When I was approached with the request to write a small piece about the Summer Abroad Program, I immediately agreed although writing is one of my least favorite things to do

Study Abroad Program- Sao Paulo, Brazil

When I was approached with the request to write a small piece about the Summer Abroad Program, I immediately agreed although writing is one of my least favorite things to do. Few experiences in my life have been as positive and rewarding as spending a month in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In order to appreciate fully why the program was so rewarding to me it is necessary to provide a little background information.

To begin with, I am a nontraditional student (i.e. old) working towards my third degree. Unbelievably, until this opportunity to travel abroad arose, I had never traveled outside of the continental United States and only outside of the southeastern region on three occasions.

I was a little wary of spending the money, especially in light of my educational debt, but when I considered the opportunity to travel might pass me by once I begin working, I seriously began thinking about taking this trip. One of the biggest factors that I had to think about was my eight-year old daughter.

While taking her along would add to the cost of the trip, it would do so only marginally. The biggest problem was convincing my husband that his little girl would be all right in South America without him for a whole month because there was no way I was going to make this trip without her.

I was ultimately able to convince him that she would be fine and the risk insignificant in light of the fact that this experience would shape her outlook for the rest of her life. Ultimately, the opportunity to give my daughter a chance to travel and experience a different culture greatly added to the excitement and sense of adventure.

In addition, measuring my impressions of the country against those of a fresh and unencumbered young mind proved to be one of the best aspects of the trip. So once the decision was made, I quickly began to anticipate the trip with great enthusiasm.

I selected the Sao Paulo program because I thought it unique for several reasons. First, the trip to Brazil offers the greatest opportunity to experience a culture that is completely different from our own. The language is different, Portuguese. The seasons are different, its winter in Brazil when its summer here.

Of course, winter in Brazil is not really what we consider winter at all. Winter in Sao Paulo is about like winter in Miami, Florida. Most of the time the temperature ranges from the upper 40's to the lower 50's in the evening and the lower to upper 70's during the day.

In fact, the weather in July in Sao Paulo is similar to the weather we have right now, beautiful every day. The culture too is different and as diverse as our own. The United States has been termed the great American melting pot, but in my opinion, South America is running a close second or maybe first.

Brazilian citizens originate from all parts of the world, but for the most part the culture seemed to me to have a European flare. The Brazilian culture has many things in common with the European culture. However, time, space and other considerations will not allow me to mention but one.

The one similarity I will discuss is the Brazilian's love of food and drink and dining. The evening meal is served late around 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening, and dinning is an elegant affair often lasting for hours. Brazilians love to eat especially meat and fruit. How they all stay so thin is a mystery.

The fruits were especially good but generally all the food was cheap, plentiful and delicious. I must admit though, I missed American food and could not wait to get home to a good home cooked meal -- McDonalds. Of course, I am joking McDonalds is in Brazil, in fact one of the few American restaurants there. Really though, I did miss barbecue and home cooked meals.

Anyway, the best part about being in Brazil was the people we met. Everyone there was very warm and friendly and they all love Americans. My daughter knew everyone in class and most of the people in the shops we frequented by the time we left on a first name basis.

She loved them and they all loved her. When we left, they lavished her with gifts to remember them by, me they tolerated. Just kidding, everyone I met in Brazil was wonderful, and we still communicate by e-mail regularly.

After a couple of weeks in Brazil the language barrier just seemed insignificant. Everyone was willing to spend the time to communicate, and it was surprising how quickly we learned to get by with just a few words. The Brazilian people are wonderful, and I can not wait to see my friends again when they visit us next year for the American portion of the program.

Finally, no discussion of the Summer Abroad Program would be complete without mentioning the educational experience. Again, I think the Sao Paulo program offers the greatest opportunity to study a unique legal system, and to make invaluable comparisons to our own legal culture.

The Brazilian constitution is new, enacted in just 1988. This fact alone gives the student the opportunity to see the development of a legal culture from the ground up. Brazil was previously under a dictatorship, and many of the constitutional provisions reflect the people's desire for guarantees and positive rights from the government.

Additionally, Brazil is a civil law country, which makes the comparison to our deeply seated common law legal culture especially enlightening. I feel that the Sao Paulo Summer Abroad Program offered us the invaluable opportunity of a lifetime; one we carry with us for the rest of our lives.

Plane ticket eight hundred dollars, tuition two thousand, room and board around two thousand, the experience priceless.

P.S. Rio de Janerio ain't bad either!