Do you have any idea what it feels like to be in Brazil during election time? Well, it’s pretty insane.

Brazil and the U.S. are really different and really similar at the same time. It feels so good to be here, but it’s also really weird in some ways. Election time is pretty insane. There are people on the streets all day and all night. There are fliers everywhere and people talk about these “important” events, as if these candidates could actually change something for them. It’s not even the presidential election. It’s just one of those little ones for the states and the cities. Oh, and did I forget to mention that it’s election time and I’m here in Brazil? So yeah, what a nightmare!

Being here feels great, even though it’s kind of crazy. It feels good to see all my friends and family. It’s great to feel part of where you are from once again, isn’t it? I have only been here 16 days but I have seen a couple of things here that I have never seen in the U.S. The main difference between Brazil and the U.S. is the most obvious one. Everyone knows that Brazil is a tropical country, right? Therefore, it’s winter here, and it’s extremely hot. Though I love my country very much, I must say that I see things here that make me extremely upset. I was driving around with some friends and I closed my eyes for three minutes and when I opened them again I saw a situation that brought tears to my eyes. I saw these 10-year-old kids waiting for cars to stop at a red light so that they could ask the drivers for coins. My friends looked at me and saw the tears pouring down my face and asked what was wrong. When I explained that we don’t see things like that on Martha’s Vineyard, and that I never go to the big cities in the U.S. where life is tougher, they just shrugged and said that I had to get used to it. Instead of being out on the streets at midnight, those kids should be home sleeping in a comfortable bed and be warm and well fed. I didn’t know what to say to my Brazilian friends to explain to them how I felt. In my head I know that there was something really wrong with this picture and those kids didn’t have a shelter to go to when they were done asking for money to buy food.

I must say that there are a few things that I miss about the United States. What I miss most is my school and my writing assignments. I am actually glad that I have some writing assignments to do while I am away. I really miss my friends and my parents, but I don’t miss the drama. Another thing that I miss is that when I am on the Vineyard I don’t see so many people earning their money the hard way the way that they do here, and I don’t hear as much crime talk. That’s what I miss about the U.S.

It’s different for me being Brazilian in Brazil. I am in my country of birth and nobody here speaks English as I do. It’s Portuguese only. To be Brazilian here is never to feel discriminated against by others. It is having freedom of speech without having people tell you to stop talking just because you are an “alien.” It’s living the hard life, but being happy at the end. It is working 10 times as hard to do something and at the end of the month being paid so little money that you know it won’t cover half of your debts. Being Brazilian in Brazil is being scared when going out, but it’s also about having fun and working harder than anyone should have to just to have that daily bread. Being Brazilian in Brazil is being able to talk about anything any time. It’s being able to have loud music until six in the morning. It’s being able to feel 100 per cent free to do whatever comes to your mind. Being here has helped me realize that not everyone has a great life and not everyone has good opportunities, but they live with what they have got and they are happy with it. They make the best of each and every second that they get. Being here during election time is just a bonus because I get to see all the candidates, and when one of them wins, I will get to see what they did for these poor people who believed in them.

Ana Carolina Nascimento is a student at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. This piece was sent to her Brazilian history and culture class, the first of its kind in the U.S.