catherinexperitial

[catherinexperitial]

Internship in Brazil, Salvador.

The beginning

When I came to Brazil I did not have big expectations. I did not even have any. All I knew was that Brazil is a poor country with beautiful nature. And Salvador? Yes, I have read something about that. It is the city with a strongly African culture. The internship was just a well-used time to not be in my home country over all summer and also a good opportunity to gain a new experience. At the beginning, I did not even realise that I will have the power to change someone’s life.

It all started on Wednesday, 21. of June. Victor, the member of the organisation which I have worked for, came to pick me up at the airport and gave me a lift to my new temporary family. I was looking through the window and still could not realise where the hell I am. It was just different as everything which I have known. Richer neighbourhoods went side by side poor neighbourhoods - the favelas. 

After like 40 minutes, Victor told me that we are close. The neighbourhood was very poor. Compared to Europe I felt to be somewhere in the parallel Universe. Roads were wrecked, houses were different. Likewise, there was an enormous number of people wearing almost nothing. And also a lot of dirt and rubbish.

We stopped on the street by the main road with little markets and shops at the both sides. My host, Bruna warned me she was not going to be at home when I arrive but her family is very excited to meet me. As we stopped the car, someone knocked at my window. It was a little boy with teeth braces and the biggest smile saying: “Katarina?” I got off the car and smelled a terrible odour. Behind the boy, there was coming a Brazilian lady. I understood it is his mum. They kissed my cheeks and took my suitcases from my hands. We went through the narrow street to the small gate with the bars and then up to the staircase. I came to the living room with a dining room and the kitchen in one. That was the very first moment when I realise that I am in the completely different environment which I have ever been. In the room were 6 more people - mum, her sister, children Brenda, Bruno, and baby Safi, and a family friend. The partition dividing the dining room and kitchen carried a board with the words: “Welcome Katarina. We love you.” On the table were a few cakes, bread, and coffee.

Victor introduced the family, helped to introduce myself and then he said: “Ok, I have to leave. If anything, just let me know.” And he left. It came. I realised I cannot talk to them and I have no idea what they were trying to say to me. I have to admit that I started to panic a bit. I felt literally like a little kid who is for the first time without parents in the big world. That was to me a quite new feeling. They offered me some food and let me get a shower. I was after three days long journey and the only things that I needed were to get a shower and sleep. I started to feel kind of frustrated too. I came to the tiny bathroom and I found out that there is no hot water. “Okay, I can deal with that, I am not a princess.” I thought. Then they let me sleep. I slept in the room of Bruna and Brenda. The room had two beds and one big closet with drawers and shelves with no door. Additionally, I could not realise where the other people were going to sleep since I had seen many of them but just a one more room. I was looking out of the window with the bars and I realised I am a real favela girl now. And the very first time in my life I felt very thankful for the hepatitis vaccine. 

The cross-cultural shock

As the days went by, I thought I had started to get used to the new environment and my new home. I just could not get over the fact that in my neighbourhood was everybody watching me. For the many, I was the very first white person who they have ever seen. Everybody called me gringa. I was thinking that this might be kind of that feeling when people are racially sorted. It was not pleasant at all. I felt like an animal in the Zoo. Everybody wanted to see that Bruna’s gringa. Once Bruna took me to the cash machine and she said her friend sells the Açaí ice cream nearby. We went to say hello and then I do not know how I was in their house and they just made me sit on the chair and say to the camera how I like that ice cream. They were laughing and talking Portuguese whereas my introverted soul was freaking out. I think you can still find that video something on Facebook. The other story occurred the first Friday we went home by bus. The old guy complimenting my tattoos was chasing us because he decided to give me his number. He wrote it on the piece of paper and just chased us. It was crazy. 

On Saturday, Bruna took me to the place owning by Museum of the Modern Art. Saturdays there has been a jazz concert. It was my birthday on Sunday and Bruna’s mum told me I should celebrate. I think I seemed to be very boring to them. We went with Bruna’s friends. Nice Brazilian girls. There was just one thing. They were too excited about me. I could not understand a word and they found it very funny. I would say that it was very mean. But what could I do? We got off the bus and we realised we cannot find the way. I understood just from the situation. The only speaking member of our group was Bruna and her English was too broken that sometimes she got just tired of trying to speak. Eventually, we asked the policemen and we were told to take an Uber. That it is the easiest way. I understood from the situation also that policemen advised us to take a cab although we were in number six. We came there and I was amazed. It was raining but the atmosphere was stunning. Stage with decades of little lights and a wide ocean view. On the left was an impressive view on the favelas. Despite all that poverty, there is a lot of beauty in it. The concert was nice and we got luckily home. At the time, I did not have a clue how annoying to me will be this “be careful” thing. Just continuous looking over the shoulder if someone with the gun, knife, or machete will not ask me for all my property is the best way to anxiety or at least a little paranoia. The following day to our family came a new member. The French girl named Laurine. It was a good feeling not to be all alone in that parallel Universe.

