble parties and dinners are news in the newspapers and the focus of commentaries in the high society. Mrs. Barney's aren't an exception. Her commemorations and receptions are well-known by everyone and she does almost the impossible to keep this impression.

For one of these famous parties, the Barneys' palace was restless and every servant was in a hurry trying to solve the major problems and observe the most preliminary details. The party was going to be two weeks from that date, so everything had to be previously planned. Due to that, Mrs. Barney was so furious and demanding. She was concerned about her dress, as she couldn't be satisfied by the ones she stored in the closet. The spent morning on the telephone was useless. She called all the most famous and efficient dressmakers and no one solved her problem.

To be fashionable and to be the center of attention are the major goals Mrs. Barney makes efforts to reach when giving a reception. In fact, she is one of those people who believe that “a person is what she appears to be.”… Mrs. Barney has lost her humility and become proud of herself and of her economic power; she is a slave of her social condition.

Finally, after arguments and explosions of anger, one of the maids shyly got closer to the great lady to indicate an excellent dressmaker she knew. As it was the last alternative, Mrs. Barney heeded the advice and accepted to have a meeting with the woman.

The simple and lovely dressmaker offered her utility for sewing the special model Mrs. Barney was asking for: “I've known that the lady is demanding and likes to call attention. I have with me in package a special cloth that makes anyone who wears it more brilliant and beautiful than ever. I can sew it as an exclusive dress for nothing more than sewing one of your old dresses.”

Without thinking twice, Mrs. Barney agreed and established the agreement.

Excited and a little bit eager, Mrs. Barney appeared at the dressmaker's studio to check how things were going on: “What about the cloth? There are just two nights until the great party!”. “It's finished”, was the woman's answer.

“Take a look at it!”

“Is this a joke? I can see nothing!”

“That's the secret! The real cloth can just be seen when worn!” Not convinced at all, the lady left the room, but satisfied with the idea of being graceful.

By the date of the party, the clothes were ready. Although Mrs. Barney wasn't so trusting in what she wouldn't see, it was all right for her to be the prime-lady on that night.

The guests were all in the ballroom, talking and dancing, giving the old room a colorful and pleasant climate. The entrance of Mrs. Barney was planned to be astonishing. As she was going downstairs, all admiring people cheered with regard to “new dress of Mrs. Barney”, except a drunk and unknown guest who innocently and unconsciously shouted, “look at Mrs. Barney's new bra; oh, and her panties! Oh, what a nice occasion to show her style for underclothes!” As if a person had snapped their fingers, everyone woke up from their anguished state…

After all, Mrs. Barney had became famous and commented as she intended to be; she was in newspapers for months.

“Lady showed her real clothes at a party given by herself…”

Poor woman! A person's personality cannot be hidden by gold clothes.

Ana Paula Guimarães Pinheiro Class 552

37

Little Red Dress Once, there was a fifteen year-old girl. Her name was Mary. But everybody was accustomed to calling her Little Red Dress, because she loved to wear red clothes.

She was beautiful and rich.

One day, on a Saturday night, she received a phone call. It was her grandmother. She told Mary that she was very sick; she couldn't walk, she couldn't make her own food.

After that, Mary decided to go to her grandmother's house and look after her.

It was about eleven o'clock at night, and the robbers and murderers were walking around the city. There, they couldn't walk alone at night. It was too dangerous. But she really had to help her grandmother. And that's what she did.

She took some food and some medicine and went to her destiny. A cruel destiny.

When she got there, she found all the windows open. It was not good for her to go into the house. That house was suspect. But she went in anyway. She went to the kitchen and didn't find anything. She went to the other rooms but she didn't find anything either.

She started to become afraid and decided to go back home. But it was too late. The doors were closed, and the lights were turned off. She tried to jump out the window and run away, but she was knocked out by someone.

Two hours later, she woke up in a different room. There were no windows and no furniture, just a bed with an old woman lying on it. It was her grandmother. She was unconscious and she was almost dead.

Mary heard voices on the other side of the door. Some people were talking about money.

Mary discovered that she had been kidnapped. Some minutes later, they telephoned her house and talked to her mother.

“Mrs. Johnson, we have your daughter and your mother in our possession.”

“What? I d…”

“Don't talk. Just listen. We want you to take Cz$1,000.000 from your bank and give it to us in an old house beyond the cemetery. We'll be waiting for you at eight in the morning. You have to go alone. If you don't do that, if you call the police, we'll have to kill your family.”

He turned off the telephone.

Mrs. Johnson got very nervous and didn't obey their order… she called the police.

At eight in the morning, a policeman disguised as a woman went to the old house. He had only half of the money. And he had guns in his clothes. When he got there, he found Mary and her grandmother inside the house. Their hands were tied. He tried to help them, but 4 men with women's socks covering their heads surrounded the house and asked for the money. The policeman gave it to them. When they discovered that that contained just half of the money, they started to shoot through the house. At the same time, an airplane from the army came and killed the murderers. Fortunately nobody got hurt.

The policeman received a reward from Mrs. Johnson, for his brave attitude. The old sick woman was taken to the hospital and a week later she came back home.

Mrs. Johnson decided to live in another place. A quiet place. She took her daughter and her mother and went to live far away from that city. And they lived in peace to the end of their lives.

Norio Takaki Júnior Class 62

38

Cinderella Cinderella was an eighteen-year-old girl who lived with her father and her mother in Ceilândia-DF-Brazil. As a poor Brazilian teenager, she gave up studying in order to work and help her family to overcome the inflation.

She wasn't a very beautiful girl due to the hard life she lived. But she was sure that one day her life would change. Unfortunately, her life changed for a worse one. Her mother died with cancer and her father decided to get married again to a neighbor; a middle-aged woman who had two daughters with more or less the same age as Cinderella. Cinderella continued her life, but working much more than she usually did because, as her mother had died, all the housework had to be done by her.

The woman who got married to her father was very lazy and one of her daughters was sick and the other studied all day, or at least, she said she studied.

One day, Cinderella decided to work on Saturdays as a housekeeper in order to have a little more money. One of these days, she worked at Mrs. Silva's house. She was a gentle woman who liked to help the people whenever she could. Cinderella liked Mrs. Silva very much because she reminded her of her mother. Months passed and Cinderella continued having that hard and unhappy life. One day, Mrs. Silva decided to give a party to celebrate her birthday. She invited Cinderella. But she couldn't go to such a beautiful party. She didn't have either clothes or shoes and buses were very difficult to take at night. Mrs. Silva, as a generous woman, offered her clothes and shoes and a chauffeur to take Cinderella to her house.

Cinderella just couldn't believe it. It would be the happier day of her life.

At nine o'clock the chauffeur was waiting for her at her friend's house because she told her father that she would sleep at her friend's house.

She was very elegant in the new clothes but she felt a little embarrassed among so many rich and beautiful people. A young and handsome boy invited her to dance and they danced beautifully to rock music. The boy was amazed to observe her simplicity and her shy look. But she couldn't stay at the party for a long time because Mrs. Silva needed her chauffeur at midnight and she would have to go home before that; otherwise, she would have to take two buses and maybe be robbed or something worse.

She was dancing with the boy when she remembered to see what time it was. She said she was sorry and ran away. But her ID card dropped on the floor and the boy picked it up.

On the next day, she began her typical life again. It was a Sunday, so she had to wash the clothes and the house. But the boy decided to look for her; he couldn't miss such a special girl.

Cinderella dreamed about last night. When the boy arrived at her house, her two sisters tried to convince him that the girl in the photo on the ID card was one of them. The sick one, as she was very thin, said that she was a little fatter when she took the photo and the fat one said she was thinner at the time she took the photo. But they didn't convince him and he was very upset not to have found his “princess�. Then when he was going home, he saw Cinderella washing the clothes outside the house.

He recognized her and accepted her the way she really was. As his father as an ambassador, they were going to move to London, but before that they got married.

Cinderella didn't forget her father and her friends and always sent letter from the castle, sorry, from her mansion in London to Brazil.

Angela Maria de Souza Alves Class 557

39

The Three Little Pigs

Cinderella

It was a sunny day and the three little pigs were searching for houses to live in. They walked for a whole day but every house had already been rented. So, they decided to build a house for them but there was a problem: Heitor, one of them, wanted a house made of straw. He said: “I don't worry about the wolf, which one of my brothers says exists!” and he built his house…

Cícero, another of them, also didn't believe the wolf existed but he didn't ignore it. Cícero liked wood houses and built his house, too.

Prático, the oldest brother, was the smartest of them and said: “We never know! We never know! Take care of yourselves because a wolf can come from the forest at any moment,” and then he decided to make his house with bricks and cement.

When Heitor had just finished his straw house, a big wolf appeared and ran to catch the little pig. Heitor went into the house very fast but the wolf didn't give up: he blew very strong and the house dismantled. Heitor ran to Cícero's house and stayed there. The house was made of wood but the wolf didn't give up: he blew very strong and the house dismantled too. The two little pigs ran to Prático's house but when they had just got there, they saw that the house wasn't ready yet.

They asked: “Prático, the wolf will catch us!

Why haven't you finished building your house yet?”

“I'm sorry brothers… but I hadn't paid the last loading of bricks and they stopped the delivery.”

T h e wo l f s h o we d u p a n d devoured the poor little pigs.

In New York in the Brooklin, there was a 19-year old black girl. Her stepmother had 2 ugly daughters, and after Cinderella's father died she make a slave to her sisters.

One day Michael Jackson was going to make a show in Brooklin. All women were going to the show, but not Cinderella; she needed to put the dishes in the washing machine, iron the clothes, watch T.V., listen to the radio etc…

The day came, and Cinderella helped her sisters to dress up; they went to the show but not Cinderella.

Suddenly a “bummmmmmmm” was heard and Tina Turner appeared “Who are you?” asked Cinderella. “I'm your fairy god-mother.”

“Ok, let's see. You need a car, a dress and a driver.

Get me a pumpkin, ½ kilo of flour, 4 eggs, 2 ½ liters of milk… excuse me; this is my cake recipe. You only need a pumpkin, a cat and a piece of cake.

Ok, here is your Ferrari and your driver,” and saying this she touched the pumpkin and the cat.

“And what is the cake for?”

“This is for me; I'm starving.

The dress is here, but the crystal shoes won't be possible; you're going to wear Pony Tennis shoes. And don't forget: 12 sharp at home.”

She went to Michael Jackson's show and met him, who fell in love with her.

Her 2 ugly and jealous sisters lit fire to Michael Jackson's hair.

So they lived happily and bald forever.

Manoel Marques de Oliveira Class 61

Daniel Lins Class 65

40

The Ugly Duckling Once upon a time there was a female duck who was incubating six eggs in a nest by a road. After some weeks, they started to break. Mother duck was very excited: “Oh! My goodness! My eggs started to break!”

The eggs started to break slowly… after an hour all the eggs were broken except a big one. Finally the egg broke and there appeared a big and clumsy “duckling”. This one was very different and mother duck didn't like him.

“I'm ashamed of you! I am not going to promenade with you”, she said to him. But the duckling didn't understand and followed mother duck and her ducklings.

When they were crossing the road, the ugly duckling slipped in a puddle and became very dirty. On the other side of the road there was a farm. On this farm there were some chickens, ducks and turkeys, and mother duck was going to show her ducklings to them. The gallinacean liked very much the five ducklings, but the ugly one? Horrible!

Mother duck simulated she didn't know him and this time the duckling understood!

“Look in that lake and see how ugly you are!” She said to him.

He became very unhappy and thought: “If she isn't my mother, who's going to be?”

He decided to find his “true mother”.

He walked, walked and… at night, he found a little house. He opened the door and went into the house. Suddenly, he saw a cat and a chicken. The cat looked at him and said, “I'm going to turn on the lights and then we can talk.”

The duckling waited, waited, waited and suddenly the cat appeared and said, “Sorry, but the lights went out some minutes ago!”

Pause…

“Can you say: rom, rom?” asked the cat.

“Can you put eggs?” asked the chicken.

“No, I can't”, answered the duckling.

“So you aren't going to be useful to us!”

The duckling was very sad. People didn't like him! He had to find his mother but people didn't like him!

A day later, he was sitting under a tree by a lake, and suddenly someone called him: “Hey, hey! Come in and play with us!”

He looked and saw six cygnets playing on the lake.

They were calling him! He wanted to hide but they were already around him!

“Let's play! Let's play with us!”

When he saw, he was in the lake with the other cygnets.

“You look like us! You are our brother!” said the cygnet.

“Let's present him to our mother!” said one of them.

The ugly duckling thought the mother was going to reject him, but she liked him very much.

“You are my son!” said mother swan.

The duckling discovered he wasn't a duck. He was a swan!

Nowadays the ex-ugly duckling is a beautiful and big swan. Poor female swans!

Abner Lima Class 44

41

Beaver Dam - 1/1989

We, the World, Need a Dream Hero Our world needs a hero. A hero that can't be described. We don't know how he could be or look like. We can only be sure that he wishes our good and peace in the world. A salary won't be necessary for him; only a bit of trust will be enough. We will help him; after all, we hate wars, and we don't want anymore disagreements. We want to see everybody, all over the world, smiling.

But, unfortunately, we just can't imagine this hero. We have never had one! Together, now, we are going to travel around the world. Let's fly, dream, and throw all the blues away.

Now, we are living in a new decade. It's time to smile, trust and love each other. We are going to fly over the world and see how it has changed. There's no more political or economical fight; all the wars are over, and the world is happy! The hero changed everything! He put an end to high and low classes. We are all part of the same society level… we now help each other, we don't want any more discrimination. There isn't any more racial prejudice. Everybody is working for this unknown hero. And love is covering up the world. We give the right value to life and happiness.

The trip has been fine, filled with smiles so far, when suddenly the dreams began to end and love goes away with them. “Where's our hero?” asked one person. “Everything is getting normal again.” “Help!” yelled everybody as the noise got farther and farther… the travel had ended and everybody started crying. They had lived a nice dream full of wishes.

How was the hero? Who was he? We just don't know. Only one thing makes us sure that not one person can change the world; if he disappears, everything becomes normal again. So that can't be a solution. We have to work by ourselves. We are the hero. We have got to work together, not letting the rivers, oceans or land limits separate us. We are hopefully going to make this dream come true. Then we will be able to describe the hero: US. If we show our dreams and forget about our differences, we'll make a better world. Let's join our hands together and never separate, joining together to be one great person: THE WORLD. Andrea Maria Pacheco Class 553 42

The Super Silva (A Brazilian Hero) This is Super-Silva. He is a hero. He goes to the beach every day, since he lives in Rio. But when it's raining in Rio, he goes to Bahia. He uses his powers to go there, because he can't afford a ticket. It's very expensive and he is like most of the Brazilian people: the payment isn't good. Being a super hero is hard work and it isn't rewarded. (Maybe because of that there are so few heroes here) Super-Silva decided to be a hero because he has been robbed many times. He was a thin and weak boy. Then, he went to the Heroes' Sindicate. The people who work there thought it was strange because nobody wanted to be a hero in a country that has corruption, starvation and violence.

They didn't make difficult tests because they needed a hero and there was just one applicant. And Silva was chosen (of course). After that they gave Silva many powers: he could fly, he was strong, he had good eyesight and he became a handsome boy.

Super-Silva just has to defend the population against terrible bandits. And the population likes him, especially the girls.

Karina L. Holler Class 52

43

Beaver Dam - 2/1989 A Many- Faced Animal Which animal am I? I am a curious, strange and mysterious animal, I would say a very interesting animal. I am selfish and individualistic animal, an animal that in all its existence tried to be the best but didn't forget to stop to think about the world sometimes.

I am a many-faced animal. I can be strong and furious as a lion but many times I am as fragile as a turtle. For example, I can finish with all the trees in the world; in fact, I can destroy the nature even though many times it scares me, because I know that it can kill me too. I am a very intelligent animal, really intelligent. I would say that I am more intelligent than a monkey but sometimes I feel that I act like a donkey. I can create as quickly as I can destroy.

But I am not as bad as you may be thinking. I also work like an ant, I fall in love like a cat, I am happy like a hyena. I am an animal that wants to grow, that wants to know, that wants to live!

So, did you guess which animal I am? Don't you know? Of course you know; after all, you belong to the same species as I do. WE ARE MEN. P.S. And some still say that we are rational‌ Denise Sankievicz Class 362

Dreams of Freedom I am not just a specific animal. I have different feelings, different ways of thinking and different ways of looking at the world. Teenage is difficult but great part of life. I am confused but happy. I am fighting with life and I am sure of victory.

Dreams of freedom, dreams of flying, make me believe that I am an eagle. It doesn't have eyes to see the world, our hate and our dishonesty. It only flies above all this destruction. I am a person that loves to watch the beauty of the moon or the sun, just like an eagle.

Although I am a dreamer, I have my other side, the side of responsibility and honesty. This side would be like that of a lion, a female one. It takes care of its children. It fights with anyone to protect its life. It knows the meaning of the word responsibility.

I'm a kind person too. I don't talk loud and I am afraid of changes, although I am always changing my personality. I am in a period of dramatic discovery inside of me. That's a dolphin. It floats through the water. Some days it is happy, jumping over the water and other times it is calm, only eating and of course living!

I am young and I am subject to different ways of living or thinking. I have so many animals inside of me, but I am sure that one day I will find my own personality and I will be, finally, only one animal: a human!

Christiane R. Pantoja Class 407 44

Beaver Dam - 1/1990 Brazilian Money I am Brazilian money. Yes! This one that doesn't have very much value. I am in the bank, in your pocket, I am everywhere.

I see poor people needing my services but I am only with the rich people. I don't like to work for them because they prefer to use the dollar.

I was the cruzeiro, then I became the cruzado, then I became the cruzado novo, but now I am a cruzeiro again. It is a big mess.

Oh! I think it is better to stop writing this and put myself in the “overnight”!

Clovis Zapata Class 358

The Memories of a Pair of Tennis Shoes I'm just an old pair of tennis shoes. That's what I am. I don't have that brilliance I had before when I was younger. And now, after moments of danger, happiness, sadness and excitement, you put me into your closet and forgot about me. I want to cry! Take me from here. I want to see the sunshine again…

Do you remember when we met for the first time? You, young boy, were looking at the shoes in the shop windows, when you saw me and smiled. At that moment, I knew I would be yours. You asked your mother to buy me, but she didn't agree. And you started to cry louder and louder, so that your mother didn't resist “my charm.” I was blue with black stripes, and I also had black insides and a soft rubber sole.

Now, I am older than I was. So many times you washed me that I became without color. In fact, I need some repairs, but it's not a just destiny. I have my rights of old tennis shoes. Where is my self-esteem? (if I have some) After all, I have been your best fellow in many situations.

I'll never forget the nice times we spent together. You put me on your feet and your friends said: “What beautiful tennis shoes you have.” And you showed me with pleasure, which made me proud of myself. I might add that I couldn't stand to stay dirty because you didn't wash me. I felt so bad that I got sick so many times (and you didn't know).

Oh. My good reader. You don't imagine what I had faced in my life as tennis shoes. I had to fight with bacterias and all kinds of microscopic being to protect your life. I felt the cold water of the streets when it was raining. That was me who gave you impulses and speed in baseball and football games.

