2011-09-15
A utopian city would be divided into equal blocks, the streets would be paved from north to south and east to west, and there would be sufficient parking, an efficient sewage system, and verdant public parks. Salvador is not a utopian city, but it feels like home; a place where you can put your feet...
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2011-09-20
Some words are pretentious. I see them once and they all of a sudden think they can invite themselves into my mind, bursting down the mental door and ostentatiously announcing their arrival. These are the famous words; everyone knows their names. I see them everywhere: in magazines, on billboards, and on TV. I know everything...
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2012-03-07
“You know, you’re not like the other Americans.” I looked up from brushing my wet, clean hair. My older host cousin, Iarema, was standing on the other side of the living room, one hand placed lightly on her thrust out hip. Her eyebrows were furrowed as if she was trying to solve a puzzle and...
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2012-03-07
I was having trouble figuring out exactly what was going on. There was a blubbering man with tears streaming down his face and my host dad sitting on a stool, determinedly looking straight ahead with arms stubbornly crossed. My host dad owns a burraca in front of the house, a tiny convenient store/pit stop, which...
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2012-04-26
On one hand I wanted to keep my dignity. I’m proud of education I’ve received and I feel like I’ve always taken advantages of opportunities to expand my mind. On the other hand, he was right, I was here in Brazil to learn and learning is a humbling experience especially when that learning is in the school of life.
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2011-07-05
“Other” was the name of the box I checked off for the ethnic questionnaire on standardize tests but “Other” isn’t my race. “Other”, in fact, is the substitute for a word that doesn’t exist because a blend of sorts is difficult to define. A mouthwatering dish is a blend of subtle flavors in...
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