ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the daily experiences of school children from the peripheries of Brasilia as they commute to schools in the Plano Piloto of Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil. Although there is a government-run school nearby, many parents prefer to send their children to Plano Piloto schools, resulting in a lengthy journey of up to two hours for some children. Our study involves accompanying the children on their daily trips for two semesters and observing their anxieties, conflicts, and the development of their identities in the context of the school bus. We argue that the journeys not only are spatial movements but also involve symbolic transition, where the children move between two vastly different imagined worlds. This transition highlights the socio-economic and cultural disparities that exist in Brasilia and their effects on the lives of school children from peripheral areas.
