Brazil.

Completing my student teaching in Rio de Janeiro pretty much solidified the idea that I was meant to teach abroad. I spent twelve weeks teaching in a first grade classroom at a private, Catholic school called Our Lady of Mercy.

OLM is located in Botafogo, the neighborhood of Rio located right next to Copacabana and Ipanema. So while my weekdays were spent practicing sight words and learning about the human body, my weekends were spent exploring all of the natural wonders of Rio de Janeiro.

The 12 weeks that I spent in Rio de Janeiro weren't nearly long enough though, as I returned to OLM three years later to join the elementary staff. I returned to the friends I had left behind, the house that I had lived in, and to the very same students I had tearfully hugged good-bye three short years prior.

Click to read about all my adventures in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.