This is because Brazil is a country full of diversity!
A trip to Brazil in 2020. Who would have thought that?
The pandemic has made us all wary of other countries as well. But travellers have never stopped believing they can keep flying despite this.
I want to start by saying this because the people around me find it unreasonable that I have chosen to go to Brazil during this period.
Fortunately, I am an impulsive person and I decided to send my CV to the No Borders association for a volunteering position in the Change Making Tours project.
After that, I received an email where No Borders was telling me I had been selected for the project in Brazil. I didn’t think twice and called my employer and quitted my job.
Actually, I think it was the best decision in that moment of my life. I needed a change.
I think it was the best decision in that moment of my life. I needed a change.
After two weeks I was at the airport, ready to leave for Brazil and stay there for two months in the southern city of Guarapuava.
I lived in Outro Olhar, the association that hosted me in Brazil, with Sandra, the Outro Olhar coordinator, and Stefano, the other volunteer from Italy.
I met amazing local people like Mariana, an illustrator and English teacher, and her friends.
I have lived unforgettable experiences.
This is because Brazil is a country full of diversity. It is so immense that two months would not be enough for you to shoot it all, but probably not even a whole life.
I fell in love with the nature that surrounds it.
In this volunteering experience, we had the opportunity to meet the indigenous Guaranì. We talked to them, we ate with them, we shared several moments with them and we slept in the communities.
I had an opportunity to go to Rio de Janeiro with Stefano, and I can say It is a beautiful city with its pros and cons and an evident division between the rich part of the city and the poor one.
At the end of this project, I realized the numbers of different cultures I encountered in a single country: the Guaranì, the Guarapuavensi, the Cariocas of Rio de Janeiro, the Quilombola (Afro- Brazilian community) and many others.
Brazil, but above all, Guarapuava, Sandra, Mariana and her friends will always remain in my heart. As well as the barbecues in Outro Olhar or the evenings at the most local place I’ve ever seen in my life: the BarBirô, where probably a tourist without a local would never set foot.
I loved every single thing about this trip and this project and would do it again a thousand times.
Gabriela
