Hello Carnivale! aka Student Exchange in Brazil

By Jenna Zampa

You've probably wished at some point that you were a million miles from where you are, but can you imagine actually living away from home, in another country? Last year, 18-year-old Jordan Collier did just that, spending a whole year in Sao Paulo, Brazil as part of a student exchange program. GF got the goss on her amazing experience...

GF: What were your favourite things about Brazil?
Jordan: Of course the boys! Wow, Brazilian boys are just well- wow! [They] have this naughty kind of bad boy character. They're all very well groomed [with] straight teeth, and buff bodies due to the fact they're all obsessed with the gym.
I also loved the atmosphere of Brazil, everyone was comfortable with who they were.

What about the Brazilian girls?
The Brazilian girls are absolutely gorgeous! Stunning! It's wonderful though...they are all different shapes and sizes but love who they are.
Brazilians have this obsession, though, with being a little perfect. They all get braces on at some stage... They all go to the gym, always have their nails done and are constantly visiting waxing parlours to remove unwanted hair from everywhere!

How do the Brazilians feel about being associated with a violent waxing procedure?
They think it's funny. Actually, my friends didn't even know until one day I told them, thinking they called it the same thing (laughs). But they could understand why we would call it the Brazilian wax.

Did you make a lot of friends on your trip?
The Brazilians are just so willing to meet and learn about other people, it's amazing. I have so many friends that I am still in contact with. We had so much fun just being together.

Did you have a Brazilian romance?
Did I!? More like how many did I have! (laughs) I am such a sucker- the Brazilian boys, as I mentioned before, are just gorgeous. Of course, you get the odd Sleazy McGeazy, but not too often. I had a boyfriend for 5 months, but it wasn't anything too serious.

Was Brazil different from what you expected?
It was and it wasn't what I expected. Like, I knew there was going to be poor people and a lot of poverty, but nothing could have prepared me for the things I saw. I also went over there thinking I was going to die- crazy, I know.

What were the biggest culture shocks?
Definitely having to put the used toilet paper in the bin and not in the toilet itself. I used to feel rebel some days, flushing the toilet paper down the toilet- how sad! (laughs)
You can't put toilet paper in the toilet due to the fact that Brazil has a population of 184 million! If people flushed the toilet paper, [the system] would clog.
Also, just how poor the poor people were, it was really depressing sometimes.
Men are definitely more important in Brazil than women. I had a hard time...with my Brazilian dad, as he was a very authoritative man and expected me and his wife to do everything for him...
Then again, when you go out clubbing or to concerts men always pay more than woman do to get in.

What are your favourite memories from the trip?
One of two things that stand out would be the two weeks I spent travelling in the north of Brazil, kind of by myself... I went and visited a tour company and organised a trip up there. I got to visit five different major cities up north, including Bahia, which has a lot of African culture.
[Another highlight was] Rio de Janeiro for New Years and seeing the Black Eyed Peas play live on Ipanema beach!

What did you learn from this trip?
I really learnt a lot about myself. I learnt to accept and feel more comfortable with who I am, and also accept others for who and how they are.

Interested in student exchange? Check out www.afs.org.au for more info.