Category: Tufts 1+4 Brazil

by Gabriel, Tufts 1+4 Participant

One memory has continually popped into my mind during my time in Brazil. I remember my mother saying to me, “You don’t realize how lucky we are, you have so much to be thankful for.” I shot back a reply of “No we aren’t, why do you always say that?” Meanwhile, in my head,  I was listing all of the problems that I and my family had. We are poor for American standards. My mom and dad had separated and had a terrible custody battle for much of my childhood. I had recently lost my father. I share the responsibility of settling my father’s affairs. Almost all of my family lives at least three hours away. The list of my ungrateful thoughts goes on and this is the mindset I came to Brazil with.

I had a similar regard to my mom and brother. Being a teenager (on which my mom liked to blame my attitude), I was continually frustrated by my family. I wished my mom would have made that call for me or sent that letter. I wished she would stop nagging me about eating enough, about where I was going and about working too much. She told me for several months before I left that I would regret spending so much of my summer working and not spending time with my family before leaving. I sure do. I was always frustrated with my brother about his lackadaisical attitude toward things I thought were of the utmost importance.

How did they deal with me?

I feel like a different person in the way that I now look at my life in the United States. I have an amazing mother who I can talk to at any time of the day or night about anything. She does anything she can for me and the only reason I have to be annoyed with her is that she is a different person from me. Different in an amazing way. My brother simply has different priorities. He would help me with anything I needed, from fixing my truck to letting my friends and I borrow his snowmobile, just on his schedule, not mine. Not to mention that he is my best friend. My family and I were able to buy our first house several years ago with the help of my grandfather, where we and all of our animals are finally home to stay. No matter how difficult it was, I have always had what I needed, even when money was tight. Though some events in my life are never going to be positive in my mind, I am now able to see more clearly.

Brazil has allowed me to step back from my life and gain a new perspective. I now miss my family like crazy, more than I had ever imagined I would. I have been able to see how many families are much more broken than mine is. I now realize just how many people in our world live in poverty or much below American standards. I have been blessed with an amazing host family during my time here and they have unknowingly led me to these revelations. When I was pouting in my room on Christmas morning after receiving a happy birthday video from my mom including a song, lots of love, and even my dogs, my host family surprised me with a big birthday party complete with cake, ice cream, balloons and banners. I am trying to show them my appreciation as I wait for the chance to bring this attitude home to my real family.

by Daniel, Tufts 1+4 Participant

Learning. Since the dawn of humanity, learning has been the cornerstone of life. But school, now that’s a different story. Schools have been around for over 1500 years, and while some classrooms have smart boards and others have iPads, the fundamental way we teach, and learn, has stayed the same.

I, along with almost every other teenager in the developed world, spent the last twelve years sitting. In science classrooms, in english classrooms, in history classrooms; always learning different things but always sitting in rows or circles, scribbling down the teachers’ every word. But if you take an evolutionary perspective, sitting is not really what a 15 year old should be doing. At a time when we have tons of pent up energy, we spend our days still; learning almost solely by listening.

After 12 years, I was ready for a change. I knew I would have at least 4 more years of this antiquated model and I needed a year of something different; I needed a year of learning by living. But not just living in the comfort of home, living in the world. A world that today is unfathomably large (think about it, you may know a couple thousand people but there are 7 billion people out there. 7 BILLION!) and unquestionably strange (take this for instance). But there’s a lot more to the world than any 18 year old could know, trust me. If you just take the time to explore it and explore yourself you will never, ever, regret it.

The one line that stuck with me throughout the whole college application process was; “No one regrets taking a bridge year.” I looked at university after university and ringing in the back of my head this same line; “no one regrets taking a gap year”. So, try to envision yourself four years down the road; do you want to have experienced the world or do you want to have stayed comfortable in your world. I knew I would regret it if I didn’t, so I took the leap, and now I am here. Now I am a baby again, a baby Brazilian, finding his way through an unknown language. Learning to walk, to speak, to sustain myself on what at times seems like an alien world.

You don’t need a rocket ship to find an alien culture. They all around you: your neighbors, your fellow bus-riders, even your friends and family. But some still say; “why do I need to explore other cultures? I’ve got my friends, my little bubble, I don’t need to change. My bubble won’t ever burst.” Well, if a hermit crab never left his shell, how would he know there wasn’t a better shell, a better world, waiting just around the corner (Imagine! A hermit crab paradise! A wardrobe of multicolored shells and an endless supply of scrumptious decaying wood, leaf litter, plants and grasses waiting just outside his calcium carbonate domain but the poor hermit crab never knew it was there because he just wanted to watched Spongebob on Netflix inside his claustrophobic cave (PSA: Spongebob was removed from Netflix in 2013 😨)).