Oh guy, I was your hero and you didn't know. Every step you made, I was sharing motions with you. I'm in a blue mood. NOC – NOC – NOC… NOC – NOC – NOC… Hey, listen. There's somebody coming. NOC – NOC – NOC… I can't believe it. There's someone opening the closet. It's my old friend. I knew you would come again. Well, bye-bye old closet. Here we go.

Manoelisa B. de Melo Class 507

45

Being a Piano I'm made of noble wood, but my mechanism is almost entirely made of metal. I have eighty-eight little hammers that strike my chords every time somebody wants to play me. The greatest virtuosos of the world have touched their fingers on my black and white keyboard, and I feel very proud about it.

I was invented in 1711 by the musician of the Kingdom of Italy, Bartolomeo Cristofori.

Since that time, I've been taking part in the most wonderful concerts, and have also been performing a brilliant role in the orchestras of the whole world. I'm the king of the musical instruments.

I represent the fourth generation of my family, the family of the keyboards. My greatgrandfather was the simple and rude spinet, and at that time he was the dearest instrument of the British. My grandfather was the pipe organ, and he was a very respectable and serious instrument. Nobody could play him, save the bishops of those huge gothic churches, and he was such an enormous instrument, that his pipes almost reached the highest point of the ceiling. My father was the harpsichord, and he became famous when a man called Johann Sebastian Bach started making music to be played on him.

Here I am, the famous grandpiano, the real star of the nights, my sound enchants people all over the world. In spite of all that, I feel rather lonely when all the public that surrounds me vanishes away, and I have to stay here, in the center of a huge concert room, alone, unable to move from my place, until the next concert is about to happen.

Ana B. Gartner Class 507

What Object am I? Rarely do I have a companion during the long nights of my life. In general, they're cold, silent, and totally solitary.

From the little room where I stay, which has no windows, I try to listen to the old clock's peal in the living room. Sometimes, I hear the dogs barking, far away. The noises of children sneezing and people walking also come to me. All these make part of a domestic life.

In my opinion, the worst thing is the cold weather; not below zero, but near that.

Nowadays I'm getting used to it.

As soon as the sun rises and the children leave for school, someone looks for me! It's time to go into action.

At this moment, the temperature rises to more than 60 degrees. I'm conscious that I must be calm. I can't give way to my impulses. I say to myself that everything has its own time, I have to wait. But I know my caresses are welcome. I start doing the most tempting tasks. I'm able to imagine the beautiful female corpse which wears that short skirt. The blouse, very soft, allows me to perceive her owner's perfect body.

I attack!!! Slowly, softly and carefully as is the duty of a capable electric iron.

Raquel Pati Correa Class 507

46

Beaver Dam - 2/1990

Ridiculous Rivalry A large number of inconvenient combinations are well-known in the world. But a special one draws our attention: the impossible agreement between a dog and a cat. They're really enemies. They hate each other. Dogs always long to injure cats. Cats always try to annoy dogs.

What is the reason for such hostility? Why cannot dogs and cats get along together?

The conflict between these two different species doesn't seem to be remarkable, as it is in accordance with what is found and expected in nature. Many other animals have natural enemies that kill them to feed their pups. They're not really savage killers, as much as they need to guarantee their survival.

However, that is not the same case of dogs and cats. They don't need to kill each other to keep themselves alive. Their fight is rather the result of human needs than a phenomenon created by natural means. Both dog and cat were domesticated by men and arranged in the same environment. But they're quite different; they have opposite personalities. It's impossible to make them live in harmony.

Dogs like daylight; cats prefer night time, dogs love to play; cats love to sleep. Dogs are spontaneous. Cats are cautious, cunning and dissimulated. Dogs are always loyal to men. Cats almost never take hold of their owners. Dogs look up to human being. Cats look down upon them. Dogs always befriend. Cats are gentle until they get what they need from human beings.

Dogs and cats are really unlikely lovers. It's a matter of antipathy and no one can change it.

The struggle between dogs and cats will continue, no doubt, as long as they endure. So, be careful, cats! Stay out of dogs' way!

Silvia Rosenberg Class 557

47

The Sun and the Moon “He” loved to stay there, doing nothing, but there. He was not only admired by all the people on Earth, but really essential for their lives, since he was responsible for the warmth and light spread during the day.

On the other hand, “She” used to appear only at night. She wasn't so brilliant as he was, but she was able to spread a magic light that could reflect not only her beauty but also peace.

One day, an unusual meeting took place: he – the Sun, and she – the Moon – were together for the very first time during an eclipse.

It was difficult to imagine that day and night could exist together. On the other hand, it was more difficult to imagine that they could fall in love with each other – and that's exactly what happened.

Although the eclipse lasted only some hours, the Sun could never forget the Moon's face. Even today, when the rain becomes warm, people say that it is the Sun in love that bursts himself into tears.

Isa Mônica Class 557 Dog with Cat

My Friend

The dog was running after the cat. They had been running since morning, but suddenly the cat stopped and said: “Why are we running?” And the dog said, “Because I want to get you.” And they started to run again.

“Why do you want to get me?” said the cat, and stopped again.

And the dog said, “Well, that's how things work.”

“Let's make peace,” said the cat.

“Peace,” said the dog.

“Yes, we will not fight anymore,” said the cat again.

And they started to walk together in the street. But everybody started to laugh at the dog. But he didn't care.

And when they passed near the rat, the cat started to run after it. And the dog said: “Why don't you make peace with the rat?”

And the cat said, “Because if I start to walk with him, everybody will laugh at me.”

And the dog felt very angry and started to run after the cat again.

And they might be fighting until nowadays.

I saw her for the first time and disliked her. I looked at her for the second time and my anger grew.

I looked like an indefatigable animal… but I knew that it wasn't trustworthy. It mislead me: I didn't know if it was true or not. Our companionship was hard, I understood her like a provocation to me.

Our “father” liked her better. I think he treated her like a princess, and treated me like a simple pet.

Why did she come to my house? All the things were better before she came…

When I was sick, my “father” allowed me to sleep in his bed, and then I stayed near him. I love it, but I thought she would fight with me, but she didn't; she helped me to take the medicine, and sleep on the floor near me. She took care of me at night, since she liked me. But how? And how about the provocations? But I started to like her.

The greatest proof of friendship from her was on the day that I was closed in the bedroom: she jumped from the window to give liberty to me.

We are very good friends now; we eat together, we eat strawberries, our “father” gave us a present: a big bed, and we sleep together. We are very very good friends, but sometimes we fight because we remember that I am a cat and she is a dog.

Eduardo F. Aguiar Class 61

Laura Guedes Class 65-A 48

Beaver Dam - 1/1991 It's Worth Fighting or Perhaps Dying for My Country I live in a country called Brazil. It's an underdeveloped country even though it's industrialized. Many people say “God is Brazilian� because everything you'd like to see can be found here.

The people are kind and with a lot of human heat; even though we suffer from economical and social problems, we never lose our hopes.

Brazil is considered an exotic country. It's beautiful and has different beaches and forests attract many foreigners. Some of those tourists come back or even stay here.

I would fight or perhaps die for my country so that I could save many lives and many things that nature took millions of years to create, and the biggest reason for that is just because I love my country.

Maria CecĂ­lia de Vasconcelos Class: 408-A

What is Worth Fighting or Even Dying for?

The year is 4010. Our world has changed a lot, and so have the people. The nations that lasted are always making wars, trying to conquer one another. Human ambition has reached a level from which there is no return. All is destroyed, they have nothing to fight for, but strength must be shown.

Some people had lost their conscience a long time ago. Most of them once had a family, a normal life. But now they survive in the worst conditions that can be imagined. There isn't enough food or water for everybody. New diseases appear and are spread very fast. The climate is completely irregular. The temperature can reach high readings and sometimes later decrease and it can snow.

Many people die of cold, of dehydration or of famine.

Children are born each day. A great number die, and some of the others grow with mental or physical problems. They don't have a normal childhood. Above all, they learn to steal, to kill, to be smart, to survive. They don't have the ingenuousness of other times, they are unhappy and rarely smile.

People are not free to choose their destinies; if they want to live, one chance is left: to follow the general model. You should not go too far from the cities, at night you must not go out of the shelters, you have to respect the police, you can't transgress any rule, or doubt the government's orders.

The state has been controlling everything; however, I believe in these people. They're weak now, yet their will of living is bigger than all. They have forgotten how good life could be, but someone will guide them out of the darkness someday. It has happened during all the history of the humanity, and couldn't change.

The struggle won't be easy, but the majority together will overcome the nightmare of the oppression, of the violence, of the death. Only then will this planet be taken out of the agony, back to life, back to freedom.

Isabel Vinchon N. de Andrade Class 503

49

Family Surely, from the day you were born until the day you die, you will express yourself and think like your Family. Of course you will have your own individuality, but physical characteristics, way of acting and some ideas that you inherit from your parents will build your character.

Parents teach the first things you have to learn in life. When you were only a little child and didn't know what to do, they took care of you very carefully, and tried to give you all you needed to grow up healthy.

Your brothers and sisters grew up with you and sometimes you hated having them; others you loved having. In fact, they taught you lots of things and you taught them too.

Your family members are the most important people in your life; if there's something wrong, you know that you can count on them. They are always ready to listen to you, even if they can't help. They try to show that they are interested in your problems.

Somedays it seems that they want to complicate your life, but then you understand that, in spite of all the problems, they keep on helping you for your whole life.

Because of this, I certainly would fight or die for a family member in danger.

Tatianny Fonseca Class: 59

When to Fight There are a lot of reasons I would fight or even die, but there is one that is much stronger than any other: my country. If one day any army tries to invade it, I will be the first one in the line of volunteers to fight for it. Many Brazilians may do not agree with me and even think that dying for a country so full of problems and that does not care about its citizens is a ridiculous idea.

Maybe this is exactly the root of our problems; everybody here only cares about himself. Almost no one ever thinks about doing anything to make Brazil a better place to live if it will not bring him some kind of material reward.

But it's not only because I like my country that I would fight for it. If it were invaded, I could lose other things that are also worth fighting for, such as my freedom and my friends. I'm happy I would die before the invasion was completed because living without freedom and seeing my friends in continuous danger because of the invaders, as happened in Kwait, would be two times worse than dying.

Reading this composition may give the impression that I don't much like to live, but this is not right. I love to live like anyone, but I think that it's essential to live in a place where I am a citizen, not a prisoner, and to be able to say that I never run away when it was necessary to fight. I hope there are more people that agree with me here in Brazil, because in my opinion each nation has the life they deserve; a cowardly people that do not fight to defend their rights will always suffer for it. There is no prize without a cost, and each time people run away the cost gets higher.

Fernando CĂŠsar Mesquita Junior Class 503

50

Beaver Dam - 2/1991

A Poem Happy, advanced children Happy, advanced children play Advanced children play with the evolution.

Gabriel Soares Coaracy Class 67

We Must Stand Together Children of the year 2000, “Let's make a better day. We are tired of so much violence, hunger, misery. Remember we're saving our own lives. Today's world is dominated by things that only harm our development. We are living in a terrible situation. Our children are dying because they don't have something or someone who helps them in their necessities. It's to lend a hand to life. The greatest gift of all. We can't go on pretending day by day that someone, somewhere, will soon make a change. We are all part of God's great big family. Love is all we need. Let us realize that a change can only come when we stand together as one. Think about it, children of the future.

Leonardo Licio Couto Class: 63-A 51

Beaver Dam - 1/1992

Ugly, But... Indispensable When you go to the movie, you can notice that sometimes it is presented by Condor Films. Do you remember those pictures showing a bird with large wings? That's me. As you can see, I'm important. Some people have named their enterprise after me.

I'm the largest flying bird in the world. I have broad wings and weigh 9-11 kg., as much as a good size turkey. My name is condor.

Some books say that I'm ugly and I have a repulsive-looking naked head and neck, like true vultures. This is cruel way to present me. I'm not delicate and colored like the other birds.

But I also have a role to play in nature. First, let me tell you who I am, and where and how I live.

I can be found in California and in southern South America, from Colombia to Cape Horn.

As I already said, I'm huge, from 1.1 – 1.4 meters long. My wings extend over 2.8 meters. My species that lives in California is a dark gray-brown and has white underwings and a white bar on its upper wing. My feathers are lance-shaped and streaked with light gray. My Andean form is glossy black with a large dirty white area on its upper wing and a white downy ruff around its neck. When I was young, I was duller and grayer than I am now, as an adult. I had no white on my wings and my head was covered with down.

Carrion is my main food. However, I also take live lambs, young llamas and deer or wounded animals. When I'm flying along sea coasts, I feed on dead fish and seals and shellfish, including mussels.

Sometimes my Andean friends are shot because they are known to prey on diving petrels and they steal the eggs of guanay cormorants. They shouldn't do this.

My species is being extincted and this fact will bring a problem. We don't breed until 6 or 7 years, and although we mate for life and may live for 50 years or more, we only lay one egg every other year. People have been shooting us. So, as we feed largely on carrion, what else in the world is going to contribute to clean the environment? Although ugly, my species plays a role in nature. Let us live in peace.

Benigna Maria de F. Villas Boas Class 351 52

Blue Whales Ask For Help In time men discover new ways to hunt us, Blue Whales. They come after us and kill us even faster than before. Do they know what they are doing? I guess not. They don't know our behavior characteristics; even scientists say that many of our behavior characteristics are not well understood, and that may be the reason why they don't respect us.

I will explain some of my main characteristics. My size is about 120 feet long, and my estimated weight is more than 165 tons. I feed almost exclusively on swarms of small crustaceans known as krill. My daily consumption is up to 8 tons of krill. My reproduction is difficult because my age of sexual maturity is about 10 years, and I can give birth in intervals of three years, to only one calf. Besides, my gestation is about 1 year. But this is only scientific data that anyone can read in an encyclopedia.

Due to all this, you can see why I must hide in Antarctica, where men cannot reach me easily because of the cold water and big icebergs. I am so afraid of taking the plunge and diving, swimming in warm and blue waters, splashing water to every side with a beautiful view of ships, the sunset behind the shore and all those beautiful things that everybody should be able to see.

In addition, I have a pretty important task. I'm probably one of the last Blue Whales and I have to find a male Blue Whale and reproduce before we become extinct.

In conclusion, my indiscriminate hunting must be prohibited, at least for 200 years, so that my proliferation can be good. Think about it very carefully and go straight to the point: stop killing‌ oohh!!!

Luis Gustavo Pedroza Class 509

53

Beaver Dam - 2/1992 Marriage: Up to You I think that in the late 20th century marriage is an institution that can be crumbling or not, because everything depends on how you feel it. I think that if you have maturity to know about all the changes a marriage can cause in your life style, and if you propose yourself to make these changes consciously, probably your marriage will be a concrete thing. A real marriage involves a lot of other things; not only love, but things like respect, patience, friendship with each other.

If a marriage isn't based on these feelings, certainly it will crumble quickly.

Maguimar Maria Paula Class 301

Faith in Marriage as A Solid Institution Brazilian Cultural Shocks In my opinion, marriage in Brazil suffered an enormous influence from USA's revolutionary sixties and its own sixties too. First of all, Brazilian society has changed since 1960, when the capital moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. This fact caused Brazilian cultural shock in the new capital. This chance and the new revolutionary government brought some revolutionary feelings and new attitudes too, such as: new power, ambitious dreams and consequently a new lifestyle. On the other hand, Brazilians received from mass media strong sexual appeal and little by little the custom was changing so much. To use “tangas”, “bikinis” and complete nudity from Carnival brought a new attitude such as “easy going with a sexual partner.” The relationship became more strongly sexual, against a true love. Next, the advent of divorce showed us that the marriage had become a difficult institution. Some single young couples or newly divorced couples prefer to live together without marriage. Other problems that affect the marriage too are: immaturity, machismo, feminism, and infidelity. Finally, I think that the best medicine for our dear society is to cultivate a strong attitude of respect among all human beings on all levels.

I have been married for sixteen years and for me marriage is a concrete institution and it will never disappear.

I think that there is not a recipe for a happy marriage, but there are many things that are indispensable for a couple to find happiness. Love is the first and the most important thing in the life of two persons, because through love comes the comprehension, the patience, the attention and the reciprocal acceptance between each one about the habits that of course aren't the same in the beginning of the marriage. So, every day the couple has to multiply their love, divide their responsibilities, add all the good things that they have gotten together and subtract the bad things such as the bad moments, the fights and the differences.

I know that in marriage there isn't only happiness; the couple has to try to help each other so the problems will be solved and the crises and the divorce can be avoided.

Muriel Chauvet Class 301

Dalva Pereira Garcia Class 303 54

Beaver Dam - 1/1993

A Letter March. 23,93 President Itamar Franco, How are you? Here is your friend Thomas Jefferson. I'm now 250 years old and I wrote to you because my birthday is in April, and I'm having a party and I want to invite you. In the party there is a game about my life. So I'll give you some things of my life.

I was born of April 13, 1743.

I was born in Albemarle Country, Virginia.

In 1776, I wrote the Declaration of the Independence.

In 1819, I founded the University of the United States.

In the game you have to imagine anything about me. For example: What is my favorite food?

My friend Bill Clinton wrote a composition. Read: “I think Thomas Jefferson likes pizza just like me. He is a serious man; he likes chess and the United States.

He is the oldest man alive in the world; he has lots of sons and lots of experiences.

One day Jefferson's body will die, but his ideas and spirit never.

I like you Jefferson.

Bill Clinton�

Did you like that, Itamar? Then do a composition and go to my party.

Sincerely, Thomas Jefferson Rosana Braga da Silva Class F-4 55

An Interview with Thomas Jefferson On a TV channel in the United States a person shows.

Today, in our interviews 11:30, we will have a lot of attractions. But the most important attraction for today is the interview with Thomas Jefferson. He was the third president of the United States and he was this for two times. Now, we are going to ask him some questions. Mr. Thomas Jefferson, where and when were you born? And how old are you?

Ha, ha, ha! You are really very funny! What about your family?

My father, Peter Jefferson, was a successful planter, and my mother belonged to one of the oldest families in Virginia.

What did you do in your political career?

I was the governor of Virginia, ambassador of the USA in France, vice president and then the president of the USA for two times.

What were your more important works?

I think they were the Declaration of the Independence, which declared the people of America free people, declared on July 4th in 1776; the law which gave each person the right to worship God in his own way; the University of Virginia, which taught people of all the classes.

What are your foundations to do all of these actions?

I think my foundations are my good education, my Christian life and the ideas of freedom and the same rights for everybody.

Now, I will ask some personal questions. What is your favorite food?

My favorite food is pizza with catchup.

What is your favorite sport?

My favorite sport is skiing, because I like very much high speeds and strong emotions.

What is your favorite recreational activity?

My favorite recreational activity is reading books.

What is your favorite party?

I don't know. But my favorite party is the party of the Independence Day. Who is your favorite actor?

My favorite actor is Sean Connery.

What other world leaders do you like? And why?

Michael Gorbachev, because he is the only man who tried to give freedom to his people.

