ANR: 528176
Name: Koos Simons
E-mail: koos_simons@hotmail.com
Exchange semester: fall 2014
Academic year: 2014-2015
Host University: PUC Rio
Country: Brazil
TOPIC: Admission, arrival, housing
How was your arrival organized? Did someone pick you up from the airport/station? Was an orientation or introduction activity organized? How was accommodation organized? Does the university provide you with accommodation? What kind of accommodation does the university provide? Did you have to book your accommodation in advance or did you have to search for a place to live after you arrived?
The university organized an arrival day. The arrival was organized quite well. Two students from PUC were waiting at the airport wearing PUC shirts. The university had special transportation driving all students with small vans to their homestay addresses. Homestay was arranged by the university. They had places where you could live with a so called ‘’house mom’’. You could live with a Brazilian family.
The first month I lived with a house mom and two other exchange students. Afterwards I found my own apartment with two other exchange students. The homestay was organized ok but I preferred to live on my own with other exchange students. Also during my first month it was hard to find affordable rooms because of the world cup.
The housing program is often very good to get to know the people and culture of the city. However often after the first month a big percentage of all exchange students wanted to move. Mostly because the host families where too strict or they preferred to live on their own. Finding a place in Rio is not that difficult, the hardest part is to look for affordable apartments since the prices are often quite expensive.
The university provided an information day the day after I arrived. Immediately after this day the classes started. The information day was just a presentation with information about student life in Rio and about the courses at the university.
TOPIC: Location of university/city
Please describe the city you lived in. Where is the university located in the city? What is the best place to go to eat/drink/dance/do sports/etc.? What are interesting things to see and do in your host city?
What was different than in Tilburg?
I lived in Rio de Janeiro, a city totally different than Tilburg. The university is located in a beautiful neighborhood called Gavea. The campus of PUC looks like a rainforest/jungle including monkeys and tropical birds. Gavea is the southern part of the city and the neighborhood is really nice and quiet. I lived first in Copacabana and after in Ipanema. Both neighborhoods are located a bit far from the university. Still public transportation is kind of ok in Rio so normally it would take me 30 minutes to get to the university. Still I would suggest buying or rent a bike in Rio. Biking next to the famous beaches is an experience you will never forget. Furthermore it is the quickest way to get to the university.
Rio has a lot of things to offer. The city combines beautiful nature with an awesome culture. A person from Rio is called a Carioca. Cariocas love to go to the beach and go out for dinner and have drinks.
The city has a lot of nice bars and restaurant where you get to feel this Carioca way of living. Also you can go to all kind of different cultural events such as samba parties or parades. The student life in Rio is really different. Rio is not a student city. Students do not have associations or other organizations which you have in the Netherlands. Still for exchange students the university organizes a lot of trips and activities in or outside Rio. Furthermore I did an extensive Portuguese language course before the semester started. Good to improve your Portuguese and to get to know the other exchange students.
TOPIC: Academics
Which courses did you take and why? Which courses would you recommend? What did the courses add to your program at Tilburg University? How does the university compare to Tilburg University

concerning the level of the courses, use of extra material, level of English, workload, etc.? Overall, were you happy with your academic achievements during your exchange? Please describe the campus of your host university.
In total I took 4 courses. These courses were: Brazilian Foreign Policy, Global Strategic Management,
Portuguese Language Course and Strategy & Innovation.
Brazilian Foreign Policy was an interesting course since I never had any political courses. It was interesting to see how Brazil looks to other countries and how their culture also is deeply embedded in their foreign policy. Global Strategic Management was nice since Strategic Management is my major at Tilburg University. This course emphasized a lot on Brazilian companies and their international strategies. But my most interesting class was the strategy and innovation course. The course was a master course in Portuguese. Interesting was the difference in people studying a master. In Brazil people doing a master program are often a lot older and already have a job. Therefore the course was really different than the other courses I had at PUC. The course was most challenging since all material was in Portuguese and discussions were also in Portuguese. Nevertheless the professor helped me a lot and allowed me to write tests in English. For me this course was the most academically challenging course since material was comparable with the material at Tilburg University. The other courses were kind of easy. Also because the level of English is a bit lower compared to Dutch universities.
In the end for me the most challenging subject was the language. Portuguese is important since not that many people speak English in Rio. Therefore it is important to start before you go to Rio with learning the language. If you already know the basics learning the language will be a lot easier.
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TOPIC: Social life
Which social activities organized by the university or students? Did you have contact with local students? Did you have contact with other exchange students? How did you get along with the local students and other exchange students? Did you travel to other places/countries during your exchange?
As I already mentioned the university organized all kinds of trips. There was a sightseeing tour and trips to cities around Rio. I had a lot of contact with other exchange students. Since I followed the language course before the semester I already knew a lot of students. Furthermore due to my homestay address
I got to know some Brazilian students at PUC. They helped me a lot with getting to know the city and helping me to understand the Brazilian culture.
