Category: Keiven Jamal Russey

This morning we had our last day of class in Brazil. This study abroad trip has been a great experience for me because I got a chance to get a taste of another culture while learning. I wish it would not have came by so fast because I really enjoyed myself. After class we went shopping for gifts and shirts to take back to America. Later on that night we had a Farewell Dinner at a steakhouse which was amazing. Now time to get back to Jackson State. The next two days are going to be very long getting back to school.

Today we visited the Arte Consciente at Saramandaia. I like what the program is doing and the impact it has on the community. This program keeps the young children off the streets and it really changed the neighborhood because at one point it was tension between two different sides of the neighborhood and the program changed that. The program offers boxing, drumming, and singing for the children. The visit to Arte Consciente at Saramandaia was a great experience for me because we had a drumming lesson and had the opportunity to play the drums with the other children in the program.

Today was a free day but I got a lot done today. We started the day off by going to Peloutinho to shop. I bought my self a tshirt and other clothing and soviners for my family. I also worked on my projects today and edited my first project so everything will be tightened up before going back to Jackson State. These two weeks in Brazil went by so fast. I guess time flys when you are having so much fun.

Today we visited an Orphanage in Cidade Baixa. We had engagement activities with the children and the they had a great time. The fact that no matter what situation the children are in, they still manage to smile and have the time of their lives. Even though the children smiled and played, I felt like could not take pictures of them for our project because of their position. I had to realize though it was for something to bring awareness to children in that position. We also went to the store to get things that the orphanage needed. I’m glad we had the opportunity to help the orphanage in some way.

Today was another great experience taking a trip to Cachoeira. We visited another market today where they make tobacco, an interesting fruit I tried and much more. Then we visited a farm where they make flower. After that we had lunch at another farm which was amazing because the grilled chicken that was made. I also enjoyed the cigar factor after lunch because it was interesting to see how the cigars were made and great quality that they produce. Today was a great day visiting Cachoeira and I look forward to visiting the Orphanage in the morning.

This morning I experienced a walking tour which was great. This tour included Dique do Tororó, Liberdadd neighborhood, Candomblé temple, Ilê Ayê, Ribeira, Bonfim church and Feira São Joachim. It was an African Oriented city tour which in enjoyed the most because of the Liberdadd neighborhood. It was so much culture there and what enjoyed the most was all the graffiti on the walls. I was fascinated by how much talent was in the city and I got some great shots of the different graffiti on the wall.

My experience in Salvador da Bahia has been amazing the whole time. Today just confirmed that Salvador has some of the best food I had. I’m glad I had the chance to experience the food that is made in Salvador. This morning we took a cooking class with one of the best chefs in the area. We learned how to make shrimp and fish maceuqa. It was a great experience and I’m glad I can try to make it back home with others. After the food was cooked, the best part was eating it. It was the best maceuqa I had since I been in Salvador. After the cooking class we had Web design class. Today was a great class because I learned more about making the website. We already learned how to set up the layout of a website but I am still getting the hang of it. We also learned how to set up buttons in the heading and sidebar. After class we enjoyed pizza for dinner which was great. The highlight of the day was the cooking class because of the great maceuqa. I love to go back and take the cooking class and most of all eating there again.

Today was a great day as usual. We started the day with a capoeira class which was very fun. This dance was harder than samba because of the difficult mobility occur dance. Then later that day we went to a service at the church. It was amazing to me because it reminded me of church services back home. After that we are an amazing meal as usual and the day turned out great.

Class was good today. We received constructive criticism for our projects. The notes I reviewed today I’m going to use to edit my poster and postcard. We also made the skeleton for a website. Once it was explained, it’s actually a pretty easy and simple task. We also took a Samba class today. I was sweating so hard, I didn’t know that the dance took all that energy. Dinner was good today as well. It was in a gas station, which was odd but it was actually really good. Overall today was a good experience

Today in Brazil was more laid back than the other days. We started the day with class working on our projects and learning more about building a website. After class we had lunch at a restaurant call Flora. The food and service was great. I had shrimp moqueca with rice which filled me up. After lunch I spent time working on my project some more to get it as balanced as possible. We present in class tomorrow and I’m looking forward to interact with my classmates and give input on every ones project.