The local experience in Rio de Janeiro April 09, 2024

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The education system in Brazil is not very well organized. I enjoyed the material of all of my classes, but it was hard when so many classes would get canceled due to climate, holiday, strikes, or any of the other reasons why they'd get canceled. One of my classes met only on Thursdays, which many of the national holidays fall on, and out of the 16 weeks in the semester, I probably had that class around 8 or 9 times. I enjoy relaxing like anyone else, but that really threw me off and it was hard to follow the content because there was so much time in between classes. The lack of technology also made it difficult to promptly have access to the university's domain, which meant I didn't have access to the Google Classroom for a while and had to email professors every class to email me the material, which was frustrating on both of our parts.

On-site administration of your program

I understand Brazilian culture more than the average person going to study abroad there, since I lived there for 6 years growing up. However, almost nothing was done on time. We didn't get our SIM cards when we were told we would, we didn't register our visas at the federal police until a few days before the deadline, our language class didn't start when we were told it would.. these are only some of the examples. I'm not going to harp on them, but it was truly so frustrating.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had the worst experience in the beginning with my living arrangements. I actually did not know where I was going to be living, which I was assured would be found for me by the program director at least two weeks prior to the program starting. 2 days before my flight to Brazil, I was told that she was not able to find housing and that I would be staying in the same hotel as her until we were able to find something. So all in all, I ended up finding the housing, and was made to feel like I was being difficult for not wanting to live somewhere so clearly unfit and in a dangerous neighborhood. I am only giving it 2.5 stars because I ended up really liking the other girl who was living in the apartment, and our "host mom" (the woman who owned the apartment and lived in the main bedroom) was nice enough.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I felt extremely integrated with the local culture, because there were only a few of us in the program. That gave us the opportunity to meet locals (the host university also gave us a Brazilian "buddy" to show us around) and I can confidently say I got the full Rio experience. One of the Brazilian girls I became friends with is even visiting me next week where I am currently studying abroad, in Madrid.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I don't know what to rate it, as I did not have any health issues while I was there and did not pursue any treatment.

I think it would feel very dangerous if you're not used to the country.

I would because I really did enjoy the actual experience I had in Brazil.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

The Brazilian currency is really weak compared to USD so it was very easy.

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

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