Thomas Linford brazil 2011
What's the best nugget of advice you have ever heard? "Never take life too seriously. After all, no one gets out alive."
The Horse and the Cow
December 9, 2010
My family loves talking fast. They also love playfully shouting at each other at the top of their lungs. And then there’s me, frantically trying to figure out what my family says as they rapidly yell at me while smiling and laughing.
Fortunately, I was able to put these troublesome problems to the side one morning, when I had figured out what I needed to wear in order to go working with my host father to tend the bulls on horseback. Quite pleased with myself, I put on khakis, a long sleeved tan shirt, a hat, and tan Polo shoes.…
Two Week Old Portuguese Brain Put to Work
November 29, 2010
Three weeks ago at night, my host mom came rushing into my room, cell phone in hand, talking the fastest Portuguese she’s ever spoken to me. “Eu tou conversando com um homem quem não fala Português, mas ele fala inglês. Eu não falo inglês. Você pode falar com ele?”
“Uhh…” I had been chatting on Skype with a friend from back home, and it took me a second to reduce what she said to the important bits. She was talking to a guy who only spoke English. Got it. I guess that means I have to start talking to him.…
Why GCY?
September 30, 2010
I always get asked the question “why did you do Global Citizen Year?” I’ve come up with some good answers causing nods in my listeners, and other answers that cause my listener to change the subject. I’ve said that Global Citizen Year will better prepare me for college, or that Global Citizen Year would be boosting my leadership skills.
But the truth is that I don’t really know why. Yes, I do think that spending an extended period of time in a developing country is something everyone should do and should become standard, but I don’t know why I think…
The San Franciscan
September 25, 2010
My name is Tom Linford and I was born and raised in San Francisco, California and I will be going to Brazil next year. My alma mater, Lowell High School, is the oldest high school west of the Mississippi. It is an extremely high caliber high school academically because it is the top public high school in San Francisco and proctors the second most AP exams total in the entire country. Although there is little competition between the students, stress frequently takes over student’s lives. While so focused on stressful tests and papers, Lowell’s students rarely are able to remove…
Read the rest »