Here are some quick thoughts to help you in your application process:
1.) Do you study Portuguese or Spanish?
If you already study Portuguese, you likely have your sights set on studying in Brazil. If this is you, stop reading and submit your application!
If you study Spanish and are far enough along to finish your minor before coming abroad, you could EASILY add a Portuguese minor by coming to PUC. Each semester, the school has a pre-term intensive Portuguese course that I believe is worth 6 credit hours (I did not come for the intensive course because I took Portuguese classes during each semester at USC). Then, during the regular term, you are required to take another Portuguese course for 6 more credit hours. This would allow you to rack up a total of 12 hours of Portuguese while in Rio-only 2 more classes needed to complete a minor!
If you don't have the drive to learn Portuguese, I would not recommend coming to Brazil. Americans romanticize Brazil, particularly Rio, to the point where many think traveling here is a luxurious experience comparable to visiting Paris. This may be somewhat true if you come to Rio for 1 week and fork over the money needed to stay in Copacabana Palace. Otherwise, living here for 6 months requires a certain toughness; Brazil is still a developing country. Nobody speaks English here in restaurants or stores, so the inability to communicate would simply require you to be even tougher.
2.) Do you want to see many different countries during your time abroad?
If your answer is "yes" and this is a high priority for you, I would recommend going to Europe. Travelling around South America costs a lot in terms of both time and money.
If you are like me, you believe that truly immersing and orienting yourself in one place is far more rewarding than getting a surface-level experience in a lot of places. If you want to embrace the metaphor of diving into the deep-end to find out if you can swim, then Rio is a great place for you.
3.) Will you have completed a professional internship before studying abroad?
Be wary of the South American academic calendar as you apply for schools. Since Summer here is during our Winter, your semester abroad at any South American school will likely run from March-July instead of January-May. We all know how important interning is during our undergraduate careers, so consider your entire 4 year experience and figure out how study abroad best fits in the puzzle.
That said, it is actually quite easy to land an internship here in Rio if you want one. I started mine this week.
4.) Would you rather visit a historic castle or hike through a forest to the top of a mountain?
I suppose it's pretty obvious where I'm going with this one. Though Rio does have its share of fancy buildings, the luxury here comes from nature. This is the most naturally beautiful place I have ever been, and it is astonishing how such a large population can co-exist with and maintain the environment.
I'll leave it at that before this turns into a Buzzfeed quiz. I hope those of you applying to study abroad have already considered these fundamental questions.
Let me close out this post with some very basic pictures that bring you into my everyday life:
The School Newspaper
Lunch at the PUC cafeteria. For just 6 reais (less than 3 dollars), students get a tray filled with salad, beans and rice, and either steak or chicken. Sodexo, the company that feeds USC, also feeds PUC! The food is better here in Rio, however.
The living room/dining room at my homestay.
My porch!
The view from my house. I live near the top of a Mountain, which makes transportation rather difficult. I always joke that if I had a car and several million dollars (most of my neighbors are millionaires, I looked up the prices of the real estate on my street) I would move here!
My house from the outside
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