Mar E Floresta

Mar e Floresta, literally translated to "Sea and Forest", is the Portuguese immersion camp offered by Concordia Language Villages. The camp is located in Maplelag Ski Resort, of Callaway, Minnesota. As of now, Mar e Floresta uses about half of the Maplelag area and the other half is used by the Chinese village Sen Lin Hu. Prior to sharing space with the Chinese village, Mar e Floresta shared space with the Spanish village, El Lago del Bosque, for three consecutive summers (2008-2010). When the camp is not in session, namely during the winter, the campus is used as the cross-country ski resort known as Maplelag Resort.

Mar e Floresta, having been launched in 2008, is the newest immersion village available by Concordia Language Villages. It opened its first Creditor Program in the summer of 2010. As of now, the camp receives about 20 kids a year. As one may expect, one of its largest goals is to attract more campers.

Daily life

Mar e Floresta mainly serves youths of age 7-18. One program available to all kids of this age group is the two-week Explorer program, where each villager stays at the camp and learns about the Portuguese language and culture through Concordia Language Village's world-renowned immersion program. Starting 2010, students in high school (ages 14–18) can take the Creditor Program, an intensive four-week learning experience where a student may meet and receive credit for a year's worth of language education.

Villagers can choose different activities every few days. Many activities are offered, and often teach some aspect of Lusophone culture. For example, an activity class is offered for capoeira, a Brazilian martial art dance. A villager may also decide to take jewellery, cooking, ceramics, guitar, sports - including soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and canoeing. In 2010, a camping activity was added to the choices and includes lessons on orientation, basic survival, first aid skills, and food preparation. At the end of the week, a camper may decide to participate in a one night camp out in tents. All activities are taught completely in Portuguese, unless there is some safety concern involved and everything must be understood completely.

Time	Activity
7:30	Bom Dia (Wake up)
8:30	Pequeno almoço (Breakfast)
9:00	Limpeza da aldeia (Tidy up village)
9:15	Bate-Papo/Aula (Class)
10:15	Merenda (Snack)
10:45	Atividade Um (Activity 1)
11:30	Bate Papo/Aula 2 (Class 2)
12:45	Almoço (Lunch)
1:30	Cochilo (Nap)
2:30	Aula 3 ou Atividade 2 (Class 3 for Creditors or Activity 2 for Explorers)
3:30	Aldeia Aberta (Free Time)
4:45	Lusomania (Lusophone cultural activity)
5:15	Canto, dança e jogos (Singing, dancing and games)
6:15	Jantar (Dinner)
7:00	Pausa (Breaktime to prepare for night activity)
7:15	Atividade da Noite (Night Activity)
8:45	Estudo Dirigido ou Telenovela (Study hall for Creditors, or Brazilian soap opera for Explorers)
9:30	Para as Casas (Return to the cabins)
9:45	Bate Papo da Casa (Cabin Counsel)
10:30	Luzes Apagadas (Lights out)

Mar e Floresta deans

Years	Dean	Site
2008-present	Kirsten "Salomé" Addison	Callaway, Minnesota

Bate-Papo and Aula

The schedule at Mar e Floresta includes an hour's worth of a class. The class for Explorers is known as Bate-Papo and the class for Creditors is called "Aula". This is the most formal type of education at the village, and both of the two programs are divided by skill level. Of course, the different classes cover different topics so while one level may be working on basic greetings another level may be discussing poetry and literature. The lessons are conducted in Portuguese, and students are heavily encouraged to use Portuguese as well.

Lusomania

Lusomania consists of an explanation of a Lusophone cultural phenomena and an activity. For example, if a counselor talked about a musical movement in Brazil, the activity might be to try and recreate some of that music.

Cabin Council

Cabin Council is a way for the villagers to reflect on the events of the day. Usually villagers and counselors talk about "highs" and "lows" of the day, while answering a "question of the day". Cabin Council also serves as a way for villagers and counselors to resolve conflicts, thus creating a stronger village community. It is a common tradition throughout all of CLV.

Atividade da noite

The night activity is typically a simulation of an aspect of Lusophone culture. These simulations can range from a reenactment of Carnaval to a global commerce game that raises awareness about industry worldwide. Night activities are different each day and are generally more immersive, considering the large amount of time devoted to it.

Goals of the Village

Global Citizen Mission

One of the largest priorities of Mar e Floresta is to honor the Concordia Language Villages Mission Statement. Word by word, the statement goes, "The mission of Concordia Language Villages is to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community." Whether this is interpreted as language acquisition or awareness of foreign cultures, Mar e Floresta strives to turn all villagers into true global citizens.

Issues Facing the Village

Being the newest village offered by CLV, Mar e Floresta is one of the lesser-known immersion programs. Every year, it receives about 20 villagers, as compared to the 150 received at El Lago del Bosque, Bemidji. The small number of campers is the primary reason why it shares its campus with Sen Lin Hu. If the number of villagers were to exceed 50, then Mar e Floresta would move to its own site. As one may expect, one of the most important goals is to bring more villagers to the camp, and to raise awareness of Portuguese as a globally important language. For example, it is relatively unknown that Portuguese is spoken by 230,000,000 people worldwide, is the national language of 9 countries, and is considered the 6th most spoken language in the world. It is one of the lingua franca of Africa, and there are more Portuguese speakers in South America than there are Spanish speakers.

See also

• Sen Lin Hu
• Portuguese Language
• Concordia Language Villages

External links

• http://marefloresta.villagepages.org/
• http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/
• http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/Languages/portuguese1.php
• http://www.concordialanguagevillages.org/newsite/villagers1.php