We spent nearly 48 hours in Rio and then got on another flight to Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. This is where USYA participants would spend the bulk of their time in Brazil. We met our host families, yes, even adult mentors and World Learning staff stayed with host families.
Staying with a host family as an adult, you can say I had my hesitations at first. However, meeting, learning and exchanging with my host family – who rearranged their lives for me – was a rewarding experience. The American Field Service (referred to as AFS onward) volunteers are full of hope for their country and have a huge heart to invite complete strangers into their homes and care for a two-week period of time.
Ana-Regina was my host sister, and she is a fierce woman. She is a PhD candidate in intercultural exchange and an education advocate. She was a school teacher for several years and is now focusing on her PhD studies. She is a woman with a heart of gold and a woman warrior, working to create change in education. Ana helped bring us a side of Salvador that shaped our experience uniquely and would not have been possible without her tireless efforts. Thank you, Ana! ❤
I was in a household of three-generations of women. Ana-Regina, her eighty-three year old mother, Teresinha and twenty-two year old daughter, Mariana. Each has a very special place in my heart. They opened their home and hearts to me and I am forever grateful.
Teresina, my host mother is a practicing Catholic and she was so interested in my way of practicing Islam. She asked me questions about the hijab, how Muslims pray and other forms of practice. It was a refreshing experience, just talking about faith and learning from one another without the politicized nature of faith in the mix, as we might experience at home.
Due to religious reasoning, I requested to be in a home with no males. Ana-Regina rearranged her life to spend two weeks living with her mom (Teresinha), facilitating my visit and other AFS programming. It really does take a big heart to host and Ana’s is a heart of gold.
During my time with the Teixeira family, I wanted to express my gratitude in a small way and asked if I can cook for them on a Sunday, and they kindly obliged. (They actually had to do the grocery shopping for the ingredients and I opted out of going, so thank you!) I wanted to make one of my all-time favorite dish, that is a crowd pleaser and really brings families to the table, a Palestinian dish called maklooba, or “upside down”.
The way to anyone’s heart is through their tummy! Watch the well-known Palestinian maklooba flip done in Salvador de Bahia!
Food is a means to express care and helps brings people together – add food to any life event and see just how much better off it will be! This brief video is the taste testing of the maklooba. Aproveitar!
The sweetest family invited me into their home, provided space and care and for that I am grateful and have learned so much about the complexities of Brazilian life, culture and history.
This website is not an official US Department of State website. The views and information presented are the participant’s own and do not represent the United States Youth Ambassadors Program, the US Department of State, or World Learning.**
Ahlam Yassin, M.A.Ed. 