Brazil, my love, I'm coming back for you. Past Review

By michelle d (COMMUNICATION, JOURNALISM, AND RELATED PROGRAMS., Fordham University) - abroad from 07/09/2014 to 12/15/2014 with

CIEE: Rio de Janeiro - Business, Economics, and Culture

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?

Lessons learned: 1. Confidence- I got dropped off in another country, and survived. 2. Friends- for life. American, international and brazilian. Old and young. 3. Language- as much as I could grasp. 4. Outlook on life- it doesn't have to be so complicated- Brazilians have a way of enjoying the little things. 5. Individual awareness- Studying abroad gets lonely, and people don't tell you that enough. 6. Hunger- I want more.

Review Photos

CIEE: Rio de Janeiro - Business, Economics, and Culture Photo

Personal Information

How much international exposure did you have prior to this program?	0-2 weeks

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.	I really enjoyed attending PUC Rio even though all my classes were in Portuguese, the challenge was well worth it.
* Host Country Program Administration On-site administration of your program	CIEE was a good program. The staff was excellent and they set up some really fun trips for us to explore Brazil.
* Housing: How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?	I was not satisfied at all with my living arrangements. 1. Location was unsafe, and next to a strip club (that was interesting). 2. The reason why I agreed to participate in the home stay was for the hope of learning Portuguese and being integrated into the basic familial culture. That didn't happen because a) the home stay mother enjoyed speaking english more than Portuguese b) the home was made up of 3 other rooms that were rented out by strangers, so it was much less a home and much more a room and board. 3. Safety was a big problem. For the first month I actually did not know that there was a woman renting out the room next to mine. I thought the door was a closet. I saw this stranger in the kitchen one day and asked her if she was one of the mother's friends.. she said no she lived here and pointed to the door to her room. That was a shock. 4. I ended up moving home stays toward the end of my semester there but even the new home that I moved into was renting out rooms. This time I was living with 3 other, older men. Had CIEE done any background checks on these guys? Definitely not. 4. Some of my friends wound up in great homes, others wound up in cave-like rooms with mold and fleas. Honestly, it's a hard job to find good, safe housing for us. But, we should've been able to leave home stays if we felt we would rather be better off. I would've been so much happier living in a different location, with other international or brazilian students. Home stays for most of my friends were more restrictive than beneficial. If I could do it again, I wouldn't be in a home stay.
* Food:	Food was great. Sucos (juices), lanches (snacks), rice, beans, meat, açai, coconuts and of course ham and cheese.
* Social & Cultural Integration: How integrated did you feel with the local culture?	I found ways to get involved and feel a part of brazilian culture.The program provided some community service activities that I took part in and really enjoyed. Personally, I love to dance, so I got involved in a dance school and performed with them in their showcase at the end of the year. That was my favorite part of my trip- partially because I got to say I did that on my own. It felt good to achieve it.
* Health Care: How well were health issues addressed during the program?	I needed a few vaccines, I can't really remember which. I didn't have any health issues while I was there, but a few of my friends had some minor sicknesses/ injuries and as far as I know, everything was pretty efficient.
* Safety:	Safety in Rio de Janeiro. Like any big city, you have to be street smart. Not going out alone at night, watching your drink, keeping your iPhone and your money on your person, and so on. We had some pretty significant safety incidents within the first week I arrived. On the way to meet me, 3 of my guy friends in the program got held up by gun and knife point and got their wallets, phones and keys stolen by 3 brazilian men. That incident was about half a block from my house. I learned that walking along the streets that had hotels was more unsafe than other streets because that immediately targeted us as tourists. Within the 6 months people got phones stolen, I got my sunglasses stolen (off my face- that was weird), bags stolen and headphones too. We were told to just not fight back and give up whatever we had.. It was something that kept me aware but didn't keep me in my house 24/7. Safety specifically in Copacabana is far worse than, Ipanema, Leblon, or Gavea- where the wealthier homes are located.
If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program?	No

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)
Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week?	Rio is so expensive.
Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants?	1) Buy school supplies ahead of time. 2) Trips during your time abroad are always way more expensive than you think they'll be.

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	You really needed to learn Portuguese to get a good handle on living there. Very few people spoke english.
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program?	None
How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program?	Intermediate
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure?	Had to have taken Spanish. Spoiler alert: Portuguese is harder than it looks. (I wish I understood how difficult it was going to be before I got there)
How many hours per day did you use the language?	10+
Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants?	1. Take a beginner portuguese class for some basics 2. Listen to brazilian music 3. There's this online site called duolingo that I found really helpful

Other Program Information

* Where did you live? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you live with? Select all that apply	Host Family
* Who did you take classes with? Select all that apply	Local Students International Students
About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with?

A Look Back

* What did you like most about the program?	The other students The staff The office/ activities
* What could be improved?	Housing Better platform for getting to know one another Housing
* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program?	I hinted at it in another question, but I really wish I knew how individual studying abroad really is. You see pictures of people abroad and it can usually be summed up as one big party. But it is not like that all the time. There's a lot of time that you spend by yourself, especially before you start making friends. There's a lot of thinking and analyzing. You're far away from anyone that you know (in my case I didn't know anyone in my program) and sometimes the days just get rough. Once you get into a routine and things aren't new- you may get, yes I'll use the D word, depressed. And it's like " how can I be upset, IM IN BRAZIL?!" But you're still you, and you live everyday problems. So I guess my advice would be, prepare yourself for the dull moments. Because they are going to come. And when they do, know it's okay. And your emotions are justified- happy, sad, excited, whatever it may be.

Reasons For Studying Abroad

To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you.	The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer Craving the most authentic experience possible, perhaps you lived with a host family or really got in good with the locals. You may have felt confined by your program requirements and group excursions. Instead, you'd have preferred to plan your own trips, even skipping class to conduct your own 'field work.'

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:	Post Production
Course Department:	Design
Instructor:
Instruction Language:	Portuguese
Comments:	VERY CHALLENGING. But I loved it. I learned some new programs for video editing and got to work on a group project with 3 other brazilian students. We were required to do a lot of outside work for our final project but I got to do it with these other students who quickly became close friends of mine. Having to comment and participate in Portuguese was difficult and at times the teacher just kind of nodded her head at me when I would say that I didn't understand something. It was a give and take process.
Credit Transfer Issues:	Not sure-it hasn't transferred yet.