i'm moving to brazil.
yes, in all seriousness - i am moving to sao paulo, brazil as of september. to work here - a rehabilitation centre for young and impoverished chemically-dependent mothers. for reals. yes. or sim rather. no more ja, i'm now back to sim and my head is quite literally spinning at it all! curious how such an event came to pass? well you see, it all happened a little something like this:
my ole' friend martin sent me a link to a contest, run by the ashoka foundation: "healthy mothers, strong world." the contest called for submissions of individuals aged 18 - 35 on the next "knock-out idea" for improving the ghastly figures of maternal morbidity/mortality around the world. ashoka would then choose the best 16, dub them "young champions of maternal health" (i know) and give them a 9-month fellowship to work on their idea under a mentor somewhere on this-here-globe.
i ignored it at first. for weeks. and then, one lowly morning on the walk from grand central station to my UNICEF office (oh that feels like ages ago), i was struck with an idea based on my experiences with les fistuleuses at the national hospital in niger. i was crossing 2nd avenue at the time, and after sitting down at my desk, spent approximately 8.2 minutes writing up my entry.
once more, i forgot about it.
until, weeks later, i get a notice that i'm a finalist. and then 2 interviews happen. and then i get the news that i won. but that they want to send me to brazil. (not africa as i had assumed they would) i was completely thrown - toni was completely thrown. mom and dad were completely thrown. i cried a great deal. and then did a lot of research on the organization, and pondered, and prayed, and all those such things. then just today i had a [somewhat intimidating] conversation [in portuguese - eek!] with raquel de silva barros, the woman i would work for, about what i would be doing whilst there in sao paolo.
and so! with toni's stalwart encouragement and promise to move to sao paolo in january (once his job contract is up in berlin) to be with me, i have said yes. OH MY GOODNESS i have said yes. so many feelings - let me rattle them all off in stream of consciousness fashion....
omg i really really have to get good at portuguese. FAST.... ah! so sad to leave berlin after what seems like such a short time... i really do love this city... I GET TO LIVE MY DREAM! work in maternal health! for an amazing, intelligent brazilian woman whose organization and cause and ideas i truly believe in - I GET TO DO A JOB THAT ACTUALLY FULFILLS ME on a daily basis... oh heavens i really really need to re-learn portuguese... i don't want to forget all this german i've just learned!... oh toni, 4 months long distance again, but then you heroically promise to come to brazil with me, despite not knowing a lick of portuguese, and leaving behind a wonderful, comfortable life in your home, lovely berlin, with friends and family all in arms reach... OH HEAVENS WE'RE MOVING TO BRAZIL.
and there you have it. i am moving to brazil. toni is coming with me. life is insane, and just when you think things settle, you are asked once again to move across the atlantic, to your third country in one year. OH MY GOODNESS.
15 comments:
parabens mulher! Voce vai aprender portugues muito rapido. Voce e intellegente, asperta, e tudo vai dar cert. Espero que possa visitar vc la no brasil... que saudades eu tenho das pessoas la. Vc vai amar aquele lugar. e legal de mais!! Te amo muito, vamos practicar muito portugues antes de septembre!
Wow, I just happened across your blog after some time, and I am so happy to see that you are settled (temporarily) in Berlin, enjoying your time out there. And now you are going to head out to Brazil! I admire your openness to change, it is pretty impressive. I am starting to become very interested in women's health physical therapy and I am taking a class right now from one of the experts in the field. It is pretty interesting! Noninvasive/nonsurgical techniques for treating pubic or abdominal diastasis, incontinence, pelvic pain, etc. And I may or may not be able to secure an internship for the final part of my doctorate training that has a component of women's health physical therapy, so I can learn things like internal pelvic exams that are not taught in school. It is cool that you are bringing better care to other countries, I hope to bring some women's health PT technique/education to other countries ASAP!
Some cool information from one of the PT special interest groups: http://www.womenshealthapta.org/plp/index.cfm
I hope you have a blast in Brazil! I will keep checking up on your blog!
