My semester abroad has officially come to an end. Saying goodbye to IHP is so bittersweet! I’ve gained so much throughout this semester and have made such beautiful memories. I’m so sad to let it go!

This picture is from our very first flight together (to India)

We ended the program with an end-of-semester retreat in a retreat center two hours outside of Sao Paulo. We spent three days there reminiscing on the semester, doing intellectual syntheses, and prepping ourselves for going back home. We talked a lot about how to put what we learned to use back in our homes, as well as how to talk about our experiences while abroad.

We did an activity where we threw a piece of yarn around to each person in the circle and shared something we want to say to the rest of the group

I am feeling so grateful to IHP for the beautiful places it took me, the amazing people it introduced me to, and the difficult lessons it taught me. I grew in so many different ways this semester. Now I am preparing to go back to Bryn Mawr. I’ll continue to blog advice pieces for students that want to go abroad, as well as other things! I am actually currently in the process of designing a praxis course, so I should blog a little about that too. And of course, I’ll talk about what it’s like re-integrating into campus and all of the things that come with being a junior. Here’s to the next chapter!

My plane ride home

The thing that most impressed me about Brazil as soon as I got here is how artsy it is: every street has murals; there are countless museums to visit; and there’s music in every corner, etc.

I wanted to share some of the awesome art I’ve been able to see here. The most impressive by far is at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio. They had a wonderful exhibit in Portuguese, Spanish, and English on people and things that we experience. I took pictures of the exhibit and people reading the explanations. It was beautifully designed and written. I would definitely recommend checking this museum out if you ever find yourself in Rio!

We also went to Beco de Batman, which was so similar to Miami’s Wynwood Walls. Here are some pictures:

This kind of mural is all over Sao Paulo

Me being a tourist and taking a picture in front of a wall

This was definitely the most touristy part of Sao Paulo that I’ve visited

Other cool museums I’ve been able to visit and are a must-see:

• MASP
• Afro Brasil Museum

I just realized while writing this that there are so many more museums I have to check out and I only have two weeks left! Wish me luck!

I arrived in Sao Paulo a few weeks ago and it’s been beautiful so far! The city has the young, energetic vibe of Cape Town and is full of murals and art galleries and amazing food and the kindest people. The language barrier has been a bit of a challenge since this is the first country I’m abroad in where English isn’t widely spoken, but we’ve been taking survival Portuguese classes in the morning, and my Spanish background helps a bit!

My passport had a rainbow on it when I flew to Sao Paulo, so I knew it would be a good trip

These past few weeks have been full of me overeating at delicious Brazilian kilos, doing as many touristy things as possible (I still have so much left on my list), trying to communicate in my broken Portuguese, and taking in Brazil in all of its glory. It’s my last country 🙁 !

Brazilian food (aka the best thing on this planet)

Brazilian pastels (which in my country, DR, we call pastelitos) are a little reminder of home!

fresh honey

we are clearly very excited about banana chips

Fresh coconut!!

I have been in my element in Sao Paulo! My program is coming to an end in two weeks and then I will be preparing to head back to Bryn Mawr in the spring. Everything is so bittersweet! For now, I am just enjoying what’s left of my abroad experience.

Last weekend, a couple of my friends and I took time to visit Rio de Janeiro! We spent six hours on a freezing bus, but it was all worth it. My favorite part was the Escalera de Selaron, the famous stairs in Rio:

My favorite piece of the stairs in Rio

Me at the stairs, shining, because I love Rio!

We were also able to see Christ the Redeemer which was a super cool experience; it was so packed, but so worth it!

The view from the top of Christ the Redeemer

We ended our short weekend trip with some much needed relaxation at Copacabana Beach. I was sad to leave, but am luckily returning with my sister at the end of my program. I can’t wait to go back and experience Rio again (and this time with my sister!) So far I’ve seen three beautiful parts of Brazil (Sao Paulo, Rio, and Barra du Turvo), and I hope that my future will allow me to see more of this huge country with so much to offer.

Although many abroad programs place students in dorms, IHP places students with a fellow student and a family in each country. The homestay experience has been wonderful and I wanted to write a blog about it so that students who are studying abroad in the future can decide if dorms or homestays is the correct choice for them!

