WOW! A week has flown by and I have not written because I have been so busy with Portuguese classes, lectures, family and of course friends! The first week I was here everything was so new and sometimes confusing, but now after two weeks we are all in a nice routine and comfortable with our surroundings as well as connecting the dots between the culture and our classes! Brazil's culture is so rich and complex all at the same time and everyday I experience something new that leaves me speechless!
I have made amazing new friends and had the opportunity to travel to Rio! Rio was an amazing city that offered an unforgettable experience and I truly enjoyed every tourist activity from the 8 hour bus tour featuring the sugar loaf and Cristo to the sandy beach of Ipanema! Going to school in a foreign country has been an amazing experience as well! We have really gotten into a routine with our Portuguese classes and the lectures have really pushed me in thinking critically from the Latin American view. My first lecture with professor Margaret was really enlightening in discussing the democratic issues that face Brazil, but even more they made me realize that whether you are living in a developed country or developing country every democracy needs social movements to push for the rights of the people!
Because Brazil's government just came out of a military regime in the mid to late 80s there is still a very rich and complex social environment as well as political environment. Brazil is still currently considered a developing country with wide gaps between the rich and poor, social inequality, deep roots in racism, major faults in the education system, intense crime and police brutality and political injustices. But while all these things are happening in Brazil's emerging democracy you begin to realize that democracies all over the world have many of the same injustices. If you look at America for instance you find many of the same issues and you realize that just because people have free elections in a country, does not mean democracy is finished. It takes the people constantly moving forward together with activism and education to continue to create social and political change.
Brazil has offered so much to my learning and I am truly enjoying every minute I spend here. I only hope that I can continue to learn about this amazing and diverse place!
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I love living vicariously through you! Sounds like this experience is amazing and glad you are enjoying every minute of it. Love the pictures too.. looks like Brazil agrees with you!
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