Julianne you are amazing and I am so happy for you that you work that you truly love. 4 months may seem like a long time but only a tiny tiny blip. You will be so busy with the new job that Toni will be there before you turn around. Yes I will say it again-you are amazing.
Love and Hugs
Grammy
That is so awesome! You have the most amazing opportunities to change lives and experience different cultures. Good luck!
Whoa. You're right I never would have guessed that. That said, congratulations! What an honor and what an experience you'll have. My little girl's all grown up and saving China. Or, you know, the women of the world anyway.
oh, i'm so glad you decided to go! i've been hoping you would come to a decision that you felt good about. it sounds like such an amazing opportunity for you, jooj. yay. i love you!
a young champion of maternal health!!! i love it all. so much!!! we have GOT to talk. xxoo.
Congratulations! You'll LOVE Brazil. I lived/worked in Rio for two years - and like you ended up there very unexpectedly, but I'll never regret taking that leap. Its a beautiful country, full of friendly people, I hope you have a fantastic experience.
!!!!!!!!!!!
egads!!!!!!
and huzzah :)
there's this really great brazilian film called 'o ano em que meus pais sairam de ferias' that takes place in Sao Paolo in the 1970's. zina and i watched it a few years ago and loved it. i'm sure it's not 'relevant' at this point but it's such a great film that i think you might enjoy?
i am so excited for you! you will love it! i used to get confused for being a Paolista all the time when i was on my mission and always took it as a compliment. i love Brazil so much. i really want to try and visit in a year or so. i look forward to reading your blog after you arrive!
awesome jooj! we are excited for your next journey. the Lord sure has a lot in store for you :) Boa sorte!
Julianne, congratulations. This is just another testament to how incredible you are (of course, I never needed such a testament - I already knew). I am so proud of you, and so inspired by your ability to change things and to make things better!
I got the book, and I LOVE it. Seriously, I could have written myself! My whole family has read it and keeps talking about all the different people they want to send it to.
I miss you and love you and can't wait to read about your Brazilian adventures. Or maybe I can because I'm loving the Germany posts!!
OH...MY...GOSH! remember how I really wanted to go to Brazil but nobody wanted to come with me and because I don't know anyone in Sao Paulo I am stocked in NYC for the summer? OH...MY..GOSH! I am soooo happy for you! I am sooo excited ( and even a bit jealous) for you! You are amazing Julianne and you will do great out there. Like you I also want to learn portuguese. As a matter of fact, last year I read the whole BoM in portuguese. Maybe you can start by doing that? Anyway, I will definitely come visit you this time. Maybe i'll come visit you in Berlin and then Sao Paulo? Then again, I don't have a real job and should probably not spend the money in traveling, but I will try. Oh my gosh, I am seriously freaking out. I am sure not more than you. Anyway, you are amazing!
oh my gosh! oh my gosh! that is amazing. amazing amazing! I adore you so much!
Oh, so something just clicked in my head! I was reading awhile ago that the c-section rate is CRAZY high in Brazil-- 80% in some hospitals. And that it is mostly high income women who get them. Then later I was talking with a friend who has a lot of rich Brazillan friends and she says that in their culture women are told that if they have vaginal births that their "vaginas will fall off" and that they will be ruined for life. One of her friends had to have a vaginal birth here in the states (the dr. wouldn't do an unnecessary c-section) and her family couldn't believe that she was still intact after it.
This seemed kind of crazy to me until I read your post. I bet that these women are talking about fistulas. That, if they are even a little bit common, women can start "rumors" or "legends" that get passed down to other women and cause a lot of fear and unnecessary operations.
Maybe this isn't true but it is the only explanation I can think of for why women are being told (by other women and doctors) that vaginal births will make their "vagina fall off."
Crazy, you'll have to keep me posted on what you learn. Oh, also if you ever come across some good LDS Brazilian Birth stories let me know, because for the book I am helping with we really want to get some international stories as well.
Oh, and sorry for using the word vagina so many times in this post. I hope I don't offend any of your other readers ;)
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