{"id":8856,"date":"2018-07-27T17:57:45","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T17:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=8856"},"modified":"2018-07-27T17:58:52","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T17:58:52","slug":"8856","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/?p=8856","title":{"rendered":"UTRGV STUDY ABROAD: Brazil"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students Embrace Living in the Moment<\/h2>\n

\u2018Study abroad changes you as a person, changes your perspectives, changes the way you see and the way you learn things in your major.\u2019 \u2013 UTRGV graduate student Linda Torres<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

by Maria Elena Hernandez<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Linda Torres, a graduate student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, ziplined over the mountains of Brazil this May.<\/p>\n

Did we mention that Torres is afraid of heights?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know how I got in the zipline,\u201d said the Brownsville native majoring in counseling and guidance. \u201cI could see the mountains and the trees. I don\u2019t know how to explain it. It was just life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Torres was one of nine students who traveled to Brazil for a study abroad course in cross-cultural psychology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to southern Brazil, where there\u2019s a huge mix of cultures. Southern Brazil was mostly colonized by Germans and Italians, and Portuguese, as well,” said Camilla Montoya, the UTRGV psychology department lecturer who led the class.<\/p>\n

The region is also where Montoya is originally from.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m Brazilian,\u201d she said. \u201cMost people don\u2019t think I am just by looking at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Nine UTRGV students traveled to Brazil this summer for a study abroad course in cross-cultural psychology. The class, led by Camilla Montoya, UTRGV psychology department lecturer was in southern Brazil, focusing on the broad mix of cultures in that region, including German and Italian and Portuguese. In addition to classes, the trip included experiences to include sightseeing, ziplining and rafting. Courtesy Photo<\/p><\/div>\n

BLENDING IN<\/strong><\/p>\n

That reality led to one of the students\u2019 first lesson about the culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone really could be a Brazilian,\u201d Montoya said. \u201cI looked at them and said, \u2018Every single one of you could pass for Brazilian.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Denisse Hernandez, of Reynosa, Mexico, is a UTRGV Mass Communications focusing on advertising and public relations. She and the other students very quickly learned that lesson about stereotyping based on physical attributes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Brazilians came in different shapes, sizes, skin colors, hair colors \u2013 everything,\u201d she said. \u201cWe would be courteous with the little Portuguese we knew. But when they would try to establish a conversation, they would be like, \u2018Oh, you guys aren\u2019t from here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another early discovery in the course was what the students would not be able to share with their family and friends back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re sitting at this amazing restaurant,\u201d Montoya said, \u201cwhere one of the students said, \u2018You know, I could take a million pictures of these plates. And I could make as many videos as I wanted and send them to my mom. And she would never know what it tastes like.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd to me, that really hit home \u2013 the importance of experiential learning, the importance of experiencing things instead of just seeing them through photos and videos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hernandez agreed, saying she enjoyed the chance to learn outside of a classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou’re actually going out there, experimenting, seeing things for yourself,\u201d she said. \u201cIt really opens your mind. It makes you feel more prepared for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Torres said that, while the class focused on differences in cultures and included daily journals and group presentations, there was also a lot of introspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudy abroad changes you as a person, changes your perspectives, changes the way you see and the way you learn things in your major,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have a lot of stuff going on in your mind, and while we were there we just kind of forgot about everything. We were just there, focused. We were living in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

NEW FRIENDS, NEW ADVENTURES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Montoya said the student on the Brazil trip experience an amazing amount of personal growth in two weeks<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one knew each other before the trip, and they\u2019re an amazing group of friends now. They\u2019re already planning a trip together as a group for next summer,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

UTRGV STUDENTS \u2013 STUDY ABROAD, BRAZIL<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Justin De Leon, junior, nursing major.<\/li>\n
  • Aimaloghi Eromosele, sophomore, biology major.<\/li>\n
  • Zarai Espinoza, junior, psychology major.<\/li>\n
  • Jose Garcia, senior, psychology major.<\/li>\n
  • Ana Garza, junior, psychology\/early care and early childhood major.<\/li>\n
  • Amanda Gomez, sophomore, psychology major.<\/li>\n
  • Dennise Hernandez, senior, communications major.<\/li>\n
  • Efrain Martinez, senior, psychology major.<\/li>\n
  • Linda Torres, graduate student, psychology major.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Students Embrace Living in the Moment \u2018Study abroad changes you as a person, changes your perspectives, changes the way you see and the way you learn things in your major.\u2019 \u2013 UTRGV graduate student Linda Torres by Maria Elena Hernandez RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS \u2013\u00a0Linda Torres, a graduate student at The University of Texas Rio […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-valley"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8856"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8863,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8856\/revisions\/8863"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}