Where do I even start!
I landed right in the middle of carnaval and shit was wild. That’s why you haven’t heard from me. That’s why my uncle hasn’t heard from me since I landed. I saw him yesterday and he was like when did you land. I said 3 weeks ago… and he said “and you called me today?” Idk how these Brazilians up and drunk 24 hours a day for a week straight but they do it and they have a good time too. Salvador holds the world record for the largest block party in the world, so you can imagine my exhaustion. Despite having to reset my social battery like every 4-8 hours, I really enjoyed it. I was able to film a little bit during my affiliate’s invite-only camarote, and while it wasn’t hella people there, I was able to connect with some Howard students, film, and network during this 4-day long event. If you’re following my instagram I was posting all of the stills I captured. I got some really beautiful shots despite it being just me (no team yet) so I’m proud.
I think I’m getting well-adjusted to Brazil. When I got here right… I was like oh so this what we doing. For the next nine months. But it just took making friends to make that weird feeling go away. I’ve met so many people and they’ve all given me so much perspective on my life so far. Like I really went to college in the South and it really was that bad… UNC was not normal and I’m sick of everyone tryna tell me it wasn’t all that bad. Just look at what’s going on rn. And instead of transferring, I thugged it out. Because I felt like I had to. Because my mentors told me that it’ll be worth it when I have UNC at the top of my resume. I still think everything happens for a reason and God did but my only regret is not listening to myself back then when I knew I would be happier at another school. Why we gotta struggle to have the good life?
At the same time, that experience is/was always going to be so insignificant compared to what life got in store for me. It’s a big big world out here.
I want to let everyone know that by the grace of God my Fulbright grant has not been affected by Trump’s stupid-ass funding freeze. The stipends that me and those in my cohort have earned are provided and distributed by the Brazilian government and our commission is ensuring that we get our money. It’s honestly incredible how he can cause so much chaos and disrupt people’s dreams of researching abroad. It’s like an eery isolation tactic in my eyes. He’s the world’s biggest manipulator and he’s moving worse than I have ever seen.
Anyway Wakanda is real and it’s in Salvador, Bahia. I miss all my friends from home and I want a cat but how I’m gonna take care of a cat. I desperately need to find permanent housing and once I do that and feel more settled I start my preliminary interviews for my doc. I’m still trying to figure out how I want to share these clips before putting the doc together but I will think of something creative. Open to suggestions because I’m curious what everyone is interested in seeing.
Blessings xxx