About ProfBill

Status:

Considering a Move Abroad 

Gender:

Male

Currently Lives:

Illinois, United States

Citizen Of:

United States

Some Forum Posts:

Brazil: Older Brazilian Men, with Teenage Girls, normal?:

Brazilian women seem to value maturity and responsibility a bit more than women in the USA. In the USA, women seem less concerned about how good a father and provider her bf will be, than how good a life partner he will be. That may be because families seem to have a higher priority in Brazil, than in the US. This includes the characteristics regarding a potential spouse, which are important for supporting a family. While most women in Brasil marry men close to their age, it is very common to find husbands that are 10 to 25 years older than their wives. No one thinks anything of it in Brazil. It seems like no matter what the subject in the US, those that feel very strongly about something (marriage, religion, child rearing, sex, etc.) want others to behave according to their standards. I find that extremely irritating. The Europeans and the S. Americans are much more flexible about other people than those in the US.

Brazil: African Americans in Brazil:

I got the strong impression that older Brazilians were, on average, more racist than younger Brazilians. The racism I observed in Brasil seem more focused on status and one's economic situation than on skin color.

Brazil: How bad is the crime thing, really?:

I have been to Brazil ~30 times during the past ~14 years, sometimes for only a week, sometimes for 10 weeks for a total of ~15 months. I have stayed in Rio, Brasilia, Florianapolis, Goiania, Campinas, Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Belo Horizonte, Pelotas, Joao Pessoa, among others. I (and my Brazilian gf) have never been bothered, but I tend to dress like the locals. If I wear a watch, it is a cheap one and I dont wear jewelry. I have been lucky so far. Some cities are worse than others, particularly Sao Paulo, Rio, Recife, and Salvador, but all of the large cities have sections one should avoid. But then, so does Chicago, San Francisco, NY, St. Louis, Dallas, etc.

Brazil: American student..College in Brazil:

The public universities in Brazil are very good. They do not charge tuition to Brazilian students so competition for admission is intense. I am not sure what tuition/fees are charged to foreign students. Some of the private universities are very good, at others (many of the "for-profit" universities) the professors are pressured to give everyone a good grade, so that the students will continue to pay tuition. Universities require students applying for admission to take very rigorous entrance exams. Students in Brazil generally spend one or more years attending special schools (after graduating from high school) to prepare for those rigorous entrance exams. The exams cover general subjects and subjects specific to your "college" in the university, i.e., the special subject exams for engineering are different than the exams for law or medical school. The top university in Brazil is probably USP in Sao Paulo, but admission is extremely difficult - less than 5% of the students that take the admission exam are admitted to USP. A private university would be much easier to attend, but I am not familiar with the private universities in SP. Good luck.

Date Joined:

6/24/2008

Total Posts:

5

Posts/Day:

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