Sofi gave her presentation today on Brazil, her state of Sao Paulo, her town of Rio Claro, and Rotary District 4590.She was very well organised, and spoke on her family, her home, her school and City, State and Country. Sofi used the Brazilian Flag to explain elements of the nation, and made the point that Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, just ahead of Australia, but with a population of 210 million, has over 8 times our population.
In the late 19th Century, Brazil imported many species of Eucalypt trees from Australia, to grow timber for railway sleepers. Even now, there is a museum dedicated to these trees in Sao Paulo.
Sofi made the point that Brazilians speak Portuguese, and has had to correct many Aussies who expect her to speak Brazilian. We should know better, because we speak English - well, some of us!!!!
There were many topics covered in the presentation - The currency, Religion, food, like rice and black beans, the samba and Carnivale, pronunciation - its Hio de Janeiro, The Amazon and deforestation. We saw photos of Carnivale, and it is a huge part of the national identity.
Sofi was able to explain the difference between fires in Brazil and Australia. We have dry and very hot fires, where the humid conditions in Brazil lead to slower burn, cooler fire conditions.
Sofi explained that she has an extensive background with Interact, and had exposure to youth exchange. Australia was her first choice for the exchange, and she thinks that she was lucky to get to Oz. We think that we were the lucky ones.
We had a question for Sofi, on whether the exchange had opened up new possibilities for career choices. Her response was that completing her education was the priority, and all options were open.
There was a banner presentation from the Interact club that Sofi represents.
Last Sunday, Sofi was interviewed by the ABC, and led into a story about exchange students coping with Covid 19. The link to her comments is here.