Today was a full day of elicitation with a session in the morning and afternoon. In the morning there were two groups working on elicitation, Akio continued to work on Ye’kwana and Greg on Macuxi. Diene – the Taurepang consultant – was unable to attend in the morning, so I observed Greg’s session. While observing I also worked on our upcoming presentation that we will be giving at UERR Rorainópolis and Boa Vista. For lunch, we made our second visit to Restaurant Trigo’s, a local restaurant that we all enjoy.
In the afternoon all three elicitation sessions ran. Suzi, Diene and I worked on more complex phrases in Taurepang and learned some features of tense in Taurepang. We make quick progress with each session, and although slightly overwhelming, learning all this new information is such a rewarding process. Diene is incredibly smart and provides us with translation after translation with ease. After a fruitful afternoon session we stopped by Cafe Espresso for a quick coffee and tea. The cafe is like many others, but full of Brazilian goodies and drinks such as tapioca, coxinhas, and guava juice. Afterwards to end the day we visited the local shopping centre Boa Vista Gardens. We ended the mall trip with pictures in front of the Boa Vista sign like the tourists we are.
Today was equal parts productive and enjoyable. At day 4 of elicitation we all feel as though we are finding a groove in our processes. We are learning more about the languages and adding more pieces to the puzzle. As well, as time goes on our consultants are becoming more comfortable with us, as are we with them. Personally, I look forward to seeing Diene every day, learning new things from her, getting to see more of her personality, and taking selfies! As I mentioned earlier she’s incredibly smart and has such a vivacious personality.
However, we all came to the realisation that we are halfway through our trip! This wonderful experience is quickly coming to an end we are all trying to enjoy every moment of it. This includes taking photos almost everywhere we go, especially of the funny things. Today we saw a school called MapleBear Canadian School that made us all laugh. After a quick google search, I’ve found it is a bilingual English-Portuguese school run similarly to the French immersion system in Canada.
All in all today was a fruitful day. As we trudge along with our work this evening I am full of gratitude for this experience. Tomorrow brings new challenges, discoveries, and experiences that I am so excited for!
By Octavia Andrade-Dixon
Research Excursion Program 