Volunteer in Mission to Brazil

01 January 2006

A new year

I have been in the U.S. for one week now, visiting family and friends for the holidays and attempting to obtain my long-term visa.

It is very interesting to see Washington D.C. with completely new eyes, now that they have been recalibrated in Brazil. The first thing I notice is that poverty here does not appear "poor" compared to what I've seen there. I understand that Washington D.C. is not one of the poorer regions of the country such as Appalachia, but still, today when I was driving through the neighborhoods that I previously viewed as destitute, the exteriors of the residences looked relatively adequate. Now I can easily see how people coming here from resource-poor regions would see this country as a virtual paradise.

In fact, many of the Brazilians I've met have expressed an interest in coming to the U.S. to work and live or have family already doing so. Moreover, the soap opera that was just ending when I arrived in Brazil was called "America" and was based on the story of a young woman who traveled illegally to the U.S. to work and send money back to her family.

The things I would normally do when I'm visiting Washington D.C. (shopping, eating out and seeing movies) seem somehow hollow. Am I homesick for Brazil? I know beyond a doubt that I'm missing the summer temperatures. The training for mission volunteers emphasized that volunteers will be changed by their experiences and will find it difficult to re-enter their home culture--perhaps this accounts for the change in my perception.

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