After almost 100 days (HOLY COW! It’s already been 100 days?) living in Brazil with an amazing host family and evermore interesting culture the only thing I can say is; “I couldn’t have been more right.” Doing a bridge year, learning by living, is doing college the right way. I can only hope that one day, it will be the only way.

by Zoe, Tufts 1+4 Participant

Culture shock. Homesickness. Loneliness. Lingual incompetence. FOMO (fear of missing out). Just a few on the list of difficulties I should be prepared to face during my eight months in Brazil. It was no surprise when these topics were introduced in both orientation at Tufts and upon arrival in Curitiba for in-country orientation, as they were things I’d been worrying about and mentally-preparing myself for since March of last year. So, by mid-September when I left Curitiba and moved to my permanent host community in Imbituba, I felt prepared. I felt as though I’d been briefed on all the problems I could possibly face and I knew exactly how to deal with them, get back on track, and move on. But where’s the challenge in that? I thought that because I’d paid attention in orientation, I had a manual on how to deal with every problem that could possibly be thrown at me. This would be true if life was in black and white. The problem is that about 99% of this world is grey area, every situation is different, and most problems cannot be anticipated.

Rain. I never thought it would present such a problem, primarily because when I thought of Brazil, an intense weather pattern spanning the entire country never crossed my mind. I came with the expectation of sun day in and day out, rather than constant rain. I never guessed that one of the first words I’d learn in Portuguese would be “chuva,” and that I’d see the sun only five times in my first two months in country.

In Imbituba, I worked at an organization called Projeto Baleia Franca, which monitors that activity of the Southern Right Whale in this area of Brazil. Unfortunately, monitoring was canceled more often that not due to the unusual weather conditions, and there was little activity on the days we could work as the whales migrated north early this year. The problem with the rain was that it instigated the types of problems on which I was briefed at orientation. The types of problems I was expecting to have in the first place. The unexpected amount of free time allowed more time to think about my family, friends, and old life I left behind in London and the United States.The rain made me pity myself and it gave me a negative mindset.

About four weeks ago, I moved north from Imbituba to the island of Florianopolis. Here, I work as a volunteer an organization called R3 Animal which rescues, rehabilitates, and releases all types of animals brought in as a result of injury, sickness, illegal trafficking, or absence of parental care. I leave my house at 6:25 each morning, run three miles to the center of the town in which I live, catch another bus to work, work from 8am until 5pm, and then make my way home again. It’s an incredibly busy day that requires a concrete schedule. It’s tiring, but being on the go makes me happy.

Yes, it’s still raining. No, I don’t harbor such resentment towards the rain anymore. It’s not because I actually like it. Like anyone, I’d much rather be lying on the beach than having to constantly peel wet clothes from my body and hang them to dry. But I thank the rain for teaching me so much about myself. The two months in Imbituba were challenging and uncomfortable, but I look back on those two months and can’t believe how much I learned about myself. I learned that I need structure in my life, and that I don’t do well with a blank schedule. I learned that I do better in an environment in which I have more independence and am able to change settings when necessary. And maybe one of the most difficult things; I learned to accept something that I could do absolutely nothing to change: Mother Nature.

“An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. When life is dragging you back with difficulties, it means it’s going to launch you into something great. So just focus, and keep aiming.” This year is all about difficulties. And if I leave Brazil in April having had more challenges than comforts, I’ll feel successful. Right now is about focusing and refocusing, aiming and re-aiming. I’m not sure when I’ll be launched but when I am, I know I’ll hit something great. Something I wouldn’t have dreamed of hitting before this year.

by Gabriel, Tufts 1+4 Participant

by Daniel, Tufts 1+4 Participant

I’ve always wanted to go to a keynote presentation. You know, those events that happen a few times every year where Google or Apple proclaims to unveil the future in front of the gaping eyes of thousands of tech nerds and pundits. After hours of anxiously waiting, they pull back the curtain and the world gasps at their newest chunk of silicon and curved metal that is somehow nearly identical to the slightly older and slightly different chunk of silicon and curved metal unveiled just over a year earlier; the world gasps at “the future”. But unlike the iPhone 7 which will be the “future” for maybe a solid 7 months and will really only be a slightly souped up version of its predecessor, the future talked about here, at the 2015 Social Good Brazil Summit, was the future of the world.

At this event, there was no product. No chips of silicon behind a velvet cloth or over-intensified video showing edges and curves of metal. There were just people, ideas, and the intersection between the two that amounts to possibly the single most important word of this era: innovation.

