This morning our class had the pleasure to speak to Deborah Santos, A PhD student working with mental health services. I enjoyed learning about how people in Brazil are treated for mental health illnesses. The class compared treatment options in Brazil to those in the United States. Santos explained that patients of mental health in Brazil are taken in with open arms, and with the sole focus on their needs. We concluded that the issue of mental health in the United States could benefit immensely from using similar methods.
After class, we got the chance to visit Mercado Modelo with our Portuguese professors to buy souvenirs! This was my favorite part of the day because although we have been in Brazil for over a week, I have not gotten the chance to do any shopping. After entering the market I was overwhelmed with all the different stalls full of colorful items. Being in this market and trying to interact with the vendors made me truly feel like a tourist. I asked the vendors how much certain items were in the little bit of Portuguese I knew, and they could tell I was a foreigner. That did not stop me from bargaining with them! A few of them agreed right away, but many of them turned me down. Most of the vendors were selling similar, if not the same items, but they were all priced differently so I roamed around for the best deals. I bought t-shirts,coin purses, bracelets, and key chains for my friends and family.
We ended our night with a beautiful show at Bale Folclorico Da Bahia, in Pelourinha. This was a folk ballet that expressed true Bahian culture with live music, singing, and dancers. The performance was not at all what i expected, but much better. It was a very immersive experience filled with elevated energy from not only the performers, but the crowd as well. The choreography included Fishermen’s Dance, Maculele, Capoeria, and Samba De Roda. The Capoeira was my favorite since we did a workshop on it earlier in the week, and I could follow the movements. Sadly, we were not able to take pictures of the performance, but I made sure to take a group picture! Leaving the performance with the soaring energy from the dancers running through my body was a perfect way to end the night.
