Clara and Franklin
Autor: Letras | Publicado: 2011-08-07T22:11:00-07:00

On April 14, we interviewed Allison Maranuk, a Fulbright English TA that chose Brazil as option for studying abroad. Allison was very kind along the whole process and answered all of our questions clearly. In the following interview, she talks about her expectations, difficulties, the cultural differences she experienced and other things related to her stay in Brazil and being away from home.

Is it okay if we ask you a few questions about your experience here in Brazil? 
Absolutely.

Great! Thank you. So, you are from the United States, right? 
Yes, I am American.

And when did you come to Brazil? 
I came to Brazil at the end of February.

And for how long will you stay here? 
I will be here for a total of nine months, so until December.

Are you excited? 
I am very excited!

Why did you choose to come to Brazil? 
I love Latin America, and I know Spanish and I wanted to learn Portuguese. Also, Brazil is at an interesting point in history right now, with the World Cup and the Olympics. I’m very interested in economic development and Brazil has a lot of interesting economic development projects and stories, so I thought it would be an interesting place to visit.

Did you have any difficulty with the language here? 
Yes. I think my biggest weakness is pronunciation. I can read and write without many problems. Also, I think the mineiro dialect or accent cuts a lot of words in half or they drop syllables, whereas I’m trying to learn Portuguese, so when I learn it, I learn each word and how to properly say it. Sometimes even if I say things correctly, mineiros won’t understand me. To me, it makes it hard because I say, “Oh, this is right!” It’s almost like I need to learn the mineiro way of saying it to be understood.

Can you tell us about the cultural differences between Brazil and the United States? 
I’m originally from Ohio, but I was living in New York City before I came. There is the phrase, “done in a New York minute,” which means things get done very quickly there, very fast, you have to move fast or you miss out. Whereas in Brazil, you go to the bank, you walk in, you take the password, you sit there, you wait, you do it. Everything gets done eventually, but in New York, I think there’s so many people that if things took that long, nothing would ever get done. And people here are just so much more friendly, I’ve noticed. Even people in Ohio were friendly, but I think Brazilians are even friendlier than Ohio ones, which is hard to do.



Are you adapting well to the Brazilian culture? 
Overall, I would say so. One thing that I think is funny, I’m trying to wrap my head around it, is how on the weekends you can go out until six in the morning like that’s normal, but on the week days you’re up by five in the morning. The sleep schedule is just crazy. For me, I like to bed and wake up at the same time every night. I think if I go out on the weekend, even if I come home at four, which I've done with just a professor, that’s like an early night. But on Tuesday, I’m exhausted. I was like, “How do these Brazilians do it?” That’s one thing I wonder.

What were your expectations when you arrived in Brazil? 
I tried not to have many. Because who knows? The thing is I had very little control over where in Brazil I was placed, where I would be living, so I was prepared for anything. So, very few expectations.

Do you still keep in touch with your family and friends? 
Yes. I’d say I talk to them every day somehow. It’s funny because right now in the United States if people apply to graduate schools for internships, everybody is hearing the decision. So there was a three-day period where three different friends all contacted me and said, “Allison, I need to make a decision,” so we signed on to Skype and maybe talked for an hour. But I would find out, I would get home from work, get the e-mail, “Okay, Ashley wants to talk.” Then the next day, got the e-mail, “Okay, Jessica wants to talk.” I think I felt bad for my Brazilian roommates because I’d just moved in and I think they thought we would spent time together, but my friends had these important decisions to make and wanted to ask me questions. So there was a period where I was a career counselor for an entire week.

How would you describe your experience as a foreign student? 
Overall, very positive. It’s been a very positive experience. I love being back on the University campus and technically being a student, and it made me realize how important academics are to me.

Would you recommend that other students travel abroad like you did? 
Absolutely. I think it’s a very mind-opening experience, I think you go outside of your comfort-zone, and it makes you grow. And specially for the foreign languages, it really develops that second-tracked in your mind. And it’s always good to see how other people live and think and what they value, and I think everybody should do it.

That’s it. Thank you so much. 
Thank you.