TRAVEL REPORT – Master’s Exchange

Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil Fundação Getúlio Vargas Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas (FGV EBAPE) Fall 2016 361325

Contents

1. Preparing for the exchange ...... 3 2. Exchange studies ...... 5 2.1. Advanced Strategic Management ...... 6 2.2. Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance in Brazil ...... 7 2.3. Micro Finance ...... 7 2.4. Banking and Financial Intermediation ...... 7 2.5. Strategy, Government and Society ...... 8 3. Living and free time in Rio and Brazil ...... 8 3.1. Free time ...... 9 3.2. Accommodation ...... 10 3.3. Cost of living and money ...... 10 3.4. as a city ...... 11 3.4.1. Safety ...... 12 3.5. Traveling ...... 13 4. Final comments ...... 14

1. Preparing for the exchange

Pre-arrival After being nominated by Aalto, I was contacted from FGV EBAPE in the end of April 2016. The email gave good instructions what was needed to be accepted to FGV as an exchange student. I had to send a copy of my passport immediately to begin the process. The email also included a list of the documents needed to send there and when they needed to be sent. With the Requerimento document the International Office at FGV pre-enrolled me to the courses I wished to take. The courses could be modified later. After receiving the acceptance letter from FGV (I received it 11.5.), it is possible to start the visa application process. The guidelines for the process can be found in http://helsinque.itamaraty.gov.br/fi/-_opiskelijaviisumi.xml. The application must be done online, but in the end, the required documents must be taken to the Brazilian Embassy in Kaivopuisto, Helsinki. If any problems with the process arise, it’s possible call the embassy. The process should be started preferably immediately after receiving the confirmation letter, because failing to send a copy of the student visa 15 days before the lectures start will result in rejection as an exchange student! The process starts the moment the documents are delivered to the embassy and the fee is paid as instructed. The processing time is approximately ten days. The embassy will inform when the visa is ready, so a phone call is recommended. I didn’t have any problems with the process. Note that flights must be bought before applying for the visa. Other preparing included getting the required vaccines (Hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, lavantauti). These should also be taken well in advance if one wishes to get them from YTHS or the public sector. After all this, I was set to go to Rio. I reserved a hotel room for one day and I extended my stay there by one more day. Note that the required arrival date is set by FGV. The process to begin my studies went fluently and the International Office at FGV and the Brazilian Embassy proved to be very helpful. Remember to take all your forms with you to Brazil! Language The exchange catalogue says “Basic Portuguese skills recommended”. This is probably because English is not as widely spoken in Brazil than in Europe. You can go to exchange in Rio without Portuguese skills but many every day and official tasks are much easier in Portuguese. Also, most information available on the Internet is in Portuguese. My recommendation is to take a basic course in Portuguese either before or in the beginning of the exchange. FGV offers a survival Portuguese course which I didn’t take. The Brazilian Embassy in Helsinki also gives courses on Portuguese, which I’ve heard are quite useful. It’s also possible to pay for a private teacher in Rio (it’s not as expensive as in Finland). I had taken four courses of Spanish at Aalto and I studied Portuguese words with Duolingo app before departure, and I felt that this was good enough to survive. However, I recommend studying as much Portuguese as possible beforehand to make your life much easier in Rio. Post-arrival It is necessary to keep the entry card provided in the airplane, which is stamped at passport control. Getting from Galeão airport to Zona Sul or other parts of the city should be done by a taxi when entering the city first time. Don’t take a taxi from the people selling them at the arrivals hall; my recommendation is to walk straight ahead from the doors to domestic arrivals and take a yellow taxi from there. Preparing to state your address etc. in Portuguese is recommended. The normal fare is around R$70-80 I began my stay with apartment hunting and I settled in the first apartment I visited (see section 3.2). It’s not smart to go wandering around alone but some good and safe things to do alone are to see the beaches or to visit Pão de Acucar for example. My school started with a mandatory orientation day two days after my arrival on a Friday and the lectures started on next Monday. Police registration Foreigners have to register as in Brazil at latest 30 days from arrival. The process is uncomfortably complicated, but the International Office at FGV gives good instructions on the Welcome Pack. Unfortunately, this is not available at FGV EBAPE website anymore. Shortly, two receipts from the Policia Federal website www.pf.gov.br/servicos-pf/estrangeiro/ must first be printed out to pay for the process. After that, the receipts must be paid at a branch of Banco do Brasil, totaling some sum over R$300. After that, an appointment has to be made at the Policia Federal at the Galeão international airport (that’s the only place to register) and then it’s needed just to show up there at that date. Copies of all the pages of your passport, your passport, your visa application form and two passport photos are required at least. Going to the airport (terminal 1) as soon as possible is recommended, as the process will take usually 3-4 hours (waiting mostly). The process is confusing, but it will work out in the end. Check the current requirements as they can be changed. CPF Getting a CPF, a sort of a personal tax number, should be considered because it is needed to do transactions online, to get a phone contract and to many other uses. I recommend getting this, as it is relatively simple to get and useful. First, go to a branch of Correios (post) or Banco do Brasil and ask to pay for a CPF. The fee was R$7. After that, the receipt and original passport must be brought to a branch of Ministerio da Fazenda. Note that they are not issuing CPFs during all working hours and some waiting time is expected. Also, do not assume that in both of these processes the civil servants will speak English, as they will most likely not. It is smart to prepare to present one’s business in Portuguese or to use the help of one’s buddy. 2. Exchange studies

