2011-09-13
I wear a frayed pink yarn bracelet around my wrist every day. It’s a reminder of the last night before all 56 fellows left for Ecuador, Senegal, and Brazil. That night,as often the case during Fall Training, we formed a circle for our final activity. In this closing ceremony, each person voiced a commitment that...
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2011-09-13
Sunday in Salvador is a quiet day for Brazilians to cook at home with their families and walk the beach. For Gringos who do not have a kitchen, Sunday is a day to search for the few restaurants that are open in order to get a hold of the typical big lunch. Six of us...
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2011-09-13
Making the choice to take a gap year was a difficult decision filled with skepticism, second thoughts, and sometimes criticism from others. I wondered if I was straying too far from my path to follow my passion for music. Brazil seemed like a surreal and magical country filled with so many things I...
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2011-09-12
On the morning that the Nike Girl Effect came to Stanford, eleven of us debated about whether the card that said “financial reserves that can be used for an emergency” should go under responsibilities for a girl that was 14 or 16. Then we discussed the card that said, “should know the national marriage laws”...
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2011-09-12
Ola amigos. The following post will be useful for anyone who is interested in meeting the best Brazilians. This guide comes from the heart and first hand experiences. It is especially useful for people who know little Portuguese. First, in order to find the most friendly Brazilians one must first fail at being able to...
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2011-09-12
I pretty much get constant stares anywhere I go on the streets of Salvador. My blonde hair blue-eyed status is something quite foreign in a place where around eighty percent of the population is Afro-Brasilian, and I’m pretty sure my khaki pants and chaco sandals do not help my cause. Needless to say, I attract...
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2011-09-12
…Let me fire some up for you. So as you can see, the ways things go in Senegal do not go the same way as things in the US. If you didn’t know Senegal is a third-world country where our every-day conveniences like electric stove tops, cars, and even toilet paper along with so many...
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