Jessica, Natalia and Juliana
Autor: Letras | Publicado: 2011-08-07T21:47:00-07:00

Interview with Janaína
We interviewed Janaína, a student from the English course at UFMG and a former exchange student. We asked about her experiences during the exchange program and as a result had a very nice and interesting conversation.


(J: Janaína; L: Luise; N: Natália)

N: Okay, so! Hello, good morning!

J: Hello, good morning!

N: What's your name?

J: My name's Janaina.

N: How are you?

J: I'm not too bad, and you guys?

N & L: We're okay!

J: That's good.

N: So, you went in an exchange program?

J: Yes, that was in 2004 and I was there for a year, from 2004 to 2005, actually.

N: And which country did you go to?

J: England.

N: And why did you choose it?

J: Well, Ive been asked this before and I really don't know. I mean, I preferred England. I could choose between England or the States, but I guess it's because we are closer to Europe and there you can have contact to more cultures and more different languages, different… everything, you can travel around and it's very good.

L: And what were the expectations you had before going?

J: Ah, I had so many expectations, because I've been a language student since I was twelve, and it was a pretty big dream to go to an English speaking country, so I wanted to know how that would be, speaking English 24 hours a day and having contact with other people, and communicate in a completely different language, and... the food, the friends, the places. I mean, it was my first experience abroad, so everything was new for me, I was pretty excited to go.

L: And were these expectations really met or was there something that really frustrated you?

J: Well, I actually didn't have something like, this is gonna be like that and I'm sure it's gonna be great. I mean, I was curious and anxious to know what would happen, but everything was okay. I didn't have  many problems there, I made friends, I visited places. And, of course, some things were not perfect, but I think it's part of life.

N: Did you have any problems adapting to the country's culture?

J: Oh, just some little things - they were actually funny - like the way they washed the dishes, not like the way we do, the way they use water is different. And also my friends used to say “oh, Janaina, you are so funny, you drink too much coffee and you have too many showers a day”. I used to have two showers a day, one in the morning and one at night. For them it was too much. But it was not bad adaptation, actually, because me and the other friend that were living at the same flat didn’t use the kind of way that they used to wash the dishes, we did it our way, our Brazilian way, because we thought that would be disgusting (to use their way). I mean, it’s different, but we could handle.

N: And what were the biggest differences between our culture and theirs? Can you say something?

L: Other than the dishes!

J: I don’t know… the way we are, we talk too much, we are friendly, we go out together... Also our connection to family and friends at the university. I guess these things, even though they are not so huge, they still feel part of a difference.

L: Was the overall experience enjoyable?

J: Yeah, it was really nice, I’d totally recommend… It was something that was really important for me, because I can really remember my life and it was a change one me, the exchange program, you live so many different things and... Because you see, I’m not from Belo Horizonte, so I was not living with my family for a long time, so that was not the problem, but you know: it’s another language, another culture, the food, and you're actually alone there because you don’t have your friends from here, your family from here... But it was really nice, it’s a great experience. Living the language is totally different.

L: Did you have a hard time coming back?

J: When I was at the end of my exchange program I wanted to come back, it was a year already, I missed my family, my friends and everything. But when you arrive it’s a bit difficult as well, just like when you get there, I was like “oh God, what do I do?” for a weekend. When you come back it’s the same, “okay, now I have to adapt, what am I going to talk with my family?” because you are so... so there, so when you come back, you have to do that yourself, friends, family, too. Adapt to your life here.

N: Did the fact that you were Brazilian influenced the way people talked to you?

J: No, actually people were very receptive. I went to London first: I was six months in London, and six months in Leeds, and why that? Because I didn’t have all the money, I was working for six months and then I went for the academic university exchange which was six months. I went six months before because I didn’t have all the money that I needed. And people were very friendly with me, every time I said “I’m Brazilian” people went to say “oh, so nice, Brazilians, they’re so friendly, nice country, beautiful” many of them had been here before, and people were very friendly with me, “Brazilians, your girls are so pretty and blablabla”. They were really nice with me. No prejudice or anything.

L: Do you have a funny story or something that you’d like to share?

J: I can’t remember anything… But I think that… on the way to UFMG I was kind of trying to remember things, so for example, the way I learned new words there I guess, trying to make mimics, explaining what I wanted, sometimes it was funny and then they were like “oh!” and when they get “ohh, yes”, like, “oh, that’s what you mean? That's a completely different word.” It was fun, but I think something curious is that we are too hard on ourselves. “Oh my God, I’m mispronouncing it, that’s not so good” and then when you get there… They look at us and they think, “oh your English is beautiful”, because for them, having the level of language that we have is difficult, I imagine they put themselves in our shoes, “oh, if I was, I were”…

N: If I were to learn Portuguese…

J: Yeah, “if I were to speak Portuguese the way you speak English that would be perfect”. You know? So, we are too demanding, we are too hard on ourselves. That’s interesting.

L: So… that’s it.

N: Thank you very much!

J: That’s okay! No problem.