The frustration

Then I think that nothing unique happened and my project was about to start on Tuesday, 27. of June. We finally met each other from my team. I was so happy because it seemed that we were going to be a good crew. Unfortunately, we were told that there is a holiday that week so we were going to start the work just the following week. The lady from the school took us for the little walk around the community, explained to us that people will recognise us and there should be no danger for us to walk to the work every day. On Wednesday, we went to the school again. We were meeting the head of the project, Senhora Laura Maria. We had a look at the interior for the very first time. My first impression was terrible. Cracked walls concrete floor, almost no toys. Such the terrible conditions for the children. Since we had no work to do we started to hang out with my team. I was very glad that I found a little bit of Europe and mainly people who are able to support each other. 

I started to be frustrated about my family because there were things which they did and I could not get over it. They were truly friendly and very warm people. It was just that racial thing. They have an illusion that white people are rich. They kept telling me how rich I am, they thought for me is very easy to buy everything. They asked for little things. They used my stuff where I was not there, they knew where I keep everything better than me. For me, it was very weird because the truth was that I was not much richer than they were. Of course, in our reality. Although I have not had a family to take care of, I am just a student without job studying in the foreign country without any family support. All those material things which I possess I bought either I needed them for my studies or I had to do sacrifices to have them. Eventually, I had to tell about that to my organisation and they changed my host. The second day at the new house I lost my credit card. I had no idea how it could happen because I tried to never take it with me just to be sure. Then I realised how annoying is to have no wallet or have a fake one and the real one very good hidden. The same with my phones. I got irritated about all that poverty which forces people to do these crazy things. I knew it is just temporary but that feeling was strong. I was losing things and money just because it was such a mess in everything. No personal space, no wallet, two wallets, money in bra, money in panties. And the worse that I am white and I look different at the first sight. And the white person means a rich person. At least I was convinced that I was going to recover in a few days. 

The work

Anyway, The first real day at work was very nice. My living issue was sorted and we did a quick brainstorming and split our team into three smaller groups. I have been a member of the social marketing team. The second week, our ideas were starting to shape. We were about to focus on Facebook, Instagram, and blog. The idea had been to create short movies with people from the school and also with local families. We had problems with work conditions a lot. We could not take our laptops to the school because it was dangerous to carry not even on the street but also on the buses. We were waiting for the authorisation from the parents to allow us to use the pictures a bit longer than we thought. It was a bit disappointing mainly for us, the social media group because we needed to keep in touch with NGO members almost daily at the beginning. On the other hands, we needed to use our laptops. This caused that our work went very slow and we found out that 6 weeks under such a conditions are not enough at all.

The break point for me stroke when I was making a transcript of the interviews in order to process them for the meaningful text. we were translating an interview with a teacher and I realised for the very first time that we have had the opportunity to change the life of many people and how big our responsibility is. I realised that the poverty and hunger are real and these kids are facing that every day. It was not just a global knowledge about this world anymore. It was a real experience and a daily reality for the children who we have adored after a few days spent with them. 

I really hope that we can do the best and help these children to earn the conditions which should have been given for each kid automatically. I hope that we can make a difference and help to break the circle of poverty. Someone told me, why to strive to increase their conditions, they do not know any better anyways. But that is the point. If they do not know anything better they often think they cannot have a better life. And the teachers from the Projeto Sião try to raise these kids in this way and protect them from the struggle which brings them this daily life. I love the sentence from the interview with the teacher: “Every kid needs to eat, to play. To be in a good mood and to be allowed to be a child.”

In following weeks, we are about to release the interview with a teacher where you can read more about the kids and about the aim of the NGO. You canfind it on Facebook page Sião Itapuã. 

https://www.facebook.com/Si%C3%A3o-Itapu%C3%A3-1743519882344861/