2016-01-13
Since arriving in Brazil on September 2nd, I have spent the last two months fascinated by Brazilian street art. From Curitiba, Paraná to Armação do Pantano do Sul and Lagoa da Conceição on the island of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, southern Brazil is covered in expressive, public art. Whether you are a distinguished artist with your...
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2015-12-23
Last week, I decided to start volunteering at a local preschool in addition to volunteering at Projeto Lontra because I wanted to spend more time working with children. I go to the preschool Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings. Because I do not have any formal teaching training, I am just an “amiga” or “tia,” a teacher who is more of...
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2015-12-23
I know how to make my bed. After all, I have been making my bed since I could tie my shoes. Bottom fitted sheet top sheet pillows with pillowcases blankets comforter: sleep in it at night and make it in the morning. There’s nothing to it, right? Wrong. When I arrived at my new...
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2015-12-23
I reject the number 18. Eighteen. In the picture above, I am two-years old and my dad is thirty. The age difference between my dad here and me now is the same as the age difference between my baby sister and I. It seems inconceivable (to quote one of my favorite characters), that that tiny little girl headed to...
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2015-12-23
When I blow a whistle, one of two things happens: kids start scooping up rings and rubber ducks or a river otter hops up on its hind legs like a meerkat and pokes its little face in a tube. I spent many mornings in 2015 working at Hayden Recreation Center as a lifeguard and swim instructor. This...
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2015-12-23
From left: Anna Louisa, my host niece, Pureza, my host mother, Joara, my host sister, Octavio, my host nephew, Jezia, my other host sister, and Jesse, my host father. I have spent my first two weeks in Brazil living with my host family in Curitiba, the capitol city of Parana, one of the southern-most states in Brazil. The...
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2015-09-05
As I watch my friends go off to college, I find myself heading into new territory. Yes, I do live in a freshman dorm right now. Yes, I do have a roommate. But my roommate is about to spend the next year working with little girls in a foster home in Madrid, Spain; my dorm life is temporary. In...
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