If you ask me what my dream is, I will tell you it is to travel around the world. But I never think the first country I choose to go abroad is Brazil. Even the Brazilian asked me why I chose to go to Brazil, my answer was " Every opportunity to see the world, I will not give up, so I am coming!"

When the airplane arrived in Sao Paulo airport, when I saw the views of the Sao Paulo city, I told myself it was not a dream, it was true that I had already been on the land of Brazil. At that time, Brazil to me, was just an abstract conception, the biggest country in South America, was famous for football, Samba, coffee and Amazon , nothing else. But I was curious about everything happened in that country which was located in the other side of the earth from China.

As soon as I got on the international plane, which took off from China, I had prepared that from that moment, everything would depend on myself. Nobody picked me up at the airport, and I met some difficulty during the process of looking for the place of the IAESTE office, but everything was ok at last. I was arranged in a student apartment and lived with three Brazilian girls. I worked in UFSCAR, one of the famous federal universities, in the city of Sao Carlos in Sao Paulo State. My training life began at the beginning of Oct..

Refer to my work, I worked in the Department of Production Engineering of UFSCAR, which is one of the best universities in Brazil. I worked in a group called GETEC, which was doing some research about small and medium sized technology-based firms. I participated in their project about " Innovation characteristics of small and medium sized technology-based firms". I read some papers and materials about this subject and attended the seminars and discussions of the research group. I did some training at the local engine assembly plant of Volkswagen, visited some companies including the Faber-Castell , the toy firms and so on. I prepared and gave a seminar with the title " Small and medium sized technology-based firms in China" to many professors and students. Some professors were very interested in my seminar and even wanted to do some cooperation with my professors in China. My professor was Mauro Rocha Cortes. He was very kind and friendly to me. He not only taught me knowledge in my profession, but also instructed me how to treat the research in earnest. Mrs. Ilse, the secretary of our group, Rodrigo, Renato, Karina, Alexandre, who were my colleagues helped me a lot, too. At first, I met some difficulty, because the version used in the computer and some materials were all in Portuguese. Fortunately, with the help of them, I solved all the problems and did my work well, which my professor was satisfied with.

I was living with three Brazilian girls, I think I was so lucky to live with them. They helped me to adapt to the new environment, invited me to their parties, and introduced their friends to me. We became good friends I should say the culture in Brazil is totally different from China. The life of the Brazilian students is also different. They often have different kinds of parties, dancing, drinking, chatting, joking, and enjoy themselves. They are more open. More than two months there, I took part in many parties to see, to know and to feel how the life of the students there was. Many students invited me to their houses, which made me familiar with the unique Brazilian customs and widen my horizon. I have found it amazing to see how people live in different cultures, which is even more than the technical experiences I have obtained from the training. I have to admit that their attitude of life influences me much.

If you ask me what impressed me most there? Beautiful sights and kind people. My footsteps covered about more than 10 cities and villages, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. I have seen the biggest waterfall Fuz de Iguacu, the most beautiful beach Floripa, the city which is most suitable for people to live Curitiba, the third biggest city in the world Sao Paulo, one of the most beautiful places in the world Rio de Janeiro and also some calm and quiet villages like Tabatinga and so on. I tried my best to see different views in Brazil, and put my heart to feel everything there. I t is no doubt that Brazil is really a beautiful country, it has many prior natural conditions including the wonderful sunshine and greatest beaches. The people there impressed me a lot, too. Brazil is an emigrant country. It is a mixture. You can find almost every kind of color of people in the streets. They are kind, warm, friendly, enthusiastic, and hospitable. Portuguese is the native language in Brazil, so it brought me some trouble in my life there. But with the help of people there, I lived happily for more than two months in Brazil. When I met difficulty in the streets or in the shops, even some strangers would like to help me, most of them could not speak English, but they would use all kinds of other ways to let me understand them and help me. I was really moved. I am so grateful to those who used to help me especially to those whom I could not have opportunity to say thanks to.

As a student from China, I exerted my utmost to be a messenger of our culture, introducing China to the foreign friends due to my efforts. How time flies! Almost three months passed so quickly. During this period, when I was in a totally different environment, when I faced a completely different culture, when I got new information all the time, when I felt the difficulty in living abroad alone, I learned a lot. I became mature and confident. During this period, I also made lots of friends who came from lots of countries. It was really an unforgettable experience for me. This period will stay in my memory forever.

At last, I would like to express my appreciation for IAESTE. I would like to appreciate all your help and efforts for us to make our trip possible and successful! Thanks very much for what IAESTE has bestowed to us! The experience has been worthwhile and I certainly recommend to all who ever want to try it!