Brazil

This semester is all about Brazil and its charms and challenges; an opportunity to engage in meaningful volunteer work with local non-profits as well as dive into what makes Brazil the dream of many--its smile, people, food, and music, its unequivocal embrace of life's triumphs and tragedies.

 

Program Overview

rio de janeiro

Our Brazil semester will take you to its three most enigmatic areas: Bahia, the Amazon, and Rio de Janeiro. You'll volunteer at an organic farm, work with kids in one of Rio's infamous favelas ("shanty towns"), and help build a new school in a remote Amazonian village. Homestays with local families will complement your Portuguese classes as you fall in love with the flow of how language and culture intertwine. And in addition to myriad volunteer opportunities, you'll trek through the hidden gem of Chapada Diamantina and the fascinating Amazon Rain Forest, along with group-directed free travel and some time in the Southeast, arguably the most gorgeous of Brazil's many treasures.

In a land of deep social inequality imbued with a never-ending embrace of life, the joie de vi0e, sweating samba, musica, and futebol, and surrounded by amazing physical beauty, the Brazil semester will take you on an exhilarating ride through opportunities and experiences as diverse as the people and places you'll meet and dance with to the intoxicating rhythms that make Brasil and Brasileiros what they are - unforgettable.

Working to capture the essence of Brazil, you will combine all that makes this country and its people justifiably famous with socially vital and beneficial volunteer work with local NGOs as they confront many of the area's most pressing issues. Explore the mysteries of the world's largest and most important rain forests, take Portuguese classes and use your new skills in Salvador and culturally rich Bahia, dance samba in one of Rio's world-reknowned Escolas de Samba, learn about organic farming and sustainable development, and end it all on a boat searching for the perfect beach sunset off the coast of colonial beauty Paraty.

Orientation:

After arrival in Salvador, we head directly to a permaculture site for orientation. Nestled in an area outside of town, this retreat is where you'll get your sea legs under you and hit the semester running. Learn more about Brazil as a country, the program, and each other. During this time you work on communication skills, team-building activities, map out your movements and set your intentions for the semester. We'll have activities and scavenger hunts to get deeper into the local culture and start breaking out our meager Portuguese.

Language Study:

Spend 2 weeks studying Portuguese more formally in a one-on-one or small group setting. Each morning begins with 4-5 hours of language study while living with your own homestay family. Afternoons are free to spend honing your new-found Portuguese with your families, participate in cultural activities like traditional cooking, capoeira (a traditional Afro-Brazilian art form combining martial arts, music, and dance), dance lessons, or explore the city's museums and cathedrals. Sneak away on the weekend for group adventure activities like beach trips or cultural tours.

Community Development and Cultural Exchange:

During your time in Brazil, you will interface with a number of Non-Governmental Organizations [NGO's] focusing on and learning principles of organic farming, permaculture, and meaningful work with children and disadvantaged groups via building projects. In every setting, you work side-by-side with the persons/groups benefitting from your hard work.

Cultural Trek

Brazil National Park

As a well-earned reward for your hard work, spend a week hiking through Chapada Diamantina National Park, staying with families along the way. Chapada Diamantina is one of the most picturesque parks in the world.

Free Travel:

"Free Travel" is a time for students to take over the direction, processes, and budgeting of the group's travels and activities utilizing the skills they've gleaned the previous 10+ weeks.

Grand Finale Week Lineup:

Your final week in Brazil as a group is absolutely loaded with rewarding daytrips out of Paraty such as horseback riding, rafting, hiking, beaches and waterfalls, sailboating, and the like.

 

Program Details

Program Dates:

Beginning in the Fall of 2012: September 18 - December 11th
Spring 2013: February 8 - May 2

carpe diem gap year semester

Group Size:

A maximum of 10 Students & 2 Adult Leaders

Eligibility:

Ages 17 and Up

University Credit & Federal Financial Aid:

FAFSA & Up to 18 credits available through Portland State University: www.pdx.edu

Language Requirement:

None

Admissions:

No deadline - applications accepted on a rolling basis until 2 weeks prior to start date.

Program Fee:

$10,900 program fee includes all food, accommodations and scheduled program activities for the duration of the program. International airfare, health insurance and spending money are extra. International airfare estimated at $1100; internal flight estimated at $250. For information on Financial Aid click here.

Program Policies:

For a detailed description of our Program Expectations and Rules, please click this link. These are the rules that we expect of all of our students for their overall safety and to provide the best possible program.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore a part of the world that is rich with history and tradition, and learn about yourself in the process. If you are interested in practicing your language skills, Carpe Diem's Brazil program presents the perfect way to hone your skills and aptitude. If you're just getting started learning a language, this program will be the perfect opportunity to learn how to read, write and live it.

Carpe Diem offers exciting opportunities to travel, study and learn about the people of South America, all while making a difference in the communities in which you'll stay. By studying abroad in South America with us, you'll scale mountains, work on meaningful construction projects and experience the unparalleled beauty of Brazil. Study abroad on the South American continent and experience a world you never knew existed.

During many of our semesters you can count on teaching being one of the many types of volunteering that takes place. This video is from our South America program group teaching English to some of the local school kids using the old standby of "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." For more videos please visit our You Tube page.