Fatima Holguin- Blog Abroad
Blog #1
Oi a todes! Meu nome é Fátima Holguín e vocês sejam bem-vindes ao meu blog! Hello everyone, my name is Fátima Holguín and please be welcomed to my blog. Before I begin, I want to introduce myself and the study abroad program I am currently in. I am currently entering my second year of graduate school at the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at UNM where I am currently pursuing a master’s degree in Spanish with a concentration in Hispanic Southwest Studies. I am also a TA for Spanish as a Heritage Language, so if you are interested in learning Spanish at UNM, I could be your TA! Anyways, as of the writing of this blog I am currently in São Paulo, Brazil! I am currently partaking in the Summer in Brazil study abroad program sponsored by Tulane University and CET. The program duration is six weeks during which, I will be enrolled in two courses: Advance Immersive Portuguese and Contemporary Social Issues in Brazil. Furthermore, we will also be taking excursions to explore the city and to other places in Brazil. This is my first study abroad experience and also my first time in Brazil, so I am very excited to share with you all my study abroad journey. As the purpose of this study abroad program is to learn Portuguese and Brazilian culture, I will also share my language learning journey and experiences with Brazilian culture. Tá bom! Let’s start with my arrival to São Paulo. I had to take three flights (total flight time of 18h) to get to São Paulo by the date the program was to start therefore, when I arrived, I was completely exhausted and not in the state to take any pictures, therefore we have no arrival pics I’m sorry! Regardless, here are my first thoughts on São Paulo, the first thing I noticed is how green it is, there is much flora across the city and although over here it is winter season, the trees and plants are all still very much in bloom and fully green. Also, because it is winter season, it is very humid but in a cold way, not a freezing type of cold, but a rather chilly one, with lows of 50°F and constantly cloudy and rainy days, it might not seem like it’s too cold, but trust me it gets to ya, also there is no air conditioning or heating in most buildings so temperatures inside buildings are usually just as cold as the outside (if not more)! Also, this is a city of skyscrapers, the city is full of them, if you thought NYC was bad with tall buildings, just wait until you visit São Paulo. It is an enormous city with an equally large population; therefore, it is very common for Paulistanos (term for people who live in São Paulo, the city) to reside in apartments located in these very tall buildings. I’ve visited Mexico City in the past and I think that both cities are very similar, especially when it comes to both cities having a vast population. Alrighty, so those were my first impressions about São Paulo, however I am writing this blog one week after arriving, and I will end this blog by sharing my first encounters with experiences that left me in cultural shock. First, it is the fact that there is no heating inside buildings, which has made it super cold inside my apartment and I because I did not pack much winter clothing, I am a bit unprepared for the conditions and have caught a bit of a cold. Also, another cultural shock is that people actually go shop at shopping malls here. Unlike the U.S. where we have these giant mostly empty malls, that give vibes of liminal spaces, here in Brazil, shopping malls are full of stores and full of customers shopping the latest trend. This was rather shocking, but what was more shocking was the fact that I basically got scammed in my first night in Brazil…LOL. We visited a nearby shopping mall, that was as I said very busy but also was way out of my budget. Regardless, it was our first night and we need to purchase some toiletries for our six weeks stay in São Paulo and we headed into a store called ‘Mundo do Cabeleireiro’. This was a store dedicated to beauty and hair products and had employees that were available to personally help customers. However, it was obvious that our group looked like foreigners, because when I asked for help finding a hair product I was redirected to the most expensive product, and they were adamant about promoting the most expensive products. And of course, I fell right into it, because after showing me a product similar to the one I was looking for, the employee distracted me by initiating a conversation, in which I shared it was my first time in the country and well I was excited to share the news so I did not check the price in reais (Brazilian currency) and obviously did not know what the price would be in dollars. Well, that was that the employee kept taking me to buy different products, some which I did take, again not checking the price, not really thinking about what I was doing. And where does that take me…to buying almost $100 dollars’ worth of beauty products I did not need, when I tell you I almost passed out when I saw the charge in my credit card… I was so mad, because I knew I got played and what’s worse is that in Brazil there is no return policy. Yes, you read that right, if you buy something you must keep it, whether you want to or not. That was another cultural shock! One that left me very mad for many days, and one that makes me feel grateful that we have a return policy in most stores in the U.S. So, lesson learned! ALWAYS check the price of any item you are about to purchase and do the currency conversion! Make sure you are not overpaying in dollars! It is easy to travel to a foreign nation and think that you are getting a deal because the foreign currency is weak. Muito bom, agora nós vamos finalizar com algumas frases em português que eu aprendi recentemente. ‘Cara’= some guy ‘Legal’= cool and could also be used in the context of legality. ‘Conchinha’= literal meaning is a little shell but used by Brazilians to name the act of cuddling or ‘spooning’. Apparently in Brazil, there is no big debate about who should be the big spoon or little spoon! Legal isso é tudo por hoje! Tchau! -fátimaJune 2025
