saying goodbye to Salvador, part 2

I leave for the States on Sunday and I'll be back on Monday afternoon... it's crazy to think how fast this semester has gone by. After being stressed out all last week, I finished my ISP on Sunday. It ended up being 39 pages, and I think it turned out pretty good. It's called "Somos Mulheres: Grupo Palavra de Mulher and the Validation of Black Lesbian Identities". So on Monday, I turned it in, and then Kevin and I had to move out of our apartment. Unfortunately, we were late and the landlady was kind of pissed off. So now everyone is staying at this pousada/convent in Itapua which is techinically a part of Salvador but is way way far away from anything. We did ISP presentations, mine went very well. People did all kinds of projects, it was cool.

Overall, this semester has been really incredible. There have been some rough times (such as the sushi incident) and some people who I could have done without, but I really value the experiences I had and the people that I did connect with and who I do respect. I'm really excited to come home and see friends and family, and eat food (hamburgers and burritos and fried chicken, oh my!), and watch TV, and speak English all the time, but there are definitely a lot of things that I'm going to miss about Brazil, especially Salvador.

When I get a chance, I will steal pictures from the other students and post them here, and that will be my last entry in this blog. Hope y'all enjoyed, and I'll see you soon.

Raça Negra

Two weeks from today I will be back in the United States. Although I think I'm ready to go home, I'm also really going to miss Salvador. I've met some really amazing people here, both Brazilian and American. I especially adore the group of women I've met through my ISP. They are a political group, but they are also like family, and they've kinda taken me in as one of their own, I'm going to miss that. Maybe I'll start a black women's group on campus when I get back.

Today I wrapped up the field work for my ISP, which is great. I originally wanted to finish on Wednesday so I'm technically ahead of schedule. The paper and the field journal are due next Monday by 5 pm, I shouldn't have any trouble meeting the deadline.

Quick note: Last Thursday was amazing, one of the best nights I had in Brazil because:

a) Went to a really cool benefit concert against AIDS and racism
b) stayed out til 4am having crazy adventures
c) kisses with someone special

AND
d) it all counts as field work for my ISP

I win.