Wonderful Experience in Brazil, Choose Another Program. Brazil: Social Justice & Sustainable Development Past Review
By A student (Economics And International Relations, Wellesley College) - abroad from 09/01/2012 to 12/14/2012 with
SIT Study Abroad: Reviews from Former Locations
I had a wonderful connection with the other students on my program. It was worthwhile to visit this area of Brazil and get to travel around the Northeast. It was a worthwhile experience, but I would have wanted a program that gave us a better idea of safety, allowed us to voice complaints about host families, and gave us more context and continuity with lectures and readings.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 6 months+ |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The discussions with other students, mainly outside of the classroom, were invaluable. The readings were not used much outside of "reading analysis" papers that were graded inconsistently. The travel included in the program provided great ways of learning through exposure to different ways of life. However, it would be beneficial if lecturers tried to involve students in their lectures. Some lectures and outings were pointless, as we could not understand the Portuguese lecturers and we were given no context or follow up in many cases. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Oelito was very helpful in all aspects of the program. He was a great resource to have and was available at any hour. The program director, Bill, was not as efficient and usually directed problems to Oelito. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
I had a few issues with my home stay family that were not handled correctly by the home stay coordinator, and it made my remaining time uncomfortable. Additionally, we were told to give our host families part of a stipend during the ISP period which made for awkward situations. These stipends were given to us late and some families were upset because they relied on that money to pay bills. |
| * Food: |
My host family was vegetarian, which I found odd considering that other students, who were vegetarian, were placed with non-vegetarian families. My host family did not have set meal times and it was difficult to figure out when there would be food available. I ended up spending a lot of money on eating out. Expect a lot of carbs, such as fruit, rice, beans, bread and full calories juice and/or soda. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The push to speak Portuguese in this program definitely helped to learn the language. Our work with local community organizations helped me create a link with people outside of the program. However, it was not encouraged to make friends outside of the program as we were stuck in classrooms or outings for long periods of time. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I am insulin dependent diabetic so I had to take charge of bringing all of my supplies to last the duration of my trip. Some of my complaints about food or long class hours were taken a bit more seriously because I had low blood sugar episodes due to not being given breaks during long lectures or outings. |
| * Safety: |
Do not carry anything you aren't prepared to lose. If you have medical supplies that are not easily replaceable, bring extras to keep in your safety box at school. Do not keep large amounts of cash in your home stay, unless you have some sort of travel safe. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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? | About $100 since my host family did not always provide food |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We were encouraged to speak Portuguese but spent the majority of our days with other American students and were not encouraged to socialize outside of our program and host families. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Meet as many people as you can outside of the program and make an effort to speak Portuguese. It's too easy to get away with not speaking any Portuguese in this program. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had known we would spend so much time in the classroom for lectures and that I had been better prepared for the safety issues that arose during the program. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
