Thanksgiving

I realize I am late with this Thanksgiving post but I figured better late than never.

Like I said before, I have been here a month and things are starting to feel a little more real. I can honestly say I am pretty much past the culture shock for the most part. The part that still gets me and I really cannot imagine getting used to is the poverty.
I live a very good life here in Brazil. In fact, I live in one of the richest neighbourhoods in Belo Horizonte. The crime rate is not high in that particular area, which is comforting but that doesn't stop me from seeing how other people live as well. One minute you are on a perfectly paved street, the next is torn up and uneven ground. Some buildings here are magnificent and beautiful and others (that could be right next to them) are worn and torn buildings with barely a stable wall.

I watch the richest people all dressed in suits, carrying briefcases, talking on their expensive Bluetooth, walk right past a food-deprived child with a terrible cough and their hands held out asking for change. They walk right past them as if they didn't even notice. At many intersections, people will come up to your window and stick their hands out. Some are so sick, they can barely talk or walk. Their cheeks are concaved and their eyes are nearly blank.

I've never seen anything like this in small-little Armstrong. It breaks my heart to see the contrast of the rich and the poor here in Brazil but I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to see it first hand. In just one month, Brazil has opened my eyes, my mind, and my heart to many things I didn't have any prior knowledge about.

This post is tied in with thanksgiving for a reason. There are so many things in my life I have to be thankful for. I am thankful for my family and friends at home in Canada, who have been supportive as usual. I am thankful for the family I have here in Brazil, who consistently put food on my plate (maybe a little too much I might add), give me a warm bed to sleep in, a place to call my own, and all the many more surprises they do for me. I am thankful for my friends here, who have been making my exchange very memorable. I am also overwhelmingly thankful for this opportunity to see the world from another point of view. To anyone and everyone who made this happen for me: I am thankful for you.


Sometimes the littlest things are the most beautiful things but the only way to recognize this beauty is to really open your eyes. So breathe deep, laugh way too much, smile always, love everything and everyone, and please just do what makes you happy.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! :)