Rio de Janeiro, The Best City in the World Past Review
By Claire J (Supply Chain Management, The University of Texas at Austin) for
Pontificia Universidade Catolica Do Rio De Janiero: Rio de Janeiro - Direct Enrollment & Exchange
Absolutely, it was the best time of my life.
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 professors I had, excluding my language professor, all taught very generic material which was not very applicable to the real world. I did not feel that the professors were very interested in advancing their students and took a very authoritative role in the classroom. I also felt that with the professors I had that the material, testing and grading was also very arbitrary. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The adminastartion abroad was abissmal. They performed there main duties of finding host familiy's and having a few fun events well enough but that is the extent of what they offered to us. When students would go to the office for help reguarding different issues, primarily issues between our home universities and them, they would always refuse to help. They took no responsibility and always sent us away saying they took no role in any of the problems. In reguard to other issues they were ofen very reluctant to help with any issues outside of (1) getting students host stays and (2) making sure we knew how to sign up for classes. They also took a two hour lunch in the middle of the day when their help was most needed by exchange students. The orientaion they held at the beginning of the semester was a 5 hour waste of time that offered no useful information. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I moved 8 times while abroad and am not a good example. Host family is the way to go (at for when you first arrive), finding arrangements on your own as a foreigner with no guarantor is extremely difficult. |
| * Food: |
So many foods to try and most of them are delicious you just have to look and study up on what they are known for! Street foods and salgados are amazing and you can't forget the fresh squeezed juices! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
They had some fun events and trips |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Rio is a dangerous city moreso because of violence between police and drug trafficers but also from armed robberies. There is also a lot of sex tourism that attracts violence. I saw a good doctor while in Rio but some people had bad experiences. |
| 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? | Yes, some of the fees like the orientation fee were not necissary |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Level 2 |
| If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition? |
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| Language acquisition improvement? |
I think the language classes at our university added a lot of value and really helped advance us in Portuguese. |
Direct Enrollment/Exchange
| * Did you study abroad through an exchange program or did you directly enroll in the foreign university? | Exchange |
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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