It's an interesting line to walk, determining how much of a picture to paint. On the one hand, I'm fairly detail-oriented, and have a tendency to share almost too much, to try to answer questions before they can be asked. On the other.. this is the Internet. I don't really know what people can do with my personal information, and I'd prefer not to find out.
That being said... I think I can still share a bit more.
Brazil will not be my first abroad experience, so it isn't the novelty of it that excites me, or the foreign experience. I'm looking forward to the vibrancy, the different lifestyle, the culture and experience... and all of it for a long stretch of time. It will definitely require me to climb out of my comfort zone, and hopefully in that develop myself a little further. The language aspect is very daunting, but also very exciting.
I lived in Guatemala over this past summer and had hoped to strengthen my Spanish skills, but I definitely was an obstacle to myself. I spoke English whenever I could, and allowed my site partner to speak on my behalf as she was more fluent. Hopefully I can avoid those same mistakes. In Guatemala, I lived in Tecun Uman, working in La Casa de Migrante, volunteering for a month through a Notre Dame program. I also visited Antigua, which is one of the most beautiful places I've seen, and Guatemala City. Antigua lays beneath a volcano, surrounded by coffee plantations... amazing.
This past spring break I was in the Dominican Republic, but that's only considered an "abroad experience" on my passport. We stayed in a very touristy hotel and didn't experience culturally beyond the beach and pool.
The spring break previous, in contrast, was a service mission with the Starkey Hearing foundation. My family and I were blessed to work alongside Starkey in Kampala, Uganda, Gulu, Uganda, and Kigali, Rwanda on hearing missions, distributing and fitting hearing aids to the deaf. An absolutely amazing experience. We also had the opportunity to go on a gorilla trek in Rwanda, which allowed my dad to take some amazing pictures.
That being said... I think I can still share a bit more.
Brazil will not be my first abroad experience, so it isn't the novelty of it that excites me, or the foreign experience. I'm looking forward to the vibrancy, the different lifestyle, the culture and experience... and all of it for a long stretch of time. It will definitely require me to climb out of my comfort zone, and hopefully in that develop myself a little further. The language aspect is very daunting, but also very exciting.
I lived in Guatemala over this past summer and had hoped to strengthen my Spanish skills, but I definitely was an obstacle to myself. I spoke English whenever I could, and allowed my site partner to speak on my behalf as she was more fluent. Hopefully I can avoid those same mistakes. In Guatemala, I lived in Tecun Uman, working in La Casa de Migrante, volunteering for a month through a Notre Dame program. I also visited Antigua, which is one of the most beautiful places I've seen, and Guatemala City. Antigua lays beneath a volcano, surrounded by coffee plantations... amazing.
This past spring break I was in the Dominican Republic, but that's only considered an "abroad experience" on my passport. We stayed in a very touristy hotel and didn't experience culturally beyond the beach and pool.
The spring break previous, in contrast, was a service mission with the Starkey Hearing foundation. My family and I were blessed to work alongside Starkey in Kampala, Uganda, Gulu, Uganda, and Kigali, Rwanda on hearing missions, distributing and fitting hearing aids to the deaf. An absolutely amazing experience. We also had the opportunity to go on a gorilla trek in Rwanda, which allowed my dad to take some amazing pictures.
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| The silverback we saw |
Beyond this, I've also had the opportunity to explore Italy, spent a day in Dublin, spent some time in airports in Turkey and Panama, visited Mexico and Canada multiple times... and I have aspirations to continue my treks. For this blog, I will try to focus on Brazil.
Overall, I have been incredibly blessed with opportunities to explore the world. These have come in a variety of forms, through the benevolence and geographical curiosity of my family, through the programs at Notre Dame, through the CIEE, and all through the blessings of God. My most recent travels, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, and now Guatemala have required a lot of work and budgeting on my part, but in no way would they have been possible without support and assistance.
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