Reflecting

         We just finished up a long semester of student teaching in North Carolina. We were all a little nervous and a lot excited about our upcoming journey. We never knew we were about to embark on one of the greatest experiences of our lives.

Before I came on this trip, I had been out of the country twice. But, both trips only lasted one week. Therefore, they were the only experiences I had outside of the country to be globally aware. Now that I’ve spent a month in Brazil, I would like to change my definition of global awareness. I first said, “I define global awareness as how well a person knows the world.” After this trip, I’d say it’s more about how well a person knows the people of the world. You can’t truly know the world until you know that people that make up the world. I think I was under the impression that the more places you visit, the more you know, and if you meet people on your journey, then great! But now as my heart breaks because we have to leave our family here in Brazil, I understand it a little differently. I also said this about global awareness before I came, “…it can be measured by how many people you’ve interacted with- and even become friends with- from different cultures or different parts of the world.” This sounds a little naïve to me now. It’s not about how many people you have met, but how deep the friendships get with those people. Seeing the sights of Brazil has been wonderful. Trying to understand and fit in with the culture here has been interesting. Talking to people in Portuguese has been a challenge. But developing relationships with the people here that we know will last has been priceless. I know I sound like a MasterCard commercial, but it’s so true. We can’t even fathom that time has passed this quickly and that our time here is up. We have made some incredible friendships and we will miss them very much!

            It’s really interesting to compare my cultural identity from before I came to Brazil to now. I listed very blunt obvious things before: “I am from small town Eastern North Carolina in the United States. I have been blessed with fortunate means. I speak American English. I am a Caucasian Female. I am a Christian.” Now I have a new attitude about it because it’s very clear to see your cultural identity when you are out of your own culture. I’m going to try this again. These are some of the things I learned about my culture while in Brazil. My name is Kathryn Byrum Brooks. My middle name is my mother’s maiden name. My last name is my Dad’s last name. I come from a very tight family, and my parents are divorced. Because of this, I have a huge family! I have one real brother named Stuart and 6 stepsiblings. We all see each other often. I am from all over Eastern North Carolina in the United States of America. I have been blessed with privileged means. I speak American English. I am a Female. I am Christian. It is in my culture to celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving with my family and with lots of food. We love to dance, play sports, travel, and laugh!

            I have learned so much to take back to my classroom! The main thing I’ve learned is humility. I spent hours putting myself into the shoes of my future ESL students. I sat for many days trying my hardest to understand what my teacher was talking about. The problem was that she was speaking in another language, and she wasn’t providing any support for me to learn. I know that my job was to observe pedagogy, but I couldn’t help but put myself into others’ shoes. It was truly humbling. There were seldom times when I knew what to do: when she used her hands to act out directions, when she wrote directions on the board (if I could figure out the language), or when I watched what other students were doing. I grew up being a very good student. I never really had problems in school. It was incredible for me to struggle in the classroom in order for me to have compassion for these students that I will have.

            I have also learned about the importance of communication. When we arrived in Brazil, our phones no longer worked without WIFI. This was “culture shock” at its finest, but it ended up being one of the greatest learning experiences of our trip. We are so used to being able to call or text someone without much effort. Now, that was taken away from us. We had to actually go find each other to talk and figure out plans. If we lost someone, we just had to hope they knew how to get back! There was no miscommunication from text because we always talked in person. It sounds so simple and obvious, but it was beautiful. We learned not to take for granted one of our greatest gifts in life, communication. Why make communication easy when easy isn’t always best? Think of all the times you have gotten a text or email and ended up with a miscommunication. This made me begin thinking about my future students and parents and how I would communicate with them. Before this trip I probably would’ve sent a quick email telling a parent that their child is struggling without even thinking. Now, I realize that that is news that should be communicated in person (or at least on the phone). This is where home visits fit in! I think participating in home visits would be so wonderful for my future classroom. This way I can really meet my parents and students where they are so we can help and understand each other better. Therefore, I think I have gained much knowledge about the gravity and necessity of proper communication.

            Overall, I have learned many things while abroad about myself, the world, and about others. I learned that I could step out of my comfort zone: leave the country for an extended period of time, leave my family and friends at home, and travel across the world in a place that speaks a different language. I also learned that I’m not from “America.” Here, when you say that, people say that they are too! That’s how they teach it here, that North America and South America make up one continent. Now, I will say that I’m from the United States. I have also learned that kindness, love, laughter, hand gestures, and dancing are universal languages. You can navigate a city and meet incredible people with universal languages. The amount I’ve learned on this trip is enough to write a book about. It’s a type of learning that just can’t happen in the classroom. I’m so thankful for this experience and how much I’ve grown as a person. I think this program should be required for all students!