From the Archives: The following was first published in Volume XLIV, No. 6 of the NAFSA Newsletter from April/May 1993.
Find more selections from NAFSA's history on the From the Archives page
Upon her return from Rio de Janeiro in December 1992, Kathy Postma, international student adviser at Lehman College in New York, wrote to NAFSA. Mrs. Postma won the grand prize trip in the Annual Fund raffle at NAFSA's conference in Chicago. Varig Airlines, one of last year's sponsors, will be contributing airline tickets again this year. We invite all conferees in San Francisco to participate in the raffle. The trip to Rio will be one of the many prizes!
Rio is a city with a very lively night life. Sidewalk cafes abound and are open until the wee hours of the morning. The scenery is just spectacular, with long white sandy beaches framed by the mountains which seem to rise up out of nowhere. We enjoyed long walks on the beach as well as trips to Sugar Loaf Mountain, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue, the city of Petropolis, and even a Samba show. As the beach is an integral part of the Brazilian social scene, we spent some time "people watching." Beaches in Rio are not sedentary by any means. "Cariocas," Brazilians from Rio, love to jog, walk, play paddle ball, and of course, surf.
We enjoyed staying in an apartment, as opposed to a hotel, for we truly felt immersed in the culture. I attempted to communicate, in my limited Portuguese, with taxi drivers, waiters, and our maid. I felt like one of my foreign students as they pass through the cultural adjustment period. Figuring out the monetary exchange in a country rampant with inflation was certainly an educational experience.
We were treated to gracious Brazilian hospitality by Ms. Nilza Waldeck of the Fulbright Commission. (I met Nilza in Chicago at the International Luncheon when my name was drawn.) We were also offered assistance by Yazigi Language Schools.
NAFSA has always provided invaluable professional support. I felt that giving to the Annual Fund would be a small way to personally contribute to the preservation of the services and programs which NAFSA provides to all of us involved in international education. Winning the grand prize was, of course, something I had never contemplated happening to me–but it did!
The trip was especially meaningful to us as my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary this year. Our trip to Rio was a second honeymoon for us.
Thank you for your efforts to make our trip a most memorable one. I have become more of a NAFSA fan than ever!
Find more selections from NAFSA's history on the From the Archives page