Jessica Mocon
MY YEAR IN BRAZILWelcome home Jessica Mocon after completing a year as an exchange student in Brazil. Jessica is a student at Cardinal Leger, Brampton. When she arrived in Brazil, her first thought was of football, beaches, language and culture. Everyone was so welcoming. She arrived in Recipe where she went to her first host family. She had a brother age 12 and a sister the same age as Jessica. She had the opportunity to experience everything with them which included favourite foods, eggs and fried bananas.
Jessica spent Christmas and New Year with a second host family. She had a sister age 23 and they went to carnival together in Recipe. The third family had two older brothers and there was a dog in this family. The Dad was a pastor and they went to Church twice per week.
School in Brazil is different from Canada. Jessica’s host sister went to a technical school and she had to take a test to get in. Upper secondary education is ages 15 to 18. It is free but not compulsory.
The culture in Brazil is amazing. During carnival the people all dress up. All exchange students took part in carnival.
Jessica did a lot of traveling, scuba diving, snorkeling, piranha fishing, horse back riding and hiking. She went on a northeast trip with 50 other exchange students. She made a lot of friends and now she has friends from many countries. Jessica also went to Buenos Aires for five days; she spent a month in the Amazon and a week with exchangers enjoying the rainforest. In the Amazon they slept in hammocks; they were relaxing but the heat was unbelievable.
So what has Jessica gained from her year in Brazil? She gained a new language, friendships, culture, independence and a new perspective of life. Being an exchange student has changed her life so much and she would do again.
Jessica thanked her parents and Rotary for supporting her.