While in Brazil this past week, I’ve done incredible things. I’ve tried so many new foods I didn’t even know existed, I’ve discovered beautiful parks with trees more beautiful than I could dream up, and I’ve flown over a continent. Despite all of these exciting new experiences, I Read more…
For many of us, spontaneous, flexible, and courageous aren’t really words that are typical descriptors. Those of us in the Honors program often like things to meet expectations and be in order. In Brazil, we have had to adapt to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and learn how to go for it. For Read more…
What do green oranges, feijoada, and ballet all have to do with each other? Yesterday, our hosts were given free reign to give us a taste of Brazilian culture and show us around as they wished. For our newfound host mother, this meant taking a walk around the local area to Read more…
Família. Family. By definition, a family is a group of people related by blood or marriage. So far during this trip though, I have learned that a family can mean so much more. First, family can mean the friends who surround you, make you laugh and with whom you share Read more…
White Text In our explorations of the city, we obviously saw much traffic, but we also saw street vendors selling their wares, many small shops selling delicious food, and familiar stores: drug stores, grocery stores, gas stations; we even found a thrift store! In all of this people are walking, Read more…
The smell of various animals drifted through the air as we entered the Veterinary hospital for a tour. Passing by and looking into several labs like the one pictured below, the tour guide explaining what each lab was used to analyze. It was starting off like any other college tour… Read more…
I entered the classroom to a cacophony of noise coming from every direction. Nearly all of the 40 kids in the class were talking at the same time, some with each other, some with the teacher, all in Portuguese. “Class must not have started yet,” I thought to myself Read more…
As I walked up a flight stairs, I smelled a mix of waxed floors and cafeteria food and I was taken back to my first day of middle school in Buffalo, NY. Only I wasn’t in Buffalo, or even New York, I was in a Brazilian high school, or “college.” Read more…
Though many exciting things have happened so far on this trip, it has been the Brazilian people I’ve interacted with that have made this experience whole. While preparing to depart, I was the most nervous about being homesick. I’ve never been away from my family for more than a week, Read more…
Our host family lives right next to the favelas, which is another word for a slum. Each time we drive past the favelas, I am shocked and saddened by how people live in such poor conditions. Last night as we were driving past the favelas, there was a beautiful sunset, Read more…