Brazil Study Abroad

Are you fun-loving? Do you love sunshine, steamy languor, and sand? Can you see yourself in a laidback culture with a strong sense of rhythm and color? If you can answer "yes" to all these questions, you're a perfect candidate for study abroad in Brazil. Brazil Study Abroad programs abound.

Portugal got lucky when the Pope gave them Brazil. (Look it up: the Treaty of Tordesillas.) That little country of mournful souls (look up saudade) gained a huge, tropical territory overseas where a soul could be at ease. Infused with the blood and music of Africa, Brazil became a place of fun and fascination. The people of Brazil are a happy people, even when times are hard, as they often are. Studying in Brazil means participating in that happiness. The Portuguese language, some say, sounds like Spanish spoken with warm marbles in your mouth. It is universally considered melodious and beautiful. Who wouldn't want to become part of this culture?

There aren't as many study abroad programs in Brazil as there are in Europe. It suffers from the need that many people feel to gain utilitarian knowledge - knowledge as a tool - like French, which has application in Africa, the Caribbean, and popular literature. What they forget is the value of self-discovery and the awakening of the senses. But I digress.

Study abroad programs in Brazil focus on the Portuguese language and literature, Brazilian culture and history, and current events in Brazil.

There are a number of positive features Brazilian study abroad maintains over study abroad in Europe:

• Size of selection: There are dozens of large metropolitan centers, each with their colleges and academies.
• Cost: Programs in Brazil usually cost a lot less than similar programs in Europe.
• Climate: It's almost always warm. It's enough to straddle the Equator, but Brazil is also washed by a warm ocean current.
• Climate, again: It's especially warm when temperatures start to drop in the Northern Hemisphere. When the whole four-seasons, autumn-leads-to-winter thing gets to you, study a semester in Brazil and renew yourself.

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