The beginning of my Brazilian adventure
In the summer of 2012, I participated in my first study abroad experience – a ten week summer program exploring the beautiful country of Ecuador. It has been almost three years since my last international adventure, and my craving to travel and live abroad again is at an all-time high. It really only hit me a few days ago how soon I would be leaving, with only 10 days until I leave for my journey to Brazil. Just as fast as today has come, I know my four weeks in Brazil will go even faster.
I think because I have done the whole study abroad thing before, my experience will be different than for some other students. I am not nervous at all about living abroad or being completely submersed in an entirely new culture, although the fact that I don’t know Portuguese at all will be unique and probably a little scary. The biggest obstacle for me will be to ignore the urge to compare this Brazil experience to my previous study abroad experience. Ecuador was amazing, and I know Brazil will be too. But I really have to appreciate Brazil for what it has to offer on its own terms.
However, I think there are a few key lessons I learned from my Ecuador experience that I can apply to my Brazil journey to make it even better. Firstly and most importantly, I really want to make more friends outside of just the Americans that are on the study abroad trip with me. It is so tempting to stay with people who speak your language and understand your culture. We find comfort in familiarity. Really breaking down those walls and overcoming insecurities will help me get the full experience. Plus, Brazilians are pretty awesome, and I know that they would really make my trip even more enjoyable.
The second key lesson I learned is to really unplug from “the real world.” It was a little different when in Ecuador because I was there for much longer, but I really want to try and stay off my phone, Facebook, email, etc., so that I can really get the most out of this experience. While I have to stay semi-connected for work, I will be keeping this to a minimum.
Although I am only there for a little less than four weeks, I will be visiting five cities. I use to work with Brazilian exchange students at my old university, and I have quite a few friends that I am excited to visit before and after the actual study abroad program. I will be beginning my adventure in Salvador, and then the three week program will take me to Sao Paulo, Curitiba and a five-day boat ride down the Amazon River towards a city called Santarem. Afterwards, I will be ending my trip with a short adventure in Rio de Janeiro.
The most exciting part of this study abroad trip is that the topic is so closely related to what I hope to spend my entire life and career working on: international environmental justice. The topic is Human Rights and Sustainability, and the things we will be learning and the people we will be meeting will be extremely beneficial to gaining practical experience for advancing my career. I am excited to be working on projects similar to what I hope to work on in the future.
I wish that I could spend the entire summer exploring and getting to know Brazil, but I am extremely grateful of this opportunity to even be here for a few weeks. I know this won’t be my last time in Brazil, and I expect that these new friendships, with both Americans and Brazilians, will be everlasting and a great foundation for when I come back.