Nattida is a Thai girl with a degree in English studies at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK. She came to Brazil to be a volunteer at  The Environmental Conservation Project and at the Educational Center in Rio and at Children Care House in Curitiba. Nattida is our first exchange student from Thailand and are very happy to have her over here!

We interviewed her to know more about her expectations about her experience here in Brazil. Check it out:

Be: Why did you choose to come to Brazil for an exchange program?

I chose to come to Brazil for many reasons. Recently, I have a curiosity and interest in experiencing how it would be like living in a South American country. For the past years I have been experiencing living in/visiting Asian and European regions but South America and Latin America are the regions where I hardly know anything about; culture, environment and living-style.

Be: What is the main reason you choose to intern?

I thought that volunteering in the country would be a great opportunity for me to learn a completely different culture, yet language, as I’ll be hosted with a local family. Another reason is that I have a few Brazilian friends and it is nice and I feel even more secured and comfortable to at least know the people of the country I am visiting for the first time and that I would also get to meet them.

 
Be: What are your goals with this experience?
To get to know the other side of the world. To realise and appreciate what I have and how can I share it with the others/these children to at least make them feel happy and fulfil what they are lack of. After this experience I want to be able to share what I have discovered with my family and friends back home. Share them my experiences I have gained here in Brazil. For example, working with the children, living with a Brazilian host family, the language, city, and culture.

Be: How do you feel about this experience? Can you describe your feelings?

I started my experience two weeks ago. Back then I felt excited yet a little curious of where I will be working, in what role will I be taking and with whom. However, everything was perfectly organised for me from the moment I stepped out of the house. I was shown how to get to work and back home, introduced to the person who is in charge of the house and the other staffs and given an orientation of what to expect from the city and project and how to make the most of my stay. I felt very welcomed from all of the people I met the first day and still do up until now.