Now, we can see that Thomas Jefferson is one of the greatest leaders that America has ever known, and he can be, perfectly, a good president of the United States today, because he was a good president in the past with his modern ideas. Mr. Jefferson, thank you very much for the interview.

My pleasure.

Mรกrcio Almeida Paes Class 65

56

The Washington Post Washington, Sunday, April 14th, 1993 Pamela Wells The most expected party of the century happened last Saturday. The White House has never received so many important and different people at the same time. There was Queen Elizabeth, as always wearing an awful dress. Gandhi was dressed in a red and blue cover with little white stars. James Dean was wearing the unmistakable pair of jeans and the white T-shirt. Frank Sinatra was there singing “New York, New York”. Leonardo da Vinci was with his beautiful wife, Monalisa. Leo and Mona were the most elegant couple at the party.

At nine o'clock, the special guest, Thomas Jefferson, arrived at the party. He was fascinating, fluffy! His thick and reddish hair was splendorous and his big blue eyes got a constant brightness.

His cute grandchildren, except little Benjamin Franklin, behaved well. The little boy chased Jodie Foster all night.

As soon as the cake was brought, Mozart began playing the piano and Marylin Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to you.” When the song finished, Rebbeca Burnwell came out of the enormous cake, singing Casablanca's theme. A friend of mine told me that she has been Thomas’ affair.

When Hillary Clinton, the gentle hostess, noticed that Thomas was quite embarrassed, she invited all the guests to go to the “Oval Living Room”.

But what made me surprised was Thomas' present, which was brought by Jimmy Carter. Oh god!

That was fantastic when Jimmy brought the horse into the living room. Can you guess its name?

BROCCOLI… Barbara Bush was just observing Martha Randolph, the guests' daughter. Of course, she paid attention to how nice Martha's dress was, and Barb noticed that Mrs. Randolph was more like her father than any lady she ever saw.

After this exciting meeting, I have just one little question. What happened to Thomas and his close friend Rebecca after the “Happy Birthday to you?” Is there anyone who can answer me?

Well. Well, well…

Have a nice weekend!

Kisses, Pam Wells Adriana, Ana Rosa de Passos Saraiva and Cristina Almeida Xavier de Brito Class 558

Home Maker Thomas Jefferson is a beautiful president. He loves oranges and apples, but he prefers bananas.

Thomas Jefferson plays golf and baseball because he loves these sports. Everyday at seven o'clock, he turns on the TV and he watches U.S.A. TODAY. He loves Madonna. His favorite actress is Sophia Loren and his favorite actor is Al Paccino. He is a good president because he builds many houses for the children that don't have homes.

Karla Fontana Class E-6

57

T.J. in Person Hello, Diniz, how are you? Do you know who is writing this letter? It's me, Thomas Jefferson, remember? I think, yes; you wrote me a letter yesterday, and now I'm writing this letter to you just to answer your questions about me for your English school.

About my favorite food. It's easy; I think I would like pizza from Pizza Hut. I really like fast food (I think, because here we don't need foods). My favorite sport is polo, of course. I really like horses; they're the best animals of the world. My favorite recreation are inventing things and reading. I think the men should read not to say nonsenses. My favorite singer is Nat King Cole, actor is Clint Eastwood and actress is Kim Bassinger. Here in the sky I always see films and listen to the radio. About the world leaders of the world, I like Gorbachev. I think he had a lot of good ideas for the ex – USSR, but the people didn't like his future ideas and he went out. Oh, you asked me if I think I would be a good president today, I think no. I had a lot of good ideas for my time, in 1801, but for your time, today, I wouldn't be a good leader.

I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Here in the sky, we have a lot of things to do, more than there on Earth, if you want to know.

Sincerely yours, Thomas Jefferson

Diniz Raposo Class 65

58

Beaver Dam - 2/1993 My Mother I love two things in my life: The flowers and you – The flowers for one day and you forever.

Mother you are beautiful, as beautiful as the flowers, I love you, one Kiss!

Débora Maria Santos Junqueira Class D-6

Only love When I see you, I don't believe...

Your blue eyes, your blond straight hair, Your mouth is waiting for my kiss, I don't believe…

For me, you are the universe.

I never hate you, only love you.

Marcus Vinicius de A. Redondo Class 56

Poor Man, Rich Man. I am a poor man And I eat when I can I work all day And I work all night And think it's not right If I was a rich man With money in my hand I'd eat all day And I'd sleep all night And I'd help all the people to be all right.

Viviane de Aguiar Costa Class 54 59

Beaver Dam - 1/1994 Brazil Says Goodbye to Inflation There's no doubt that the big problem of Brazil was its inflation. In fact, the high index of inflation was one of the causes responsible for the chaotic situation that the Brazilian people were part of.

Dear reader, you must be asking why the verbs in the text are in the past. Because I have great first-hand news to give you: the index of inflation of the first month of the year 2000 is something near 0% It means that some of the many problems of Brazil will be over. Probably the Brazilian's life will improve because, without inflation, the economy can reach a stability that every good country has.

Shortly, we are going to say that violence, misery and hunger are things of the past.

Ana Claudia Megale Class 560

The discovery of the cure for cancer After four years of researching and studying the Amazonic plants, the Brazilians scientists Marcos Alves and Paulo Soares found a kind of plant that can be the end of one of the worst illnesses of this century.

During four years in the Amazon forest, the had many problems but, with determination and perseverance, they registered more than one thousand new plants, including the Alphorophits Brazilienses, the plant that can cure cancer.

The extract of this plant has a substance that reacted very well in laboratory and in humans, against cancer. After six months of testing and improving the substance, it will be distributed to all of the hospitals and then to drugstores.

Now, the people who have cancer have the opportunity to remake their lives without their nightmare.

Mรกrcio Almeida Paes Class 359

60

The Master of the World

Enough is Sometimes PLENTY

At a world-wide conference in Washington D.C, it was decided by all nations that for five years one of its governments would control the Earth and the rest of the countries should obey him.

Then, the next step was the election. Bill Clinton was going to announce the master of the World when a confusion happed; the lights went off and when the order was Itamar Franco, from Brazil.

He declared, in his first laws that all people in the world should eat cheese-bread and drink coffee for breakfast. The one who transgressed this law would be in prison for five years. The capital of the world should be an imposing city, so he chose Juiz de Fora. He transferred all the money from the U.S.A to Brazil and liberated his country from the duty of paying its external debt. The world-wide music were samba, MPB and “requebra” from Bahia. From Japan to Alaska everyone would know who Martinho da Vila was.

New dance academies of samba were opened. The fashion of these 5 years was to eat the most nutritious meal in the world, cheese-bread, after dancing samba. Itamar got married to an African black woman on one of his trips around the world.

The ceremony was the most beautiful ever seen all over the world. Present at the ceremony were the presidents of all nations, Itamar's mother, Lilian Ramos, and his friends in Juiz de Fora.

After his brilliant career governing the Earth, Itamar won the Nobel Prize of Peace by banishing hunger from the countries of the third world, giving people the food of cattle from the first world. From that day on, Itamar became the Master of the World. All nations became extremely powerful. Jews and Moslems became friend and Israel turned into a unified country without racism.

I'm your candidate. I am the solution for your problems. You haven't met anybody like me, because I am going to restore all the good things in this country.

Brazil is the best place to live in.

It's a paradise, so you need somebody to carry out the best things and bring them to you.

If you elect me your president, I will provide everybody with a four-day working week, a four-month vacation, each citizen will be able to travel once a year to the moon, everybody will afford five cars. As for the salary, each person will earn R$ 50.000,00 a month. In addition to this, medical assistance will be provided to everyone in need.

Because of this, nobody will say, “I'm sick!” Moreover illiteracy will be extinguished. Each and every individual will read and write in six months.

Concerning the situation in the poor parts of the country, there will not be draught in any part of the country.

Earthquakes will be history, because the technology will be able to cease them.

There won't be fights between sweethearts, children, parents, etc. I promise I will bring you a better life; it will be enough, just voting for me. So, vote for me - I'll be your president.

Thiago Oliveira Miranda Class 406-A

61

Jacira Torres Class 308

Beaver Dam - 2/1994

Fantastic FLAVIA: Upgrading the CTJ If I become president of the Casa Thomas Jefferson, I'll do three things: 1. I'll increase the number of months of vacation from 1 to 5 months.

2. I'll distribute sandwiches to all students during break times for free.

3. I'll ask somebody to pick all students up by helicopter.

I'm Flávia Flávia Nunes Class 51

VOTE 1001 BOND BOCCA Many candidates say that they will solve the problem of hunger, but how the Brazilian population will eat with no teeth?

I, BOND BOCCA, will solve this problem.

Do you know that the Brazilian population doesn't have many teeth? According to a survey, most of the people in Brazil don't have all their teeth. This is very bad, because people can't eat meat, corn, etc, and they get very frustrated.

If I am elected, I promise to give millions of false teeth to everyone.

If you want a beautiful smile, vote for “BOND BOCCA” and you will smile again.

Renata Rabello Class 65-A 62

Beaver Dam - 1/1995 My dog “Summer�

My dog was born on November 20th, 1992; his name is Summer Lakers Balgach. The pedigree of my dog is Basst-Hound.

Summer is my favorite dog; he is very beautiful and intelligent. He likes to chase cats and birds on my farm. Summer stays on my farm and his best friend is my other dog; his name is Apache. When I arrive on my farm, Summer comes to me. He wags his tail and starts to bark for me to pet him.

I like Summer because he's my fellow and he always follows me in my plays. Summer likes me because I'm his proprietor and I give every care with much love. I love my dog Summer because he's my friend and I like him very much.

Ivens Gasparotto Filho Class E2

If Who you Love Loves you...

Love is a very much discussed topic; it is now and it always has been. It's something everyone thinks about and wonders about. It's definitely on people's minds. There are all kinds of love. The love you feel for yourself, for example: It's very important to feel self love, if you want people to love and see the good things in you, you have also to love. What I think is lovable about me is my personality. I get along with everyone, very easily. I really love how I'm a very social person. I also love how I have the patience to sit and listen to people telling me about whatever they want. I love how I'm always trying to help people. Everyone deserves love. I know I do. The reason why I deserve love is because I can give love back to the person who loves me. And also because I want to be loved. It's hard to answer what love is but what I know is that it's a feeling, a good feeling that comes from deep down inside of us. It's a feeling that we just can't control. Love can be the most wonderful thing if who you love, loves you back. But it also can be a sad thing because the person you love isn't willing to give you love. To summarize it all, love is a feeling that needs results. A person who loves, needs to be loved. Everyone wonders what love is and everyone has a different opinion about it.

Catarina Castro Class 459

63

Beaver Dam - 2/1995 The “Big Bang” Genius

A Man of Dreams I will write about a man I just heard about, a man I didn't have the opportunity even to see alive, because he was killed only three years after I was born. Well, it doesn't matter, because it seems to me that I really knew him, so much have I heard about this wonderful person. This generation's thoughts, who made a big revolution in people's habits.

He was a singer and composer; he was as good with words and music notes as Newton and Einstein were with physics. He and his group changed the musical habits that had existed for one decade. But he had a real problem, and because of all the fame and glamour he achieved with his work as a singer, his head failed and the ran onto the track of drugs and foolishness.

After recovering from this trouble way, he became an even better musician than he had been in the past. He wrote music and lyrics I learned to love and admire. He became a poet who worried about other people's lives and dreams. He dreamed about a wonderful society where all people would care about each other and would not care about making their lives better. He only wished for good things, but a person who only cared about good things can't live in a society where individual projects and wealth are the only things that really matter. Well, it finally happened: one night, one shot, one body to the ground. The man is dead, but the dream keeps still alive inside of mine and, I believe, of many people's heads.

Antônio Vieira de Resende Class 506

64

There is a very intelligent man that I'm going to describe physically, as a person, a student, and mainly as a scientist. He is a great guy and responsible for many theories about the Universe.

This bright man suffers from a disease that shrinks his body.

He can only talk with the help of a computer, he was able to write books about the creation of the Universe.

But he wasn't like that when he was in school. He was a normal person like everyone else. He was always a good son. In school, he was only good in Math and Physics.

This person became a teacher in the University of Cambrigde. He was able to solve math problems that nobody else could even dream about solving.

Well, he is one of the most famous scientists in today's world. He reminds us of Isaac Newton. He likes to say that he was born exactly three hundred years after Newton's death. That's a fact, and he says that to everybody. He made many theories, including the “Big Bang”, which is related to the creation of the universe.

Well, that's all I have to write about this great guy. He is a hero for those who like science. Do you know who he is?

André H. M. Rossi Class 506

Beaver Dam - 1/1996

A Mysterious Empire Machu Pichu, the mysterious city which belonged to the Incas empire, constitutes one of the most famous mysteries that the scientific community people did a lot of amazing things, and we still wonder how they could build such perfect constructions without modern tools.

The city of Machu Pichu was built on top of a mountain, the architecture and the city plan is perfect and the type of stone that they used was brought from a place very far from that mountain. The most common question is: How could they carry those heavy stones to Machu Pichu? There are no signs of advanced technology used by them. The legend tells us that they had a bridge of light which they used as a transportation means. Another thing to consider is the perfect engineering of the buildings that have resisted earthquakes and other seismic movements for over 500 years. Stones fit into each other perfectly, some of the fittings have about 12 different angles, and not even a piece of paper goes through between the stones. This kind of engineering demands a high knowledge of mathematics and other sciences. The Incan lasted approximately 1000 years with healthy people. Nobody has ever heard that they had problems with starvation or sickness among them. Their food had a very high nutritional quality.

The main reason why this mystery about the Incas hasn't been solved yet is because most of their priests were decapited by Spanish conquerors. By doing this, they were killing the memory of those people, and also the main leaders and wise men disappeared mysteriously, leaving no tracks of their existence except their work.

There are a lot of studies about this culture and this empire, but no one has come to a final conclusion yet or has even answered the main questions that intrigue most of the people who get to know this place. It is one more mystery for humanity to solve. If humanity can solve this mystery, many advantages can be taken in order to help us solve the problem of starvation and sickness that this world is going through.

Jane Simoni Silveira Class 455 65

Beaver Dam - 2/1996 Pro and Con Computer I like computers because it was a very good invention. With the computers we can have contact with other people all over the world through the Internet. We can also play many different games, listen to music and learn a lot of important things about our country and others. On the other hand, on these days many people are spending too much time in front of their computer switched on Internet. The computer was a very good invention for all of us because it has made things easier in our lives. But there are some people who don't know to measure the time to spend using the computer and they become computer addicts; they start to have pain in their eyes. There are also people who start having problems with their arms and so many other things. However, I think it is better if people spend their time with their computer than doing wrong things as so many people are doing nowadays.

Mayara T. Yano Class F1

My Computer Connection Computer. This is the object which I particularly like. When you are using a computer, you can do whatever you want. Defeat scary monsters, drive a Ferrari, fight against your worst nightmare.

The computer world is not as limited as our world. The computer world is a world made by our imagination. That's why some people (like me!) can't live without a computer.

On the Internet, you don't have to know who's speaking or if he's black or white. But if you guess, no problem; you already have a friend. That's a fantasy world: you go to other countries, and don't have to go outside your house; you make friends without meeting them‌ I like my computer because I use it for a lot of things. I use it to play, to study and to modify games.

I'm the contrary of other people who kill, steal, change their school grades and the grades of their friends, and get mad because of the computer. They're mad!

Computer: Sooner or later you'll have one!

Marcus V. de Lira Ferreira Class: 41

66

Beaver Dam - 1/1997

Temporarily Taken In One day I went to the mall and when I was walking in front of an esoteric store, I decided to go inside.

A woman came to me and asked what I would like to buy. I answered I didn't want to buy anything because I would never spend my money on such a foolish thing like a rabbit's foot or other things people invent to bring good luck. Then the woman got very angry and, after a long discussion, she made me let her read my hand.

Once reading my hand, she started to tell me things about my life: - “You study English at CTJ,” she said – “And you are about to finish it.”

At first, I got very excited and I asked her more things about my future in the course.

-“English will be very useful in your life, but you are already tired of doing so much homework and so many drafts.”

- “That's true” – I said – “Now, tell me … Will I pass the English course this semester?” I anxiously asked her.

-“Sure you will!” she answered me.

I was almost convinced that this hand reading thing really worked out when I realized that I was wearing a T-shirt with “CTJ – English Course / Graduate students” written on the back.

“She is fooling me” I thought to myself.

So I got out of that place and later I realized how stupid I was. She had said only obvious things to me. Everyone knows that English is important nowadays, that everyone gets tired of doing homework and drafts, and the most obvious one: everyone knows I will pass the course this semester.

So I came to a conclusion: don't you ever believe in a person who says that she will tell you your future. No one can tell you that.

Marcus Henrique Almeida Class 508-A

67

Fernando's Infallible Predictions Every time, when the year is ending , the same fact is repeated: magazines, newspapers and the television give importance to the predictions for the next year. A lot of “experts” are looked for to give their opinions about what is going to happen with important persons, with the country or with the world. And the most interesting thing is that every year those “experts” repeat the same ritual. They say the same things that they said the year before. But today we are going to revolutionize this job: we are going tell you what is going to happen in the next year. We want you to remember that we are no like “mother Dinah” that became famous just because of one right prediction, we are going to get all of ours right.

1) In December of the next year, Roberto Carlos is going to give a concert that will be aired by Globo; 2) A lot of people are going to die in the Middle East, victims of a territorial dispute; 3) In boxing (the sport), the “Fight of the Century” will happen; 4) The teachers of the public schools are going to go on a strike because of their low salaries; 5) In December of 1998 a lot of Brazilian people are going to “migrate” to the USA; mainly to Miami; 6) A very famous person will die; 7) The price of the “basic basket” will increase.

You just have to wait to check it out…

Fernando Ramos Lopes Class 504

68

Beaver Dam - 2/1997 Disco Gods My name is Tuti. I am one year old.

This is the first time I come to Earth; my planet is Mars. Unfortunately, I came alone, but I'm enjoying it a lot, even with many doubts about what “These people” are doing. I only know I am at a Disco (that's how “These people” call the place).

This place is great! I don't want to go back to my planet at least.

People are jumping and moving their bodies a lot, they are together, and their eyes open and close many times. I think when they do it, they're calling their gods.

They move as if according to the god.

The god liked most is Tecno (how “these people” call it); I think it's the god of fire. I saw it, like white smoke. There are other gods that I also liked to see…

Alexandra Caiado de Acioli Class 555

Contemplating the Contradictions My dear Lrig, When I decided to take a vacation here on Earth, I couldn't imagine that it would be so pleasant.

Humans are interesting people and every day I know different things about them. I have even planned that next summer we could spend some weeks here. What do you think about it?

However, there are some things about humans that I can't understand. I'll give one example. I have already explained to you what a car is: it is what people use to move from one place to another. Because there are many cars, some rules are necessary to keep up the order. One of them is that people have to respect the limits of velocity. But last week, I turned on my TV, and I saw something that really intrigued me. First I saw a lot of cars speeding. Then, after some time, I realized that the road where they were running didn't have a beginning nor an end. That is to say, people were driving in circles. Can you imagine something more silly than this? And the man who drove faster received a prize, which sounds very contradictory, because normally people who drive fast are fined or arrested.

