Education Abroad- Piracicaba, Brazil

Program Overview

For my education abroad experience, I went to Brazil with Alpha Zeta Partners (AZP). This experience lasted 6 weeks and we spent the majority of our time in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil. There, we studied at a branch of the University of Sao Paulo learning about Brazilian history, economics, and culture. When we weren’t in the classroom, we traveled through the southern part of Brazil, stopping at farms, agricultural businesses, Iguazu Falls, and various other locations.

Pre-Departure Reflection

Although I had been abroad before, I was still very nervous about being away from home for 6 weeks. Of course, I had spent time away from my family at OSU, but being thousands of miles away was a completely different scenario. I can remember the night before we left, I was finishing up packing and become overwhelmed with emotion. At that point, everything seemed to be up in the air and I felt that there was so much uncertainty about what we would be doing in Brazil. On top of everything, I was anxious about the home stay, the part of the experience that everyone else seemed to be looking forward to the most. I was confident enough to be abroad, but staying with a new family- full of strangers- was so daunting to me. Boarding the plane in Columbus was a leap of faith, but I’m so thankful I did.

While Abroad Reflection

While in Brazil, there was so much that had an impact on me and my worldview. Plus, there were many experiences that I was dreading that I ended up loving. Here, I’ll discuss just a few of the highlights from the trip.

Home stay

Like I mentioned in my Pre-Departure Reflection, I was dreading the home stay. My Portuguese was basic at best, I didn’t know how well I would fit into my family, and I felt so anxious about staying with strangers. However, this ended up being one of the best weekends of the trip. My family was so welcoming and made me feel like a part of their family, even if it was just for three days. In addition to this, I feel that I was truly able to see how welcoming and warm the Brazilian culture can be. My host family made sure that I was introduced to their family and friends, who all welcomed me with open arms. Through this part of the experience, I was able to have numerous cross-cultural exchanges, including teaching traditional American line dances as my family taught us the samba. Despite all my fears going in, this proved to be one of my favorite experiences in Brazil.

 

New Global Perspective

One of the moments that stands out the most to me happened in the grocery store close to Antonio’s Palace, where we spent most of our time in Piracicaba. As I was waiting to check out, I noticed that the TV’s were playing highlights from the Golden Globes, including Meryl Streep’s speech that year. While the highlights played, I was thinking, “Why would anyone here care about an American award show? Not even the entire country watched this!” As I looked around, I began to notice even more references to American culture and pop culture, including Star Wars and Marvel heroes on cereal boxes or a caricature of JFK on a Mad-style magazine. Although I had been abroad before, this was really the first time I noticed the impact of the United States. At first, I was really overwhelmed with this new perspective, but I slowly began to realize how privileged I am to live in this country. With this realization, I felt that I was able to see the United States’s, and my, place in the world. Even as it was initially overwhelming to have this eye-opening experience, I am so grateful that I was able to have this realization abroad.

A Personal Discovery

Throughout the trip, there were many bumps along the way, including a bus breaking down, long and tiring days, or conflicts between members. However, through all of these experiences, I realized that I am more positive than I had originally presumed. Yes, there were many times were I was frustrated or upset about a situation, but with an experience like this, there was little time to sit and dwell on it. I figured there wasn’t much I could do about a lot of scenarios, so I tried my best to go with the flow and continue looking for the positive things in every situation. I was only in Brazil for 6 weeks, so I needed to make the best of my short time there. Looking back, I’m thankful that I tried to keep a positive outlook during the entire experience.

 

After Return Reflection

Overall, I feel that this experience really shaped my worldview. Even as I had been abroad before, this experience was completely different. Because my time in Brazil was longer than my other trips abroad, I feel that I was really able to grasp the culture and realize my place in the world. This experience allowed me to engage with the culture and see how our world fits together. Most of my time with my other experiences was spent on tourist activities, which allowed me to see the history, but not the current culture, of these nations. My time in Brazil allowed me to connect both of those elements and get a better grasp of how the country got to where it is today. In addition, once I had the realization of the magnitude of the American influence, I feel that my worldview drastically shifted. I can now understand why everyone looks to our country and why our development and current happenings are important on a global scale. My experience with Alpha Zeta Partners in Brazil reshaped my worldview and helped me realize more about myself than I could ever imagine.