The above picture includes all the preliminary contents for the International Program in Business (IPB) in the year 2017. In fall 2016, the European fall semester started at July 25th because of the Olympic Games, during which there were no classes. Usually, the fall semester starts a few weeks later and goes on until mid-December and the spring semester goes from February to July (the summer holidays are in January). Note that there are a lot of national holidays in Brazil, which reduces the regularity of lecturing. The studies start with a mandatory orientation day right before the classes start. The students are assigned local buddies upon the students’ arrival to Rio (or even after) so if early assistance is needed, the “buddy coordinator” should be contacted in advance. One buddy has usually one or two exchange students so the buddy should have time for you to get to know Rio. The international office in FGV EBAPE is active and can take care of your concerns (I highly recommend contacting Leonardo if there’s any problems). Course enrollment was done by the international office for the first trimester and for the second one students had to enroll themselves. The enrollment opened one week before the start of the trimester and there was an add-and-drop period of two weeks after the start of the trimester (check current procedures). All of this was done at the Secretário Academico in the third floor of the building (no on-line enrollment), which has good working hours. The S.A. only serves in Portuguese, so take your buddy with you or prepare to speak Portuguese. In general, all the courses had space for students and changing courses during the add-and-drop period was relatively easy. The level of courses varied a lot: some of the courses were not useful and were badly organized, while some courses were excellent. On average, the courses were average quality but easier than Aalto courses. Participation was a part of evaluation in all courses, which means actual showing up for lectures and classroom activity. Other bases of evaluation were many times presentations and group projects. Attendance is mandatory for 75% of lectures and a failure to meet this requirement leads to a failed course. The grading scale is 0.00 – 10.00, 6.00 being the grade to pass. The lectures were three-hour lectures with one or two breaks. Lecturing times were 9-12, 14- 17 and 18.30-21.30, the last one being the least active. With a workload of 2-3 courses per trimester, I averaged three lectures per week, leaving some days off during the working week (or long weekends). The lectures were held mostly from Monday through Wednesday, while fill- in lectures were held in Thursday and Friday (as there were not enough time to have only one weekly lecture per course). I want to stress that some courses are weighted towards the beginning or the end of the trimester, making it possible to plan a more balanced workload. 2.1. Advanced Strategic Management

Professor Ronaldo Parente, 1st trimester, 30 class hours = 5 ECTS Evalutation: Participation 25 %, Final exam 25 %, Final group project 25 %, Case and article presentations 25 % This was the first course I took and it started before the Olympics. The course was organized intensively in a way that it ended half-way through the 1st trimester. The workload was relatively low, except that there were 3-4 three-hour lectures per week (lasting three weeks). The course included a presentation, a final project and an open-book exam (computers were allowed without Internet). The topics were mostly basic topics in strategic management, which a normal bachelor’s student from Aalto is familiar with. The Brazilian professor was very entertaining but the overall quality of teaching was quite low on international standards. The group project was choosing an international large corporation and presenting a strategic problem it Is facing with different strategic frameworks. The course is quite easy and a good way to get inside the FGV system but I recommend choosing some other course if your goal is to learn new things. 2.2. Transparency, Accountability and Good Governance in Brazil

