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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Florianopolis, Brazil

This is the beautiful island of Florianopolis or assuming I am already a local, Floripa. It is an island and the capital of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil. According to wikipedia, not a very reliable source in my opinion, the island has more than 42 beaches and I am thinking this is the perfect time to finally learn how to surf. Also, I apologize for hurting your eyes with such beauty.

My man

The countdown begins

My plane leaves in exactly one week, my baggage is not ready, I still need to buy more underwear and my parents seem to believe that I am completely unprepared for this trip. Yet, I still find time to start a blog for all the people I wish could fit in my luggage and take them with me, so they can know a little about what my career and life goals are and why this trip is such an important factor to make those goals a reality.

As most of you know, I am studying journalism and international studies. I still remember the day I decided to study this instead of going to veterinary school. It was senior year in high school and I was obsessed with traveling novels and photography and one day I took a picture of a homeless guy sitting on a bench with a plastic bag in his head reading a newspaper, and I thought: "Why does this man seem to be completely unimportant and yet, he intrigues me so much it makes me want to know his story?" And then I became obsessed with photographing strangers, which I've come to realize it's weird, but at the same time it makes them part of my world without them knowing it and gives me hope that I can someday be the same to a reader or maybe just a stranger. At that moment I decided that I would tell stories about those who have been forgotten and wander in this world unnoticed and give them a voice or just a chance to feel alive by knowing someone thinks they are worth it. This takes me to my other obsession that is the world's culture. Therefore, people, culture, writing and photography are what my thoughts go into most of the time. Which brings me to what I am doing in this trip. For four month I will be studying and analyzing feminism in Brazil and how women are affected by this movement due to the very popular movement in Latin American cultures that is Machismo or “masculine pride,” to then come back to the United States and compare both cultures and try to find a way to promote equality between men and women. This study will be documented through photographs, videos and journals, creating a type of documentary that I will put together with hopes of it creating a change or trigger some movement in the neurons of the ignorant and stubborn. I will also be perfectioning my neophyte Portuguese and will be traveling to places that my limited saving allow me to visit.

This is just a brief introduction to what my aspirations for this trip are and a glimpse of what I am trying to do with my life. Wish me luck and I will see you all in a few months.

Love,

Ana