ABSTRACT

I fi rst met Leti in Salvador during the introductory group orientation of the study abroad program. She was a 22-year-old Geisel College graduate preparing to return to campus and complete the school’s MA program in comparative literature. She had petitioned for special permission to join the Salvador group because she would be incorporating writers from Portugal and Brazil into her academic work and needed to gain more expertise in Portuguese. The period she spent in Salvador was the third time Leti participated in a Geisel College language study abroad program. As an undergraduate, she completed the beginner-level program in Italian language and, two years later, she returned to Rome for advanced-level studies and to serve as a TA for the beginner cohort.