Professor Gregory Michener, 1st trimester, 30 class hours = 5 ECTS Evaluation: Blog posts and comments 30+5 %, class participation and attendance 10 %, presentation 5 %, Final exam 25 %, Course essay 25 % In my opinion, this was the best course I took at FGV EBAPE. The course included a heavy workload: weekly blog posts answering a question about given weekly readings, final exam and final essay. These were heavy because the Canadian professor demanded continuous good academic quality in all works. The course involved topics from the field of governance and social science, which most business students were not familiar with, such as corruption, democracy, public policy and legislation. The readings also included a book about Brazil’s history, which gave a good overlook about the roots of Brazil and the problems. Taking this course turned out to be very fruitful (while most of students dropped the course in the fear of heavy workload). It included a lot of academic writing in English with high requirements, which was a good practice overall. Teaching was held in clear English and discussion turned out to be quite active many times. The teacher had very good knowledge on the subject and the teaching was easy to follow. I also gained a lot of knowledge outside the economics-business context and about the Brazilian society and culture. The final exam was arranged in a way that the teacher gave a long list of concepts from the readings and lectures one week before the exam and then in exam he asked to explain six of the eight concepts given. Every student that did the required coursework passed the course. I highly recommend this course, but if you don’t have an appetite for a heavy workload and a course outside business studies, then reconsider. Also, you shouldn’t have too many courses running at the same time as this. 2.3. Micro Finance

Professor Patrick Behr, 2nd trimester, 30 class hours = 5 ECTS Evaluation: Final presentation, Participation This course was a very classic university course: the German professor lectured about topics in micro finance without much interaction and in the last two lectures student groups gave their presentations about micro finance in different countries chosen by the professor. The course had some confusion around schedules because a few lectures got postponed, but the rescheduling happened in co-operation with us students. The course was overall good and had a relatively low workload and I would recommend taking this course. Other reading materials were assigned also for students more interested in the topic. 2.4. Banking and Financial Intermediation

Professor Lars Norden, 2nd trimester, 30 class hours = 5 ECTS Evaluation: Article presentations (group) 40 %, Final exam 60 % The same as above: a German professor gave lectures about financial intermediation. This was maybe the most well organized course I took at FGV: the lectures were divided into three equal parts, first two parts being lectures by teacher and the last being reserved for students’ article presentations. The topics were interesting and teaching was high quality, however, if you have taken the course “Financial Intermediation and Markets” or “Raha- ja pankkiteoria”, the course most probably cannot be included to your exchange studies (if you wish to receive credits). The course book, lecture slides and articles presented were shared efficiently online, so studying was made easy. I suggest (as the professor does too) to read the course book according to the lectures because the final exam was quite difficult. The workload was quite low, but as I said above, you should put effort to independent studying. I recommend to take this course if you have not yet taken a banking course (as I think all business school students should take a banking course). 2.5. Strategy, Government and Society

Professor Alexande Faria, 2nd trimester, 30 class hours = 5 ECTS Evaluation: Participation 25 %, Conduction of seminars 25 %, Final essay 50 % I feel sorry to say that I highly recommend not taking this course. The Brazilian professor had a heart-warming personality but there was no evidence of a rigid teaching plan as all lectures were just the teacher drawing and writing on the whiteboard what, as it seemed, happened to pop up to his mind: it felt like sitting through the same lecture everytime. The teacher assigned readings for students based on voluntarity, and these readings were presented on the next lecture. The topics were related to increased corporate power and the relationships between corporations and other society. To conclude, this course should not be given at a university striving for high regional and international rankings. 3. Living and free time in Rio and Brazil

