I love Brazil! Past Review
By A student (Brigham Young University) - abroad from 06/18/2012 to 08/03/2012 with
Brigham Young University: Recife - Brazil Study Abroad
I saw a ton of places in Brazil that I wanted to see and had some amazing experiences that I know I wouldn't have had in any other place. Brazil really is one-of-a-kind and we got to experience that first hand. I'm so glad it worked out and that I got to go! I learned a lot about Brazil, made a lot of friends, had a lot of fun, and I'd do it again in a heart beat!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
|
* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I learned a lot! I didn't know a whole lot of brazilian history before and learning it in the places where it all took place helped me a lot, was really fun and interesting, and helped me remember it more. |
|
* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Everyone at ABA was really nice and our professor, Vanessa Fitzgibbon was great. She really cares about all of our students and went above and beyond to make sure we were all taken care of and having a great time. |
|
* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Our host family was really nice and our location was really good as well. |
| * Food: |
Our host family provided us with a lot of great food. They were Chinese, so some of it was a little odd...but most of it was good. |
|
* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I felt like we talked to other program participants a lot, so we didn't mix as much with the locals and the culture as we could have, but I feel like that may have been more our fault, we just tended to stick together and gravitate towards speaking English more... |
|
* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I didn't personally have any health issues, but I know a few people in the program did and it seemed like they were able to get the help they needed. |
| * Safety: |
We stayed in a really nice part of town, so I felt safe overall. You just have to be aware and careful at night and stay away from the sketchy parts. I don't think any one in the program had any sort of safety issues the whole time we were there. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
|
Finances
|
* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
It depends on how much money you spend in your normal life...some people bought tons of extras like souvenirs and junk food, etc, but you really didn't need that much extra money. We had to pay for the bus quite a bit, but that's only a couple dollars and we usually had to buy lunch as well, so we needed a little extra money, but not an excessive amount. |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | Yes |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $20 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Don't buy things you don't need. It's good to buy a few small souvenirs, but don't go overboard (remember that you'll have LOTS of places to buy stuff from, so don't feel like you have to buy things every place you go). Also, just be smart with your money, make sure you eat, but your host family provides most of the meals, so it's not necessary to buy a ton of other food. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
|
How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We were told to, but it wasn't really enforced, so I think we would get lazy or just forget and end-up speaking English a lot. All of our classes were in Portuguese though, and the museum tours and stuff like that and there were plenty of opportunities to speak Portuguese. The people who were really dedicated and made a special effort to speak Portuguese all the time really improved! |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Fluent |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Fluent |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Port 321 |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Take advantage of opportunities to speak it! talk to the locals, your host family, everyone you can! It's so much better talking with native speakers, that's how you learn the best! |
Other Program Information
|
* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you live with?
Select all that apply |
|
|
* Who did you take classes with?
Select all that apply |
|
| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
|
| * What could be improved? |
|
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | You don't need to bring a whole lot of stuff, you'll travel around a bit, so the less you have to lug around, the better :) |
