Postcards from Brazil

  Before I start of with my experience thus far I apologize it has taken me so long to write! My computer experienced difficulties my first few days here which required me to take it to the shop. Thankfully, things are okay now.
   Being a month into my internship and experience here in Brazil,  I cannot characterize everything into one thing. I have had the opportunity to experience many different sides of Brazil. I did not have much conceived notions of the country and I am glad that now I now Brazil is not all about Rio, soccer, and beaches.
  When I first arrived in Brazil, I was immediately shocked at how for the most part Portuguese is the sole language spoken and often the only language that most people know here. In America it is the norm for a person to speak more than one language. Furthermore, whenever I travel I have this assumption that in the least, I could use english to help get me by. However, arriving in Sao Paulo for the time, I realized english could not help me this time. With this in mind, when we wanted directions or needed help, my friend and I decided to use Spanish but we soon realized the different accents and different words made using spanish barely helpful. My first few interactions with people and right up until my homestay, the only way I knew to get a hold of the language was to take a mini course and listen to the native speakers. Taking my time to learn the language has taught me things like 'pollo' is not chicken in portuguese rather the word for chicken is 'frango.' I also learned the 'r' sounds more like an 'h' so words like 'rapido' sound more like 'happydue.' Reflecting now on when I first arrived, its amazing on how far I have come and how much of the culture I have been able to grasp.
     A day after I arrived, I was taken to what would be my internship for the summer by a member of AIESEC in the Ribeirao Preto. On my first day going to see my internship, I was very scared. I did not have a comfortable grasp on the language in addition to having little knowledge on how transportation and streets worked to do this on my own for two months. Because of this I felt that it would be best if I worked at the same NGO as my friend who I came to Brazil with. In this way we will be able to go through any challenges we may face and be able to help each other along the way. Luckily, I was able to switch to be in the same NGO with my friend which has proven to be much easier.
    Work at the NGO has taught me alot about working in developing communities. The program I work for provides the children of the neighborhood an alternative to hanging out on the streets. I am able to help with weekly activities such as karate, sewing, physical education, cooking lessons, and computer class. I have also been given the opportunity to teach my own class about my American culture. Aside from class time, I find that the children are very interested in learning American words, whether I have a boyfriend or not, having me to sing Happy Birthday in english for each one of them.

    Apart from the NGO I have been able to see different perspectives of a Brazilian family across different cities of Brazil. I will save my sentiments on this topic for my next post. Once again sorry for being so late to post! I now feel like I have so much to say and hope I give you all a better picture as I continue my journey. Until then Tchau and beijous!