1/27/2010 Global Identity

The University of Minnesota offers an online course for students studying abroad, and I decided to register for it because it seems like a great way for me to reflect on some of the important skills I am learning this semester. It is called Global Identity and the goal of the course is to help students connect their experiences abroad with future employment opportunities or graduate school applications. Also, it helps students become more articulate about their experiences and to reflect on things while we're immersed in a different culture, instead of coming home and trying to remember exactly what it was that we learned. Along with submitting the assignments via email, there are instructors to give feedback and help us to think about things in a different way, or to challenge us to try something new. Thus, I've decided to post some of the assignments that I'm required to complete because the topics are fairly interesting. This first assignment is about the expectations I have of my time in Sao Paulo, and I figure that since I will begin my actual program soon, it would be a good time to post this.

Assignment 1

The start of my business and culture program in Sao Paulo is quickly approaching and as each day passes, I am left feeling more excited and more nervous. Many times these two feelings are hard to distinguish from each other. Maybe anxious is a better word. I have heard that studying abroad is one of the best experiences a student can have, and I cannot wait to experience a different culture; academically, historically, linguistically, and socially.

Aside from not being great at Portuguese, I feel that I am somewhat prepared for what Sao Paulo has to throw at me. From what I gather, it is a huge melting pot of different customs and cultures, and I believe that I can relate fairly well to that type of city. Not only is Minneapolis full of diversity, but I have also spent a lot of time in Chicago and New York where adaptation is an essential part of survival.

As mentioned above, I am not that great at speaking Portuguese. I have had about five semesters of Spanish, but I still expect the language barrier to be quite difficult to overcome. At the same time, I will really enjoy this challenge, and apparently there is no better way to learn a language than full immersion. However, I have a feeling that English will be spoken quite a bit, especially at FGV (the university where I will be studying) where knowing English is required to be a part of the global community there. I have thought about this quite a bit, and I feel a little embarrassed that I do not necessarily need to know the native language of Brazil, even though I am the foreigner.

Also, I am expecting that staying with a host family will greatly help me in learning Portuguese. I think that my homestay will be a place where I feel comfortable asking questions about language and culture, and hopefully I will be able to learn and experience a lot with my family.

I have heard from several people that Brazilians are some of the nicest and most welcoming people in the world, so based on this, I am expecting to be welcomed wholeheartedly from the students at my school. The one thing I am nervous about however is my status as American. Americans are known to have bad reputations across the world; we are arrogant, ignorant, loud, etc. I do not consider myself to be any of the aforementioned traits, and hopefully I am not just simply molded into the stereotype.

Also, I have read that the exchange rate between the real and dollar is constantly shrinking, and it appears now that the purchasing power of a dollar in Sao Paulo is almost equivalent to being in Minneapolis or another big city. I am expecting the social scene to be quite tempting and thus quite expensive, but I am by no means a stereotypical “rich American,” so I will need to be careful about budgeting my money.

I am very much into theater, music, and eating at home in Minneapolis, and I am really looking forward to experience the arts and dining in Brazil. I am expecting quite a large variety of entertainment and types of food, based on the cultural diversity in Sao Paulo. Also, I am hoping that I have time to possibly learn a new instrument in my spare time.

As far as personal expectations, I have learned to be independent throughout my years in college, but I am anticipating that I will learn a much different type of independence while abroad. I generally consider myself a shy person, and while I do have good people skills, I think that the experience of meeting people abroad and practicing a new language will help me feel more comfortable with initiating conversation, which I think is an extremely important skill to have in any profession. Also, I am going to try and be spontaneous and immerse myself in the culture of Sao Paulo, and I hope that learning to navigate a completely different social scene will make me a more confident person in general.

I am very excited to begin my studies abroad and I understand that not all of my expectations will be met, but I also know that some will be surpassed beyond what I could imagine, and that I will experience things that I never even dreamed of. Also, I am very glad to be doing this online course. Writing things down has always helped me to reflect on experiences, and I believe my work over the course of this semester will be very useful in the years to come. Obrigado e Ate logo!

-Tony Grandelis