The carioca (a Rio de Janeiro native) life style and living in Rio is very different from the North European life style, but not as radically as one might think. Maybe the most radical differences are concepts of time, schedules and discipline. As one might guess, things happen much slower in Rio. Waiting in lines in supermarkets, post offices and other places in normal and the working people don’t seem to take extra effort in service quickness, and cariocas seem to be used to waiting. However, this more relaxed way of life was some advantages too. Punctuality is quite non-existent, mostly because of cultural reasons: people can be on time if they want to, but being late isn’t considered as rude as in Finland. Things happen mostly in “Brazilian time”, meaning that one- to two-hour delays are quite normal. The people in Rio are mostly extremely nice and polite and they are always happy to meet new people. However, they don’t seem to have responsibility to other people around, meaning that last-minute cancelling of plans isn’t considered that rude. Cariocas also seem to have a lot of friends but most friendships are quite short-lived. This can be seen when the locals want to do all kinds of stuff with you all the time but most of this stuff never happens. Cariocas have also a very different perception of rules, orders and laws. It’s common the people look for Jeitinho Brasileiro (Brazilian shortcut) regardless of rules and laws. This can be seen that people don’t really follow traffic lights, drivers switch lanes frequently just to speed up their own trip and laws for public drinking and public spaces are widely ignored. A solution for me to this, in my opinion, inorganization, was to decrease my planning horizon as people were usually reluctant to plan over 24 hours ahead. The best way to do this is to make plans with people without times or places (for example, to plan to go out with certain few people, not when or where). Cariocas are fun to hang around with but one shouldn’t expect to develop strong friendships with a lot of people. To conclude, things don’t always happen as planned, but that’s sometimes the fun of it. 3.1. Free time

There’s a reason why Rio de Janeiro is the center of tourism in Brazil and South America. There’s a lot to do and see especially when the weather is good. Restaurants & Bars – Rio is famous for its churrascarias, which are all-you-can-eat restaurants where waiters continuously bring high-quality meat to the table. These are a little expensive but I highly recommend visiting one or more of Churrascaria Palace, Fogo de Chao or more budget-friendly Carretão. There are similar pizza restaurants, which offer Rodizio, meaning the same setting with pizzas. In addition, the typical restaurants are scattered everywhere and the food is mostly very good. For bars, Lapa is the most popular choice for nightlife. People also enjoy sitting in smaller bars in Zona Sul as drinking at home is not that popular. Beaches – The two largest beaches, Copacabana and are worth visiting on a regular basis and that seems to be the most popular activity among cariocas. The life mostly revolves around the beaches. Surfing is very present and Rio and you can constantly see surfers in these beaches and especially in Barra da . For surfers, Rio is an excellent choice for exchange. For smaller beaches, it’s best to get out of town. Sports – A popular activity is to go on a jog along the 8km of beachline in Zona Sul, which includes over 8km of uninterrupted path for jogging and cycling. Another option is to run around Lagoa Rodrigo Freitas. There are other routes too, but these two are the best. FGV is reachable with bike from Zona Sul and cycling inside Zona Sul is quite an efficient way to move. One option is to use the orange city bikes with Bike Rio -app. There are numerous gyms in Zona Sul, but they offer mostly long-term contracts. At any gym, be sure that you understand the price before contracting. For hiking, there are lots of possibilities outside Rio (see section 3.5). Sightseeing and other – Even though how corny it is, Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) has the most astonishing view of the city. Arguably the smartest way to get there is to take an Uber to Paineiras, where you can enter the monument. Mirante has also a nice view under the Christ. The Sugarloaf Mountain, Pão de Acucar, is also highly recommendable: the student price from Morro da to Pão de Acucar is only R$20 there and back (you can hike up to Morro da Urca). One other interesting view is from Morro Dois Irmãos, located on top of the Vidigal . You can get up the favela with a mototaxi and then hike for 45 minutes up the mountain. The Centro area has also some nice places to visit, such as Santa Teresa as a neighborhood, Museu do Amanhã and the city center area all-in-all. 3.2. Accommodation

