Name: Richard Dyer Email: Richard.c.dyer@vanderbilt.edu City Studied Abroad In: São Paulo, Brazil Program: CIEE São Paulo Program Details:

-One semester (January-June) -Courses in foreign relations, sociology, and Portuguese -Fulfilled credit for Latin American Studies major, World Politics minor, Portuguese minor -Live in a homestay (personal experience: 60- year old yoga instructor and I lived in a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment in downtown São Paulo) -First month is language orientation and intensive culture class (4 total credit hours) -Semester starts in February -Courses taught in Portuguese by Brazilian professors -Small program with about 25 students, probably 6 or 7 of whom were international -Program open to many other universities -The program includes two group trips, a variety of cultural activities throughout the city (soccer game, museums, concerts), and also gives you a lot of information on how to travel throughout Brazil and South America

Courses Taken: -Brazilian Foreign Policy -Transnational Crime in Latin America

-Advanced Portuguese -Brazilian Realities Other Courses Offered: -Foreign relations -Linguistics -Psychology -Math -Law -Tourism -Other liberal arts courses Favorite Parts of the Program:

-Friendliness of the Brazilian people (especially my host family) -Carnaval (an incredible experience unlike any other, by far the most fun time of the semester) -Beaches (all over Brazil they are beautiful) -Churrascarias (Brazilian steakhouses) -Traveling throughout Brazil (Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, Florianopolis, Paraty, Manaus, Foz de

Iguaçu, Ouro Preto…) -Friends that I made with both Brazilian and fellow exchange students -Brazilian way of life (jeitinho)—much more relaxed about everything (takes some getting used

to it and can be frustrating, but if you can embrace it, you can learn to love it)

Beach  in  Florianopolis  

 

-Soccer (football) culture throughout Brazil -Incredible amounts of diverse food options throughout the city (Italian, sushi rodizios—all you

can eat sushi, Lebanese, German, etc.) -Nightlife (São Paulo has some of the best clubs and bars in the world—although they’re pricey) -For cheaper options, there are bars nearby PUC which stay open until 12 or 1 (very early by São

Paulo standards), and many students, both Brazilian and foreign, frequent these bars -Language classes through CIEE -Açai and agua de coco (coconut water) are both incredible, and nothing like the comparable

products we get in the States, due to their freshness) -Cachaça

Least Favorite Parts of the Program: -The overall smell of São Paulo as a city -Traffic/congestion (it takes forever to get places during traffic times—avoid the roads at all costs during rush hours) -Brazilian education system (it is graded on a P/F basis out of 10 points, with a 5 and above passing. This was just tough coming from a system where your specific grades on assignments are structurally graded and not just arbitrarily graded once the decision has been made that you’ve passed) -PUC professors (they have a tendency to only want to hear what they believe in. They downgrade you for expressing opinions that don’t necessarily match with theirs, and in general, I found that they were very biased towards foreign students (especially Americans), in a negative way) -Distance from my homestay to university (30 minutes by bus, 1 hour walk—during rush hour, walking was quicker) -Homestay (while my homestay family was wonderful and a great experience, it was one of my least favorite parts of the program as I felt that it impeded on the relationships that I was able to form with Brazilian students. Because Brazilian students live at home and are also part of the elite class (at PUC at least because it is a private university), their social interactions are based during classes and then out at expensive, fancy clubs and bars. As a result, it’s tough to make Brazilian friends without putting a lot of effort into it, as there are very few places to truly hang out as most homestays are not ok with you bringing Brazilians back to their home) -How unorganized the program is (this is a large part just the culture of Brazil, but it really lacks organization and you are forced to navigate a lot of the Brazilian education system, which is tricky as CIEE does not do a good job of facilitating communication between you and your home university or you and PUC) -How expensive São Paulo is (a normal entrance fee at a bar is around R$20-30 (approximately $15-20), without drinks, and then clubs are even more. Restaurants are very pricey, besides the all you can eat options, but even then those can be very expensive (McDonald’s is usually

One  of  the  floats  during  Carnaval  parade  

 

around a $15-20 meal. Public transportation is not all that expensive, but with the amount that you have to take it, it can add up. Cabs are a necessity at night for safety reasonsif you are trying to get home, so these also can be pricey) -Brazilian men’s interaction with girls. It didn’t really affect me personally as Brazilian men were not incessantly flirting with me, but for girls in our program, it was definitely their number one complaint (that Brazilian men do not know “no means no”)

Best Restaurants in São Paulo: -Bartira (bar/restaurant on the corner of Rua Bartira and Rua Ministro Godoi) -Zucco (very expensive Italian restaurant that my host family took me to) -most all churrascarias, but do some research before to make sure it’s supposed to be good -Food stands throughout the city have delicious snacks and some meals -Praça Benedito Calixto (great plaza that has a nice weekend fair, known to have the best pastels in the city) -Central market (anything from inside here is delicious and reasonably priced) -Because your host family is responsible for 2 meals a day (and in many cases just gives 3), you don’t end up eating out that often (unless you don’t like your host family’s food, which usually isn’t the case)

I Would Recommend This Program Because:

-I made wonderful friends, both other exchange students and Brazilians -The spirit and light-heartedness of the Brazilian people -You are forced to fend for yourself and pushed out of your comfort zone in a great, beneficial way -The language professors are very personable, friendly, and are very knowledgeable (language improvements throughout the semester were incredible) -São Paulo is truly a city like no other -Carnaval -Beaches -Warm weather -The ability to travel all over a country that is geographically larger than Europe at relatively low costs (São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are both very expensive, but outside of these major metropolitan areas, the prices are lower, not cheap, but more like what Americans are used to)

Foz  de  Iguaçu  (Iguassu  Falls)  

 

Other Things I Think You Should Know About Studying Abroad in Brazil: -Do not speak English loudly in public as it is considered rude to the older generation of Brazilian (this is also a great way to be spotted by pickpocketers and thiefs as an outsider who probably has a decent amount of money on them) -Take advantage of all the fresh tropical fruits that you can because they are not available fresh outside of Brazil -Brazil is a dangerous place, but if you’re safe and smart about the way you handle yourself you should be fine -Try to stay as relaxed as possible and not stress about the small things and the little inefficiencies because they are always going to be there, and if you obsess about them, you’ll end up more frustrated