January 25th

Today we checked out of Antonio’s Palace in Piracicaba and started our journey to São Paulo. The bus ride to the city was uneventful and the first place that we visited was a gigantic market in the area close to downtown. The market offered samples that we were allowed to enjoy and offered every type of food selection. After spending an hour walking around and trying different foods we went to lunch at an all you can eat kabob restaurant. We ate until our stomachs were ready to burst before visiting the OSU gateway. The OSU gateway showed us the importance that Ohio State plays not only in the United States but within the world. The OSU gateway offers the chance for OSU students to come to Brazil to work in internships, as well as offering Brazil students the opportunity to study at Ohio State. After visiting the gateway we checked into the hotel in São Paulo before visiting a samba rehearsal at night. The samba rehearsal is in preparation for carnival and featured five groups each dancing in a line stretched out for a quarter of a mile. It took each group over an hour from start to finish at the other end of the stadium and each routine offered unique insights into Brazilian culture. After watching the samba practiced we ended the night by visiting the American classic McDonalds, which was packed, even in the middle of the night.

Jonathan Hoorman

January 24

Yesterday was our last day of class, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve stopped learning! Today we made our way to an agricultural cooperative, Coplacana, and the Case/ New Holland Industrial (CNHI) factory/ dealership. 

Our first stop was the corporate office of Coplacana in our “hometown,” Piracicaba.In 1948, Coplacana was established as the first sugarcane cooperative in Brazil. Since then, Coplacana has grown to become the largest sugarcane co-op in the world. The co-op also handles other crops such as corn and soybeans. 

Similar to co-ops in the U.S., Coplacana was founded on the 7 cooperative principles. The co-op’s member-owners also have to pay a member fee of R$500 which is about $110 USD. Coplacana currently has 12,000 member-owners in their general assembly, and they also vote to elect a board of directors as well. While the co-op’s corporate office is in Piracicaba, there are 27 branches located in 5 states throughout Brazil. One interesting difference between Coplacana and agricultural co-ops in the U.S. is that for 51 years, the co-op has provided private healthcare for its member owners, as it owns a hospital for members to receive treatment. 

After the insightful visit with Coplacana, we ventured to CNHI where we had the chance to tour the factory and also see the final testing processes for sugarcane and coffee harvesters. 

Overall, it was very interesting to learn about these two agricultural entities and compare and contrast their values and business practices with those of the U.S. Tomorrow we are on the road again to spend the weekend in São Paulo! 

Courtney Heiser

After thanking Professor Caron for his time, we were able to hear from Professor Heloisa and her co-workers about CEPEA. CEPEA is an organization that is responsible for collecting data on all things agriculture and generating fair prices for different commodities. These prices are used as a baseline in the cash market and have a significant influence on the futures market as well. We learned that CEPEA employees make an average of 1,100 phone calls a day to people involved in the production of each commodity, and the information they receive from these conversations is what they use to set prices. After the presentation, we were able to tour the office space where CEPEA is located and see how the organization works.

January 22

Today, our group had the opportunity to give back to Piracicaba by helping a family in need remodel
their home. We partnered with MUCAPP, a non-profit organization dedicated to “building houses and
reconstructing lives” for families in need. First, we were introduced to the people we were helping, a
family of seven who were living in dangerous conditions prior to MUCAPP’s intervention. The mother of
the family expressed to us that she couldn’t even find the words to tell us how much our service and
MUCAPP’s help meant to her. After introductions, we got to work! The group was tasked with painting
the exterior and interior of the house and clearing out any debris and dust. All supplies used in the
refurbishment today were paid in full by our AZP class, as well as the food we had for lunch. We split
up into small groups to divide and conquer different areas of the house to be more efficient. After about
four hours and a few paint fights, every room in the house was primed, painted, and ready. Nobody left
clean! Today was a great learning experience because most members of MUCAPP and the family we
were servicing did not speak English. Still, we overcame the language barrier by communicating with
hand signals and body language and even had a lot of fun playing with the kids of the family. It was a
great feeling to all be able to come together and accomplish such a big task in only a few hours. It
would have taken days for the family to have completed it themselves. The work we did today truly
made a difference in this family’s lives. They were so overcome with emotion by the end of the day and
it was clear that they will never forget us and what we did for them. In turn, we cannot forget their
kindness and gratitude for welcoming us into their home and allowing ourselves to be taught
humbleness, respect, and work ethic.

Rachel Hofacker

January 21

January 20

January 19

January 18

Greetings y’all. Brazil is wonderful and we hope everyone is enjoying the cold. This weekend the students got to spend time with their host families and do tons of fun things around the area. Many families, including my own, had large traditional Brazilian barbecues. These barbecues usually happen on Saturday and last ALL DAY. The day is filled with food, drinks, games, swimming, and enjoying time with those we care about. From what I’ve heard, everyone had a great time and got to try new things. We got so see a glimpse of true Brazilian culture while making friends along the way.

Ally Magyar

January 17th

Today we started our 8th day of classes and our 3rd and final day of classes with professors Fernando Perez and Thiago Romanelli. We discussed sustainability, economics and some Brazilian history in each of the classes. After the day of class, we returned to the hotel and packed up our belongings and prepared for our homestay weekend. Each of us were picked up by our families and some of us even met later that night at a Samba bar with our families to kick off the weekend. Tonight was the first of 3 nights spent with our host families.

Sarah Jarvis

January 16

Today was a hot one. 95 with a UV index of 11, wow. Our professor, Fernando, discussed the ideas of innovation, differentiation, and Brazilian markets. A quote that I jotted down was “success and innovation comes from having differentiations of people and ideas within a nation.” Fernando elaborated on how different cultures provide new ideas to a society that help progress the group as a whole, which is something Brazil and the United States have in common. He also discussed how in 1930 Brazil’s dictator, Getulio Vargas, intentionally implemented taxes on agricultural products in order to progress and advance the country. He took them from a rural society to an urban/industrial society.
Later in the evening we all went to João, one of our host students, fraternity house for a Pet Gea night. Pet Gea is the organization that trains students to work with international students like ourselves. It is like their AZP. The students were all very welcoming and interacted with us like we were all their friends. It made us all feel less like foreigners for a night, which was nice!

Preston Sheets