So, you can see that I still have much to know about humans. During these days that I will stay here, I'll try to get the explanation for these mysteries.

I hope everything is going well there on Mars. I'll write again soon.

Love, Yob, the Martian.

Angela Figueiredo de Freitas Class 555

69

A Worried Warning Dear friends from Mars, As I was sent to Earth to research a country named Brazil, I'm writing you to tell my first conclusions. The place here is wonderful; they have plants (green elements that produce oxygen), water (hydrogen combined with oxygen), big cities (places where they live and work) and lots of people, some poor, some rich, some white, black, ugly, pretty, tall, short, male, female, adults and children.

I didn't dedicate my researches to nature (source of life), as I was supposed to. Something else surprised me.

There's a new “fever� now called Tamagochi, a virtual pet that children and teenagers take care of.

I'm really impressed because while there are dogs and cats on the streets and in stores, they take care of machines. The time they have to be with friends, they waste with a little being on a screen. It's amazing, because these children today will have serious problems in the future. They'll think that the virtual world is real, and the real world, with problem and love (a noble sentiment) is just something else.

This little pet lives up to 30 days if it's given food, love, a shower and fun by pressing some buttons. What will these three-year-old children think when they have to deal with real people?

And when it dies, by pressing a button, it is born again. These children's minds will be really confused when a human dies, because he won't be born again. And the worst of all is that the human beings are not worries! We have to open their eyes. If not, their relationship will be a danger, and in the far future, they'll have serious problems and it can affect the universe if something bad happens to Earth.

How can they waste their time while there are such beautiful things such as nature and people who need love? Let's help them, OK? They don't need an artificial life to be happy.

Thais Porto Class 556

70

Beaver Dam - 1/1998

Brazilian people are very happy. They like coffee, carnival and, of course, soccer. They really love soccer! And, to prove it, Brazil has already won the World Cup four times!

The other countries know Brazil for its soccer and its players. But, recently our players are not doing a good job and our team has lost many games. Because of that, many people don't believe our soccer is good any more. All of us wish that Brazil's team would win one more time, the fifth, and bring us this trophy, and so all countries and people will be sure that Brazilian soccer is still the best in the world!

Aline Menezes Dias Class D-4 Being a professional soccer player has pros and cons. First you have to like soccer a lot, if not you are not going to support the excessive training, the moderate alimentation, the pressure of the supporters and the collection of reporters.

The good things to be a professional soccer player are: the fame; everybody asking for an autograph or a photo, everybody recognizing you at the beach, in the mall, in a restaurant, etc‌ The money; if you are a good soccer player, you can earn a lot of money. The trips; soccer players travel all over the world, knowing different places and cultures. The recognition; to be grateful for the supporters and for the reporters.

But to be a professional soccer player, there are some disadvantages, too. You can't get away from being grateful and besieged by everybody. You lose your privacy. You travel a lot and are far from the family, the friends. Sometimes you make a mistake or lose a goal and have to run the gauntlet of supporters and reporters.

Being a professional soccer player has a lot of advantages and disadvantages and it is just the one who really likes soccer.

LuĂ­sa Colela Doyle Class 49 71

Beaver Dam - 2/1998 My Dream Last night I had a different dream: I was the president of Brazil. It was remarkable and unforgettable. As I'm fairmined and strong willed, I did a good job. I really worried about the social problems.

So I gave money to poor families (but the children had to be studying). In fact, this helped many people.

I built new bridges, thirty parks, new museums, twenty concert halls, ten libraries and the most important things: two hundred schools. All these thing were built in only one year!

Justice worked well. The crime rates decreased a lot because there was one policeman per ten people. And the economy was perfect! Suddenly I woke up. I was scared; after all, to be the president of a country as Brazil is a big responsibility.

I really would like to live in a good country, where the people are happy. So I have to trust the president and do my best.

Juliana Carvalho Class 354 Promoting Patriotism If I were the president of my country, even only for a day, I would try to develop a patriotic feeling in every person who lives here. In my opinion, there is only one way to achieve that: being honest and fair in all my decisions. My government would have education as a priority. Schools should receive more funds from the Federal Government, so they can be completely prepared to educate the children of today properly. I would also guarantee that every person who wants to study can have the possibility. We will not see the results of my investment immediately, but after at least 10 years. The health system is one of my priorities: Every person who wants some help from the hospital can have this help immediately and everywhere. Finally, one of the most important things is the fact that some people are without jobs. I will certainly create a lot of important jobs because Brazil is one of the most populated countries in the world and half of these people have enough instruction to follow a career with dignity. My country has some little problems, but with a good administration, Brazil can grow more and more.

JĂşlia Lima Parente Class 354

72

Beaver Dam - 1/1999 Hestia and Aparecida, Protectors of the Hearth Hestia was Zeus's sister and she was known as a virgin goddess. She was the symbol of the home. For this reason, it is possible to compare Hestia to “Nossa Senhora Aparecida”, the Brazilian house protector.

Each church and each house has her image. A great part of the Brazilian population has a strong admiration for her, due to her miracles.

The Catholics believe that they will have luck in their life. This saint can be considered a virgin goddess or saint, since she didn't have a real life in this world. Her image was found by fishermen in a river near São Paulo city. On October 12, her special day is celebrated, when the Catholics set off fireworks after midday in order to remind the population about this saint's day.

Daucleber José Teodoro Class 411 Protector of the Seas Certainly Jacques Cousteau can be compared to Neptune, the god of the sea in Greek Mythology. Cousteau was the first person who began underwater exploration and who developed a breathing machine which allowed a diver to stay underwater for several hours. His lifelong experience as an underwater explorer may have done more to make us understand the importance of the three-quarters of our planet that is covered with water than any other person who has ever lived.

To finance his trips and increase public awareness of his undersea discoveries, Cousteau produced numerous films and published many books. Thus the undersea world of Jacques Cousteau introduced the public to a world of sharks, whales, dolphins, sunken treasures and coral reefs. Besides, he also began calling attention to coral reef destruction, oil spills, overfishing, garbage dumping, and sea-floor dredging of sand and gravel. Moreover, he founded the Cousteau Society that is devoted to the protection of the aquatic system and to preservation of all forms of life. The Cousteau Society is a way to guarantee, for those who will replace us, a healthful and creative life.

Rebeca Carneiro Class 552

73

Renato “Apollo” Russo

Pluto – God of the under world – Collor

Apollo is the god light, medicine and poetry. He is also the god of song and has the gift of prophecy. Renato Russo, a Brazilian musician, was a god of all these things too. Admirers found is this little and insignificant man talent which turned him into the new Apollo.

Apollo is the god of moral and spiritual light, purity, the source of all intellectual, social and political progress. He plays and sings while the Muses dance around him.

He has the gift of prophecy. Renato had this gift too. He told it in his moral and political songs. Brazilian politicians, social problems and religion were highlighted in most of his songs. People could listen to their lives and stories playing on the radios. They could figure out their social problems and realize that their sources weren't pure ones.

Thousands of people, poor and rich ones (and some real muses too) would dance when he was playing and singing, as when Apollo did.

The god Apollo aided Zeus in the war with the Titans and the giants, and destroyed the Cyclopes because they forgot the thunderbolts by which his son Asclepius was killed. Renato Russo also aided the people against the political giants, the military oppression and urban violence.

His guitar used to be the thunderbolts which could kill not his son but the depression.

The Titans were just another rock band – not powerful beings. Like Apollo, Renato was the guardian of civil and political order.

Renato's songs have poetry and his voice has power that can make people love his songs. Renato became immortal. Zeus and the Muses have been dancing his songs, his poetry, and his light.

And Apollo finally has a new brother, a new twin!

Pluto, which is the Roman name of the Greek God Hades, was the son of Saturn and Rhea.

After the fall of the Titans, Pluto and his brothers, Jupiter (or Zeus, in Greek Mythology) and Neptune, divided the universe. And Pluto was awarded everything underground. He was also known as Orcus, Dis or Dis Pater. I do not know many folks who may have someone among them who looks like this god. The closest that I could imagine was Fernando Collor, the former President of Brazil who was “fired from his job” by way of Impeachment. He made the misery of the poor fellows in Brazil worse and the lives of thousands of people a hell. I am not sure if Pluto did this or something like that, but if he is the God of Hell (or the Underworld), he may have done something extremely awful to be awarded everything underground.

Danilo Assis Pereira Class 409A

Flávio André Class 508 Dyonisius x Vinicius Dyonisius (in Roman: Baco) is the Greek god of wine, orgies and pleasure. Its rituals used to be mostly happy and noisy with a few sad parts. Comedy and tragedy come from this ritual.

Greek gods used to have a human personality, as you can realize. So, they can be easily compared to humans. Vinicius de Moraes, in my opinion, is very similar to Dyonisius. We all know he was a superb singer and enjoyed pleasures that life could provide.

During his life, he fell in love with many women. And, as soon as he realized that love had finished, he wouldn't miss a second. He used to leave his lover's house in the same night, just carrying the clothes he was wearing. Another thing he enjoyed doing was to drink with his friends in a pub. But the place he liked best was the bathtub, where he used to relax.

Coincidentally, this was where he died after having a pulmonary stop.

Summing up, they both loved to appreciate life's pleasures. Moreover, Dyonisius, like the god he is, is immortal and Vinicius, like a poet he was, was immortal as long as he lived.

Carla de Paiva Bezerra Class 508 74

Beaver Dam - 2/1999

Amiable Vegetarian Hi! I'm a manatee and I want to be your friend.

I want to be your friend because I see a lot of my relatives dying because of the engines of the boats. I live in Central and South America, I like sweet water, but I like salty water too. I don't like cold water.

I'm fat, grey and I eat plant. I'm slow and I like humans when they are funny. I'm funny too.

I like to live with my mother, but the older manatees like to live alone, and they enjoy staying with other manatees only to eat.

Luciano Xavier Pereira Class E2

Crocodiles, A Growing Crowd Hi! My name is Eduardo. I am a crocodile. I eat fish, plants and, sometimes, humans. I have a big gross skin on my back. I am a reptile. My children are born from eggs. I live in the Amazon. We are in a lot of countries in the world. I like to stay in the shadows and I like to swim in the fresh water. Some people eat crocodiles. In Amazon there is a super-population of crocodiles, so, it's time to eat some fish and some steak! I'm hungry! Goodbye!

Eduardo Shlaepfer Pereira Class F7

75

Beaver Dam - 1/2000 March 24th, 2000 Dear parentes, I'm spending my vacation in Brazil.

Brazil is a wonderful country. When I arrived here, I saw a lot of interesting things. In Brazil, there are fantastic beaches, big farms, cities…

I'm in Rio de Janeiro, the most beautiful city in this country. Here there are a lot of things to do: go to the beach, go to a dance (they are also very good) and visit the old places.

I know that Brazil is a very different country. In most of the cities, people have a different way of life. In the South, they're just like the Germans, Italians… In the North, the population is poor in the most of the country.

But it isn't a problem; it's just a phase. In the middle of the country we find the capital. It's a small city called Brasília. The way of life of the Brazilians is so interesting. They have a lot of good foods, like “feijoada”, the most typical. There are a lot of kinds of music in the country. There are calm, exciting.

In Brazil, there is a thing that people in the whole world can't buy: “Felicity”. The people here are very happy and easy-going. I loved spending my vacation here, in this wonderful country called: Brazil.

Roberta Azevedo Class 65

76

Mom and Dad,

Dear President,

I'm here in Brazil and it's amazing. The people are cool; I don't know for sure, but they seem to be very friendly. The view is beautiful, the nature is different; it is very rich. The beaches, the hills and mountains, the “Pão de Açucar” in Rio, the Amazon and the enormous forest, the rivers and lakes, the rare birds, the several animals and plants, the planting of cane, beans, coffee, the twisted trees,… but people don't care very much.

They don't see it that way!!! That's sad! In another way the politicians don't seem to be very trustful.

The people say that they lie too much, that they are “dirty”, all of them.

There is a fascination for soccer; they are very good at it. That's why this is the country of soccer, and they are proud of that; it's a good thing!

Another interesting thing in the sports is the volleyball and swimming. Brazilians have won a lot of competitions. They like sports, I think!

The Brazilian people are “normal”. There are some that like to entertain themselves going out to the movies, shopping centers, parties, clubs, etc. Or to parks, picnics and things that way.

Some other people like to stay at home doing nothing. Some people like only formal things too.

The food is a little “heavy” for someone that is not used to it, especially black beans. It's heavy but it is good. There is a different taste everywhere I go and the fruits are sweeter. I don't know why, but I think it is because of the good earth they have! The Brazilians, instead of eating many things in the morning, eat more at noon.

There are very good composers and very beautiful songs. There is the unique rhythm, “the samba”. If you take what it says, it's cool.

There are people from every place in the world here in Brazil. This is a very beautiful land, with good people. A sad thing is that most people are poor and some are dying of hunger, but that kind of thing is everywhere you go.

I loved Brazil!!! I hope I can stay here more.

It's our day in this country. We arrived at Porto Seguro. It was early in the morning. We walked to a beautiful place on the beach. People were dancing Axé Music and we learned it too. We rented a car. Then we went to a hotel, but we had a problem, we couldn't pay for it because they have their own money. But we went to the bank and changed some REAIS and paid all the bills.

This country is marvelous; it looks like Portugal, but it's more beautiful and has more nature.

They have telephones here and I would call you, but I prefer to write.

The food is very different (I ate something called “acarajé”), but it is delicious. I'll take some food for you.

When we were at the hotel, I watched TV and I got very scared because they said there are many thieves and killers all over the country. They also said that most of the population is poor. It is so sad.

Pe d ro A l va re s C a b ra l l i ke d everything here – the nature, the women, the guaraná (it's a kind of soda) and the food.

He thinks this is a paradise and he doesn't want to go back. He said he is going to go back only if we go by plane; the ship makes him get sick.

There are many different kinds of people: black, white, red and yellow. They all speak Portuguese. They all know computers and Internet.

The weather is hot, the sky is blue, the air is fresh and the sea is warm. It's just perfect here. We all love this vacation. You have to come here to see all these beauties and have fun, my President. You'll like it so much.

Pero Vaz de Caminha April twenty-second two thousand

Talita Monte Lucio da Silva Class 75

Bárbara Miyuki Takenaka Fujimoto Class 71 77

Your Holiness, They were fifteen hours on the plane and we finally found the place that we looked for for so many decades. At first, I thought it was a dream. But it sure was not. The only country on Earth where we never have been. Brazil.

Of course they're less powerful and technological than we are. But I noticed that they're more united and more connected. I don't know exactly what makes them be like that. When I saw them, I felt a connection that I can't explain.

Those people are brown, black, blond…and almost all of them are thin and wear really small clothes. How beautiful they are! Their clothes are colored and really really short!

But I saw some children on the roads asking for some money. It made me feel sad. Today, in the U. S., we don't see it anymore. Maybe we have to help them a little bit…

I also saw lots of dirt on the beaches, in the sea, on the roads. How could these beautiful people let their country get like that: I just can't believe it's true. Maybe it's the government's fault. Who knows?

Tomorrow I'll visit their capital “Brasilia”. One of the Brazilian people told me it's a good place to live in. But they have a governor that can't speak their language well. Their president is a little problematic too. How could these people grow and become a rich country?

Love from, Thessa Thessa Laís Pires e Guimarães Class 66 The Ecological Issues Dear Pope, I'm writing to you at a very special moment in the Brazilian history. We are celebrating 500 years of the Portuguese landing in Brazil.

I'm worried about the ecological issues in my country. In 1500, when Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived in Bahia, he discovered a country with wonderful forests, many animals, a clean ocean and large rivers.

The Indians that lived here respected nature, hunted only the necessary things for eating.

Today, with development, the Brazilians have big industries, cars, chemical products that cause pollutions and other ecological problems. I'm asking for your help, as one of the most important persons in the world, to take the stand on the urgency of protecting the environment.

Thank you for your attention, Isabela do Valle Klin Class 66

78

Beaver Dam - 2/2000 The Hand you Hold…

This story happened to me exactly one year ago on my brother's birthday – on August 25th. Well, my mother, my friend and I went to the shopping mall to buy a present for my brother. My friend and I went for walk while my mother was at the shopping's bank. We were talking about a very interesting subject when I saw a woman standing in front of a store with her back turned to us. I was sure that woman was my mother, so I came to her, took her hand and continued talking with my friend. Soon my friend started laughing and I didn't know why. Then I saw my mother walking towards us and I continued holding the woman's hand. At that moment, I realized that the hand I was holding was not my mother's. So I was ashamed and that was something for us all laugh about.

Michelle Amaro Meneses Class 307

Surprise My friend had a big surprise on his twelfth birthday. His relatives and friends decided to give him a surprise. The idea was that he would arrive from school and, at the moment, he entered the living room, everybody would say: “Happy Birthday”. Well, it wasn't this way that it happened.

My friend came back from his school earlier than his relatives thought he would, but when he passed by the living room he didn't see the balloons because it was too dark. When he got to his bedroom, his mother called everybody to go fast and quietly to the living room, so when he got back everybody would say “Happy Birthday”, making the surprise.

My friend, whose name is Luis, went to his bedroom, took off his clothes and, totally nude, went to the bathroom. Everybody was ready to make the surprise. The living room lights were turned off and they just had to wait for Luis.

Luis was taking his shower, when suddenly the electricity went off. He remembered that his towel was on the terrace and he just needed to go there fast to get it, since he thought he was alone at home. Unluckily, the problem was that he would have to go through the living room to go to the terrace.

When he opened the bathroom door, the electricity went on again and when he entered the living room, he really had a surprise: Happy Birthday… ha ha ha!!

Ronie Paulucio Rorfirio Class 356 79

Don't Talk Too Much!

Last Name First

My aunt Ana had traveled almost all over the world and her last trip was to Japan. She told me that it was the most uncomfortable and funny vacation because many embarrassing things happened there.

On the day she would travel, my aunt was very excited and I didn't know if it was because of her great opportunity to visit a new country or if she was so happy because she wanted to make new friends, because in the beginning she didn't know anybody. At the airport in São Paulo, all the people who would travel to a country other than Brazil had to answer some questions like: “Do you know if someone put something in your bag?” or “How many suitcases are you carrying?” When my aunt was answering the questions, she was speaking too loudly, so the people who were there could hear the interview. The lady asked many questions, but when she asked if my aunt as carrying a bomb, Ana looked at her and thought it was a very idiotic question, because if she had a bomb she would not tell. So Ana said, “Of course I am! The trip to Japan would be very boring without one.” A man who was near her started to laugh and my aunt began to answer the rest of the interview with jokes. The lady who was asking the questions in a moment looked seriously at my aunt and said if she didn't stop doing that she couldn't travel to Japan that year. After that, my aunt stopped.

The trip to Japan was calm. There my aunt visited all the important places and bought a lot things.

On the last day of her vacation, she was in a restaurant with friends when two men near my aunt's table started to fight, so the owner of the restaurant called the police and in a few minutes one policeman arrived.

