My name is Becky and I am 24 years old. I am a laid back girl who enjoys everything from meditating by the beach to dancing it up until 4am at a techno club. I am avid reader but unfortunately graduate school has gotten in the way of that lately. I enjoy reading books about far away places and different cultures. I am very liberal, but I do have some conservative stances, therefore I classify myself as a pretty moderate Liberal American. I believe in Freedom, Love and Harmony and I am unfortunately very idealistic. As my Uncle wrote on my graduation present he gave me, "Got the warm fuzzies yet?" I am optimistic that I will find a job after graduation doing what i want to do, making the world a better place, which I believe is my reason for existing.
I am currently pursuing my master's in Latin American Studies in the Center for Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University.I LOVE my cohort and those who I have met through the program. They make every stressful paper, project or day worth it.
The trip this summer, for which I have created this blog, is intended to help me to establish our lives in Brazil, at least for the first part of it, anyhow. We both like going where the wind takes us. I also received an incredible scholarship thanks to Vanderbilt and the FIPES-CAPES scholarship (from the Dept of State of Brazil and the United States). The goal of the scholarship is to encourage cross-cultural understanding and to build US-Brazil relations. The topic for this year's program is Race, Development and Social Inequality: Issues of Access and Equity in Higher Education in Brazil and the United States. I have spent the first year of my graduate studies looking at Conditional Cash Transfer Programs, (such as Bolsa Família in Brazil and Familias en Acción in Colombia) and looking at the educational attainment of Brazilian and Mexican migrant workers. I plan on spending my time at USP examining the impact of Bolsa Família recipients on their choices after graduation (if they graduate), but more specifically, what colleges they have chosen to apply to, which schools they have been accepted to and what their current situation is. I get all excited about this topic so if I don't stop myself now, I am afraid I will go on for another two or three paragraphs.
I learned Spanish throughout my undergrad career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.During my time at IUP I studied abroad both in Costa Rica and in Guanajuato and Puebla, Mexico. My experiences abroad are what have helped me to become the person I am today. I have learned to let go of some of my "American" qualities and learned to enjoy the sound of the wind, the serendipitous encounter with an old friend on my way to class and to value my ancestors and family, as they are apart of who I am. Unfortunately, Portuguese has ruined my Spanish. I hope to eventually be able to make the distinction between the two. I can speak Portuguese better than Spanish at this point and when I attempt to say something like "I woke up a few minutes ago. The coffee is already ready." in Spanish, I don't say "I remembered a few minutes ago. The coffee is soon." Uggh.
We are also members of the Izunome Association. I, personally, have found incredible support in both the members, teachings and ministers within the organization. I truly believe that my mission on Earth is to create a better world. If you have any questions about Johrei, Meishu Sama or simply what I believe life is all cracked up to be, feel free to ask away :)
As far as info on Humberto, he isn't as into these online things as me. You'll learn about him through the posts :P
