Where Health Meets History: Brazil Day 13 – January 16, 2026

Intentional stillness creates space for reflection 

Our final day in Salvador began not with movement through the city, but with stillness.

We gathered for a reflection reserved just for CU students, creating space to look back on the experience as a whole and to name what surprised them, unsettled them, and stayed with them. After two weeks of shared learning, discomfort, joy, and deep attention, what emerged from that conversation was thoughtful and, frankly, moving.

Many students reflected on how welcomed they felt—not only by their host families, but by the city itself. There was a repeated sense of being received with generosity, curiosity, and care. Several students drew comparisons between the relational, communal nature of life in Bahia and African American communities in the United States, particularly in the emphasis on shared responsibility, interdependence, and collective identity. These reflections opened space for a more nuanced conversation about what we mean when we talk about “oppression.”

Different ways of living well

Students named how easy it can be—especially from a U.S.vantage point shaped by individualism and material benchmarks—to label communities living in quilombos or favelas as inherently deprived or oppressed. Yet many of the people we met expressed pride, sufficiency, and joy in their lives, valuing what they have rather than defining themselves by what they do not. This challenged deeply held assumptions about autonomy, success, and well-being, and prompted important questions about whose standards we use when evaluating quality of life. That communal orientation also resonated strongly with what we learned about Brazil’s public healthcare system (SUS), where health is understood less as an individual achievement and more as a shared societal responsibility.

Grace in the gaps between languages

Another powerful thread centered on language, belonging, and grace. Students spoke candidly about how disorienting it was to navigate daily life without speaking Portuguese—how quickly vulnerability, dependence, and frustration surfaced. Many connected this experience to immigration and tourism in the United States, noting the stark contrast between how we often expect others to adapt to English with little patience or grace, while rarely extending the same expectations to ourselves. For many, this was a moment where structural inequities became felt rather than abstract—where empathy replaced assumption.

Following reflection, we gathered for a final group lunch with our host families, ICR faculty, and students and faculty from CU, KU, and William & Mary. There was incredible food, an impressive number of desserts, and heartfelt toasts honoring the host moms whose care, warmth, and love shaped our students’ experience in ways that cannot be overstated. It was a moment of gratitude, connection, and closure—one that reflected the relational spirit that defined so much of our time in Salvador.

We ended our final day with a folkloric ballet, an experience that felt like the perfect culmination of the trip. Through movement, rhythm, and music, the performance wove together so many of the themes we had encountered: Candomblé, percussion, berimbau, capoeira, and rhythm. It was joyful, moving, and deeply affirming—reminding us that history is not only something we study, but something we witness, feel, and carry within us.

Farewell lunch - CU students with host moms

Where culture moves through the body

We ended our final day with a folkloric ballet, an experience that felt like the perfect culmination of the trip. Through movement, rhythm, and music, the performance wove together so many of the themes we had encountered: Candomblé, percussion, berimbau, capoeira, and rhythm. It was joyful, moving, and deeply affirming—reminding us that history is not only something we study, but something we witness, feel, and carry within us.

The seeds we now carry

As we reflected on the trip as a whole, one truth became increasingly clear: learning about race, history, and health requires learning from the cultures shaped by those forces, not simply about them. These traditions, systems, and ways of being do not emerge from nowhere. They are formed through generations of lived experience—the good and the painful, the creative and the resistant, the sacred and the ordinary. To engage this work responsibly, especially in healthcare, requires remembering and honoring the histories that shape the spaces we now inhabit.

At our farewell lunch, Clara Ramos shared a metaphor that feels like the right way to close this journey. She reminded us that we are now seeds—returning home (customs-approved)—carrying lessons meant to be planted elsewhere. The responsibility ahead is to nurture those seeds: to share what we learned, to question our assumptions, and to contribute, in ways both small and meaningful, to a more thoughtful, tolerant society and healthcare system.

The hearts and minds behind the journey

This journey was deeply collaborative, and it would not have been possible without an extraordinary community of people. A heartfelt thankyou to Gabi Oliva Montes, who took on this responsibility alongside me with curiosity and courage. To our CU students—Johnna, Janelle, Madam Ola, Nina, Patricia, Sasha, Najma, and Terra—thank you for trusting us to lead you on this journey, especially knowing this was our first (and admittedly experimental) iteration of this course.

We are deeply grateful to Professors Luciano Tosta and Catia Martins for helping Gabi and me navigate this new space alongside their wonderful KU students—Antonique, Levi, Bhavya, Cici, Connie, Eva, Korede, Colton, and Oliva—whose engagement enriched the experience for everyone.

Endless thanks to the queen herself, Clara Ramos, Director of ICR Brasil, for her guidance, wisdom, and steady support throughout. And to Denise Silva, our incredible local assistant and patient teacher to both Gabi and me—we truly would have been lost without you.

We also extend our sincere gratitude to Frederico Bomsucesso, Lázaro, Ícaro, Barão, Eder Muniz, Michael Iyanaga, Adam Kaul, Armando Duarte, Antonio Cozido, Juvenal de Carvalho, Willys Santos, Denise Vitale, Mario Pam, Mestre Sapoti, the Kaonge Quilombo community, Thereza Coelho, Berimbau Arte, Pilão de Prata Candomblé Temple, George Oliveira, Clarice Mota, Dandara Ramos, Irmã Dulce Hospital, and the Irmandade da Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte for welcoming us, teaching us, and sharing your knowledge, stories, and spaces with such generosity.

Muito obrigada!

Thank you so much!

As we return home, the work does not end. If anything, itbegins anew—rooted in what we have learned, shaped by what challenged us, andguided by the responsibility to carry these lessons forward with humility.

Até a próxima, Bahia. Espero vê-la em breve.

Until next time, Bahia. I hope to see you soon.