Unfortunately, FGV EBAPE doesn’t provide any housing for degree or exchange students, so housing must be found from private providers. The rents are relatively high, but I recommend investing a little extra money to living conditions and to the neighborhood. 90 % of exchange students lived in Zona Sul, close to metro stations General Osório, Cantagalo, Siqueira Campos or Cardeal Arcoverde, because these neighborhoods are wealthy and relatively safe (and close to beach). Also, commuting to FGV is easy from these metro stations (school’s stop is Flamengo). FGV EBAPE will provide incoming students with sources for seeking an apartment. I personally recommend easyquarto.com.br to find a shared flat. Also, there are many Facebook groups where you can find a nice flat. However, my recommendation is to find a short-term accommodation from Airbnb or Easyquarto (from a nice flat/area) for a week or two and then search for a longer-term accommodation with other students in the same situation, operating from the first place. In addition, understanding basic Portuguese helps a lot in apartment seeking. 3.3. Cost of living and money

Exchange rate during fall 2016: 1€ ≈ 3,6 R$ On the contrary to a common prejudice, Rio de Janeiro is not a cheap place to live. I got constantly surprised about the high prices for almost all goods. On average, the price level is equal to Finland. Of course, the price level varies inside Brazil, and the big cities (especially Rio and São Paulo) are the most expensive. Paying methods are rapidly developing in Brazil and Rio. Most restaurants and supermarkets accept international credit and debit cards, but I highly recommend getting an international credit card. This is because at least most online shops accept only international credit cards and I had numerous difficulties with my debit card. Card cloning is somewhat common; however, I didn’t run into that while using my card in everyday activities. My advice is to get money during working hours inside a bank. I heard that HSBC gives withdraws with international cards without fees, but also Bradesco allows withdraws with a small fee. Rents vary depending on the flat and the area. The prices in Zona Sul start around R$1000 per month, while the expected rent for an exchange student is around R$1500 or higher. For groceries, beef, pork, chicken, rice and beans are cheap while cheese, wine, candy and imported goods can be extremely expensive. There are also cheaper supermarkets, but they are either crowded or only reachable by car. Flight tickets are average-priced, but some cheap flights can be found from GOL Linhas Aéreas or other providers, especially for shorter distances. Bus tickets are also average- priced, approximately R$ 60-70 per way inside the state of Rio de Janeiro. Bus and metro tickets inside Rio were R$ 3.60 and R$ 4.10, respectively. Alcohol is cheaper than in Finland, ranging around R$ 2.50-3.00 for a bottle of beer. However, nightlife might get expensive because most “better” bars and nightclubs require entry fees ranging from R$ 30 to R$ 120 (including drinks or not, different prices for men and women). Because of the poverty, there are a huge amount of street vendors in Rio who stroll on the beach or who have a fixed location somewhere in the city. They have usually acceptable prices and most of them are harmless people just trying to generate income. However, it’s up to one’s consideration to buy or not to buy from them. In some cases, buying water from the beach “barracas” or buying beer from vendors while drinking out might save a lot of effort. To conclude, the monthly cost of living depends a lot on individual choices, but you should reserve at least as much money as you would reserve for living costs in Finland. It’s also smart to have a buffer for unexpected costs. 3.4. Rio de Janeiro as a city

