This post will be brief because there's not too much for me to say, but I am answering the question: why come back to Floripa? (Especially as I was not happy with it before I left).
1. The experience. This year has taught me so much, and it's not even over! I feel like I've been through hell and back in the space of about nine months, but if I'm honest: it's been worth it. Half the things that shook me up were personal, but then the other reasons have been experienced by students who have been here before me too, so it could well happen to you. It's hard being this far away from home and the familiar for this amount of time, but who can say at 21 years old that they've lived in Brazil?! I have the opportunity to spend another four-five months in Brazil with no responsibilities but my dissertation: I knew in my heart that I would be coming back to give it another shot. Granted, I'm not doing too much with my social life right now because of my work: but I feel so much better for coming back. Plus I will have that much more experience to talk about when applying for jobs, reminiscing in final year and telling the disbelieving grandchildren that living in South America was a rare thing for twenty something year olds 'back in the day'.
2. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of taking another shot at something that at first had not quite succeeded, to prove to myself that I could take a negative situation in my life and turn it around. And so far I've been doing just that. I've enrolled on to Samba and Tango classes, I chose classes that I knew I'd be interested in rather than what I thought I should do and I've been taking time out when I want to. Also, I know I'd kick myself and feel like a failure if I didn't come back. It'd be a classic and painful "what if?" that would haunt me for the rest of my degree and my life.
3. What else was I going to do? I had already spoken to my lecturers when I first got sad and they said that Portuguese universities refuse to take you for just one semester, and at our university you must stick to the same language country ie. I couldn't switch and go to Spain or Chile.
Plus I didn't want to have to carry out the rest of the year at home. I'd probably have to pay back my loan and grants so I wouldn't have any money and all my good friends would be at uni, so I'd be at home and (as much as I love my family and where we live) bored out of my mind with just the dissertation deadline to do.
4. My research project. I'm doing my dissertation on Capoeira and need Brazilian resources to complete my research, so I need the local library. Even though the university library is on strike there is still the city one, because the Portuguese and Brazilian Google Scholar is not brilliant so I'm trying to rely as little as possible on online sources.
5. It could be worse. Living abroad (where it's sunny, beaches all around and cheaper living), taking classes that don't count and completing my dissertation versus being back in my home university having classes and other critical coursework to complete at the same time as writing a dissertation with a bigger word count. Yep, I think I've got the good end of the bargain.
While everything my last post might say otherwise, Floripa is still a wondrous place with lots to offer an international student, and it does take time to adjust to it. So if you feel it deep down then don't be afraid to try again :) Here's to experience!!
1. The experience. This year has taught me so much, and it's not even over! I feel like I've been through hell and back in the space of about nine months, but if I'm honest: it's been worth it. Half the things that shook me up were personal, but then the other reasons have been experienced by students who have been here before me too, so it could well happen to you. It's hard being this far away from home and the familiar for this amount of time, but who can say at 21 years old that they've lived in Brazil?! I have the opportunity to spend another four-five months in Brazil with no responsibilities but my dissertation: I knew in my heart that I would be coming back to give it another shot. Granted, I'm not doing too much with my social life right now because of my work: but I feel so much better for coming back. Plus I will have that much more experience to talk about when applying for jobs, reminiscing in final year and telling the disbelieving grandchildren that living in South America was a rare thing for twenty something year olds 'back in the day'.
2. I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I wanted to prove to myself that I was capable of taking another shot at something that at first had not quite succeeded, to prove to myself that I could take a negative situation in my life and turn it around. And so far I've been doing just that. I've enrolled on to Samba and Tango classes, I chose classes that I knew I'd be interested in rather than what I thought I should do and I've been taking time out when I want to. Also, I know I'd kick myself and feel like a failure if I didn't come back. It'd be a classic and painful "what if?" that would haunt me for the rest of my degree and my life.
3. What else was I going to do? I had already spoken to my lecturers when I first got sad and they said that Portuguese universities refuse to take you for just one semester, and at our university you must stick to the same language country ie. I couldn't switch and go to Spain or Chile.
Plus I didn't want to have to carry out the rest of the year at home. I'd probably have to pay back my loan and grants so I wouldn't have any money and all my good friends would be at uni, so I'd be at home and (as much as I love my family and where we live) bored out of my mind with just the dissertation deadline to do.
4. My research project. I'm doing my dissertation on Capoeira and need Brazilian resources to complete my research, so I need the local library. Even though the university library is on strike there is still the city one, because the Portuguese and Brazilian Google Scholar is not brilliant so I'm trying to rely as little as possible on online sources.
5. It could be worse. Living abroad (where it's sunny, beaches all around and cheaper living), taking classes that don't count and completing my dissertation versus being back in my home university having classes and other critical coursework to complete at the same time as writing a dissertation with a bigger word count. Yep, I think I've got the good end of the bargain.
While everything my last post might say otherwise, Floripa is still a wondrous place with lots to offer an international student, and it does take time to adjust to it. So if you feel it deep down then don't be afraid to try again :) Here's to experience!!