Technically, I don´t live in a "Third World" country, but I live in what´s considered to be an "emerging" nation. Much of Brazil actually has all of the benefits and issues of any so-called "first world" nation. However, the part of Brazil that I live in is acknowledged, even by the people who live here, to be third world because of the deteriorating condition of the infrastructure.
There is also the issue of the devaluation of the currency in comparison with the US Dollar, which currently stands at more than 2.5 Brazilian Reals to one US Dollar. I get paid in Reals, not dollars. This becomes a problem when I want to travel back to my home country for some reason, but it's not really a problem living here.
When I moved here, I did so without trying to have negative bias in my expectations. I knew things would be different, so I just wanted to accept them as they were and would be. For the most part this has been a good strategy in helping me to adapt here.
The other issue has been the language. Now that I have been living here almost four years, I feel fairly confident in communicating. People seem to understand my Portuguese,and I can understand almost everything anyone else says to me, even on technical subjects. I would say I am fluent, although I know I have a strong accent, and I´m actively working on that, since I have recognized that it can be a problem sometimes.
The fact that Brazil is emerging is bringing with it another issue that´s affecting me personally. That is the issue of education. Everyone in this country is very interested in education, and the evidence is in the fact that this frontier city has seven universities! The English schools are full of students, and I have just taken a job as the coordinator of an American High School program here in the middle of the Amazon region. The issue for me is that I am starting to feel that my education is inadequate for my professional position and for my future, and my current income and work schedule will not allow me to pursue a graduate level education. I already have some graduate credits, but I never finished my master degree program.
My career track has also changed, so I would like to pursue a master´s program that would be appropriate for what I am doing now as an educator, since I am really enjoying it. So, here is my plea:
Is there anyone reading this that would be willing and able to help me?
