Welcome to the blog! My name is Brent, known by a few as
Bobcat, and I will be doing daily blog posts about my time studying abroad in
Brazil. During this 5-week trip, ending on August 8, my group and I will be
living in Sao Paulo and visiting both Rio de Janeiro and Iguacu Falls. Visiting
Iguacu was one of the main reasons I applied for this opportunity.
I made a bucket list a few years ago, and it was one of the items under
the "Travel" category. Throughout this introductory post,
I'll be going over my expectations for Brazilian culture, preconceived notions,
how I will experience and adapt to a new culture, and how it might affect my
future.
But first, a little bit about myself. I grew up in
Rochester, NY with my parents, younger brother, and a tight-knit group of boys from my high school. After
graduating, I moved to Boston for college. At Northeastern, I am studying civil
engineering and playing on the club hockey team. I am currently wrapping up my
first Co-Op while living in Annapolis, working in
construction.
I have recently done some reading on Anthony Bourdain and
he explained the value of being a traveler, not a tourist, best. I grew up in
Rochester all my life, and having the chance to grow as a person through
immersing yourself in another culture is very valuable and something I would
grow a lot from. Obviously, Brazil will be a lot different than what goes on in
a small city in Upstate NY and Boston, so I do not know what to expect. There is going to be a pretty stark language barrier, and I know the
food will be unique based on hearing Bourdain talk about his time there.
Feijoada sounds interesting. I have
read that because people are densely populated, there is a strong sense of
community in Brazil, which is something that I am looking forward to. Through
this sense of community, traditions are strongly upheld, which is something that
I am also looking forward to experiencing.
The main preconceived notion about Brazil that I have about Brazil is about the safety there. Safety has been a major topic in our pre-departure meetings, and little things like keeping your wallet in your front pocket instead of your back one are the main points of emphasis. Additionally, one of my coworkers who recently traveled to Brazil advised me to be aware of my surroundings. I was in a similar situation when I went to Punta Cana last year for spring break and walked down the beach into town. This was actually the highlight of my trip, and I made sure to be cautious and respectful of my surroundings. With this previous experience, I will handle my preconceived notions well and make the most of my time in Brazil.
Being in a country with a different language will also be
new to me. In Punta Cana, we were at a resort, and everybody knew English. I am
excited to try out some Portuguese, although I do think that I will be earning
some frequent flyer miles on Google Translate. This goes hand in hand with
having the opportunity to immerse myself in a completely new culture. I find
value in keeping an open mind and never turning down the opportunity to learn. Furthermore, when I open myself up to new things, I find that when I look back on
these experiences I feel fulfilled. I hope that after
this experience I feel a similar way and that I can grow into a deeper, more
global person. I think that is my main goal for myself in this dialogue.
To achieve this goal and fully learn and experience Brazilian
Culture, I will need to push myself to keep an open mind and to try new things. In recent
years, I have found that I subconsciously grow complacent with routine. I hope
that in Brazil I am more conscious of this and force myself to try something
new daily. Whether that be food, a drink, talking to someone, or doing something.
I think that will make this dialogue all the more rewarding.
Lastly, tying this back to my future and professional goals,
I am very excited to learn about renewable energy and the different aspects
within it. I have always had an interest in renewable energy and thought that
it was an industry that I would thoroughly enjoy. However, I spent these last 6
months working in construction and have absolutely loved every second of it. I hope
that this dialogue reignites my interest in renewable energy and that I can combine these interests in the future.
To conclude, I am incredibly excited and thankful to have
the opportunity to spend time in Brazil, meet new people, and experience a
different culture. I hope that this time sparks my interest in traveling to a higher
degree and that I will be able to take the memories I made throughout my life.
And what better way to document that than in a blog! Stay tuned for daily
updates come July 2!
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