When I stepped foot into the behemoth building that housed the 2015 SGB Summit my jaw unhinged; like a snake eating a rat whole unhinged. For five minutes I had to remember to breath as the blood rushed to my eyes taking in everything around me. Eventually, my adrenaline settled into an active lull; the machine running like clockwork around me as I watched Social Good Brazil’s small team of 12 and a set of 40+ volunteers moving to and fro preparing posters, speakers, badges, trash cans, you name it; they were making sure everything was perfect. And it was.

Day one of the conference comprised much of the social innovation umbrella. From discussing governmental innovation with an actual Brazilian Congressional Representative to sharing the latest news from inside the collaborative economy. Drug kingpin economies to crypto-currencies, we had it all. This last bit of course came from our headline speaker, Alexa Clay; the herald of misfits, weirdos and hackers herself.

Alexa clay is the author of The Misfit Economy, ”a bestselling book exploring how the other half innovates, drawing on stories from the lives of gangsters, Pirates, hackers and slum dwellers.” She is an Amish-dressing, LARPing expert, who will actually be living in Brazil for the next two months. But Alexa’s not here for the beaches, or Samba; she’s here for the culture, or, more specifically, the underground economies. The two she is most excited about: The Floripan witch economy and Shamanism, both of which she says have evolved quasi-business models to keep their traditions alive.

She’s not your usual headline speaker, but she fit, kind of perfectly, in our two day, Social Good Brazil experience that gathered over 2,000 misfits, entrepreneurs and social advocates to learn the newest ways in which people are making the world a better place.

But there was still day two and it did not disappoint. With members from Google, Kiva, UNDP and a host of homegrown Brazilian entrepreneurs, everyone left with their heads brimming with new ways to fight for social good. We also held the award ceremony for the Social Good Brasil Lab program, SGB’s social innovation accelerator, with the crowd voting on who they thought had made the best pitch the day before. The winner, Centista Que Virou Mae, is a community of Brazilian scientist mothers supporting women in motherhood and self-empowerment and was awarded a seed fund investment of R$ 20,000! With second place, Letras de Medico and third place Praças not far behind; each receiving R$16,000 and R$13,000 respectively.

Day two was followed by a day of hands-on social innovation. Participants spent time with some of the summit speakers and a host of other social innovators; fully immersing themselves in many aspects of social innovation. Participants designed their first apps, peered 15 years into the future and actually partook in a new form of social movement called Play the Call: the SGB summit is much more than just talk. So next year, just think: three more days at the office or three days learning, living, understanding and networking your way into the future of social innovation. The choice is yours, we just hope we’ll see you there with us next year!

(Would you like some mate tea?)

by Aberdeen, Tufts 1+4 Participant

Would you let a frazzled stranger into your house if they asked to use your electricity to charge their phone? Would you feel comfortable sharing tea with an unknown amount of others that used the same straw?  Would you invite a foreign stranger to a family cookout after only knowing them for about five minutes?  If you’re Brazilian, you may have answered yes to these questions without pause.  The generosity and pure interest in helping others that I’ve experienced in my travels of Brazil has been astonishing.  Others’ well-being and happiness are always put before one’s own interests.  It is true that Brazilians share everything.  Apples, blankets, cars, stories, surfboards, clothes, advice. Families that seemingly have so little to give, give so much.  Every day I am reminded of how kind people can be.  The people I meet are well aware they may never see me again, but they ask for nothing in return for their generosity.

I am welcomed with open arms everywhere I travel in Brazil and all I can hope is to bring this love with me wherever I go.  In light of recent global events, all I wish is for everyone to treat others the way I’ve been treated here.  In delving into a new culture, a new life, a new country, I’ve been stripped of any confidence, communication abilities, and way of life that I’ve built for the past eighteen years.  I was made vulnerable and forced to start over again. Thank goodness I was surrounded by Brazilians.

When asked to report on something important that I’ve encountered this bridge year, the pure kindness of the people I’ve met is what I choose to discuss.  It isn’t the difference in food.  It isn’t that one time a three foot long lizard casually emerged from the bushes behind me and flicked his tongue at me in distaste.  It isn’t a story of how two surfers saved me from a stray dog that targeted me as his prey.  It’s a human behavior that shouldn’t even be shocking to me.  I want to contribute to a world where it isn’t odd to see unfiltered love.  This is what I was looking for when I decided to take a year abroad before college.  I knew there were lessons to life that I needed to grapple with before even thinking about calculus.

For those reading in hopes of learning about what us 1+4 kids are up to this year, this is it.  I am learning how to live, not just exist.  I had visions of returning from this year with more “direction”, e.g., an answer to the looming question “What do I want to study at college?”, and I don’t think I’ll return with that question answered.  I’m now okay with unanswered questions.  Anyone who knew me well three months ago may not believe this, but it’s true.  These three months have changed me.  I can’t wait to see what I can do with eight.