He asked them some questions and, at that time, my aunt started to talk with her friend about the policeman, saying he was beautiful, and she would allow him to arrest her. Then my aunt's friend said she could rob a bank if he took her. Another friend, Marcos, said, “This policeman looks like a gay.” They were speaking in Portuguese when the policeman stared at them and said in Portuguese too: “If you are talking about me, it is better you know I'm from Brazil and I'm not gay.” After he said it, he left and my aunt and her friends felt very ashamed and uncomfortable. Now they are more careful about talking too much!

This true story happened to my Dad. First of all tell you that his name is Carlos Salomão and all the trouble begins here. When my father was a student, he went for the first time to the States. He was so excited about the experience that he was taking pictures of almost everything. After a couple of weeks, he took his negatives to be developed. When he went back to pick up the pictures, the store was crowded and the shop assistant, an old woman, had a problem with her voice and she sounded incomprehensible to him. After some time of misunderstandings, he finally told her that his name was Carlos and, as she did not get it, he spelled it firmly: C-A-R-L-O-S. She began to look for the pictures which were in a big drawer in alphabetical order. She did not find them. She asked for the help of the other assistants and, for a while, every employee was searching for the last photos. It was an awkward situation and the customers were a little bit angry because they were waiting in the same way. The assistants looked at my father. He was upsetting an American way of life: organization. “How can a well-organized store lose the pictures of a foreign student?” They searched and searched for a long time and finally they gave up. After many excuses, the old woman asked my father's complete name and he said.

“Carlos Salomão”. “That's it!” She said not very clearly. She went to the big drawer and there were the pictures, where they should be, in the S letter from Salomão.

Everyone was relieved. “How embarrassed my father felt. He forgot that in the USA the family name comes first, always. He apologized and left the store.

When he was going out the front door, the old lady from the back of the store said in a loud voice but this time, very, very clearly: “Good Bye… CARLOS!”

Andrea Jansen Watanabe Class 354 - Lake Branch

Jackeline Dellabianca Salomão Class 354 - Main Branch

80

Look Before Leaping My sister was in 9th grade and she was having some problems with a group of boys that were always disturbing the class and laughing at my sister and her friends. She tried to talk to the Coordinator and waited for some help many times, but she didn't do anything about it.

One day my sister complained to my mother about that horrible situation and my mother decided to go to school and complain to the school authorities about the lazy Coordinator. She arrived at school very angry and she found a woman (the Coordinator) but she didn't know who the Coordinator was. She said, “I'm here to complain about this stupid Coordinator that doesn't do anything to help my daughter… But in any case, WHO THE HELL IS THIS COORDINATOR?” At this moment the woman that my mother was talking to was RED and extremely embarrassed but she answered: “I think it's me!”

My mother (and the Coordinator) “wanted to die”, but they talked to each other and my sister's problem was solved.

Daniel Guedes Almeida Class 304

A Linguistic Banana Peel This is my embarrassing and funny story. It happened to a friend of mine from Brazil that went to the U. S. A. She didn't speak English very well. One day she decided to work as a baby sitter; she thought it was going to be very easy work. So at this job she had to take care of three children; one was five years old and the other two were about fourteen and seventeen.

Everything was going OK when she had to put the younger child in bed. She called the little girl and told her, “I am going to put you to sleep.” The girl started to cry a lot and seemed to be very scared. The baby sitter didn't understand what had happened. As the girl didn't stop crying, the baby sitter called her mother, explaining what was going on. The mother told her what that sentence means. Actually to “put someone to sleep” in English means “kill someone”. It was a really embarrassing situation. When she told me this story, I laughed so much.

Irene de Azevedo Lima Class 354

81

Beaver Dam - 1/2001

Forever Young To Herbert Viana (Paralamas do Sucesso) When I was a teen, your band was initiating. It was a time, for me, without worries. I only had to study. Paralamas do Sucesso, Legião Urbana, Engenheiros do Havai, Capital inicial were the best bands that we could listen to on the radio, but among those, I loved your band and the songs played by you, because I identified the lyrics with my life, like “glasses”. I used to wear glasses and I was shy. The songs are easy to dance to and they talk about love. Some of them are critical, others true poetry. The song “Having the Moon”, for example, is both.

The best record, I think was “Arquivo” (1990) because you put together the greatest hits of 10 years of work. There was also the song “Kaleidoscope” – a wonderful piece of music.

About the shows…I couldn't go to the rock in Rio in 1995 because I was 15 and my parents didn't allow me to go, but I saw you on TV and I recorded the show on video. It was a terrific show. Here in Brasília, I could go to many shows. They were always full. The last show that I went to happened last year at the national theater. It was the Acoustic Show. I loved it. New songs and old ones played in different ways. After that, you came to play in Luziania – GO – to commemorate the birthday of a band member who was born there. I couldn't go because it was on a Friday night and I worked until late. But my husband and sister-in-law went there. They told me that it was an excellent show and they could talk to you in the dressing room. My husband told you that our country needs people like you, and you said to him that the country needs thinking heads. A nice thing to tell!

I would like to tell you that when I listen to your ancient records, they remind me of many good things about my adolescent age. I will pray for your recovery and will hope that, when you feel better, you will entertain us with your beautiful and creative songs, because until today, I like to listen to your music and I will like it forever.

Affectionately, Elka Elka Regina de Magalhães 82

A Letter from a Thankful Heart Dear Herbert de Souza (Betinho), There are so many things that I would like to tell you; however, AIDS more quickly than I was took you away before you could see how much your work made a difference in so many lives. But, as I believe that true feelings can cross the sky, I join my words with all the thankful prayers you must receive every day.

When you discovered that you were contaminated with the HIV, receiving such a diagnosis was still a sentence of death. The world just knew AZT to use as medicine to try to contain the quick development of the virus. So many people were dying and AIDS was a great mystery to the greatest scientists in the whole world, but you, in the middle of the chaos, decided to offer your pain to help others not to suffer alone.

In the middle of the silence that was common at that time, you made the nation listen to your voice asking for solidarity . You were the first one to say in public that people could live with HIV and that they were not condemned to death. On the contrary, your message was always a message of hope, faith and strength.

You were also a pioneer talking about your life with your wife, who did not have the HIV. Your life was an example against prejudice, isolation and discrimination. You taught how to live and how to love in spite of the HIV. Like a lily that grows beautifully in the mud, you started the National Campaign against hunger and for solidarity that moved so many hearts and showed so many people how they could be better persons. Did you ever think that your lesson of life could save so many lives and children without a future? Did you ever think that your disease could conduct other persons to a way to cure their selfishness?

At that time, I was still a teenager, thinking about school, boyfriends and my plans for the future, but watching you fight so hard for your life and for other lives, made me think that I would do this too. I would help people to find their capacity of fighting for life and happiness.

Today I am a psychologist and I work with people that live with AIDS and their families. Every day I remember your example and, every day, I admire you more as the most beautiful lily in the garden of life.

Today we have many drugs that can guarantee the treatment for people that have HIV. Today we can talk about life and about the future, although we still have to fight against prejudice and the lack of solidarity. But it is possible today because you had the courage to transform your suffering into an example of the power of one heart to change reality. Thank you very, very much…

May all the good you did be there with you…

May every smile of a child that was not hungry anymore comfort your heart and perfume your garden…

May the great example that you gave never die…

Sincerely, Lara Larissa Sodré Polejack Class W10

83

Honoring an Eternal Author Dear Mr. Hemmingway, Even though you have long passed away, I have decided to write you this letter, much more to express my feelings, since you've inspired me throughout my life.

I am an Indonesian and, obviously, the ocean was a part of my daily life, as a source of food, playground, and a dream place. When I was a child, growing up in a small village by the sea shore of the Sulawasi Island, I used to have a complete fascination for the ocean. At that time, I really didn't know exactly why I felt that way.

Later on, as an adolescent, and as I and my family moved to the capital, Jakarta, I read your book “ the old Man and the Sea�, and I felt completely close to you in the way you could describe the ocean as part of a man's life and death. Only then could I really feel the almost glorious and frightening attraction I had fo the huge amount of unknown water and the secrets it bore. Your description of the old stubborn fisherman in a body-to-body fight with that right down outsized fish led me to struggle and demand a better career for myself and a place under the sun for the women, shoulder to shoulder with males. Your inspiration still manifests itself on my daily life when I feel sad and try to remember the beautiful sunrises and sunsets I could witness during my youth.

I have read many of your books, but this particular one is the most touching, sincere and involving piece of literature I have ever encountered.

Thus, I would like to tell you, wherever you are, since I believe in life after death, that if you were misunderstood by many people, you are a true hero to me.

Love, Ishlah Abdullah Ishlah Abdullah Class 2TS

84

Beaver Dam - 2/2001

Working Out is Better Than Taking Out Nowadays it's very common to see a woman or even a man who has had or would like to have plastic surgery. Getting thin and fitting into society's way of how beautiful a person is has been very easy and simple since the past twenty years or so; all you have to do is search for a doctor (and he doesn't necessarily have to be a good one) and ask him to actually make you any way you want.

Even teens are looking for doctors to make themselves “perfect”.

I myself have never thought about changing anything in my body through surgery. Of course, there are some things that I don't like about myself, but even so, I guess that it's too dangerous to ask some guy to cut or take out some part of my body. Plus, every time that a man says “I had plastic surgery,” people around him start thinking that he might be gay or maybe he's just a “showoff”. If I could, I would like to change few things about myself, but without having to pay or be cut.

This process would be made like magic: in a blink of eyes. I'd like to change my nose, because it looks like a potato, or looks like there is a ball in my nose. So I'd like to change it and many other things – but with plastic surgery, only my nose.

Because I know that human beings haven't invented such magic, I'll keep on working out to get stronger and fit without passing through the process of plastic surgery.

Hoffman Xavier Hoffman Xavier Gouveia Monteiro Class 354A

85

The Perfect Advertising Ploy I will not try to persuade you; I will just make you realize that I'm the one. You probably know that the best way to promote a service or a product is let people see the results with their own eyes.

Nobody is as perfect as me to develop this boring function.

I am a very polite person, and also very sociable. I know a thousand persons and, principally, a thousand women. You may be thinking, “Why is it important to know a lot of women”? Do you know that female consumers correspond to ninety percent of the beauty industry, especially in the surgery business?

Have you ever been in a woman's bathroom? Women like to examine others, inches to inches, up and down; in spite of the jealously, they are really interested in how their friends get in shape.

Actually, I don't think I have to change many things in myself, just the necessary. That includes my belly and my riding breeches. If it is possible, I'd like to change my nose, but if it's not, ok!

I'm absolutely sure that, after the surgery, I am going to be happier than ever and you are going to be glad.

At least fifty percent of my friends will be crazy to have this surgery, and your services are going to be the most looked for in the surgery business.

So, am I the perfect one or not?!

Marília de Assunção Class 405

A Small Big Problem Big noses are a serious aesthetic problem among people in the society today, aren't they?

Pinocchio once faced a problem very similar to mine. Because of a genetic problem, I was born with this enormous nose. I'm desperate because this nose doesn't seem to stop growing and what should I do to solve this problem? Could any medicine help me? I would like to know why big noses are such a big problem today; maybe it is because the society assumes small noses to be the aesthetic model. Since my childhood, people have been making fun of my problem. Some people used to say that I could not be in small places, like rooms or even houses; because of me everybody would be breathless. Being offended became a routine to me. These many offenses made me very sad and I've tried many absurd things to solve my problem, like holding my nose all day long, wearing make-up products, and using magic spells.

My dream is to improve my appearance anyway. I can't live with this problem anymore. I'm in serious depression, I've lost my job, my boyfriend, my friends and even part of my family.

I've tried suicide two times already and I would not like to try a third one. You people are my last chance to survive. I'm very poor and I can't afford such expensive surgery.

I got to know about this opportunity of a free surgery and I'm sending this letter as the last attempt to reach my objective. Now I ask you, please help me! I can't live with this strange thing on my face anymore. My hopes, my life and my future are in your hands.

Raquel C. R. da S. Castro Class 403

86

Beaver Dam - 1/2002 Generosity Regenerated

The Guru of Nonviolence Nowadays cloning is very broadcast on the media and in the scientific world. The first animal known was Dolly. She was cloned in Europe and caused a great discussion about the power and intelligence of the human being. The main question in the society's thoughts was: “Is it possible to clone a human being?

“But if I were a scientist who held the knowledge for cloning human beings, I would clone GHANDI. In my opinion, Ghandi was an Indian pacifist who conducted his population to the freedom of their country. When he was teaching his ideas to the people, he always tried to convince them that peace is the strong way to obtain freedom. He thought people should have rights to live with their own rules.

He got the beginning of the independence of the India when he tried to convince the English about the rights of the Indians. He tried to avoid war with the thought of “ No violence” to conserve the peace. This is the reason I would want to clone Gandhi.

João Bosco de Oliveira Santos Class 1ES

87

If I had the power to make clones, I would make a clone of mother Teresa of Calcutta.

She was a great woman who helped the poor people in India.

She was an unselfish, generous and a very good woman. So, I would make a clone of her because the world needs people like her.

There are lots of people that don't have anything to eat, that don't have a place to live…People that need some help. In the world, there are a lot of sick people that don't have money to pay for some medication; there is a lot of violence, especially against poor people; a lot of unfairness against people because they don't study in good schools, and there are many who never s t u d i e d a n d o t h e r s t a ke advantage of them.

There are many people who work and don't have a good salary. There are many slick types that deceive poor people.

It isn't fair!!

If the world had a lot of “Madre Tereza de Caucutá” it would be a better place to live in. A lot of poor people would not be deceived because they would have someone to take care of them.

They would have someone to help them. And everybody would live in a better place.

Andréia Matias Araújo Class 62

Case Against Cloning Sometimes , having the power does not mean that you can use it. I realized this when I was asked to play God a little. My first reaction was: “ Wonderful! Let's play this imaginary game”. Until this moment, I had never thought about cloning somebody, at least not as deeply as now.

The initial question was: “Who would you clone?” No name came to my mind. But it was a good question, so I continued trying. Despite striving to remember someone alive (at this time, a whole cemetery comes into our mind) and famous, I continued without any name. “Come on, it is impossible that nobody kind, intelligent or rich exists”, I said to myself. That was when I realized that what I would want to clone was not a person, but features. Probably, the only thing I was sure that I could clone was the physical features. After all, the clone – despite having the same genetic material – is another subject. I mean the equivalence is biological, it is not psychological or emotional. In other words, it is the same packaging, but it is not the same contents.

These conclusions take me to the second question: Why would I clone so-and-so? I think of a politically correct reason: to make the world better, of course. However, I would not need to clone anybody to reach this aim, just parts of someone(organs) would be enough to help and soften the pain of many who wait in endless transplant lines.

Giving another life for sex symbols, no thanks. I would not like to work with Brad Pitt, see movies which starred Brad Pitt, go to a restaurant in which Brad Pitt is the waiter, , learn English with my teacher Brad Pitt, wake up and see Brad Pitt. Ok, I exaggerate, but just for giving you the idea of how boring it is to reproduce beauties. You would miss Tommy Lee Jones' charm, Eddy Murphy's sense of humor or John Travolta's personality, would you not? These characteristics make them so beautiful, so interesting. Really, I don't need Brad Pitt in each corner; just one is enough. By the way, I love diversity! Moreover, all this chat sounds like genocide. Why do we not give back the unique life of millions of citizens that our system deprives of socioeconomic and cultural resources? Without demagogy, they would be more beautiful, intelligent or sympathetic as well.

Finally, let's suppose that we can clone everything in a person: her personality, valor and learning From my point of view, cloning somebody in this condition means thinking in the same way. No change. Do you realize? The different kinds of beauties or geniality are desirable because they are unique and belong to their time. For example, let's think about world peace or fraternity: if we clone Dalai Lama, can we hit more people with his message? Are we closer to peace? Did Martin Luther King not talk better to his people? Is it a solution to leave aside the contributions of Madre Teresa of Calcutta and others to elevate just one among so many other beautiful speeches and attitudes? In my opinion, we don't need clones. Sincerely, we need to take courage to develop ourselves and make ourselves better.

Gleizer Vieira Class 2TS

88

Beaver Dam - 2/2002

Fame Without Fuss I would like to be chosen for the “Fama� program because I love to sing and it should be really fun singing on a stage. The best thing about it is that people learn to act and have a lot of nice classes.

They've got privacy. The program doesn't show any trouble or personal problems.

Fama is very fun to see. People look great. I'd like to meet Angelica. If I don't win, that's okay. All I want is to show the public how I am in my career. There are many songs that I know by heart and I have always dreamed about being successful with them.

Maybe I'm ashamed to be a singer, so that's the best way to get famous and after that go on everything. I could make mistakes because I'd be training. Life wouldn't be so easy, but it could be more exciting. I'd have to work hard, but soon the public would buy Fama's CD and listen to my music. Well, not everything is real, but I'd be appreciative if I went there.

For a long time, I dreamed about something original. I'm sure about my choice for it. I need to be a good singer with my own style. But I can't imagine me with fashion clothes and make up trying to be someone. And I want no money. That's the best way for my friends to see me, too. I think Fama is the best reality show in Brazil!

Gabriela Gomes de Souza e Silva Class: 67

89

Personal Empowerment

Vocal Versatility

I want to be a member of the “No Limite” reality show because this program is a good challenge for me. It will test my patience, persistence, courage, quick thought, resistance and ability to socialize with unknown people. This is the kind of program in which we never know what is going to happen. Every day and every event we are tested. The tests are not only of physical resistance, but psychological resistance, too. More than a competitive event, it is a life experience because we learn to value what we have. This happens because we start to live alone, with little food, with native dangers, without our family and without communication. I saw in this reality show the chance to try myself, to know until where I can go. This program is exactly like my profile because I am patient, courageous, intelligent, I like adventures, to make friends, to compete and the essential – I have the power to go after the end. In summary, I want to participate in “No Limite” to test my limits, to know myself, to compete for the prize that I could invest in my future and that could help my family and give me the chance to be famous. The competition, the life experience, the physical and psychological tests immediately attracted me and I can see myself on this show from now on.

To Fama's Program Producer, I've been following this program since it started on Globo. I like it very much and I think it gives the participants a great chance to show their talent. Like everyone who's been on the program, I'd like to have a chance to show what I do the best, which is sing. For this reason, I'd like to participate in this program. I hope to sing, and I appreciate many music styles such as MPB, Pop, Rock, Samba and so on.

I'm a thirteen-year-old student from Brasília, DF – Brazil, and I consider myself a talented girl. Since my childhood, I've loved to sing and dance. The singer I like most is Britney Spears and “Baby, one more time” is my favorite song. The music I'd like to sing in this program is “Moro num país tropical”.

The biggest reason I want to go to “Fama” is because I live off music and I love to sing.

I believe the program would be the best opportunity to show my talent. I also believe I've proved I deserve a chance in the “Fama” program. I'll be waiting anxiously for your positive answer.

Please, choose me!

