UDM students reflect on their studies in Brazil

Both Halima Salaam and Shayla Winfrey agree they never dreamed Brazil would be as diverse as it is. Nor did the two University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) business majors dream they would be able to communicate in Portuguese as quickly as they had. By the time they reached Rio, both had been speaking to people in Portuguese "without even thinking about it" for over a week. Both were discussing ways to promote Brazil to their fellow students at UDM - if for no other reason than to impart the importance of experiencing another language and culture firsthand.

Living in what is considered part of the African Diaspora, 70 percent of Brazilians identify themselves as having African ancestry. Bahia, Brazil has the second largest population of African descendents outside of Nigeria. Today, Brazil is a hotbed of activity in every avenue - from business to social change. According to Salaam, "being in Brazil is one of the best experiences I can have in order to enter the global marketplace once I graduate."

Dwight Edwards, a history major, transitioned from his graduation ceremony at UDM on May 13 to Metro Airport the following morning, relieved about graduating, and looking forward to completing his last four electives in Brazil. For Edwards, also a nascent speaker of Portuguese, "Brazil was an opportunity not only to practice what I learned in the classroom, it was an opportunity for me to compare slavery in the United States and parallel it to that in the Caribbean and South America. The program also provided a fresh discovery about Brazil's solutions to problems facing the ecology, particularly its aggressive recycling projects and commitment to the environment, including energy self-sustainment."

Edwards is anticipating his return to Brazil next year, as is Stephney Fulkerson, an education major. According to Fulkerson, "I just kept thinking that nothing could possibly top the lectures and experiences we had the first week. Then we met the kids at the Samba schools and learned how Samba contributes to economic sustainability in the community and I just thought 'Wow, this experience just keeps getting richer every day.'"

For Bob Birt, it was more of a spiritual awakening. "I renewed myself in Brazil," says the vice president of the Detroit Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, lifelong social activist (founding member of Black Student Union of USC) and current Portuguese language student at UDM. "The whole Affirmative Action movement in Brazil right now reminds me of the 1960s and '70s when I was at USC, promoting social change. What most impresses me about the movement in Brazil is the active role of women in the movement - and deliberate planning to choose them as drivers of change." Birt, who has some experience with farming, also participated in active discussion during a site visit to the rural landless workers (MST movement in Brazil, an outgrowth of liberation theology), where Dona Bibui - a woman, has risked her life to lead this movement.

For Adam Shinske, a psychology major who returned to Brazil for second time through UDM, it was a time to take a break from his studies and reflect on his journey along the Jaguaripe river - a tributary leading to the Amazon AND his favorite place in Brazil - before graduating this December.

This year, 17 UDM students, alumni, and staff traveled to Bahia, Brazil for an intensive two-week long study abroad program that takes students from Salvador to Cachoeira to Rio de Janeiro. The program, which ran during Summer I term, allowed students to take up to 12 credit hours in African American Studies, Intercultural Communications, and Portuguese language. In many cases, the students needed only one or two courses - some all four - to enhance or, in some cases, to complete their degrees.

Sandra Dickerson, School of Law dean of Administration, and her husband Alfonzo traveled to Brazil mainly for leisure, but found themselves immersed in the lectures and activities, simply for the joy of learning.

For Karishma Guha, UDM nursing student seeking to balance traditional medicines with "modern" treatments, Brazil lent a different perspective on life in many ways, including the kind exchanges in everyday life. "It's healthy the way people in Brazil acknowledge the existence of one another in small but noticeable ways, such as the way they say good afternoon (boa tarde) to one another...to us even though we are complete strangers. It's a gracious way to be life affirming. Everyone on our journey in Salvador lent to the learning experience, from the lectures to the everyday kindnesses extended to us along the way."

To learn more about the Brazil Study Abroad Program scheduled for Summer 2007, please e-mail Assistant Professor of Communication Studies Barbara Bolz at bolzbj@udmercy.edu or Lara Wasner, director of Language and Cultural Training, at wasnerle@udmercy.edu or please call the Language & Cultural Training Department at 313-993-1191.

Publish date: July 18, 2006