Rio de Janeiro: Complexity at it's best Past Review
By Maya C (Intercultural/Multicultural and Diversity Studies., University of the Pacific) for
Pontificia Universidade Catolica Do Rio De Janiero: Rio de Janeiro - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
I will definitely return to Rio someday and visit all of the wonderful friends I made there. I appreciate much more now the complexity of living in another place and the complicating dynamic I add as a tourist/student/resident.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The workload was very manageable and not very challenging. The grading system was very different, on a scale of 1-10 with a 5 counted as passing. The Portuguese classes through PUC were AMAZING! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
It was difficult to navigate bureaucracy at times, but that was partly a cultural aspect of the program. They were very approachable during office hours and experienced with potential problems exchange students may encounter. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The host families were terrible for this program, at least in my personal experience and in the experience of many other foreign students. They are recruited and set up through the university, but after that the program provides no intervention or help. The student has to directly pay the host every month, so it's like living with a landlady who has no real interest in hosting a student other than monetary gain. I lived with an older woman for the first 4 months and there was a Brazilian student renting a room in the apartment as well. The host never left the house and simply smoke, drank, and talked to her dog all day. Only bread and cheese was provided for breakfast, but I was discouraged from using the kitchen to cook my other meals. I had to often eat on the street, spending more money and detracting from the host family experience. It was uncomfortable, but none of the other host family options were much better. After a big fight me and my Brazilian roommate had with our host, the two of us moved into an apartment alone together. The university program provided no assistance in finding an alternate living situation and encouraged me to stay in the host apartment, even though it was so uncomfortable. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
There were a couple nice city tours at the beginning, though it would have been nicer if they had been free. More advice on locations around the city, cultural events, and other things to do would have been helpful. They could have been incorporated into the language classes. We were sort of left after the first week to do our own thing. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
There was a free clinic on the university campus where I went regularly for health advice and referrals. So convenient and helpful! |
| 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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| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | app. $15.00 on transportation (or more) app. $20.00 on food |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Budget early or your money will disappear. |
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? | I had never taken any course before. |
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I practiced with professors, students, host family, friends. |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Direct Enrollment |
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 do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | It's difficult to meet Brazilians at first, but an absolutely amazing city. The university is not the best, but you can find some great people at other schools if you try. |