Letícia da Nobrega Barreto Class: 65A

Lucas de Almeida Vasconcelos Class: 67

90

Beaver Dam - 1/2003

Real Life My name is Carla I am a maid. I am twenty-four years old, I have four children and I don't have a husband or a boyfriend. How is my life? I can't answer that right now because I don't know if what I am living can be called life. When I was fourteen, I had to have enough responsibility to live my life alone, since my mom and dad died in a car accident. I was raised by our neighbor who was a drunk and mean man. I used to cook, do the cleaning and take care of his children, a three-yearold boy and a five-year-old girl. My life was a disgrace; I didn't go to school and didn't have friends, because my stepfather didn't allow me to. After three years, I ran away from my stepfather's house and traveled to Brasília. I had in my mind the idea of beginning my studies and getting a job; however, I couldn't imagine that life here would be so hard. I tried a lot of jobs, but couldn't get any. Knowing about my situation, a friend of mine, who lived here too, told me to try a job as a maid and that's what I did. In the beginning, the money I got was fine to live on but as time went by, I found out that I was pregnant by my stepfather. Six months later, my twin babies were born. I rented a house and started my life again in a new job, as a maid too. Three years later, I got pregnant again but by my employer now. As a result, his wife fired me. As I said before, my life wasn't easy. Since I am beautiful, almost all my employers tried to abuse me but what could I do about it? I had to feed my kids and the only way I could do this was working as a maid. Since I can't even read, it's really hard to get a better job. My kids all go to school. They could help me, but I prefer that they study and have a better education than mine, so, in the future, they can have better jobs than mine. Yes, my job affects my life. I only see my kids late at night; the money I get sometimes isn't enough to eat and I can't realize my biggest dream, which is to become a doctor. I think you can understand me now. There's nothing else to say about my life. I'm a maid and that's what I'm going to be for the rest of my life. Am I happy? No, I'm not happy but I have to pretend I am, because what would my kids think if they saw me crying because I don't have money to buy food or to dress them? I don't have a life; I just try to give a life to my kids so they can grow up and be a better person than their mom. Érica Versiani Lima Class 458-A 91

A Dreamless Person Human beings are passionate and find in their dreams the way to escape from their troubles, to escape from reality. One says that believing in your dream and following it, making colossal effort to achieve what you want, is the way to make it real, or at least to feel engaged in something that fulfills you. However, I can say that I have lost the ability to dream. I have worked as a night guard since I was 16 years old, and I started at this job in order to help my family pay the bills at home. My father had been unemployed for several months and then I really needed to have a job so that I could buy food supplies. After one year, my father was still unemployed and then I had to guarantee that my younger sister would have a chance to have a more formal education. Thus I had given up studying to pass a college course to be a night guard and I could restart studying, which certainly was a mistake, but I had no choice. It has been ten years from the day I got employed and until now nothing has changed. I am still a night guard who earns a miserable salary, which cannot provide my family's needs, which cannot, at least, provide dignity. Over the past ten years I have worked hard, I have done my best, in order to succeed and have the money and time to come back to studying, but I am still in the same place. Now life seems very wrong and unfair to me. In fact, I used to feel useful at this job but now, unfortunately, I just work to survive. This is my sad reality. I wanted to be a doctor so that I could help people and make them happier; this was my child's fantasy. In the present, however, this dream seems out of reach in a way that it could be anyone's dream but mine. It is sad to realize that I no longer think about my old fantasy and perhaps I just act this way in order to protect myself from the fancy world I dreamed about, to avoid my frustration. The saddest conclusion, indeed, is that the dream that would make me feel motivated and hopeful years ago now makes me feel hopeless and frustrated. Above all, I am a dreamless person.

Guilherme Marques Veroneze Class 458A

92

Beaver Dam - 2/2003

Chemical Combustion My brother was born in a musical family: her father was a maestro and her mother played the piano sang in the church choir. My father's family had a drugstore. His father was a pharmacist and his mother worked with him at the drugstore. Them my mother's parents died in an accident when she was six years old. My mother and her two brothers were raised by her only single aunt, who died seven years later. Her older sister, then fifteen, got married to a widower who had three children. My mother had to move again, to live with her married sister. On his side, my father, too, was having trouble in his childhood. When he was ten, his father died and his mother, very sick, died two years later. Because of that, my father had to live with an uncle. At that time, in the morning, my father studied at a high school. In the afternoon, he helped his uncle at the drugstore.

One day, when my mother was seventeen and my father twenty-one, they met each other. She went to the drugstore to buy some medicine and my father was there, working. From this moment on, they clicked right away. My mother used to be happy when somebody at home needed some medicine. My father was dreaming about the moment my mother would appear at the drugstore, asking for some medicine. Ever since then, they felt they weren't alone anymore. They became close friends. They realized they had a lot in common and they couldn't live without each other. Six months later, they got married and lived together and happy for fifty-two years, until my father died. Two years later, my mother had a stroke and she became very sick. Now, she can't move or talk. But I remember her last words, before she stopped talking. She said with difficulty: “I'm tired.

I must go. He's waiting for me!�

LĂşcia Menezes Brazil Class: 310

93

The Sweetest Rose in the Circus

Lucky Punch

When my uncle Carlos met my aunt Carla they fell in love at first sight. It was November 12th, 1956, when they saw each other for the first time. Carla and her boyfriend at the time, named Marcos, went to a new circus in the city. The circus was crowded. Carla was bored with seeing animals and clowns, while Marcos was having a lot of fun. The last number was a new magician and Carla's first impression was that the magician was handsome. He was doing his show, while Carla kept her eyes on him. His last number was transforming a little bird into a red rose, and everyone was impressed. The magician saw a beautiful lady sitting in the first row, so he gave the rose to her. That was the first time Carla and Carlos saw each other and immediately they knew that they were made for each other. Marcos got so jealous that in front of everybody, he destroyed the beautiful red rose in Carla's hand. A tear fell from Carla's eye when she saw Marcos tearing into pieces each petal. When Carla and Marcos got home, they had a fight over that, and Carla decided to break up with Marcos. Carla got out of Marco's house and went to look for Carlos at the circus. But it was late at night and Carlos was asleep.

On the next day, Carla went to talk to her friend about everything that had happened that night. To her surprise, her friend Marcia was Carlos' cousin and she told her everything about him. So in the same night, Marcia and Carla went back to the circus to find Carlos again. When the show was over, Carla asked Marcia to get Carlos meet her. So Marcia called Carlos to meet Carla. Carlos didn't know who Carla was, and he told Marcia that he was in love with another girl. But Marcia insisted and convinced him to meet Carla. When Carlos saw Carla, his eyes were shining because Carla was the girl that he gave the red rose to and she was the one that he was in love with. So they didn't say anything to each other; they only kissed like they had never kissed before.

Carla and Carlos had never felt this sensation before; they were extremely happy. Nothing seemed to mess up their dating. One day, the circus owner told Carlos that the circus was going to move to another city and that was their last weekend in that city.

On the same afternoon, Carlos gave the bad news to Carla. Carla was sad because she was expecting a baby, the result of their love. Carlos then proposed something that would change their lives forever. He asked Carla if she would abandon her life in that city to marry him and work with him in the circus. Carla didn't think twice and at the same time accepted Carlos’s proposal. All of her family and friends were against it, but she only listened to her heart and on the next week, both of them went to the other city, where they got married. Today they have completed forty seven years of marriage and have four kids.

A good love story always starts with a funny episode.

This happened with my grandparents Fernando and Gloria. They met for the first time at Gloria's big sister's party. Gloria had a boyfriend and Fernando was single. It all began when Fernando asked if Gloria wanted to dance with him, but before she said anything, her boyfriend came and punched Fernando right in his face.

Then they started to fight.

Gloria started to scream and her father came and tried to pull them apart, but he was punched too. So he got angry and put Gloria's boyfriend out of the party. A few hours later, Fernando asked if Gloria wanted to dance with him again and she accepted.

While they were dancing, Fernando slipped and they fell on top of the cake. There was cake all over Gloria's brand new dress and her face. Fernando apologized, but she turned away and left.

After this, they didn't see each other until one night when he made her a serenade. After this, she forgave him and asked her father's permission to date Fernando. They started dating and, after five years, they got married and had two beautiful kids.

Caio CĂŠsar Fernandes Constantino Class 302l

94

Paola Bembom Garcia Class 357

Beaver Dam - 1/2004 The Bassoccer Game The sport of the moment is the Bassoccer game. It began with a mixture between soccer and basketball, two sports everybody in the world knows. Its rules are very simple: there are six baskets, three on each side of the court. There are two balls and two teams. The teams have eight players; on is the goalkeeper and the others are forwards. The players cannot use their hands, because they should play with their feet and head.

The objective of this game is to hit many balls into the baskets of the adversary team. One ball hit is worth one score. After thirty minutes, the team with more points will win the game. Nowadays, it's an unknown sport, but it will be the most famous and new sport in the Olympic Games.

Rafael Gonçalves de Castro Class 261 Looking for Tatuí

Red Hot Chili Peppers

I think a sport which should be in the Olympic Games is “Looking for tatuí” (a little crustacean that lives in the sand on some beaches). It's a very interesting sport.

This sport could be a team sport or an individual one. And the rules are easy to follow.

Each team will be formed by three athletes. One athlete carries a bucket with water to put “tatuís” in. The other athletes should find “tatuís” in the sand. The teams have four hours to find the maximum number of “tatuís”.

The team which finds more “tatuís” will win the game.

In the individual game, after the teams finished catching “tatuís”, the individual athlete should make a meal with the “tatuís”. The best plate will be the champion.

I never ate rice with “tatuís”, but I heard it's delicious.

Maybe there are some problems with this sport. I don't know if there are “tatuís” in other countries. I know there are in Rio de Janeiro. Another problem is ecological; I don't know if ecological will permit this sport. But I think this sport should be practiced. First, it's fun. Second, the athletes will be physically well prepared, because they will walk a lot on the beach. And finally, the athletes will be beautiful, because they are going to be tanned. This sport will be a success!

If you think it is the Californian band, you're wrong. It is a new competition that can be an Olympic discipline.

It is a traditional South Korean competition based on who can eat more peppers. It is an individual sport which you play with: 1 – Chili peppers; 2 – A pail to put the peppers in, 3 – a strong stomach.

It isn't easy. It is very difficult.

A lot of people faint, have stomachaches, headaches, and the prize is just a booby prize, about five hundred dollars to be sick. Yes, for somebody it is easy.

You play it eating the peppers. The winner of this game is the one who eats more peppers in thirty minutes or than the others who stop before him. I think this sport should be practiced because it is the most difficult sport I have seen.

Gabriel Port Carvalho Class 51

Milene Chaves Freire Class: 251

95

Beaver Dam - 2/2004 Propagates “Down Under” This animal is very interesting. It has a beak, four long legs and a long tail. It's from Australia and Tasmania. It's big and poisonous. It's a mammal, but its babies are born from eggs. It likes to swim. Can you guess its name?

Ravena Figueiredo Alves (platypus) Class 32 Definitely Dangerous My animal is very big and interesting.

It usually lives in a little family. There's a father, a mother and one or two children. It loves to eat fish. It lives in the forest.

Everybody says it's dangerous, and it is. Do you know who it is?

Lucas Tâh Hsin Scherrer Ma (bear) Class D7 Girls Get Away This animal is small but very cute and special too. It usually lives near lakes. It doesn't live with its family. Its color sometimes is green, red and blue, black, brown, yellow…it has many possibilities of colors! The girls don't like it because, in their opinion, it is very disgusting and sometimes it's poisonous, but never dangerous! In my opinion, it is very nice and beautiful. It eats files, mosquitos, little spiders and sometimes, but not normally, it eats ants and crickets. It is very different from the other animals. It can jump and swim very well. I like it because it's very interesting. Do you know this animal?

Susane Muniz Pereira (frog) Class 32 Mad for Mud My animal is not very big and it is usually a little fat. It can eat almost everything, especially corn and vegetables. One of its main characteristics is that it loves mud; it can spend the whole day playing in the mud. It does not have much fur, and its color is usually pink. It has a funny nose (snout), which looks very much like a socket. Another interesting thing is that the Jewish people can't eat its meat. I like this animal because it is very funny and really mild – if you scratch the back of its ear, it will sleep soon! Can you guess what animal it is?

Ligia Francisco de Deus (pig) Class 36 96

My Interesting Animal My animal if funny; my animal is tall, very tall, my animal is good at eating, my animal doesn't like mice and loves potato chips. My animal has a long nose and the nose of my animal is different. Oh! And it has beautiful teeth. Can you guess the name of my animal?

Amanda Nunes Maniero (elephant) Class D5

Energy Economist It's a desert animal. It has one or two humps on its back that contain fat used for energy when food is short. It can drink up to 80 gallons of water at a time and go for months without drinking. I like them because they can carry us for long distance on the desert; that's why they are very interesting animal. Can you guess its name?

Fernanda Brand達o de Souza (camel) Class 36

Pride of Predators He is big, beautiful, and he has big teeth. He is lazy and interesting. He eats meat, for example, giraffes and zebras. They live together in groups called prides.

The female one prowls through the grass, hunting for food. At home the strongest male keeps guard, and when dinner arrives he always digs in first!

When this animal is tired, he finds a shady sport in a tree. He sleeps here all day long, away from the sun.

Do you know who he is?

Karina Nascimento Cardoso (lion) Class D1

Cool and Cute I like this animal very much. It's small and cute. It eats small fishes and it lives in cold places. His colors are black and white, but it's very interesting because it usually lives in a big family. I like this animal because it's very soft.

Luiz Fernando Vieira de Castro Ferreira Class C2 (panda) 97

Beaver Dam - 1/2005

Wear Your English Too! During all the years I've spent at the Casa Thomas Jefferson, my teachers continuously asked me what the reasons were for me going there every single week staying almost four hours sitting in the same chair, listening to the same teacher while most of my friends were enjoying their free time. And based on the same question, in which ways did the course affect my life? Certainly my life changed from the moment I took my first step into the Main Branch building until today. At that moment, I was nothing more than an unconfident boy who couldn't even complete one sentence without chocking. But as time passed by, my trouble with English was gradually being solved, thanks to my teachers who not only explained the grammar but also encouraged me to talk even if I made mistakes; after all, correcting them was the easiest part of the learning process. As I was getting more contact with the English language, I discovered what a useful tool I had in my hands, (Or better, on my tongue). I could read English books, could watch movies without the subtitles and I was able to talk to people from different countries. This means that English could join many cultures of many countries in a single way of talking. Besides the benefits to the development of my knowledge, English will be very important for me at the moment I start to look for a job is very hard because companies require well-qualified and instructed people to occupy the positions. Consequently, the people who know to speak fluently are ahead of the other competitors. As you could see, English has always influenced my life and I assure you that the same thing is happening or will happen to you. Someday you'll realize how important English is in every single day of your life. One of my teachers said wisely, English can't be only read or spoken, you've gotta “wear” it every moment.

João Gabriel de Araujo Almeida Class 554F

98

Who Gave Me a Boost?

Well, I cannot remember anyone or any special occasion or conversation that suddenly changed my life, broke paradigms. However, I would be very unjust not to recognize the marked role some people played continuously during my life.

Beside my parents, who observe a whole book filled with my gratitude, there is my grandmother – Helena – the most beautiful person I know. Since my parents worked up 16 hours a day, she and I spent much time together. However, during my first eight years of my life, we lived relatively isolated from “civilization”, in a house within an Araucaria Forest on the periphery of Curitiba. There were no neighbors that we could reach on foot. Thus, we had only each other to have a conversation with, etc.

She was enough for me. Through her stories and narratives I could “see” the world, its different regions, countries, cultures. She told me about history, geography, literature, and with her I learned to love books and respect the diversity of all life forms. Without a doubt, she introduced me to the world of science in such a fascinating way that it is not a surprise I became a biologist.

But this is not all; she influenced me in a larger spectrum. She loved life, and she lived thinking positively, believing in goodness, honesty. And if I got at least 10% of her way of living as I believe I did, I have to thank her very much. So grandmother Helena, thank you very much!

Alessandra Rodrigues Kozovits Class TPF-19

99

Beaver Dam - 2/2005 Ending Suspenders is Economical

Kissing Alert

A different law was created in Nogales, Arizona, says that it is illegal to wear suspenders. At a first superficial look, this law seems strange and unnecessary; however, if we pay attention to how oldfashioned and ridiculous a man wearing suspender is, you will probably understand why they prohibited this.

If you like and understand a little about fashion, you certainly will agree with me that a man dressed like that is something strange and unpleasant to see. Men are supposed to be well-dressed, and wearing belts is much more classic and elegant.

Another important thing is that suspenders are often more expensive than belts, so prohibiting their use is a favor that the government did for men, who can get a gal and marry a well-dressed man without the embarrassment of asking him to stop wearing those ugly suspenders.

In my opinion, the whole world should adopt this curious law. If all the guys on this planet stopped using those nasty suspenders, the Earth would become a better and more beautiful place to live.

And we women would be very pleased.

Once upon a time, in a city called Logan County, in Colorado, there was an enormous, beautiful orchard where couples used to go, eat some fruit, talk about themselves and take a rest under the trees.

One shiny day, a special couple was celebrating three years together, so they decided to go to the orchard. There the woman lay down and fell asleep. While she was sleeping, the man ran back home to get two rings. He was going to ask her to marry him, but when he returned to the orchard, the woman was still sleeping. So very calmly, with the ring in his hands, he woke her up with a kiss and asked her to marry him. But when he kissed her, she got so surprised that she beat his hands so the ring flew right into his mouth. The man chocked and died with the ring in his throat. So, since that day, the law says that it's illegal for a man to kiss a woman while she's asleep.

In Pennsylvania, a person is not eligible to become governor if they have participated in a duel. This law is very intelligent because is more dangerous to become a governor than to participate in duels.

This law was created to show the population that becoming a governor isn't for everybody.

Mรกrcio Jibrin Class 459

Guilherme Motta Class 405

100

Rayssa da Silva Passos Class 458

Dueling Downer

Beaver Dam - 1/2006

A Lucky Country Around 75% of the Earth is made of water, but most of it is salt or frozen. The water's salt removal process is very expensive and because of that it's not economical to be done. It's clear every day that the water is becoming a product only for the wealthy people.

Brazil is a lucky country, because there are a lot of water sources, basins and rivers. In spite of this abundance, people continue wasting water, either for the ignorance or bad education. We cannot let this happen to such an important gift.

Water is important, not only for hygiene, cleanness or plantation, but mostly for our survival. A lot of other countries suffer because of their very land and the incapacity to turn it into a good one. In some countries, there are powerful men, like the Arabian sheiks, who buy icebergs. That shows how big this problem is.

There must be an awareness process for the people starting in childhood, because people need to start to realize that If they don't stop wasting water, they will have to live an eternal water rationing. The pride of being Brazilian must go far beyond soccer and carnival.

We should enjoy the natural wealth of Brazil, like water, to grow and to become a great power, developed not only economically but also serving as an example for the remaining portion of the world. All of us have this mission. Believe and make it happen! A generation that thinks and takes care of the future!

