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I was born in Jaragua Do Sul, Santa Catarina,
Brazil on May 19th 2006. This small little town,
an hour away from the coast, with little over a
hundred thousand citizens and a rainy climate,
was my home.
I loved it here. I grew up surrounded by
joyous people, diverse cultures and unique
festivals. Santa Catarina is known for its
European culture brought by immigrants,
and because of this I was immersed in
German, Italian, Portuguese and most
importantly Brazilian culture from Birth.
From the Blumenau Oktoberfest to my
school's Festa Juninas ( fest of Saint John)
you could see my family and I living the
moment enjoying the fruits of our country.
I was always a curious child. In school and outside I always wanted something new, I was
eager for excitement and that always came from trying things, which has stuck with me all
my life. Mini Giovana, was often called Gigi, in dance classes, in activities but most
importantly by my loving parents. Who have and are supporting me through all my ups
and downs; my foodie pickiness like not liking cheese or milk and my many ambitions like
learning languages. As a child I enjoyed the novelty, I got excited when I could find a new
comic book that I did not have from the second-hand book store, or when we needed to
learn new dances for the school's annual show. But most notably I loved learning.
Specifically, any topics related to humanities; history, literature, and Portuguese.
These subjects were my comfort zone because they always
taught me something new, something I could admire and
understand for its beauty and flaws. I excelled in this subjects.
Speaking for my peers in recitals, and asking questions.
Teacher had always praised me for this hunger to know more,
and it only fueled my fire. I got excited growing up here,
because I could rely on my comfort zone, my language my
friends and my school, while still learning new things.
Then on June 2014, my whole life changed. Everything I knew, loved, and cared for had to be left home. Moving to India was
not an easy task, my parents to this day call me a warrior for pulling through the past nine years. I came to India, not knowing
a drop of English, not having any friends and most significantly I did not know how to associate with the culture . My whole
life up to that point has been associated with my culture, my language my school and my friends. To be taken away from what
was known to me was a harsh curse that has followed me for years. I remember the first day of school, both my mother and I
were very anxious, I did not want to join a new school, especially one where I could not communicate my thoughts. My little
notebook was my safe space, I had sentences like “may I go to the washroom” written in Portuguese with the English
translation, it was my safety net. It took me a while to start making friends, the language barrier was a challenging mountain
to clime.
 At this point in my life, moving to India has been my biggest
challenge. Coming to India as an only child, who had never
travelled outside her country, this was the biggest change in my
life that had ever happened. A new school, a new climate and a
new language. English was and sometimes is still a big insecurity
of mine. Back when I was a child, it was stressful not to
understand my teachers or to be left out because I did not speak
the language. Judged by the way I spoke with an accent when I
dug for an ounce of courage to speak, not wanting to write in
English because I did not want to be wrong. It took me years to become comfortable with the way I speak
and write, I had no motivator but myself. My teacher just knew me as the Brazilian girl who was
learning English, and because of this I was never chosen to read out loud, play a big role in an assembly
play or represent a team in class work, I was always the bystander. I hate it. I despised living in India,
even though I had made a few friends, it was not my home. I wanted to be back home, to my old school,
my old friends and my old life, But This wasn’t possible. Being the all-rounded new Kid was not fun.
If I wanted to or not, I needed to adapt to be heard. I emerged in cultures from
the day I was born, and now I emerged in Indian culture, so I learned their
customs. I participated in community Diwalis, Dandiya nights, Holi and
Ganesh Chaturthi. I burst crackers, I stained my skin with colours, I ate their
food and I learned keywords in Hindi. All so I was not the outcast anymore. I
enjoyed it, it made me more knowledgeable about a culture I was sceptical of. It
made me more confident to share my culture as well, sharing music and
brigadeiros . It was these experiences in India that made me passionate about
learning new perspectives, about Indian, Southeast Asian, and Middle Eastern
cultures, because now I was in a pot mixed with all of these cultures. My
passion for history, and reading only skyrocketed. I was the child choosing the
atlas, the world encyclopedia and the cultural books from the libraries,
watching countless documentaries for my enjoyment. These all helped me
accept my situation and opened my eyes to the infinite opportunities I have.
One of which has made me fall in love with the world, travelling.
Travelling for my family and I only began when we moved to India. India was
the first time I had travelled internationally. Every holiday was an
opportunity to witness a new country, it always got me excited that I could go
to the airport fly and visit & learn something new. India has allowed me to
visit 19 countries, all of which have enhanced my love for novelty. As I grew
up, I wanted to learn more than customs, I would study the politics,
economies and gastronomy of the country I would visit via newspaper,
YouTube videos and reports. Though moving to India was one of my biggest
setbacks in life, it has also been one of the best gifts the world could have
given me. It has made me who I am today, excited about the future, and
thrilled to learn and experience But it has also made me a more cautious
especially so people would not mock me. I believe that time, travelling
and acceptance were major factors to help me fight my setbacks. These
factors have built me as a person, who is capable to adapt to new
challenges and situations with a brave soul. India has made me accept
that what I may know now might not be present tomorrow, that there
will be always novelty, a new place, new tastes, new books and
memories to make, and I cannot wait for them to happen.