Rio de Janeiro, “Cidade Maravilhosa”, is arguably the most beautiful city in the world with its green hills and sandy beaches. However, as you probably know already, Rio has two sides in it. I feel that if you’re going to Rio or thinking about it, you’re probably interested to know some facts about the city in order to avoid any kind of surprises. Moving around The metropolitan area of Rio has quite an extensive network of public transport. The city is a corridor which runs from to the city center along the seaside, and metro and most buses follow this corridor. The metro goes from Barra da Tijuca to the Northern Zone and it’s widely popular and runs usually without interruptions. Bus schedules are more unstable, but at least there are a lot of buses running both ways in the Southern Zone. Yellow taxis can be found all around the city, but I personally recommend using Uber. Neighborhoods of Rio As an exchange student in FGV, you will spend 95% of your time here (assuming you live there). Zona Sul includes the beach neighborhoods of Leme, Copacabana, , Ipanema and , and other neighborhoods like Gávea, Jardim Botanico, Lagoa, Humaíta and . This is considered the most safe and wealthy area of the city of Rio de Janeiro. There are a lot of shops and restaurants (and tourists), making it an excellent area to live. Nightlife is somewhat quieter, making it a more peaceful area. Centro This is the main business district of the city. The area also includes neighborhoods such as Santa Teresa, Lapa, Gloria, Catete, and Flamengo (last two being very close to Zona Sul). Lapa is the main party center of the city, and if you are more or less into partying, you will end up there most weekends. The bars and nightclubs there are amazing and there’s often some relatively cheap open-bar parties. Santa Teresa and Centro are good for sightseeing, and for example Feira de São Cristovão is a nice thing to see. Living here is cheaper, yet I still recommend living in Zona Sul. The level of safety is notably lower than in Zona Sul. Other areas – Zona Norte & Zona Oeste – the North and West Zone These areas (excl. the shoreline from Barra da Tijuca to Recreio) inhabit the poorest inhabitants of Rio. Zone Norte considers the urban area north from Maracanã, and this area consists mostly of , so it’s mostly a no-go zone. Despite that, Barra da Tijuca and the shoreline are nice spots to visit. 3.4.1. Safety

In my own opinion, Rio is safe enough for doing exchange studies. The main worry people have about choosing Rio as an exchange destination is the safety of the city as stories circulate rapidly. Some of you readers probably jumped straightly to this section. I myself was quite scared before departure to Rio, but after spending five months there, I can give the statement above in bold. The fact is that Rio is by some standards more dangerous than most European cities. However, the quality of danger is very different and it’s mostly avoidable. The main risks are pickpocketing, different thefts and robberies. Threats to individual health are very rare, because there’s rarely attempts to harm civilians. Also, Zona Sul is relatively safe, so there you can live quite normally. Being safe in Rio is mostly a matter of lifestyle, which most locals have adapted to. There are numerous lists of guidelines to follow, but these are the ones I personally followed to stay safe (in order of importance): . Avoid walking alone in the dark anywhere in Rio, with the exceptions of familiar, short and necessary trips (e.g. from metro to home). Especially avoid deserted streets and areas in the Center part of the city. . Use Uber for any trips you are not certain of. Public transport is relatively safe during daytime (before 9-10pm). . Keep a track of people around you. The criminals in Rio look like criminals. . Keep a hold of your belongings. Use some under-shirt special pocket if you feel that’s necessary. I had shorts with zipper pockets. o Especially, never leave your stuff unguarded at the beaches. . Use tunnels and underpasses only in daytime if necessary. . Always consult locals or other person with knowledge if going outside Zona Sul or Centro (still inside Rio). Even though most people won’t have any issues with robberies, you should always be prepared. . If you are robbed, don’t resist. . Carry only necessary belongings. . Prepare: back-up your phone and use lock screen or some security app. Know what to do if your credit/debit card is lost/stolen (if you need to mail a new card from Finland, use FedEx or UPS). . And remember, getting robbed is not the end of the world. Favelas The slums of Rio, favelas, raise many people’s interest. I can say that visiting these are an unforgettable experience, but these visits require high caution because favelas are centers for criminals and gun and drug trafficking. Never go there by yourself or with few friends. If you want to visit a favela, you should do one of the following: 1) Go to an organized tour. Hotels and other agencies provide tours which are safe (they make deals with the gangs in favelas). 2) Go to an event. Alto Vidigal is a bar/nightclub/hostel on top of the Vidigal favela and it’s very popular among young people. You can get up there by a van or mototaxi. Many non-profit organizations also hold events/fundraisers in favelas (wall-painting etc.), which is a nice way to get to know the favelas. However, going to a favela is always a risk. The smart thing would be to avoid them, but I know that many people will end up visiting them. The safest favelas are in the Zona Sul. The favelas that I heard that people visited are Vidigal, , Santa Marta, Cantagalo (very high caution) and Tavares Bastos. 3.5. Traveling

