Brazil: A Unique Abroad Past Review
By Brianna D (International Affairs, University of Maine at Orono) for
ISA Study Abroad in Florianopolis, Brazil
I realized that my fascination for culture can actually manifest itself into a future career as an Anthropologist. I have such a better understanding of the world and of America. All of the Americans I met were incredible and I learned so much about the country I come from and how many amazing people live in it.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The language classes were definitely the most rewarding. I left the country with a good amount of Portuguese under my belt. With that being said, I was able to apply the language I learned with my host family and just living in the country. The other professors and academics were sub-par and extremely easy for the most part. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Strengths were the administration that was on site while we were there. They did everything they could to help us as much as possible. The professors were some what of a joke and envoked a lot of angry feelings from a good amount of the students in the program. The consensus was that we were there for the cultural and language experience and not academics. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
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| * Food: |
Sometimes was not provided with 2 meals a day. Also, since my family owned a restaurant I had the same thing for lunch and dinner, but it was really good for the most part. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
I went white water rafting on Thanksgiving. It was a lot of fun, we were able to bond with the administration really easily. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
After traveling around quite a bit, we realized that Floripa was relatively very safe place for us to be living. I dislocated my knee cap while in Brasil and my administer Ihor met me at the hospital and was with me through the entire procedure of xrays and the relocation of my knee cap. He made it a lot easier for me, gave me a ride home from the hospital and picked up my prescription pain medicine. The overall health care system was a lot scarier than what I am used to. Mostly because I had no idea what they were saying at the time, and after putting my knee back in place they wrapped it up and sent me out walking on my leg. In the US they would have at least given me crutches. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Entering a country that you have never traveled to before, in my case, it was Argentina, they sometimes charge you an entrance fee. For us it was $140USD which we had no clue about until we arrived at the airport in Argentina. Something to check while traveling. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Nothing |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
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| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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