My trip at ZuLai Temple, Brazil                                           Catherine Wu

 My time spent in South America this summer of 2005 was definitely a one of kind experience. This trip was more of a lesson for me. During these past two weeks, I have learned a little of everything that the South American culture has to offer including the Portuguese language, crocheting, food (especially cheese, coffee), the Iguacu Falls, and even samba. (I also learned how to hand wash my dirty laundry.) But moreover, not only have I met some of the most talented and amazing people but have also gained much insight about my own life. This whole trip can be categorized as one of those trips in which you just had to be there yourself in order to be more aware of your surroundings.

Firstly, the main reason I decided to go on this trip was for the kids. Kids could always bring happiness to my life because their actions are always truthful and spontaneous. Unlike kids in the U.S., Brazilian kids are a lot more affectionate towards everyone they meet. Their lively spirits can go overboard sometimes, but it’s just so hard to refrain from smiling when they’re simply being themselves. From these kids, and not just the Filhos de Buda (ZuLai Kids), but also the ones in the orphanages and disabled center, I have come to realize that my entire life has been a blessing. Maybe some of it was luck, but which ever way (my past life, reincarnation, etc.) it was that got me landed where I am in my family and so forth, I should complain less and be grateful more. There were times during my stay in Brazil when I found myself admiring the simplicity of these children’s lives; rules rarely exist and even garbage picking can be made into a game. From the bottom of my heart, I have to thank these kids who have brought a deeper appreciation to my own life.

I don’t regret that I went on this trip; I don’t even regret the people I went with even though I knew I wouldn’t be so satisfied from the start. This is because I’ve learned that this is what society will be like when I enter the workforce in the future; there will be all sorts of people I will have to deal with. Thus, I should begin practicing how to control my emotions, especially those on my face when I am “emotionally charged”. For future trips, I would suggest that there’s better communication between everyone, including participants, parents, shi-fus, and so forth. It would’ve been helpful to know the specific level of the Brazilian kids as well as what kinds of people are willing to go on this trip. Everything has to be made clearer, even when it comes to airplane tickets and escorts. On top of things, we noticed that the language barrier was indeed an obstacle to teaching English to the kids and possibly, future participants can learn bits of it before going to Brazil or anywhere else with a different native tongue. That’s it for the negative stuff because I don’t want to find myself remembering these “angry” moments and associate them to the trip. Instead, I know I will always remember those kids faces on the last day we would ever see them again; they almost made me not want to go home. (I will also remember all the shi-fus and super friendly people associated with the temple, including the super cool BLIA Youth Assoc. Division.) Overall, Brazil was great and I recommend others to go because it’s an learning experience that not only sounds cool when you tell people, but also one that can change you in ways unimaginable; my summer 2005 is truly exotic because of this trip.