Submitted by David Arroyo on the 2015 winter session program in Brazil sponsored by the Department of Art History and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures…
This week felt like the fastest week yet! I wish these days would go slower!
Last Tuesday, I was able to finish my biography paper on Oscar Niemeyer, and learn about all of his many important contributions to Brazilian society and to the world. I finished it with enough time to admire the sunset in Ipanema once more. The following morning, I disciplined myself to wake up early to admire the sunrise in Copacabana. Last Wednesday, I was also able to contribute to the start of a youth ministry in the Methodist Church in Copacabana by attending their first meeting. The youth leader, Bruno Trigueiro, led the bible study very passionately and brought a very encouraging word. I’m proud to have dedicated some of my study abroad experience to sharing with this beautiful church.
On Thursday, my roommate Robert Thomson and I had the privilege to attend a friendly soccer match provided by Casa do Caminho where we, despite our poor soccer skills, had an amazing time. After the match, Rob and I got to meet an Australian and a Brit. We exchanged different cultural aspects from our countries, and even talked about our different accents. It was really cool to meet more international students from Casa do Caminho.
From Friday to Monday, we had the pleasure to stay in a beautiful historic small town, called Paraty. In this town, we were able to attend a tour of the town, and go on an amazing boat trip to different islands off the coast of Brazil. It was such an amazing time. This past Sunday, while a group of us was at Trinidade beach, we ran into a ministry group called King’s Kids. They kindly invited us to see their performance on the beach, which captured my heart immediately after seeing such young kids so passionate about demonstrating the love that Jesus Christ has for the world. After talking to a member who was my age, Katherine, I learned that the members in this group pay to be a part of this group. This just shows the heart that they have to serve, which really impacted me.
Today, we were able to participate in a tour of the favela, Santa Marta. This tour was a huge eye opener for me, as I have never been inside a favela to witness the actual quality of life inside. Going through this tour and hearing what our tour guides had to say about the pacification of the favelas, and about the controversy between the quality of life and the government, erased any lingering stereotypes I might of had about the people in favelas. These people were friendly-faced people, who were working to make their lives. Some of these houses looked really nice inside with TV’s and furniture. Because of the pacification, there were no longer any gangs or drug-dealing in this favela, but even so stepping into this favela felt like another world. It was much different from the wealthier areas of Rio like Copacabana and Ipanema. I ran into a child on the way to this favela, who begged me for money. I offered Orighim one real but once I handed it to him, he got on his knees and begged for more. I felt really bad for him, but I couldn’t give him anymore money. I asked him for his name (William), and told him I would be praying for him. I felt guilty for not being able to support him further, but I hoped that through this small encounter, I had somehow influenced his life.
I can’t believe how fast this program is going. I am really loving the experience!