Upon her return from a semester spent in Brazil, Abbie Carle had much to share with her friends and family: stories about people she met, places she saw and experiences she will never forget. She was one of several students that participated in the United States-Brazil student exchange program.

Carle, an intervention specialist major, stayed with other students in Nova Iguacu, Brazil, a city about 40 miles from Rio de Janerio. The students took education courses at a Brazilian university and completed field experiences, all in Portuguese.

“There is nothing like immersion. You learn the language when you have to speak it,” Carle said.

She did not have Internet for the first two months, and thus, no way to communicate with her family back home. This challenge pushed her to work on her language skills and meet new people.

Many of those people ended up changing her life.

“The hardships of the first month were worth the whole experience,” Carle said. “I recommend studying abroad, or in a [different] state…to gain a different perspective on life.”

Three American schools- Ashland University, Brigham Young University and Georgetown College- collaborate with two Brazilian universities to create opportunities such as the one described by Carle.

Associate professor Carla Abreu-Ellis is the coordinator of the program at Ashland University. With her help, three Brazilian students are studying at Ashland this semester, while four Ashland students are preparing to go to Brazil in the fall of 2012.

The goal of the federally-funded exchange program is to prepare educators for diversity in their classrooms. It also provides the opportunity to observe a different education system.

“I was able to learn a new language and culture that is now a part of who I am,” Larissa Berry, an integrated mathematics major said. “Before I went to Brazil, I thought I knew everything about myself. Brazil changed that for me; I rediscovered my aspirations as both a future teacher and a citizen in society.”

When students are selected to participate, they begin learning Portuguese through classes and language learning software.

Both are free of charge to the students, as they are paid for by the grant. Additionally, the students are paired with a student from one of the Brazilian schools to practice conversational skills.

The preparation leads to a full semester spent at a Brazilian host institution with credits that will transfer back to Ashland University. When the students return to AU they resume classes, completing research that was begun in the colloquium course from the previous semester.

If you are interested in the program and would like more information, visit http://www.brazilianstudyabroad.com or see Abreu-Ellis in the Schar College of Education.