I catch a bus to my morning apprenticeships at the school where I assistant teach English, Art, Music, and PE classes! I also help oversee the school garden. I love getting to know the kids in my community. It was extremely difficult to understand them when I first arrived, but I’ve ended up learning so much from them! Plus, nothing’s made me feel more like a member of the community than walking through my neighborhood and hearing one of my students scream “OI Amari!”

Luckily I live 2 minutes away from the school where I work, so I am able to eat almoço (lunch) at home with my family. In Brazil, lunch is the biggest meal of the day. A typical Brazilian meal consists of arroz (rice), feijão (beans), and some type of meat! After lunch, I usually chill on our hammock with my host siblings or ride bikes with them up and down our street!

It’s time to head to my second apprenticeship working in the community garden! The garden’s in a historic community that was founded by fugitive slaves during the colonial period in Brazil. Working in the garden and getting my hands dirty has been a completely new experience for me and one that I surprisingly really love, but it’s the people that have made this experience so special to me!

After working under the hot sun, I love to go with my friends to the local cachoeira (waterfall) or walk to the praia (beach) by my house. Getting to relax while surrounded by nature is something I treasure now and will miss immensely when I go back to the big city!

Free time is something I rarely had during high school, so when I first arrived to my home stay community, I was uncomfortable with all the unconstructed time I suddenly had. Relaxation is a cultural value Brazilians take very seriously. Most days I will spend these quiet moments at home with my siblings. Other days, I explore meet friends for cultural activities like free Zumba classes on the beach or capoeira in the central plaza.

In the evening I eat dinner and play with my siblings. Here’s a pic of the necklaces we made together! My relationship with host family has been one of the most important aspects of my gap year experience and one I will be forever grateful for. This year, I not only got the chance to observe and learn about a new culture and community, but I truly feel like I became an important part of a family!