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School and work: these were the reasons to actually BE in Brazil, or so I thought originally.

School

We took 4 hours of Portuguese classes, 4 days a week at the Universidade Federal do Ceará.  We had grammar, conversation, and writing classes.  On the first day, we were placed into beginning, intermediate or advanced classes based on our Portuguese skill level.  I was put in the intermediate class with the rest of the U of I group that originally planned on going to Brazil.  Although I knew no Portuguese, I knew French, and managed to get by, although I have the impression that the kids who had Spanish before had an easier time.  But despite this, there was virtually no homework (or it was assigned and nobody worried about it), everyone was happy with their final grades, and we managed to speak Portuguese very well.  Towards the end of the course, we would spend the class period just conversing with Brazilian students about anything.  That's when I felt really good about my Portuguese. 

 
The final exam, with our teacher Manolisa watching

The rooms were pretty small, and the AC didn't always work.  Everyday there was a break (which would last from 20 to 25 minutes on good days) which gave us a good opportunity to stretch, enjoy Brazil, and go get ice cream.  There was a really great sorveteria a block away that I recommend you find.  There were two field trips to different parts of the city, one was Dragao do Mar, the cultural center of the city, and the other was the Centro de Cidade, a marketplace in the center of the city.  Every two weeks there was a lecture on some aspect of Brazilian culture, such as economics, politics or music, which we're at times interesting, and many other times I found myself wishing I was at the beach.  Skipping school was generally frowned upon, as the teacher could really tell you were missing in a class of only 8 kids.  But, if you really want to get out of class, you can always use these excuses to arrive a couple of hours late:

  • The bus broke down

  • The bus stopped for gas

  • I didn't know which bus to take

  • I took the wrong bus

  • The bus didn't stop where it was supposed to

  • I'm sick


all done and ready to party!

If you are thinking of taking the classes pass/fail, DON'T.  I can almost assure you will get good grades, and that's 6 hours of U of I credit to pad your gpa.

Work

The internship started 2 weeks after our schooling started.  As a computer engineer, I was put to work in a software development company, Instituto Atlântico.  I chose to work with a team that was developing the software for an ATM that was to be simple and cost efficient.  The people that I worked with seemed fairly busy with deadlines and their own work for me to make a significant contribution to the project.  Furthermore, I was only there 4 hours each morning, Monday through Thursday, for four weeks.  I did get to learn some programming using Qt, a multi-platform C++ GUI/API, and how to decipher compiler errors in Portuguese.

Other students in the program had varying levels of success with their internships.  These ranged from going on field trips, taking pictures, and learning a lot, to "I quit work.  I have better things to do."

My advice to you is to be selective when you are shown around to your internship by Professor Creto.  If you are unhappy with what you have, he can always place you somewhere else.  Really, what you get out of the internship is what you put in.