Summer in Brazil: One Month In
Last night, before going to bed, I set my alarm for 8 a.m. because I had signed up for one of the non-mandatory extracurriculars CET offers. Today’s activity was a hike up a trail called Pedra Grande. I woke up, got ready, and met my friends at the CET center. Only seven of us had signed up, and one CET staff member, Leandro, joined us. The hike was gorgeous, set in a forest filled with all kinds of trees. Leandro told us the trail would take about an hour and thirty minutes, but we were all determined and reached the top in just forty. At the summit, there was a huge rock, hence the name Pedra Grande, and a beautiful view of the north part of São Paulo. We admired the view, shared some pão de queijo, a traditional Brazilian cheese bread, and then began our descent.
After the hike, we headed to Liberdade, the Japanese neighborhood, for a massive Japanese festival. I honestly couldn’t have imagined how packed it would be. There were hundreds of people, tents lining the streets, and endless food and items for sale. We walked around for an hour before taking advantage of São Paulo’s free Sunday bus rides and headed home.
Today wasn’t my only nature-filled day this weekend. On Saturday, my friends and I spent the entire day at Ibirapuera Park, an enormous green space in São Paulo filled with every activity you can imagine. It was a sunny day, and the park was packed. I sat down to eat some açaí while watching one of my friends juggle. Another went for a run, while the rest biked around. After everyone did their own thing for a bit, we all met up to enjoy the sunset together and then walked to the soccer field to watch some pickup games. My friend Vanessa even joined in a match, and cheering her on was a highlight.
While my weekend was full of São Paulo's beautiful nature and culture, the most impactful part was our CET field trip to the Memorial da Resistência. Unfortunately the actual exhibit was under renovations but we had the incredible opportunity to speak with a former political prisoner from the Brazilian military dictatorship. His story was extremely interesting and evoked many emotions. Hearing his perspective helped me connect everything we’d been learning in class to real lived experience. Asking him personal questions and listening to his reflections gave me a picture of Brazilian life under the military dictatorship that I couldn't have just gotten from books in a class. Following this enlightening conversation many of us headed to the large municipal market in order to eat dinner and watch the FIFA Club World Cup game that was on. The market was vibrant with energy with Brazilian fans cheering on Fluminense, a club from Rio de Janeiro. After every goal we would hear non-stop yelling, and fortunately for all the fans the team ended up winning 2-1.
What struck me most is how this week brought together so many different sides of life here: the beauty of nature, the energy of city festivals, and a perspective of Brazil’s political past. I gain a better idea of what this city has to offer with every activity I get to participate in while I'm here.
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Summer in Brazil is a 6-week summer program sponsored by the Stone Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University and the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx Studies at Vanderbilt University. It caters to graduate and undergraduate students who wish to achieve a high-level of Portuguese fluency through immersion in Brazilian culture.
You can learn more about our Summer in Latin America programs here.
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