Pre-Departure to Sao Paulo

The day is here! Tonight I will be on an arduous 12 hour flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil. As I sit here typing I am both nervous and excited (way more excited) to embark on my first trip out of the country and northern hemisphere. I'm so pumped to explore Brazil, put its nickname as a gastronomist's city to the test, and to interact with native paulistanos (an affectionate epithet for someone who hails from Sao Paulo). I'm also nervous...... only that I will forget something I need, so I'm in front of the computer with a concealable money pouch full of important documents strapped across my chest Rambo-style. Other than that I am going into this experience with an open mind, ready to soak in everything like a sponge.

Well, let me tell you a little about myself and my program. My name is Cody Magulak. I am a second degree student and senior with one more semester at Rutgers majoring in Nutrition-Dietetics Option. I am going to Sao Paulo as a supplement to a Global Nutrition class I took this past spring semester with Dr. Dan Hoffman. The class discusses macro/micronutrient deficiencies of the mother and fetus and how that effects future growth and propagates the "vicious cycle". The class also tackles issues of the politics of food aid (okay, that's it for the plug). My experience will last only a week, but it will be jam-packed. As part of the program I will be going to CREN ( Center for Nutrition and Recovery website: http://cren.org.br/unifesp/ ) most days to observe and work with the staff and children. Here I will learn how the center works with children from Sao Paulo's favelas recovering from stunting and wasting conditions due to malnutrition. At the center I will be able to interact with the children and their families participating in the program, which advocates for nutrition and health education for poor children and their families, who do not have access to healthy food.

This experience is sure to be an eye-opening adventure.

Stay tuned to my blog for my perspective on daily life in Sao Paulo, unique malnutrition issues that we do not see on a daily basis here in the U.S., and for pictures of weird fruit you probably have never seen before!

Tchau!