Before I even set foot in
Bahia,
I knew I would love it. I had done quite a bit of research on the area
and was intrigued by how much the African culture had been retained
over the centuries and the similarities between Bahia and Ghana. I also
knew that in some ways, it was more developed than West Africa with a
relaxed (and sometimes frustrating ;) third world atmosphere. But even
with all of the documentaries and books and research, it was still a
very foreign place to me and I was very drawn to it. In addition to
wanting to travel to Salvador, I had also been interested in
volunteering abroad but was very apprehensive about a two year Peace
Corps commitment. So I researched several short term volunteer abroad
organizations and came across
Cross Cultural Solutions.
I chose CCS because I felt like it was the safest and most
comprehensive option for traveling to Brazil for the first time because
Brazil is very well-known for its crime. I knew there was a wide gap
between rich and poor in Brazil and it generally was race-related. I
felt that I could be a good role model to the youth of Salvador and
figured that if I was living and working there, I would come closer to
being immersed in the culture and understanding what it was all about.