In India, I was placed in the home of a wonderful older woman named Sobha. She was a hard-working widow with no kids in the house, so my roommate and I (both very introverted) had a lot of space and time to adjust to being abroad. We had the sweetest cook, Rekha, who lived there as well. I was initially nervous to have my first homestay and first roommate, but I ended up being very pleasantly surprised. I ate the most delicious food every day (with dessert after every dinner), I had a really beautiful home with a nice patio connected to my room, I had a super sweet roommate, and I had a lot of introvert time (which I needed). Of course, we had an early curfew and couldn’t do some things that people living in dorms could. But, having home-cooked meals and a space to call my own gave me a sense of comfort that dorms could not. Rekha was also such a beautiful light and I loved having the experience of knowing her.

My roommate and I bought Rekha and Sobha flowers and a polaroid of us as a goodbye gift

Rekha with her bouquet of flowers!

In South Africa, we had two homestays. The first was in our rural stay of Zwlethembe. There, I had one of my favorite host families. I lived with an older woman who was a cook at a local school. She was very sweet and cooked the most delicious meals and always watched movies and South African soapies with us after dinner. She shared with us such personal stories and we got very close. I appreciated the love and comfort that she gave us. Zwelethembe is also a very tight-knit community so I would always walk home with a handful of kids beside me, holding my hands. Sometimes we would stay outside after class and play games with them; I was always in a good mood! This layer of community is something you can’t get from dorming.

me and my roommate in Zwelethmebe with our host mom!

My next homestay, in the oh so beautiful Bo-Kaap, was my favorite! Prior to this placement I had been complaining that other students got babies and children in their homestay and I did not. The universe must have heard my complaints because this homestay had four children and towards the end, my host mother’s other grandkids stayed with us as well and made it eight children! This was a really sweet homestay experience. The kids were all musically talented and sang and performed for us all of the time. My host sister was also very sweet and my roommate and I were able to bond with her. She still texts us today! Needless to say, I was very sad to leave this homestay!

Me and my homestay nephews, Dayyann and Dean (they always wanted to take pictures and make videos)!

My homestay sister took a selfie with me and my roommate

My real sister came to visit me in Cape Town, and my homestay sister took us to the carnival!

My last and final homestay is in Sao Paulo! Here, I am living with two dads (Thiago and Eduardo) along with my friend, Salome. My dads don’t speak as much English as my past homestay families did (Brazil isn’t heavily populated with English speakers), but we all speak a mix of Portuguese, Spanish, and English together, which is really fun! They’re also very young and are always telling us to go out more and have fun. They’re not like regular dads, they’re cool dads. My past homestays had been very mom-centered, so it’s really nice having two dads for a change. This homestay has also been super convenient because we live a five-minute walk from our school and a 10-minute walk from the station, so we can access everything really easily.

Our homestay family!

The cons of choosing a homestay is it might be harder to meet other students outside of your program since you are not on a college campus and you have to be more conscious of rules and respecting people’s homes. However, you get delicious home-cooked food, a chance at forming great relationships with your host family, people to provide you with the cultural context and a real immersion into wherever you are staying.

Either way, studying abroad is such an amazing experience that you can’t really go wrong!

As I’ve previously mentioned, IHP does a rural stay in each country we visit. For Brazil, that meant we spent five days in the rural state of Barra du Turvo. During this week we learned a lot about food security and were able to get in touch with nature and disconnect from the busy city of Sao Paulo that we’ve been in.

We had to cross this river on this little boat to get to Barra

Our classroom during the stay

The people who welcomed us into their home in Barra were so kind and gave us insight into their lives and their farming techniques. This is something I’ve never learned about before so it was super exciting for me! We even got to eat fresh food from them while on a tour of their farm!

Our guide cutting us some sugar cane

The sugar cane we ate (which was unbelievably delicious!)

I learned what the heart of a banana bunch looks like!

Fresh fruit every day

This was by far my favorite rural stay. The people who took us in were so genuine and kind. I got stung by a wasp and overreacted, but the host was so kind about it and helped me through it. He shared his personal story that resonated so deeply with all of us and really moved us. We spent a stormy night singing karaoke, and we spent our lunch breaks playing cards — we even got to learn Capoeira from locals (which was so difficult but fun)!

We were truly able to unplug and be present in the moment. I almost wish the stay was longer than just five days. It was a beautiful last rural stay and the memories will always stay with me.