You Won't Find a Better Program

CET Brazil was a phenomenal program. I didn't really know what to expect before I arrived, but as soon as I landed in Brazil I was welcomed with warmth and love. These feelings carried over into every aspect of my time abroad. My Brazilian roommate has become one my best friends; we still talk every week. I have heard of some students struggling to connect with people on their abroad programs, but I don't think anyone on my program would say they experienced that. We became a family; all of the international students, the Brazilian students, and even the faculty and staff. It quickly became a second home. Outside of this, however, CET Brazil provides you with ample opportunity and freedom to really get to know São Paulo. They provide workshops for you to attend and set up events for the first few weeks to get you comfortable with traveling around alone. And with the help of the Brazilian roommates, you are emerged into the culture much faster. They are there for you every step of the way, from registering your passport to navigating grocery stores to finding fun activities that are suited for you. The classes are also created for you. They have Portuguese classes for every level, I've made friends who spoke no Portuguese when they arrived and left being able to have full conversation both in and out of the classroom. CET works closely with the University, so you fully supported if you decide to take classes at PUC. The professors both at PUC and CET try to help you take course that interest you. I went to Brazil to further research I was doing for my honors thesis, and even though my program got cut short, all my professors continuously checked in with me and introduced me to people they believed would help me. All the Brazilian students I met at university were so excited and supportive of my taking classes fully in Portuguese. They were so welcoming and even after the first day of meeting them invited me to go out with them. Night live in São Paulo is incredible. The music and dancing carry themselves out into the streets, you fall in love with everything so quickly. Public transportation is easy to navigate and the city is crawling with hotspots and pop-up shops. Amazing graffiti and site-seeing. And for those who are not big city people, it is easy to bus over to beaches, other cities and beautiful nature sites. Throughout the program, you are also reminded of your position staying in the neighborhood of Perdizes. CET Brazil has mandatory classes that focus on the inequities that exist in Brazil, and create the space for students to connect what they are learning back into their own countries. I truly cannot express how amazing my experience was and how incredible of a program CET is. And even with its flaws, all staff members were open to always hearing from students on what would make the program better, and would always find ways to implement those suggested improvements.