Alternative Break in the Amazon: Get to Know Santarém

In May 2019, Sierra Viands traveled to Brazil to serve and learn with Amizade as part of a group from…
Archive for August 23, 2019 | Amizade
In May 2019, Sierra Viands traveled to Brazil to serve and learn with Amizade as part of a group from…
When I met Nathan at the Study Abroad Fair at Duquesne University, it took him 5 minutes and 7 pictures of the Amazon and Tapajos Rivers to convince me that I needed to spend a little time there. Brazil has always intrigued me, but it always seemed so far away, difficult to get to, and expensive. But after Nathan laid out the program to me, I thought, this was my chance to live on the Amazon, with a Brazilian family, learning Portuguese from locals.
This past July, six students from UCLA spent 10 days with Amizade Global Service-Learning and Amizade’s community partner, Fundação Esperança, traveling along the Trombetas river on a medical boat that provides health services to isolated communities.
Taking a boat from the confluence of the Amazon and Tapajós Rivers, winding through a thick rainforest canopy, there are multitudes of wildlife in all directions. Primates dangle from trees, colorful birds take flight, and vibrant tropical vegetation surrounds. There is the buzzing of insects, murmur of the river, and rustling of leaves, all sounds that make up the unique symphony of the rainforest.
This post is from a blog series about a group of students from Roger Williams University who visited Brazil in…
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