Contradictions of Being Brazilian in Brazil
Do you have any idea what it feels like to be in Brazil during election time? Well, it’s pretty insane.
Ana Nascimento
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.
— Dr. Martin Luther King, Washington 1963.
In every community there are people who have different experiences, who are unique and yet similar. We live side by side with each other, but how much do we know about our neighbors? Most of the people I spoke to for this piece are well known to me, and yet I did not know their stories. We all have a story, sometimes known only to ourselves.
In every community there are people who have different experiences, who are unique and yet similar. We live side by side with each other, but how much do we know about our neighbors? Most of the people I spoke to for this piece are well known to me, and yet I did not know their stories. We all have a story, sometimes known only to ourselves.
Did you know that the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School has a Brazilian history class? Well, we do! The whole purpose of this class is to teach students who came to the U.S. at a very young age the main points about their home country. It’s not only about learning history, but the class teaches students to work together and develop a way of showing everyone that Brazilians are not as bad as they think we are. So far, we have been a successful class. We have been on task and have been able to achieve our goals.
Sometimes life makes us realize things about ourselves that we wouldn’t be able to see on our own. On our journey through life we are able to find some hints, and even a few proofs that tell us that what we think to be fantasy is real. Life can show us that dreams do become reality and all we have to do is believe in ourselves and not be so willing to put all our faith in others.
It was the presidential election here and Brazil was on fire. People seemed so confused about who to vote for and if I were able to vote, I wouldn’t be able to choose one myself and so I went around asking some questions. The question I asked was, who would you vote for? The first person who answered was Marcella. She is only 15 years old but she had a very interesting answer. She said: “Neither of them is prepared to lead a country. Serra reminds people of what they would have rather forget.