Fred

Things about Fred, the teacher:

Teaches at a university, a public school and for this program.

Went to a military school during the dictatorship and was punished with jail time for many reasons, including going to a protest and calling in a bomb threat to prevent an exam being held on a Sunday. Says he loved going to jail.

Speaks some of about 8 languages.

Spent 10 straight years traveling, supposedly going to nearly every country on the planet, including three months in China with no Chinese language skills.

His command of English is such that he often ends up saying things which, while they do not make the best sense, seem somehow truer than something that literally made sense. Because of this, he is often asked for clarification by students who are unable to deal with this, and his answers are often deliciously unsatisfactory. “If you ask me, are we destroying the Amazon, I would say yes.” “The first twins in the world come from Nigeria. Second, Bahia.” “São Paulo is a city of 19 thousand people.” Believes world wide social unrest will break out in 2014.