BRAZIL. I am finally on the last leg of my worldwide adventure. At first glance, Sao Paulo is more than overwhelming. With over 20 million inhabitants and a sprawling metropolis, the city puts New York to shame. In a short tourist video of the city, I learned that Sao Paulo has the biggest Lebanese population outside of Lebanon, the biggest Italian population outside of Italy, the biggest Japanese population outside of Japan, and many, many more immigrants. My case study this time will be focused on immigration, rights, and citizenship by focusing on the Bolivian population that has come to Brazil looking for economic opportunities.
During my rare moments of free time, I have tried to take in as much of the city as possible. We spent the first couple nights in a hotel until we met our host families. My host family is Argentine, so we speak Spanish throughout the day. This definitely complicates things when I´m simultaneously trying to learn Portuguese! However, I think I´m holding my ground pretty well and I find it easy to navigate the city. My host mom and sister took Julianna and I to the Museum of Portuguese Language last weekend. Unsurprisingly, everything was in Portuguese. But, it was wonderful to have them there to explain some of the more complicated aspects of the museum. Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at the Pinocoteca, an art museum in the city. My host sister is eighteen years old and goes to art school, so we accompanied her on a class assignment. In the Pinocoteca, I saw an extensive Andy Warhol exhibit as well as art exhibits of famous Brazilian artists. It was hilarious to watch my host mom posing with all the statues in the museum...she is a riot! In her younger days, she was an activist against the military dictatorship, but her most recent careers include being an artist, a Spanish professor, a translator, and an artist. We have been eating well here so far. It is nice to finally have more variety in our food that was so lacking in Vietnam. On the streets in Sao Paulo, you can buy a bowl of delicious corn for only 3 reais. My host mom is also a great cook. She especially loves fruits and has promised to take us to the fruit market on Friday morning!
During my rare moments of free time, I have tried to take in as much of the city as possible. We spent the first couple nights in a hotel until we met our host families. My host family is Argentine, so we speak Spanish throughout the day. This definitely complicates things when I´m simultaneously trying to learn Portuguese! However, I think I´m holding my ground pretty well and I find it easy to navigate the city. My host mom and sister took Julianna and I to the Museum of Portuguese Language last weekend. Unsurprisingly, everything was in Portuguese. But, it was wonderful to have them there to explain some of the more complicated aspects of the museum. Afterwards, we spent the afternoon at the Pinocoteca, an art museum in the city. My host sister is eighteen years old and goes to art school, so we accompanied her on a class assignment. In the Pinocoteca, I saw an extensive Andy Warhol exhibit as well as art exhibits of famous Brazilian artists. It was hilarious to watch my host mom posing with all the statues in the museum...she is a riot! In her younger days, she was an activist against the military dictatorship, but her most recent careers include being an artist, a Spanish professor, a translator, and an artist. We have been eating well here so far. It is nice to finally have more variety in our food that was so lacking in Vietnam. On the streets in Sao Paulo, you can buy a bowl of delicious corn for only 3 reais. My host mom is also a great cook. She especially loves fruits and has promised to take us to the fruit market on Friday morning!
In the photo above, I am at my laboratory at theBhutantan Institute. Our group traveled here on a group fieldtrip to learn about the ways snake venom is being used to create antidotes and other pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, my camera malfunctioned right before I entered the venomous snake exist where HUGE pythons are kept. Thankfully, my camera is back to working like normal...
I have spent the rest of my free time exploring Avenida Paulista. Avenida Paulista is the most famous street in the city because of all it´s shopping! On Sunday, Cate, Julianna, and I found an antique market that was fun to explore. One night last weekend, all the IHPers were invited to Heather´s homestay. We climbed to the rooftop and just stared in awe at the 360 degree view of tall buildings and lights as far as the eye could see!
Of course, the reason I have so little free time is because I spent the majority of my day at school. I go to school at Santa Casa, a private medical school near the center of Sao Paulo. We are constantly asked whether or not we are med students because, here in Brazil, the education system is arranged so that you begin medical school at the age of 18 - exactly like college is to us! The best part about my experience in Brazil, as opposed to the other countries I have visited, is the opportunity to meet and befriend a ton of local students. On the first day of class, four third-year medical students (all 20 or 21 years old) kindly invited me to sit with them at lunch. It is great to build connections with peers all over the world!
Academically, the Brazil part of the program has been incredible. This week we have been focusing on maternal health, so we visited NGOs based on women´s rights and women´s health. Today we traveled to a maternity ward of a public hospital and saw first-hand how the health system has arranged for women to be coached on Kangaroo Care, breast-feeding, and natural births as opposed to Cesarean sections. The health system in Brazil is extremely unique and is incredible in so many ways. Everyone, no matter their ability to pay or their citizenship or their race or their gender, has access to universal health care in Brazil. I could even go in for a procedure or check-up and not pay a dime. There are still parts that need to be worked out and better arranged for implementation of equal access, but overall it is such an accomplishment. Tomorrow we begin our academic component on HIV/AIDS in Brazil. Brazil is one of the countries that is most applauded for how it has handled the HIV/AIDS crisis - by providing FREE anti-retroviral drugs to all patients. This starkly contrasts what I saw in South Africa and even the United States.
Now, I am about to head out for a soccer aka FUTBOL game! I don´t quite know what to expect...my host-grandma spends all hours of the day (and the wee hours of the morning) glued to the TV. If she is as obsessed with futbol as I think she is, I can only imagine what the crowd will be like tonight!
Edit: Now that I am back from the game, here are some photos! It was also exciting to find out that we were on TV! 
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