I didn’t have time to travel before or after exchange, so I made the most out of my free-time during the exchange. Here are my recommendations for shorter visits: Búzios – A nice small tourist-spot 3 hours from Rio. Small beaches, good nightlife and restaurants and nice pousadas to stay in. It’s the place in RJ state which mostly resembles European tourist locations. Prices are somewhat high but many people speak English and it’s a very popular weekend getaway location for cariocas. Arraial do Cabo – A much smaller place also 3 hours from Rio, which has, in my opinion, the most stunning beaches of RJ state. It’s not that expensive but it’s a quieter tourist location. I recommend taking a boat tour which visits Praia do Ilha do Farol, and also visiting Praia Grande at sunset on a clear day. Good also for one-night visit with or without combining to Búzios. Ilha Grande – A natural paradise 2.5 hours from Rio. A must-visit. Recommendations: Pico do Papagaio, Praia das Palmas, Praia Dois Rios. And the most beautiful beach I have ever seen: Praia Lopes Mendes. Also, the boat tours are unbelievable. Paraty – A small town from the colonial era. Not that of a beach location unless you have a car, but still worth visiting. The village of Trindade could be bundled to this trip (or the one below). Ubatuba – The beach resort for Paulistas, with over 100 beaches scattered around the coastline. The best experience can be reached by renting a car. My favorites were the combo Cachoiera do Prumirim and Praia do Prumirim and a possible visit to the island, and also Praia Vermelha do Norte. São Paulo – If you are interested in a large metropolis, you won’t get that vibe from Rio. However, São Paulo is a huge city with skyscrapers and a totally different atmosphere, starting from the smell in the air (São Paulo is more like a European center of business, e.g. Madrid). Note, however, that there’s no beach. Parque Ibirapuera is recommendable. Florianópolis – Located in the state of Santa Catarina, Floripa is a city mostly free from violence and crime. It’s mostly located on a large island and it’s one-hour flight away from Rio (the prices can get low sometimes). There’s a lot to do, so it’s even suitable for a longer stay. Note, however, that the city can get cold during winter (May-August). Recommendations: Lagoinha do Leste, Praia da Joaquina, Lagoa da Conceicão. I recommend doing most of these trips as a long-weekend trip (3-5) days. If you want to do a longer trip, it’s wise to change locations or travel further. Renting a car is cheaper than in Finland and I recommend doing a road trip down Costa Verde. Foz do Iguazu, the Iguazu Falls are a great place to visit too, however, I didn’t have the time or money to visit there. 4. Final comments

I recommend FGV EBAPE as an exchange location. For me, the exchange in Rio turned out to be an unforgettable experience despite the pre-departure doubts. The school was good quality especially compared to my expectations and living in Rio and Copacabana is a once in a lifetime experience. Safety issues are always present but following certain guidelines is sufficient to make life very enjoyable in the city. Brazil is the most beautiful country I’ve visited and I recommend to get to know the country also outside of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The lifestyle, the warm-heartedness of Brazilian and other European people was able to surprise me continuously as it was very easy to make new friends and to have amazing experiences with people from other cultures. The experience in Rio also made me learn new things about myself and to gain new viewpoints in life. However, a few words of warning: the exchange is Rio can be challenging and turbulent. So, if you’re seeking comfort, I recommend to choose some place easier. But for those with an appetite for a small adventure, FGV EBAPE is an excellent choice for an exchange. I learned a lot about Brazil and its history, about Rio de Janeiro, basic Portuguese skills and many other skills. But mostly I learned to adapt to another culture which is different from my own. The courses were also quite practical and at least three of five of them were useful. One funny aspect that I learned that Europeans have quite similar cultures compared to Brazilian or other American cultures. Being with other Europeans felt like being with familiar people who mostly shared the same views as I did. But in the end, I learned a lesson of how great place Finland is to born into. However, I learned about myself that even though I was somewhat able to adapt to the culture, I’m still proud of my culture and who I am: I see that the Finnish punctuality, responsibility for others and other cultural aspects are something to hold on to. I also learned about my strengths but also about my weaknesses. As some of you wanting to choose Rio will have questions, I’m more than happy to answer them: my contacts can be asked from the Aalto international office