PARABENS!!!!! (Congratulations!) The United States Army Golden Knights (Parachute Team) has competed and done quite well at the 5th Annual CISM World Military Games. The Mens team took 3rd in the Formations event (Formaturas) and the Women took 2nd in Formations, 1st in Accuracy (Precisao), and 1st Overall. GO ARMY! I got lots of pictures of the final jumps into the awards ceremony as well as many of the individual and team title winners. I will post them as soon as possible.
Also, as part of my class schedule, I will be taking PL373 Life Cycle and Human Development via email at West Point while I am here in Brazil. I started doing some of my coursework and looked over a few of my assignments, one of which includes observing a child aged 3-11 for some time and apply my knowledge of developmental psychology to my observations to write a report on my findings. Finding said child should prove to be an interesting endeavor.
Our Lieutenant (Tenente) contacts here at the academy have planned to take us to a National Park (Parque Nacional) tomorrow (amanha) so it's time to call it a night (noite). The Portuguese word of the day is "para-quedismo" which means "parachuting". Tomorrow is a big day (grande dia)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
LDAC Complete and a Long Flight
Finalmente! LDAC is complete (shout outs to 4th Platoon, B Co., 5th Reg. "Quick, Look Serious") and I have returned from Washington and subsequently left for and landed in Brazil. It's taken me a few days to get internet access and what not but I am finally back online.
The last few days have been a little hectic what with international flights, the 5th annual CISM taking place here at AMAN (Something involving the olympic equivalent for military teams), getting acclimated to a new school, and trying to pick up a little Portuguese along the way. As my novos amigos (new friends), the cadets here at AMAN say, "ficar peixe", which directly translates to "stay fish" but the context meant "relax". Or maybe I have a long way to go........
It's late and there are many things to do tomorrow but with any luck, pictures from Rio will be uploaded soon with another update even sooner. Portuguese word of the day is a phrase this time (you're welcome, readers.) It's "que legal" which means, "how cool" or as one cadete put it, "wicked sick".
Tchau for now!
The last few days have been a little hectic what with international flights, the 5th annual CISM taking place here at AMAN (Something involving the olympic equivalent for military teams), getting acclimated to a new school, and trying to pick up a little Portuguese along the way. As my novos amigos (new friends), the cadets here at AMAN say, "ficar peixe", which directly translates to "stay fish" but the context meant "relax". Or maybe I have a long way to go........
It's late and there are many things to do tomorrow but with any luck, pictures from Rio will be uploaded soon with another update even sooner. Portuguese word of the day is a phrase this time (you're welcome, readers.) It's "que legal" which means, "how cool" or as one cadete put it, "wicked sick".
Tchau for now!
Monday, June 20, 2011
T minus 17 hours
Greetings from New Canaan, CT (for the last time until Christmas Leave),
On the eve of my morning flight to more training out at Ft. Lewis, WA, it has struck me that these are my last few hours in Connecticut until I return from my semester in Brazil. Hmm.......it seems like we never have quite enough time to do all that we want to when we finally get some time to ourselves. The last 3 days have been nice but far too short my my liking. Quite a nice break to spend some time with friends and family, though.
I will be out of phone and internet access while I am training at Ft. Lewis so my next correspondence will likely be over a month from now. Enjoy your summers (summer details for you cadets and summer jobs for you civilians, and being a total bum if you're Kyle Gerardi) and stay tuned for news and shenanigans from my upcoming adventures in Brazil!
Portuguese word of the day is, "Desculpe!" Which means "Sorry!" As in, "Sorry for not writing more."
See you all soon enough!
On the eve of my morning flight to more training out at Ft. Lewis, WA, it has struck me that these are my last few hours in Connecticut until I return from my semester in Brazil. Hmm.......it seems like we never have quite enough time to do all that we want to when we finally get some time to ourselves. The last 3 days have been nice but far too short my my liking. Quite a nice break to spend some time with friends and family, though.
I will be out of phone and internet access while I am training at Ft. Lewis so my next correspondence will likely be over a month from now. Enjoy your summers (summer details for you cadets and summer jobs for you civilians, and being a total bum if you're Kyle Gerardi) and stay tuned for news and shenanigans from my upcoming adventures in Brazil!
Portuguese word of the day is, "Desculpe!" Which means "Sorry!" As in, "Sorry for not writing more."
See you all soon enough!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Ft. Benning Georgia
Greetings from the South!,
I'm here in scenic Georgia on CTLT and boy is it HOT! Hard to believe I've been here for almost 2 full weeks already but time flies when you're busy. CTLT stands for "Cadet Troop Leader Training" and gives cadets a chance to get away from West Point and experience what real units are doing in their daily routines.
I am attached to 198th Infantry Training Brigade which runs basic training for all future infantrymen. Almost 20,000 soldiers are processed through the 198th every year and the men of Alpha Company, First Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (my unit) are no exception. They are roughly 3 weeks into their 14 week basic training experience and are training hard. I have been participating in much of their training to include to CS gas chamber, the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST Range, an electronic simulation of marksmanship training) as well as land navigation and their early morning physical training as well.
I have about a week and a half left here, a few days off at home for some much needed rest and relaxation and then LDAC with some fellow West Point cadets and many more of our ROTC counterparts (more to follow on that later!). Following that, I'm off to Brazil! Only 43 more days!
Portuguese word of the day is "foto". It means "photo". A little bit of a cop out, yes, but check out "meus fotos" (my photos) from the Toby Keith concert I saw down here at Fort Benning. They're up on Facebook!
Gotta run, until next time!
I'm here in scenic Georgia on CTLT and boy is it HOT! Hard to believe I've been here for almost 2 full weeks already but time flies when you're busy. CTLT stands for "Cadet Troop Leader Training" and gives cadets a chance to get away from West Point and experience what real units are doing in their daily routines.
I am attached to 198th Infantry Training Brigade which runs basic training for all future infantrymen. Almost 20,000 soldiers are processed through the 198th every year and the men of Alpha Company, First Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment (my unit) are no exception. They are roughly 3 weeks into their 14 week basic training experience and are training hard. I have been participating in much of their training to include to CS gas chamber, the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST Range, an electronic simulation of marksmanship training) as well as land navigation and their early morning physical training as well.
I have about a week and a half left here, a few days off at home for some much needed rest and relaxation and then LDAC with some fellow West Point cadets and many more of our ROTC counterparts (more to follow on that later!). Following that, I'm off to Brazil! Only 43 more days!
Portuguese word of the day is "foto". It means "photo". A little bit of a cop out, yes, but check out "meus fotos" (my photos) from the Toby Keith concert I saw down here at Fort Benning. They're up on Facebook!
Gotta run, until next time!
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