RaĂ­ssa Pacheco Siqueira Mendes Class 357

101

First Fire, Now Water First of all, I wanna make something clear here: water is not a world problem and it won't be, and I'll tell you why. The first reason is that water will not run out. Yes, yes, I know we have just 0,007% proper for human consumption but don't say that we can't change it. The biggest problem is to turn salt water into water we can drink in a cheap way. Anyway, humanity discovered making fire and went to space, so I'm almost sure that we can resolve this difficulty.

Concluding, I just wanted to make a different composition so I could have a little chance of getting into this “Beaver Dam�.

LĂŠo Rodrigues Class 355-A

Water for All of Us! For many years, people have tried many different ways of saving water, unsuccessfully.

It's important to come up with ideas to help save this very important thing, the water, because without it all the living things, including the human kind, will simply die, so there is nothing better than protecting it while we still can.

Ideas like recycling water, and using water from the rain, are good, but more than that is needed.

The governments of the countries should take a position and start to ration water, something that would give a person, or a family, or an industry, the approximate quantity of water that person or industry, would need for that month, or that semester.

In conclusion, people are full of ideas and all that is needed is for the governments to take this subject more seriously, because all the luxury in the world wouldn't be worth anything if we aren't alive to have it.

Rodrigo Cerqueira Gonzales Pena Class 357

102

Beaver Dam - 2/2006

Henrique Esteves Laterza Class F5

103

Karina Ellen do Nascimento Miranda Class F1

104

Beaver Dam - 1/2007

An Adventure in Rio A very famous American historian depicts a tourist as a “transitory spectator”. I think it is at least a poor attitude to spend time and money in order to enjoy just in a limited way something you can really taste and interact with. To get in touch with other cultures and enviroments, while differences still exist, may help us to understand, manage our own lives and put up with its difficulties, including the social ones.

Rio de Janeiro and all its people are going to host the Pan American Games. It is finally their turn and they are very eager to show a “Marvelous City” despite their social (and perhaps cultural) clamoring problems that can not be hidden under any bright smiles or noisy but gorgeous sounds of the 'Escolas de Samba' drums.

There are lot of places where people may go and really have fun. Tourist crowds, now in the olimpic games fan garments, will be attracted to parts of the city which have never been visited by them before as, for example, a typical neighbourhood in the suburbs called 'Engenho de Dentro' where a large Olimpic Stadium has been built. What a difference from Eco 92 government attitude! In this event, visitors, common people and authorities on ecological issues, were brought only to the wealthier sides of the City. The poorest areas in the north and west sides were happily concealed.

Nowadays, unfortunately, one may be shot by lost (or not lost) bullets at the delightful landscapes you have always wanted to visit since you were a kid or at a filthy outskirt back street you've never thought existed. I was born and raised there and I suggest someone who is going to Rio de Janeiro to have fun and strong emotions at Pan American Games. Tourists should look for a reliable travel guide and go to places where they might try an 'angu à baiana', for instance, Praça 15 de Novembro; or maybe see at Praça Tiradentes a healthy guy crunching big glass pieces without harming himself, or anything the guide proposes to be done.

In general, you know anyone who has ever been wandering in any Shopping Center has actually seen every Shopping Center all over the world, even without being a tourist in the very strict sense my preferred American historian has portrayed. Good luck!

Arnaldo Braga Avolio Class TPF82

105

Living it up in RIo Rio de Janeiro is the famous Brazilian postcard, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, where the sea meets the mountains. Who has not heard of the Sugar Loaf and Corcovado with the image of Christ up in the mountain and blessing the city? There are beautiful beaches full of pretty and healthy people with a nice and intense lifestyle. Rio is the land of 'Samba', where Carnival is a passion and the most important popular party of the year. Another Brazilian passion is soccer and Rio has Maracanã, the biggest stadium of the world.

What to buy – Rio is a very fashionable city. There you can find many stores where you can buy modern and original clothes. There are good bookstores, nice places to have some coffee and read a book or a magazine. You can buy souvenirs in the streets, nearby the main monuments.

There are many shopping centers too. But if you prefer an alternative program, try the popular fairs, in Copacabana, Ipanema, Laranjeiras, where people sell fruits, vegetables, fish as well as typical handcraft.

What to eat - In Rio there are restaurants to every taste and every pocket. You will find a lot of places to eat the famous 'feijoada'. One of them is 'Botequim Informal' in Leblon beach. There, you can also visit a famous bar, 'Bracarense', which serves cold bear and delicious snacks. But there are international restaurants in Rio too, where you eat Italian, Germany, French or Portuguese food. If you want to eat barbecure, go to Barra da Tijuca, where the best steak houses in the city are located. A good suggestion is 'Aprazível' restaurant, in Santa Teresa, where you eat great food and admire Rio's amazing view.

Where to stay – All of the best internacional hotels are in Rio. If you want to stay near the village where the Pan will take place, choose a hotel in Barra da Tijuca. There are cheap and expensive hotels. If you have money to spend, stay in Copacabana Palace, where the rich and famous people stay in Rio. There you can be side by side with television stars, singers and actors. But if you don't have much money and want to stay in Zona Sul, there are several options in Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema e Leblon. It's better to make reservations before arriving in the city.

What to do – What would you like to do? In Rio, there are all types of entertainment - dancing, eating, sports, theater, concerts. If you want to enjoy natives' favorite enterntainment, go to Lapa, where you will dance samba while listening to Brazilian popular singers . But first you must visit the postcards of the city: Sugar Loaf and Corcovado. It's easy to get there, there are lots of tourist buses and the taxis are cheap. To the nature lovers, a good idea is to go for a walk in Tijuca's forest, Paineiras´s garden or the Botanic Garden. You can also rent a bike and ride all around the city enjoying the beautiful view of the beaches and the mountains. You can make a pit stop in Copacabana Fort, where there's a museum with the history of the Brazilian army and navy battles. Don't miss the coffee in Confeitaria Colombo, the oldest and most traditional coffee shop in Rio. The view of the Copacabana Bay is unforgettable.

When to go – Although the Panamerican Games will be in July, it's not summer in Rio, when the city gets full of tourists. If you like high temperatures, near or higher than forty degrees Celsius, to lay down or sunbathe in the beaches, the period between December and March is better. In July the weather is chilly, it doesn't rain and the temperature is lower. In the springtime, between September and December, it rains a lot. Therefore, you should not visit the city this time of the year.

Salejandra Alves dos Santos Class TPF82

106

Beaver Dam - 2/2007 Snow White's Dark Drama Once upon a time, there was a girl called Snow White and she was a slave of an ugly and awful witch. The ugly witch always said that Snow White was very ugly. Poor Snow White didn't have a mirror, but one day she was looking at her face in the water and she realized that she was pretty and got really mad at the witch and she ran away. The witch got really angry and sent a hunter to kill Snow White.

Snow White was the daughter of Chuck Norris, and when the hunter found her, she kicked him and he died.

Snow White found some yard elves and they were so cute that she decided to live with them. A few days later, Snow White received an apple by Sedex. She was eating the apple when she fainted on the floor. When the elves arrived, she was dead and they became emos and started to cry. They were burying her when suddenly a handsome magic prince appeared from nowhere to kiss her. They were almost kissing when she woke up and punched him. They found out that she suffered from catalepsy. The prince was so injured that he died; however, Snow White got so depressed that she died too!!

Isabella Cezario de Almeida Class 75-A

Who Huffs and Puffs Harder Once upon a time, there was a mother pig who had three little pigs. The three pigs grew so big that their mother said to them, “You are too big to live here any longer. You must go and build houses for yourselves.” Soon they met a man who was carrying some straw. “ Please, will you give me some straw? asked the little pig. “Yes,“ said the man, and gave the first little pig some straw.

Then the three little pigs built themselves a house of straw . The next day, the wolf came along the road. He came to the house of straw which the three little pigs had built. When the pigs saw the wolf coming, they ran inside their house and shut the door. The wolf knocked at the door and said, “Little pigs, let me come in,” “No, no,” said the pigs. “Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down,” said the wolf. The house of straw fell down and the three pigs ran to their mother's house. When they came in, the mother pig scared the wolf, and the wolf ran away to his house.

João Lucas Amaral Tonello Class 77 107

The Cute Sleepyhead (or Sleeping Beauty, as you wish) A time once upon (to stop saying “once upon a time”), a little girl was born. She was so pretty her parents, obviously to show their daughter's cuteness to everybody, threw a party. They invited everybody they could, and everybody went. There was a lot of music. There were also people talking, dancing, and eating. However, suddenly, the music stopped, for someone wanted to speak in the microphone. It was some kind of crazy old lady, who introduced herself as a fairy that was supposed to bless the little child. Nevertheless, the kid's parents thought the old woman was a maniac, so they kicked her out of their party. She came back, raging in fury, and threw a curse at the poor little baby. She was now supposed to sleep for a thousand years, when she turned 18 years old. The parents got really frightened, and some years later, when the girl celebrated her 18th birthday party, an old witch riding a horse, who was obviously the old woman from the birth party, came to take the girl to the place where she would get her little 1000-year sleep. The castle guards tried to stop the witch from taking the girl, but her horse spit fire on the guards, so there was only the option of sitting and crying for the guards, and also for the girl's parents. And that's what they did.

The witch took the girl to a tower and reminded her of the old spell she had cast on her: “I don't think you remember, but I threw a curse on you and now you must sleep for one thousand years on the floor of that tower,” said the witch. “And so what? By the way, don't you have a bed so I can sleep more comfortably?” asked the girl. “No, I don't. I'm really evil, don't you think?” “Yes, you are” - replied the girl – “Now put me to sleep. But I need you to tell me a story before I go to bed, or better, to the floor.” “That's not how it works, little girl! You are supposed to hurt your finger on a needle!” “I'm not going to do that” “What if I give you a bed?” “Now that's what I'm talking about!” finally said the girl.

And so the girl went to her almost eternal sleep.

Many years passed, and the parents were almost giving up their hopes, when the mother had a really great idea. They were going to hold a contest, to choose a strong and brave man to rescue their child. “But how did they know where their daughter was sleeping?” you ask me, but I don't know the answer. However, you know that fairy tales are like that. Then, when the big contest ended, one man stood as the winner. Although he wasn't the hero kind, he had won the contest, so the parents decided to send him to rescue their precious child. And so they gave him a horse, some armors and weapons, because the quest could be dangerous. The boy prepared himself psychologically and physically and set his way to the tower. What he didn't really know was that the witch had hired a dragon to guard the tower, as she needed to cook dinner.

After a long, long travel time, the boy saw the tower on the horizon. When he got there, he gave himself the option of going back, for he saw the dragon, but the hero's spirit spoke louder inside his heart. So he spoke to the dragon, in an effort to pass without a fight. “Hello, brave, great and supreme mister dragon. I am sure that I cannot win a fight against you, as I am a little man and you, a grand dragon,” said the boy and he was not lying. “Yeah, yeah, I already know that. So what do you want?” said the dragon. “Maybe you could let me pass to rescue the girl who is sleeping inside this tower.” “No, the salary is too high to accept your offer.” “What if I give you ten bucks?” the boy tried to make a deal. “Twenty?” – Negotiated the dragon. “Fifteen”. “OK. That was a good bargain. This job is so boring that I'll let you pass for only fifteen coins… Oh, God, what have I become?” said the dragon, letting the boy pass.

That's how our brave hero managed to pass through the dragon's heavy guard keeping. Then, he entered the tower and started climbing the stairs. Too bad he didn't see the elevator. He climbed, climbed, walked up (just to change a little bit) and climbed a little bit more. After some hours climbing, he got to the tower's last floor.

Nonetheless, what he didn't expect was that the witch was waiting for him, in her karate suit. In 108

addition, she started casting spells and kicking and whatever. There was a HUGE fight, but in the end, as everybody was expecting, our hero… lost. Just kidding. He won, and then approached the girl's bed. She was in a deep sleep. “The only way to wake her up is… by throwing water on her face,” thought the boy. And that was what he did, but it didn't work. He tried everything, from hammering the floor to asking the dragon to roar, but nothing worked. And then, one more time, I'll have to appeal to the fairy tale “cliché”, the magical kiss.

The boy approached her face, and suddenly: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU MANIAC?”, - yelled the girl. “Kissing you as in every fairy tale?” asked the boy. “Yeah, I know”, - she answered. “So why did you yell? I thought you were in a deep 1000-year sleep, weren't you?” “No, I was just resting my eyes.” “Really?” “No, of course not!” she replied. “So, how did you wake up?” the boy asked one more time. “You made so much noise I had to wake up. I was just pretending to sleep.”

“So I could kiss you now?” “No, I just wanted to sleep some more years.” “Ok… What about going home now?” finally asked the boy. “That sounds like a great idea! Let's go!”

So they went back to her house, flying on the back of the dragon, singing and things like that. But they didn't kiss because this is a child's fairy tale. Also, they didn't live happily ever after, for I hate that story ending. They married, had problems, and lived kind of happy until they died.

Gabriel Almeida Borges de Araújo Goes Class 75-A

The Three Little Pigs' Plot: The Wolf's Version “So you wanted to eat the pigs, huh?” said the Frog Cop. “No? Hey, relax OK. Tell us your story.”

“Well,” said the Wolf, “I was walking on my way home, back from the market, to make a cake.

Nevertheless, I realized that I didn't have any sugar in my house. So, I went back to the market.

When I got there, there wasn't any sugar. Then I thought: “Hey, I can ask my neighbors for the sugar, the Three Little Pigs, an…”

“Liar! He is lying, Frog Cop! He is a…”

“Calm down, you two”, said the Frog Cop. “Let him tell his story; keep going.”

“Where was I?” said the Wolf. “Oh, right. I could ask for sugar to the pigs and make a cake. When I got to the first pig's house, he was finishing his straw house. When I asked him for sugar, I sneezed and blew his house down. I tried to apologize, but he started to slander me. I asked him to stop, but he didn't. So I roared and he ran away. So I went to the other pig's house, the second. I got there and he was finishing his house too, but this time it was a wooden house. Then I asked him for some sugar. I am allergic to that kind of wood, so I sneezed again and blew down his house. He too started to slander me. I asked him to stop and it was like the other one. I roared and he ran away. So I went to the third pig's house. This time a concrete one. The other pigs were there. I asked for some sugar and he gave me some, finally. I asked them if they wanted some cake and they said yes, so I went to my home and made the cake. After I made the cake, I went back to their house. The third pig wasn't there. When I entered the house, the two pigs started to hit me until the third pig got there. Then the two pigs told a story and the third pig called the police. OK, here we are. So, what are you going to do now officer?”

Rogério Cândido Troncoso Class 77

109

A Tale of Various Fairies Once upon a time there was a man with a beautiful daughter. He was a widower and decided to get married again… Ok, everyone knows what happens after that, so let's move on…

It was the night of the prince's ball at the palace and he wanted all the women of the kingdom there. Cinderella knew that, but her stepmother would never let her go…

- Oh! Even if she let me go, I wouldn't have anything to wear… - cried Cinderella. This is the moment I appear! And like good fairy godmother, I helped my goddaughter by turning a squash into a carriage, some mice into white horses, her dirty clothes into a beautiful dress and, for her barefoot feet, crystal shoes! Of course.

At the ball, Cinderella met the charming prince and danced with him until… Midnight! Then she ran back home, leaving one of her crystal shoes on the stairs of the palace.

On the next day, the prince sent a footman to try the shoe on all the women's feet. He really wanted to know who the owner of that beautiful crystal shoe was. Finally, when the prince found out it belonged to Cinderella, he ran to meet her and asked: - Please, could you tell me where you bought those WONDERFUL shoes?

And do you know if they have my size?

That's when I noticed I could get rich selling pairs of my crystal shoes. So, I started to produce them on a big scale and now I have a website too.

There, the customers can place an order and, if you are interested, it is: www.fairygodmotherscrystalshoes.com Oh! About the prince: I found out he is planning a gay parade… Well, it's a free kingdom, isn't it?

Bárbara de Luca de Franciscis Gouveia Class 72

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Beaver Dam - 1/2008 My Dream Teacher

My Dream Mother A lot of people think that a perfect mother and a dream mother are synonyms, but, for me, they aren't.

If a perfect mother existed, she would let her son or daughter do whatever she or he wanted. However, a dream mother is totally different from a perfect mother; she's the one who always wants the best for her child and a mother like that has some characteristics.

First of all, she has to know how to say no, because if the child wants to do something bad, she would be able not to let her or him do that, which isn't a simple thing when you love the person.

Another very important thing is that a dream mother has to be her child's friend, but without losing her authority. If she were only her child's friend, she wouldn't know how to control her child. However, if she only had authority over her child, she wouldn't know what her child is doing.

I'm a lucky person, because my mother has all these characteristics. The truth is that my opinion about a dream mother is based on my mother: A woman who is my friend and a life's example.

Rebeca da Cruz Santana Class 356 111

Finding a good teacher is difficult.

After all, a teacher is somebody you'll have to listen to a lot, for some hours a day. Of course, the perfect teacher doesn't exist, because he/she is a person, but people who learn from him/her are not perfect either.

However, if I could find an ideal teacher, he/she would have some very specific personality characteristics.

In order to have such characteristics, a teacher has to have very good students too. If I could choose the ideal teacher, he/she would certainly be very intelligent. Perhaps not as intelligent as a Nobel prize winner, but still very intelligent. The teacher would be dynamic, smart, and would have an excellent mood. He/She would also be very funny, and would never bother a student. I wouldn't like my ideal teacher bothering me! I would not accept bad explanations.

Although I like teachers who are intelligent, I wouldn't like him/her to be too wise, because he would intimidate students.

However, the most important thing about my ideal teacher is that he/she love what he/she does from the bottom of his/her heart, but not being obsessive, because if the teacher is obsessive, he will be a nerd. In any case, he/she has to love his job, in order to be a dream teacher.

Max Gabriel Timo Barbosa Class 355

Beaver Dam - 2/2008

The Games? Never Give Up! There are controversies about whether Rio de Janeiro will be a good place to host the Olympics of 2016, but that will be explained in a few lines. Rio is competing with Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago, and compared to those, our city is in last place. In Tokyo, the estimated budget to host the Olympics is around 10 billion dollars, while in Rio it would reach only half of that. The popular support in Spain has reached 86% of the population; in Brazil, it was 78%. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has presented the previous evaluation, where Rio is in last place, while Tokyo leads in first. In the meantime, I believe it is a good idea for Rio to host the Olympic Games.

Even so, like everything in life, hosting the Olympic Games has its pros and cons. In 2007, Rio hosted the Pan American Games and that was a success. In spite of the fact that some competitions that were foreseen to happen at “Cidade do Rock� had to be canceled or transferred because of the weather, others occurred perfectly well, without any outside intervention.

Besides that, following the criteria of IOC, nothing changes the idea that, in spite of not being a competitor on same level as the others, Rio satisfies all the committee exigencies (that exclude Japan and Spain from the dispute). Luckily, Chicago is at the same level as Rio, still having to build a lot of things. Unfortunately, there's a huge difference between Rio and Chicago. We Brazilians do not have Uncle Sam to give us all the money that we'd need, but Chicago has. It'd not be easy fighting against such a power.

