We Are In Brazil !!!

When leaving the Guarulhos International Airport just out of São Paulo, I truly felt grateful for such an opportunity; A young Māori girl in a completely different indigenous country. Once we stepped foot onto indigenous whenua, I could feel the wairua of the indigenous communities now and in the past. Brazil is everything that I believed to be true; it is such a vibrant country to be in, to be surrounded by music and culture. I did not feel jet lagged after a twelve hour flight from Auckland to Houston, Texas then a six hour layover there, then a ten hour flight into São Paulo; even though I did sleep for 12 hours on the first night in São Paulo. I am excited to learn about Brazilian culture, language, history and indigenous rights. This will give me a better understanding of who they are and how they have come to be now as indigenous peoples. Paraíso Suítes by Charlie is the accommodation we are located at during our stay in São Paulo, it is a nice hotel with a lovely terrace and a buffet breakfast; with an assortment of brazilian foods. We have been to many street markets; these markets include brazilian food, garments, jewellery, accessories and more. So far I have brought presents for a few family members, which I hope they enjoy. Brazilian food is delicious and filled with flavour. The pineapples in Brazil are pale but so juicy and sweet. My favourite aspect of this experience so far is the time that we have gotten to get to know each other on this trip and really experience Brazilian culture together with like minded people with similar passions about indigenous rights and history. The most challenging aspect of this experience is the language barrier, there are only very few people here in São Paulo that can speak english. We have taken a crash course in the Portuguese language, and we now know very basic portuguese. We have recently visited the immigration museum, and learnt about the process that immigrants used in the past. This was a place of hard times, and stressful living arrangements. This was well worth the visit as it gave us the knowledge to understand an aspect of the past in São Paulo. We also attended a Capoeira class, which is a mix of fighting, dancing and low body movements. We were taught the history behind capoeira, and also learnt a competition moves. The overall experience so far; has been amazing.