This past week, I presented my findings from my Fulbright research project at the Fifth "Congresso Brasileiro de Ciências Sociais e Humanas em Saúde," a research conference on social sciences and public health. The conference is the second most important conference in the field of public health in Brazil-- the first is ABRASCO, which happens every year that THIS conference doesn't (hence, next year). In fact, many researchers reference to this conference as "ABRASCinha".
I had been preparing for quite a while for this presentation, and after a few rehearsals with my research advisors, and then again with my friend in Sao Paulo, I headed to the event to give my speech. It was interesting (although a bit difficult) to learn about all the different projects in my field, "Internet, Society, and Health." All of the projects presented during the oral presentations had some emphasis on Internet, but I believe mine was the only project to create a research methodology and do field work. All the others that I learned about had a more theoretical emphasis, and some were broad reviews of literature and propositions of future research.
I thought that my project was well received, though there wasn't enough time to have a discussion. The event was a bit rushed, so some people were not able to explain their projects as clearly as I would have liked.
I'm happy to say that I didn't stumble too much on my Portuguese, and I do believe everyone was able to understand me--- it's hard when the language is not your first, and you need to be careful about what you say in a formal setting. Unlike English, where I can easily correct what I'm saying mid-phrase, Portuguese takes a bit longer, and during proposed speeches it is much easier to have the sentences written down.
Oh(!)- and another Fulbrighter was able to sit in on my presentation, which was very nice.
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