In any case, the means of transportation are kind of chaotic. During the Pan American Games, public transportation and traffic systems almost collapsed and were seen as insufficient, so for the Olympic Games, there are still an infinite number of things to change. However, the investments in this area are ready to come into force, and soon it wouldn't be an alarming problem (if we do not allow haphazard investments).

In conclusion, while the committee doesn't show its decision, we keep rooting. We are, after all, Brazilian, and we never give up. Besides this, we can't forget that God is Brazilian, too.

Jordanah Schroder Class 504

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Corruption – Free Construction?

Economic Evolution First

The role that sports has in our society has never had so much importance as nowadays. As a result, people tend to believe that a major sports event like the Olympic Games in only going to benefit the host, even though that is not true. In my opinion, an example of a city which would not be completely benefited by hosting the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Despite some improvements it may bring to this city, there are some decisive aspects that should be considered.

First of all, Brazilian politicians have given enough reasons to make us assume that there can not be a construction free of corruption. The buildings made to support the Games would became a playground for corrupt people and, in the end, the profit brought from the Games could not pay their costs.

Furthermore, the corruption could jeopardize many key services, lowering the quality of the Games and impairing some worldwide athletes.

In the second place, Rio is well known for its social problems like increased violence and high levels of criminality. It would be nearly impossible for the government to prevent the many kinds of criminals from threatening the security of the tourists or from exploiting them. In this case, the tourism of the whole country could be affected, causing great money loss. That could also make the government susceptible to drug lords' blackmail.

Thirdly, there is no doubt that Rio de Janeiro has insufficient infrastructure to host such an event.

Because of its haphazard growth, the city presents problems like jammed traffic, bustling streets and also clogged waterways whenever it rains. Thus, these issues can not be easily solved, as they demand huge reforms and a lot of investment. The Olympic Games would not be worth it after all, being only a waste of time and money from the citizens.

In conclusion, I believe that it is a bad idea to have the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro due to its violence and criminality, the excessive corruption and the lack of infrastructure. These factors definitely make the Games unworthy of the money spent in them, as they would eventually become a disappointment.

The Olympic Games is the biggest sports event in the world. It is a big responsibility to host it, a responsibility that our country, Brazil, unfortunately doesn't have. Besides that, a lot of other soaring problems need to be taken into consideration. I believe it is a bad idea to hold the Olympic Games in Rio. There are some advantages to holding these Games, like the reputation Brazil would start to have in the international scene if everything goes well, which is improbable. Also, the tacky structure that was built for Pan American Games in 2007 could be used, lessening i nv e s t m e n t s , t i m e a n d m o n e y necessary.

The awe-inspiring scenery of Rio contributed to its classification among other big cities of the world; however, we shouldn't be fooled and think it would help in the choice. The Games depend more on the country's structure and competence than any other thing.

On the other hand, there are many disadvantages to hosting this kind of enormous event. The air traffic, for example, which is already a problem in Brazil, would be even worse. Thousands of people would overload the system.

The avenues and streets of RJ would become clogged everywhere. There is little doubt that thieves and kidnappers would take advantage of the situation and rob tourists, athletes and journalists from all places in the world.

Brazilian politicians should review our candidacy to hold the Games in the future. The problems it would cause are bigger than the advantages; they would destroy our economy. We should first make a better country, and then think like rich ones.

Gabriel Avohay Class 504

Luiz Eduardo Zancanaro Class 506 113

$ Should Rio de Janeiro Host the Next Olympic Games? $

Captivating Cariocas Hosting the Olympic Games is a big responsibility for any city of the world. To hold such an important event, the selected host city must have political support, many financial resources and great competition venues. Also, it must offer accommodation of good quality for athletes and tourists as well as an excellent transport infrastructure and public security. For these reasons, I believe it's a good idea to hold the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

There is no doubt whatsoever that Rio has good chances to be selected by the International Olympic committee – IOC – for the Summer Olympic Games of 2016. And if it happens, Rio will be the first city in Latin America to organize it. Definitely, it will be historical and remarkable for this awe-inspiring city that has so many natural beauties and such fantastic scenery.

Furthermore, Rio has the advantage of having already hosted the Pan-American Games of 2007. So, according to Rio's Candidacy Application, 54% of the competition venues have already been built. This means that Rio will have fewer expenses with new constructions and, probably, it will be easier to get more sponsors for the Games, like the Federal Government, big companies, the Bank of international Development, etc.

Besides that, Rio has outstanding hotels available for thousands of tourists and it will have a big Olympic Village located very close to the competition venues in order to facilitate the access of the athletes. Moreover, it's widely recognized that Rio has the most receptive and friendly people of the country, the so called “cariocas”, which means Rio's inhabitants.

Nevertheless, Rio has some problems like any bustling city in the world. Its haphazard transportation systems make any foreigners, and even Brazilians, get lost. The roads are clogged with traffic.

Also, the public security isn't efficient enough to fight the drug traffickers, robbers and other delinquents. And this is what generates violence in Rio. In spite of these problems, if Rio were chosen, there would be some plans to develop and improve its public transportation and security. New public policies would be created to reduce criminality among young people and motivate them to practice sports; most of the delinquents who don't have an activity to do in their free time are influenced by their environment to commit a crime.

Therefore, it's known than there are many good reasons to make Rio de Janeiro hold the Olympic Games in 2016, even though there are some problems that can affect them. However, the organization of the Games can improve the city's situation and solve some of its problems.

Tiago de Oliveira Vieira Class 502

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Some of us may think that we are ready to host the Olympic Games in the next decade, but I do not think Rio is ready for such a big event. In fact, two years ago, Rio de Janeiro held the Pan American Games, which was not a total disaster but was a little haphazard because Rio was not prepared enough to hold an event that required so much organization such as: security, accommodations and well prepared sites for the games to be held in. In any case, it seems that people from Rio said the security service offered was quite satisfactory.

As for the Olympic Games, however, Rio would have to spend too much money in buildings and, unfortunately, Rio is not that wealthy a state.

Even if Rio were rich enough to spend money with games stuff, it would be much more fair to spend money on education instead of on games, simply because I think that education is more important than sports.

I n c o n c l u s i o n , B ra z i l ' s government should review its priorities. What is more important? Educating people or spending so much money on something that another much wealthier country could do much better?

Gabriela Brandão Class 504

Beaver Dam - 1/2009

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Beaver Dam - 2/2009

Naturetto, the Best in Town The best restaurant to go for a Sunday family lunch in Brasília is Naturetto. People who say that healthy food isn't tasteful or that are prejudiced against vegetarian food certainly have never had lunch at Naturetto. Naturetto's specialty is its variety of fresh salads, vegetarian dishes and juices. But they also serve fish, barbecue, pizza and other warm dishes, everything offered on a big table. As it is common in Brazil, Naturetto offers a self-service lunch paid for per kilo. This solves the problem of different tastes of families who have young children. In the evenings, they also offer soup and other à la carte options. They also have many interesting combinations of fresh fruit juice (although some are available only as frozen pulp) and guaraná, as well as an unforgettable table of desserts. My personal favorite juice is pineapple with mint. Naturetto is a pleasant place, very well decorated, with wooden tables and seats, brick walls and interesting old objects hanging from the ceiling. During lunch time (12-14), it can be very full and they don't take reservations but, as there are plenty of seats and people come and go all the time, you probably won't have to wait at all. Parking the car may be difficult, but it offers valet service. As nothing is perfect, Naturetto's downside is its price. It's more expensive than the average lunch per kilo place in Brasília, including other vegetarian restaurants – about 33 Brazilian reais per kilo. However, it might not sound too much for someone not living in Brazil, and what is more important, the price is totally worthy. A good tip is to control the temptation of putting too much food on the plate because you simply can't choose among the options. All credit cards are accepted. The restaurant is located in Brasília, 403 south. Try tastier veggie restaurants in Brasília and run away from junk food!

Rafael Peres Peres Nunes Class 207 126

Don't Repent; Repeat!

The best restaurant to go out a budget in Brasilia is the Mormaii surf bar. They serve healthy and light foods like shushis, salads and sandwiches. They have the best açaí in the world! The Mormaii is a good place to visit with a boyfriend / girlfriend, friends, colleagues or family. Also, the restaurant is situated in Paranoá Lake Side and this cozy place is very trendy with soft light, nice music and good waiters and waitresses. The Mormaii Surf Bar has two floors; into the building on the first floor, is Mormaii Store, where they sell clothes, boards and accessories for surfing. However, outside they have a big balcony with comfortable and spacious seating. The second floor is reserved, smaller and calmer than the first floor, but has comfortable seating too. For an appetizer, I recommend one of the various salads on the menu; they have the freshest greens, fruits and sauces in the city. For an entrée, I recommend sushis and sashimis with salmon, tuna and white fish; it's fresher and healthier than other dishes. In addition, I recommend one of the big Riders Sandwiches for the people who don't like crude fish. The big Rider sandwich has crunchy and big bread, with fresh greens and succulent meats. It's perfect! To accompany your sandwich, you can have their natural juice with tropical fruits. Also , to accompany your Japanese food, I recommend a drink with sake and strawberries. For dessert, you can try the brownie with ice cream, strawberries and melty chocolate; it's marvelous! The best of all is that you can eat delicious, healthy and light foods for accessible prices in one of the most beautiful places in Brasilia! Don't fail to visit this restaurant; you not repent!

Carolina Cordeiro de Moura Class: 209

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Beaver Dam - 1/2010 A Picturesque Place I love being in Brasília. It's a very good place and I like it a lot. Living in Brasília has positive and negative points. The positive points are that in Brasília there are a lot of beautiful places to see and take pictures of. The weather in Brasília is very good and there is a beautiful lake called Paranoá Lake. The negative point is that in Brasília there is no beach, so we can't swim on the hot days. I think that this is the only negative point because I like to live in Brasília a lot. I live in Asa Norte. It's a very good place here in Brasília. It's near my friends' houses, so I can go to their houses when I want to. Brasília is a very good place to live and I want to live here for the rest of my life. I think that everyone should visit here.

Bruno Toffano Seidel Calazans Class 65

Infinity In only fifty years, Brasilia, in its butterfly-shaped format, put dreams to fly and is said to have the highest sky. The pioneers came here. Lots of pioneers made their simple life in the face of nothing, the “cerrado” of Brazil. The “nothing” now became a real life in a worthy city with malls, supermarkets, stores, friends and, unfortunately, violence too. Violence sometimes intercepts us when we go down to play, or only go to the commercial part of our neighborhood. We have to be big and be in a bigger group to play soccer in front of our building or only talk without our parents around. People use more and more cars, and Brasilia isn't different. We have a lot of traffic! We have satellite cities that inflate the city. Also, Brasilia has a lot of wonderful options too, like to travel around to Serra da Mesa, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Pirinópolis and Goiânia. I love to walk in the Brasilia streets with friends, walk to Mc Donald's to have an ice cream, run in the rain, go to the video store to get a horror movie, go to the club to swim in the pool, cry in font of the computer, cook and eat candies, make a scrapbook, dance, read, study, look at the view, laugh at silly jokes. In the end, simply enjoy, celebrate! Brasilia's architecture is beautiful. We have an organized town with people from different cultures, a mixture of all regions of Brazil. Brasilia is a place of meetings. Living in Brasilia is very good. Brasilia is much more than the political capital. Brasilia has many points like the curves of Niemeyer, the exuberant nature of Lake Paranoá and famous trees and superblocks. All of these help me understand why Brasilia has the title “World Cultural Heritage”. And in the end we have thoughts and opinions forming peoples, peoples forming families, families forming groups, groups forming Brasilia.

Name: Luíza Silva Brito Class 61

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Beaver Dam - 2/2010 Why Cant’t I Talk With My Dog? I want to say I really love all apps that my Ipod has. They are awesome! But I have a crazy idea for a new app. How about an app that can translate human language to dog language? I know that is not possible, but if one day someone creates that, I’m sure that all the dog lovers will use it. Can you imagine? You are at work and can have a conversation with your dog, which is in your home. Oh, it will be awesome! Can you comment on this idea for meaningful communication between people and canines?

Gabriela Ferreira Alfama Class 257-A

Shazam For Music Lovers I’ve recently bought an iPhone 4 in order to download several apps. Among my favorite apps, Shazam is, undoubtedly, the one I use the most. Sometimes, you can listen to a song and really enjoy it; nevertheless, you don’t know the name of that song or who sings it. Have you ever been in this situation? Shazam helps you to get those pieces of information. You just need to put your iPhone near the device and wait for a few seconds. Then, you’ll see the information you want, even the album’s cover! To use Shazam, it’s necessary to be connected to the internet;however, you can use it without internet too! Shazam will save your search and when you’re connected to the internet, it’ll show you the piece of information. Shazam is easy to use, practical, and a great tool for music lovers. Try using it and after leave your opinion in the comment area! tags/labels:App,iphone,music,shazam Josenilson Antônio da Silva Class 251-S

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Beaver Dam - 1/2011

You Can Change the World…

Dear Mister President, I'm in High School, so my political interests are starting to show. I would like to make a few questions about the problems here in Brasília and what we see about the U.S. in my schools, Casa Thomas Jefferson and Sigma.

As you come to Brazil, you should know the biggest problems in our country and how the U.S can help the needy countries with the power of your country in the world. I think, comparing you with the last president of the U.S., you can change the world.

So, how are you going to do that? What “arms” can you use to make these changes?

Thanks for reading.

Ana Luíza Ana Luíza de Carvalho Maia Leite Class 35

Clarissa Thomazelli B. Braga Class K-17

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Luiz Guilherme Nogueira Lim Class TPK-17 Tell me About you

Big Actions Beginning Small...

When are you going to Iran?

Which is your favorite sport?

How often do you read the Holy Bible?

Why did you want to be a president?

Who is your favorite person?

How many times have you played soccer?

What do you want for the Brazilian people?

Where is the most beautiful place in the world?

How do you think we could achieve world peace?

Every big action starts with a really tiny one. Maybe this initiative will have a very positive influence on all the American culture.

The habit of eating junk food and drinking soda instead of vegetables and fruits and juices may just reduce a lot with Michelle's action. Congratulations.

Eduardo JosĂŠ de Oliveira Class TF6A-S

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Eduardo Henrique F. Moreira Class 505

Flรกvia Diniz de Rezende Class E1-MR

You are the Coolest...

Dear Mr. President Obama, First of all, you are the coolest person in the world! Seriously, I think that everybody should look up to a person like you.

The idea of your healthy garden is (almost) as amazing as you are, especially considering how unhealthy people are nowadays. I also think that you should try planting cucumbers, my favorite.

Sincerely, Elisa PS: Could you please follow me on twitter? @elisaescan, thank you.

Elisa Scandiuzzi Maciel Class 554A 132

Beaver Dam - 2/2011 Citizenship Requires Responsibility A country's educational system has the power to shape its society. Most importantly, it is the basis for the formation of active citizens that sustain and strengthen a democracy. Therefore, access to quality education constitutes one of the main rights of a civilian; hence, it is a duty of the state to provide it.

The Brazilian Federal Constitution established, in 1988, an article concerning those matters and aiming for the promotion of schooling for everyone.

Moreover, it is determined as an obligation of the parents to register and follow their child’s performance at school, in the course of time. The key point here is that citizenship is not only about having rights; it also demands responsibility and engagement from each and every part involved.

Unfortunately, the present scenario in Brazil’s school system is quite worrying. To analyze it is to face an evident need for investments in structure, materials and the qualification of professionals, those regarding particularly public institutions. Even though it is stipulated that the government shall reserve twenty-five percent of the State's budget for education, mismanagement of resources and, most frequently, corruption often threaten our students’ rights.

This is reflected in the country’s poor results in several examinations, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Nevertheless, a lot of achievements were made in the last decades, revealing significant advances in the field. For instance, studies show that, today, one third of the Brazilian population attends school daily, an increase in comparison to previous rates. At the same time, illiteracy levels have been dropping notably through years, being one of our government’s goals to eradicate it. Needless to say, those are all consequences of greater attention directed to this area through the past years.

All things considered, it's reasonable to infer that education must become a priority in our nation's development. This can only be done with efforts from both the authorities and citizens, who ought to be informed and active, it being their responsibility to look out for necessary improvements in the area. That way, we can guarantee the maintenance of citizenship and the prosperity of our land.

Eduardo Miranda Cesar Class: 555A

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Think Social, Local and Mobile

Think Now! Act Now!

In order to answer how the technology in the 21st century can help you become a better world citizen, we can use a new word: “SoLoMo”. You can't find this word in the dictionaries just yet, but nowadays its use is very common, especially in the information technology field. It means that you have to think SOCIAL, LOCAL, and MOBILE. These are the three characteristics that can influence an individual to become a better world citizen. First, because a better world citizen must be a social and yet cooperative individual who cares about other people from different countries around the world.

More than that, such an individual must have the responsibility to share his ideas and engage others to change the current scenario he is in. The Internet with its many social network websites can facilitate that. In fact, we saw this recently in the manifestation against corruption that occurred in Brazil, last September 7th, completely organized through Facebook, one of the most popular social network websites there is. Second, we have to think locally; this concept is connected with the GPS technology. But we can think about the necessity of understanding our local context and monitor what is near us, like our family, streets, buildings, schools, churches, government, etc. It means that, wherever you are, you have the responsibility to care about the environment around you. For instance, the manifestation against corruption occurred first in Brasília and then its model was reproduced locally in Rio de Janeiro, last September 20th. Finally, MOBILE technology like smartphones and tablet computers brings the capacity to be connected, to receive and send information on-line, making it possible to take action very fast, just like when we receive messages about a traffic jam and how to find an alternate route, this way helping all the transportation system. Thus, the technology implicit in the word “SOLOMO” can enhance not only the skills and knowledge, but also the attitude that we must have to become better world citizens in the 21st century.

Have you ever stopped and thought about other people, our world, your actions or something you could do to help and be a good citizen? If you haven't, do it now.

Think about the homeless people or those who don't have real parents, and when I say real parents I mean present parents, who really care about their kids. Think about the kids who live at the hospital, people who don't have good health and spend all their life taking medication.

Think about families that live on the streets, people who rob to survive. Think about the people starving in the whole world, think about the drugged people, think about the kids that should be at school and actually are selling candies on the streets. These people know what suffering is. Fortunately, there are people who care about them. These people help preparing and distributing meals, helping the students who have difficulty, the tutors, coaching kids sports that they can't pay for, helping children that are mentally challenged, visiting hospitals and nursing homes and really giving hope.

Some people help animals, which most of the times were abandoned by the people that swore to be faithful to them.

Everybody can help, teenagers and kids can help. Some schools make projects to help, where the students visit hospitals, orphans, and old people. Being a good citizen is not only based on helping other people; being a good citizen is also based on helping your city and your country, and there are many ways to do it. For example, one of the biggest actions that helps the world's pollution and the cleaning of your city is always putting the trash in the trash can. Simple actions can build a better future. It is time for you to start helping others and being a good citizen!

Leonardo Ferreira de Oliveira Class: IC2

Guilherme Bonaccorsi de B. Menezes Class 74-A 134