I traveled a lot during my exchange. I travelled through Brazil, going to a lot of different cities and states.
I visited a swamp/rainforest called Pantanal and a big hiking area called Chapada Diamantina. Brazil is a huge country and there are a lot of incredible places to visit. You will have time during your exchange to travel so do not hesitate. The country and also the continent are amazing for travelling. Nevertheless pay attention to the length of your visa. My visa expired. I had a student visa so I was allowed to stay till my classes ended. I decided to stay one more month but that meant I had to pay a fine of 8 reals a day (2,80 euro). You can get a tourist visa but you have to leave Brazil and need to get a stamp from another country.
TOPIC: Living costs
How did you finance your exchange period, apart from the grant you received from Tilburg University?
What were your living expenses abroad like compared to Tilburg? What did you spend most of your money on? What would you advice future students to spend their money on? Please outline your approximate monthly budget whilst on exchange: housing, food, textbooks, etc.
Rio is expensive. I got a student loan and already saved money to go to Brazil. Daily living expenses are kind of equal to Tilburg. Public transportation and restaurants were cheaper. You can eat for 2 euro’s at the cafeteria at PUC. Also restaurants with local food are really cheap. When you love meat
Brazil is really a good place to go.
However the rent in Rio is much higher. This is explainable since most students lived in the ‘’safer’’ and expensive neighborhoods. The rent at the apartments I lived was between 350 and 400 euro’s.
Travelling was also expensive. Nevertheless I would always go travelling since this country has so much to offer. I would suggest not looking that strict to your budget. This is a once in a lifetime experience.
Cutting costs on travelling will often mean that you will regret at the end of your exchange. I really did not want to miss the places I went to.

TOPIC: Culture
Did you experience culture shock while on exchange? How would you compare your host culture to your own culture? What did you learn about your own culture while on exchange? What was different about your host culture than you expected? What did you like and not like about your host culture? Do you feel you learned a lot about your host culture, and if not, what would you like to learn more? How would you describe your host countries culture? If you travelled to other cities/countries during your exchange, were they different than your host city/country, and how?
To be honest I thought I would had have a bigger shock. Of course the cultures are really different but
I never felt a huge gap or better phrased an ‘’disturbing gap’’. I already knew a bit of the culture since my neighbor from my hometown is Brazilian. She taught me a bit of the country and already explained some of the differences.
You should be open to the differences; it will be a lot easier to adept.
Brazilians are a lot more ‘’touchy’’ and love to hug and to touch people. Also they are not direct and think it is rude when you say no when someone offers you something. People in Rio are really laidback and certainly not that strict with appointments. You will notice it with everything. Supermarkets are a lot more inefficient. The student office at the university was often very slow. The one thing what was really different was the lack of change in any kind of store. Try to never only have large bills of cash. Within stores they often say you have to get a smaller bill otherwise you cannot buy the product. Which is hard to understand for a Dutch person. Efficiency and making profits are things Cariocas do not think is that important.
Nevertheless it did not really disturb me that much. You learn a lot about different cultures and you also start to appreciate your own culture a lot more.
TOPIC: Personal development
What did you learn from the people you met during your exchange? Would you do things differently if you had the chance and what would you do differently? What was your best experience, and what was your worst experience? What will you remember for ever about your exchange period? What was the most important lesson you learned about yourself during your exchange period?
I learned a lot about cultural differences and speaking different languages. It was really interesting to live in such an amazing and lively city. I learned a lot from the different people I met and made a lot of new friends. You will notice things you thought were normal for you can be completely strange in another culture. The thing what surprised me the most was when people said they would come to a certain activity but finally would not show up. In the Netherlands this would be considered rude. If you say you go you will go. In Brazil and other countries in Southern America and Northern America people think it is rude when you say you are not coming. You always say you are coming even if you cannot come.
The only thing I would have done differently is to already practice Portuguese in the Netherlands. I met some other exchange students which really study a lot before they came to Rio. This helps you a lot. I noticed that learning Portuguese is hard but much easier when you already have a decent knowledge of the language. Try to already start memorizing words and verb conjugation. People really like you to speak Portuguese in Rio.
TOPIC: Tips for future students
Would you recommend an exchange period? Would you recommend your host university? What should prospective students bring with them/leave behind? What preparation is required for going on exchange to this destination? Was there anything you should have done in preparation that you didn’t do?
Certainly I would recommend Rio. It is a beautiful city with wonderful people. The combination of the weather, culture and exchange vibe is indescribable. The university is ok but academically not that changeling. My advice is to follow courses in Portuguese. This is a very good way to learn the language and these courses are often more interesting than the ‘’exchange courses’’ PUC offers. Also try to start learning Portuguese and know the basics before you go to Rio. Also keep in mind that Rio is really different than any other city in the Netherlands. The city is huge and the daily life is really different. If you want to go to Rio try to already contact people that went there. It will help you to get an image of what you can expect during your exchange.