Hey Blog!
I accidentally took a long “intermission” from posting because life has been so so busy and I’ve been living in the moment! :) But, now I’m back and I’m ready to dump some awesome updates.
The last time I blogged was before my spring break. For break I actually went home for the week and got to be a normal USC student for a couple of days. I went to a football game, was there for a family reunion, and got some much needed time with some of my favorite people! It was a really good reset for me as I was feeling a little homesick before break.
Once I came back to Brazil, I came back with renewed energy to take on the remainder of the semester. It hit me how fast this is all going by and I made a promise to myself that I would be conscious to say YES as much as I could to any plans going on here. It’s made me super busy, and I’m thankful for that!
I know this is not a blog about USC, but here's a few pictures of my quick time at home anyways...
Ok, now BACK TO BRAZIL <3
The week after I came back from break I was pretty much slammed with school. I started a new school quarter, so I got 5 new classes. My schedule is different now from before, so a few things have changed.
After my week back, I got a special visitor- my boyfriend Owen! I was so happy that he got to see my life here in Brazil and that we got to explore some different areas together. We stayed in Ipanema, Buzios, Botafogo (where I go to school) and lastly, Niteroi. I was so excited to show him all of my favorite restaurants, beaches, coffee shops, and trails. This was another really good mental break for me. I balanced school a little bit, but mostly worked ahead and took some time off.
After Owen left, I hit the ground running again. I had a packed day of meetings, classes, and projects. The next day (10/23), some of our cohort went on a trip to Sao Paulo! This was a school organized trip, and it was a super busy couple of days. Basically, we took an overnight bus from Rio to Sao Paulo beginning on Wednesday night at 11:50 pm. We arrived at 7:30 AM and went straight to the Municipal market (famous for its fresh produce, meats, seafood, and gourmet foods). We got to try the very popular mortadella sandwich there too!
After that, we went to “Casa das Rosas” and the Japanese House. I got the BEST authentic iced matcha drink there! After these quick stops, we got lunch at a nearby mall and headed to Cajamar which was the area of our first company visit- Natura. Natura is an incredibly big Brazilian cosmetic/beauty brand. They have the second highest perfume sales in the world, next to Chanel. Here’s some facts that my friend Tessa wrote down on our visit: To test products, Natura prints its own “skin” using a bio printer. They produce 18,000 lipsticks per hour, every hour of the day. Their warehouses are 100% automated and use a FIFO system. Employees in the factory switch tasks every hour to ensure safety and encourage knowledge of all aspects. There are only 500 perfumers in the world, and one of them works SOLELY at Natura (Veronica Kato).
Ok, this company tour was so so amazing! I had no idea what to expect, but it was beautiful and well organized. I loved their company set up and their commitments to sustainability and environmental incorporation in their daily jobs. I got to buy a couple products from them at a discounted price, and I am loving them! Highly recommend this brand if you’re looking for an authentically Brazilian beauty company <3 Also, I FINALLY got to see a capybara!!!! It was on Naturas property. Just the funniest animal ever.
After one short night at a hotel, we woke up at 6 am and started our day (Friday). We headed to our second company visit- CPQD. This is a Brazilian telecom/IT/R&D company that is also a non-profit. They are very successful and it was cool to hear from passionate employees and see the projects that they were working on. After this visit, we went to the Japanese neighborhood in Sao Paulo which holds the biggest Japanese community in the world outside of Japan. We also went to another FGV campus (my school), the MASP museum, another fun exhibit in the city, and walked through the financial district. We ended the night at a super fun bar/restaurant in the city, it had the cutest vibes. At 9:30 PM the bus came to the restaurant and picked us up, taking us on another night bus ride back to Rio. We got back to our apartments at 4 am, and everyone was exhausted. But, I honestly loved Sao Paulo and wanted to spend more time there. It was fun to be back in a bigger city and I was impressed by the buildings and people too.
Since being back for a couple of days, I have caught up on work and spent lots of time outside. It’s getting a lot hotter here as we move into summer, and although I love summer, I am missing fall weather at home.
Here's a cool tree that I see all the time- it's been blooming SO much
This morning, I participated in a “EduRun”- a fundraising run for the school I volunteer for, EduMais. The run started at 9am and we did laps at a nearby park, raising money for each lap completed. After running a 6k with my friends, we went to our favorite grocery store and got their buffet breakfast. I was so proud of everyone that woke up early on a Sunday, moved, and gave back to a really cool organization.
I am still doing weekly volunteering shifts at EduMais. I used to teach English classes on Wednesday afternoons last semester in Brazil, but since my classes have changed I am now teaching on Wednesday mornings. I was sad to change shifts as I got used to the kids in the afternoons and enjoyed that section, but now I get to meet (and hopefully impact) more kids when I teach in the morning. The afternoon section is for middle and high school students, but the morning is 1st, 3rd, and 5th graders- so this is a HUGE difference, but with lots of patience and positivity, it's still fun :).
The last update that I can think of is my upcoming trip to the Amazon! I will be going on this trip in mid-November with a group of friends. Details to come!
Thank YOU for taking the time to read all my updates!! Have an awesome, amazing, and productive week too!
Much love,
Brigitte <3
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