My last day there before I headed to Sao Paulo, Rubens showed me around. I kept asking him to pose for pictures and when he asked me to pose in front of this blue wall I was surprised and very self conscience. He spent a while telling me to smile.
This old man walked passed and started helping Rubens out- telling me how beautiful African Brazilians were. It got really funny. 
I joined Dr. Anderson and her students on a trip to Calabar, Brazil. We visited a community center that teaches children and adults how to speak English.
Before we left the U.S., Dr. Anderson collected books and magazines (with black characters). With the help from close friends and parents, I was able to donate many books and magazines.
The students in Brazil were very grateful for the material.
The young man, Vinicius, (who is photographed above) who started the program was very humble and giving. He shared with us his inspiring story on how he started the program. ‘I did not have a lot when I started, he stated, I only had a notebook and a pen. But I kept going until it begin to grow.’ It was encouraging to see how dedicated he was to helping others in in community. “I started this center when I was 16 years old. I wanted to teach others how to speak English because here, if you know English, you can go far. I had a scholarship to learn English and it changed my life and I wanted the same of others”.
After a meet and greet with Vinicius and his co-workers, we got to meet some of the students. Vinicius had us stand in two circles. Standing on the inside was Dr. Anderson and her students and on the outside was Vinicius and his students. Every time he said, ‘switch!’ we spoke to a new person. I learned words in Portuguese so fast. All of us kept laughing and talking.
My second day I went to the beach and met a musician named Mariana Magalhaes who had this energetic dog. It was running up and down in the sand and chasing the fisher men. Only when I asked for its photograph did it sit still.
After the Holy Convocation (14 days of straight church) my cousin who resides in Canada stayed in New York to explore…
we walked the Brooklyn Bridge…. and spent a whole lot of money on pizza once we got to Brooklyn. Then took photos and told stories. I was completely drained and my body could do nothing but sleep on the ride back home.