Our Little Getaway in Salvador

My time with MHIRT has been phenomenal and I do not think I could have asked for anymore. From Morenike’s expertise on Portuguese and anything Brazilian to Donovan’s willingness to help everyone and to Norman’s very contagious energy and smile, I do not think I would get this attached to this experience and my roommates. We plan on making this last week and a half the best it can be, as we all wrap up our research. Personally, my research is nearing its final stage, and I think I have gained plenty by familiarizing myself with the entire process. My greatest joy has been getting close with the rest of the people in my lab. I have watched two of them defend their theses to get their masters’ degrees, and the joy was palpable. These are the memories that will last. This also stems from slowly growing accustomed to Portuguese.

This week, we got to experience a whole different side of Brazil. We have spent the 7 weeks before this in Florianopolis and we have loved all of our time there. Yet, we knew we wanted to experience another historical and culturally significant city before we leave, which turned out to be Salvador. We have explored so many parts of this wonderful city. We walked around the famous Pelearinho neighborhood. My favorite part of this little getaway was the time we spent in a market on Saturday. I bought a couple jerseys and souvenirs, and I just enjoyed seeing all of the handcrafted goods present. This was an amazing time spent in Salvador.

Cooking the PCR

Cooking the PCR

Welp. We are running out of time. It seems the weeks keep going by faster and faster with each day, and, yet, there is still so much to do, to learn, to experience. I am just now realizing in a few weeks we will be home, and that makes me want to spend more days playing soccer with Leo and Diego (our mentors), more days finding new cappuccino stores on the USP campus, and more days at Caju Verde, our weekly restaurant after lab. I know I'm going to miss every second, but I am going to miss the people the most. 

Yet, the memories we have made so far don't disappoint. Starting with this beautiful view we had at Pão de Acúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain) on our escape to Rio de Janeiro. 

Fun fact: the wonderful woman who took this picture for us below was literally lying on the ground to take this photo. If you ever go,

Our AMAZING mentors invited us out to a "bonfire" one night at one of their friends' houses who used to work at the university. We spent the night eating and drinking amazing Brazilian food and drinks as well as meeting lovely new people who were beyond gracious enough to have us in their home.

To cap it all off, yesterday, we had to present the research we have done so far to our entire lab.. While it wasn't supposed to be stressful, I think we all were on edge. At first I was very nervous, like I am to get during normal classroom presentations; however, after I started speaking, I quickly realized I was surrounded by my newly found family (and they are all located below). Whether we are "cooking the PCR", schooling them in soccer (yes Sophiana, G, and I won 4-3 against our Leo, Diego, and Christina), or telling them our crazy adventure stories, I think they are going to miss us too. 

 Furthermore, shoutout to Dr. Diego Decleva for earning his doctorate in Neuroscience! 

Also, let it be known that they invited us back to Sao Paulo despite how crazy we are! No matter what, the story continues..

Obrigada, Sao Paulo!

Here’s a little life update:

We have wrapped up most of our lab work and spent the last week preparing for our presentations to our lab members. It was very nerve-wracking getting everything together, but everyone did a great job! Dr. Dora and all of our mentors were proud of our work, and it is amazing to think back to how far we have come. 

Attached is a photo of me before my presentation. I talked about how the distribution and density of cells in snakes’ retinas have changed over time based on their unique environments. 

We now have less than 2 weeks left in Sao Paulo, and I have so much I’m going to miss. I will miss my daily cappuccinos from the sweet lady outside the lab. I will miss working with Ju and our lunch breaks to USP’s cafeteria. I will miss my and G’s coffee breaks to the candy truck. I will miss our weekend adventures with a never ending list of things to explore. I will miss this childlike curiosity for everything I see and do while here in Brazil.

However, while I have so much that I am going to miss; these are all memories that I have so much to be thankful for. Thank you, MHIRT, for this once in a lifetime opportunity, and thank you to all my amazing lab members for welcoming us into your country! I have learned so much in lab, but- even more importantly- I have learned so much about a new culture of people. Obrigada, Sao Paulo!

Empoderamiento de los Jóvenes

I can’t believe we only have a week left and my time at AMOS is coming to an end. This past week we had our youth group meet along with some new faces that came for a 4-day gender equity training. During the training we defined gender and discussed our perceptions of gender and how structures are set up to keep things “in order” I learned so much from the training every single day and I’m so glad I could be a part of a place where so many youths felt safe to express themselves and share their ideas and experiences.

By the end of the training, we all reflected on our experiences with our parents. When everyone shared there was a common theme that emerged. Many of the traits they liked about their relationship with their parents they also wanted to change. They split into groups and made an action plan on how they could change their relationship with their parents from education programs to something as simple as talking without technology present. Each day we learned something new. Each day we broke down barriers. The final activity we made a promise to ourselves. The promise I made to myself was to work on being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Before coming here, I knew nothing about Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). Now I’m leaving with so much experience on how to use CBPR and why it’s so important to work “with” the community and not “for” the community. There are some many details we don’t think about when we don’t involve the community and I’ve got to see first hand the difference. My time may be ending here for the summer, but it doesn’t stop here. I can’t wait to bring CBPR back and use it in the future.

Full Circle

There is only one way to describe my current time in Brazil- “fully submerged”. I have never lived in another country before or even traveled abroad, but there was no way I could have prepared myself for the changes I have faced thus far. Now, understand that I am still enjoying every minute of this experience, but cultural differences really put life into perspective. Florianopolis is a beautiful city and every morning I am awakened by glowing rays of the sun’s light as it arises between two green mountains. Given that I am a fan of American mafia biographies, it is what I imagined to be Cuba’s Casablanca. It is a great escape from reality, but even the American gangsters had to acknowledge the influence of Castro and communism.

Analogously, the beauty of Brazil can blind one to the issues. This is partially due to our American naïveté but also because of a slight façade presented by geographical location and ethnic uniformity. I am from Atlanta, a city rich in African-American history and people, where I don’t often feel like a minority even amongst other ethnicities. In Floripa, the difference is clear. Also, there is a large wealth disparity gap that can be observed in the communities with two story homes next to shacks without windows. Comparatively, we have taken a trip to Salvador, Bahia, a state in northern Brazil that is culturally rich with African ancestry. Here, I was reminded we are tourists in Brazil, whether in Floripa or Salvador, but Floripa offers a veil of protection in the cultural uniformity of the people; whereas Salvador’s people are noticeably burdened with socioeconomic disparity that affects people’s ability to achieve happiness.

In my last post I mentioned the parallelisms between America and Brazil. I have recently found another parallel in the fact that the minority people tend to suffer the greatest economic disparity despite having a history so rich. Salvador is saturated with African ancestral ties as can be seen in the naming of communities after African deities and even common phrases and sayings that have ties to African dialects. The people remind me of African-Americans in Atlanta in fact. They make music, they sing freely, they are sole proprietors, and even in the face of disparity they create their own peace. Clark Atlanta University’s motto is “Find a way or make one” and I see nothing short of this in the spirit of the Salvador people. While the lifestyles and quality of housing in different than what I’ve experienced in America or Floripa even, the cultural advantages make it all worth while.