Images

Today was our second full day in Salvador. Our schedule wasn’t as packed, and we had a few hours of free time in between our activities. In the morning, we went to the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), and had a lecture with a few graduate students and one undergraduate student. All of the students were enrolled in the program at the Institute of Collective Health (ISCi). The Collective Health program at UFBA is a combined degree, and students do not declare a concentration. Instead, they study everything within public health and the social sciences.

All of the graduate students shared their research interest and current research projects. Mateus, a current graduate student, had just started the program and shared his interest in the psychosocial care of crack cocaine users in Brazil. He is also a trained psychiatrist and works with community organizations to aid in closing down mental institutions, or asylums. Clarice is a psychologist, and a current PhD student, her research focused on using anthropological methods to study mental health related to Candomblé, a popular religion in Brazil. Yadira is a nutritionist, and she is studying the relationship between asthma and obesity. Marcio’s research project is focused on tuberculosis in Brazil. Finally, Rayan gave us a presentation about the bachelor’s program in health, and his experience thus far. I enjoyed this lecture because every student spoke with so much passion about their work and the institute.

We then headed to eat lunch at our homes, and went to our survival Portuguese class. Our Portuguese class goes by very quickly, at least for me, but even though it is only considered a survival course, I have been able to better communicate with my host family. After class a few of us decided to take a trip to Porto da Barra Beach. I’ve never seen a beach so packed before, and the atmosphere was very different compared to a beach in the U.S.

In the evening, we had a capoeira workshop with Mestre Sapoti and his students. Can I just say that I LOVE CAPOEIRA. The energy feels great, and even though I’m not the most flexible the class was still enjoyable. Capoeira is a form of martial arts and dance. Mestre Sapoti described the history of capoeira, and said that the slaves of Brazil created it as a way to defend themselves with their bodies. However, fighting wasn’t allowed so they disguised it as a form of dancing when people were watching.

We were able to learn certain moves, and the instruments used to play music.

I hope I get to see more of capoeira while in Salvador because I just think it’s quite amazing. The history behind it and the act of it is very appealing.

– Iman Bogoreh

My first trip to Salvador was in 2003 as a PhD student. I was studying public health but received a Foreign Language and Area Studies scholarship to enhance my Portuguese skills. I chose a program from UCLA that allowed me to study in Salvador because of capoeira. I started capoeira in 1998 and like most capoeristas, I wanted to go to Brazil and I was particularly interested in Salvador.

During my visit in 2003, I contacted a faculty member at the Institute of Collective Health (ISC) at the Federal University of Bahia named Professor Mauricio Barreto. He was evaluating the impact of a city-wide sanitation program on the health of the population and I was interested in his work. I remember walking up to the Institute of Collective Health and meeting with him one afternoon in the summer of 2003.  Nine years later, in 2012, I contacted him again to see if he might support my application for a Fulbright Scholar award to work at ISC. Professor Barreto miraculously remembered me, I received the award and moved to Salvador with my family for three months in 2014. The experience and the partnerships I developed helped me set up the School of Public Health (SPH) study abroad program here in Salvador.

This year begins our third program with students from  SPH at Georgia State University. Each visit is an opportunity for me to learn about our students, share the wonderful city and people of Salvador with them, and for me to learn about myself. The work involved to get here is immense and intensive and so is our time in the city. But I believe that the experience can be life changing, as it was for me.

Our first few days here have been exhausting but also very rewarding. It is hard to capture the beauty of the city in pictures or words. You can’t easily understand how it feels to be immersed in a culture and language  until you are there. Now, three days into our three week trip,  our students are getting to experience these things and reflect on how they are impacting their lives. Each activity we do helps me to see our program in new ways as well. Our tour of the city reminded me of just how big this place is and how much more there is to learn. I am excited to do this together with the group!

 

Christine Stauber

We are in the final days of preparing to leave for Brazil, where our students will learn about global public health research with a focus on collective health, health promotion and epidemiology as conducted in Salvador, Brazil.

The aim is to prepare our students to be informed and exposed to current public health issues from a global perspective.

Students will live with Brazilian families, providing them with additional insight into the daily lives of people in this city, the capital of the state of Bahia and home to a unique Afro-Brazilian culture.

Students will receive in-class instruction, take part in public health field trips in the city of Salvador, participate in an applied research project and study Portuguese. Instruction will be provided by professors from Georgia State University and the Institute of Collective Health at the Federal University of Bahia (ISC) as well as through the Associação Cultural Brasil-Estados Unidos (ACBEU).

Check back at this site in mid-May to read entries by our students as they start their academic adventure in Brazil