Brazil: connecting and exchanging our cultures to shape Education in Colombia

By Milson Veloso – Brazil

MBA in Digital Communications

An exchange program is a great opportunity for anyone to impact people’s lives. I think this is what happened to me in the past months, when I decided to come to Bogotá and do this internship with Shape Colombia. Most of the things have been so incredible that I can’t choose one to point out as the best. Of course, as any experience abroad, I’ve also faced some challenges: my Spanish wasn’t that good; my stomach did not always accept all the food I tried; the “cold-rainy-hot-all-seasons” of this city gave me a cold. But it was mostly great and that’s what really matters at the end.

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When I first went to the school and met the kids/teenagers, they looked at me as if I were a superstar – or an Alien. I walked around giving autographs, something really cool. One day a little girl came to me and asked how to say “tie” in the language from my “planet”. I haven’t realized so far how different we were from each other in some cultural aspects, although we are both Latin Americans - yet we we’re also connected somehow. Time went on and I discovered that we also have many similarities: even speaking different languages, for example, we use sayings that are exactly the same in Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Talking about language, the day our classes started I was very scared. Sometimes I thought I wouldn’t be able to talk to them in English, since almost nobody had a good English level for conversation.  I was wrong. When you are in an Exchange Program, communication just happens. Obviously we eventually had troubles or misunderstandings, but for that I had a Colombian Support Teacher in the class to clarify things.

Moreover, everyone at the school made me feel so comfortable that I started feeling at home in there. From the kitchen staff to the coordinators, most of them tried to learn something about Brazil, Portuguese or English. I can surely say that especially the children and I achieved a good level of cultural exchange and improvement – not only related to the languages, the primary task.

When it comes to Colombia, the country is absolutely amazing and the people are very friendly. It is interesting to see how the vegetations and weather change just by traveling two hours from the capital. Colombia mixes cold high mountain landscapes in the Andes region with hot sunny beaches in the Caribbean Sea area. The diversity is in its nature.

If you are looking for an Exchange Program that will broaden your horizons and help you to make a positive impact on society, Shape Colombia is a very good choice. Don´t expect everything to be perfect, because you’ll certainly face challenges as well – be it the language, food, or weather. Come with the willing to change children’s lives and your own, and I guarantee you’ll find the keys for that. I liked it so much that I decided to stay a little bit longer, now working as a National Project Coordinator for AIESEC - MC in Colombia.

➨ Apply for Shape Colombia and have a great experience with us as well.

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