Global Citizen Adventure Corps

My first time in visiting Salvador da Bahia, Brazil was life changing. Being a musician and an educator, I knew many values of music, but I never fully realized music's power to transform generations until I went to Salvador. There are so many wonderful organizations in Salvador helping transform the lives of women and young people through the arts. I am ever grateful for my exposure to these citizen heroes who are now my dear friends. If you want to learn more about Afro Brazilian heritage, culture, fine and performing arts, percussion/drumming, dance, history, and culinary arts to name a few, while helping to serve the mission of one of the organizations mentioned above, this program needs to go on your bucket list asap!

In the summer of 2006 I took a student trip with Dr. Hill to Savador da Bahia. The experience was life changing. We were immersed in the culture with music lessons, concerts, and traditional food. We truly experienced the whole of Brazilian life in Bahia. I learner music there that I still practice today. The music I learned there gave me a focus for grad school and fostered a love for other cultures that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else. Even now, almost 20 years later, I recall those experiences and how they shaped my life. We stayed in Salvador da Bahia. While there we explored the history of the city, took in many concerts, and got to take lessons in Brazilian Capoeira. We then traveled to Sau Paulo and took lessons with a professor there and got to see life in a big city in another country. I was also able to purchase musical instruments that I still currently use. These instruments were hand made and of a much better quality than what we can have shipped to the United States.

Being able to experience other countries and cultures was a truly eye opening experience. Learning how others live and witnessing the power of connections that we can share with one another really shows how similar we all are despite the differences of our every day lives. The experience that I had will forever live in me and will forever impact how I live my life. There is so much to learn when you get outside of your bubble and see the world and the people in it. Brazil is one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever visited. The music, the food, the art, and the people will always hold a special place in my heart.