Blog #2
Oi a todes! Bem-vindo de volta! Hi everyone, its Fátima and welcome back to my blog abroad. So, if you read my first blog, you probably know my current situation, and if you haven’t read that, go read my first blog first! Anyways I know I ended the first blog post in a sour note, but let me assure you that after that incident, I have had much better experiences and fun in São Paulo. Starting off, as mentioned previously the city is very green and has many beautiful grand parks all across the city, and during my first week my newly met friends and I went over to nearby park called Parque da Água Branca. At first, I thought it was just another neighborhood park, but I was very wrong. This park is immense! So immense it has a bird sanctuary, equestrian arena, two museums and a farmer’s market!! I was truly amazed, at how grand this park was and how many activities were available to do. I recorded a small video which I hope to include in this post. But this is just the first taste of the many city parks that São Paulo has to offer, more coming soon! Apart from my tourist experiences in Brazil, I also want to share a bit of my language learning process, as this is the purpose of my study abroad program. I am here studying Brazilian Portuguese, which is a bit different from Portugal Portuguese, but still Portuguese. I have a bit of experience with Portuguese, because I am friends with some Brazilian friends from the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, whom with I have practiced my Portuguese. It also really helps that I am bilingual in English and Spanish, as Spanish and Portuguese are similar but not the same. So, at times my Spanish skills help me when trying to understand Portuguese. I’d say that it is not necessary to know Spanish to know Portuguese and vice versa, but it could prove helpful in some instances. For example, for me knowing Spanish has helped me when reading texts, and occasionally a word in Spanish can be used when speaking in Portuguese. Most times however, that is not the case, a word in Spanish might have the same spelling as in Portuguese, but its meaning in Portuguese is completely different, therefore sometimes when I have had a conversation with a Brazilian here, and I speak a word in Spanish that has a different meaning in Portuguese, the people just look at you confused and that’s when you’ve known you messed up. It has happened to me, but let me tell you, the people here are nice! They are very welcoming, and they are even more excited to welcome a foreigner that is trying to learn Portuguese and Brazilian culture! They have been super helpful and also patient with me, because there have been times where native speakers will speak very fast and I would have to ask them to repeat what they have said, but thus far, I have not felt judged for trying to speak Portuguese. So thus far, I recommend everyone that is wanting to study Portuguese to come to Brazil!! Muito bom, agora nós vamos finalizar com algumas frases em português que eu aprendi recentemente. Mestrado= master’s degree Bolsa de estudo= scholarship Carona= the ride (when getting a ride from someone) Legal isso é tudo por hoje! Tchau! -fátima P.S. I added a picture of me with a pin of the Brazilian flag! I love to collect pins and stickers!June 2025
Blog #3
Oi a todes! Bem-vindo de volta! Hi everyone, it's Fátima and welcome back to my blog abroad. For this blog I want to share a bit about my experience participating in the Pride Parade in São Paulo. A little bit of context about the parade before I begin, the pride parade takes place in June after the Corpus Christi holiday, and it is the largest single Pride parade in the world!! It consistently draws over 2 million participants and this year’s parade drew over 3 million people. Now for my experience, it was super fun and there was a huge party and positive energy going around. It started at 10 am and the official parade ends at 6pm, but after that the party keeps on going until 11pm. Many of the main streets in the city center of São Paulo close for the entire day, so that the parade can flow smoothly without traffic from cars. The parade employs ‘trio elétricos’ which are large, custom-built trucks that are equipped with loud sound systems and performance stages on top of the trucks. Throughout the parade many different trio elétricos parade around with loud music, performances from different artists, and other parade attendees. I even got to experience a set from one of my favorite Brazilian funk artists, Pedro Sampaio! He was aboard a trio elétricos sponsored by a makeup brand. I did not even know it was happening until I heard his iconic entrance phrase ‘Pedro Sampaio vai!’, and I turned around and there he was performing his hits and making the crowd go wild. Also, they love Lady Gaga over here! Throughout the parade they constantly played Lady Gaga’s songs from her classic hits to songs from her new album. If you are a Little Monster, this is the place for you to visit! Now for the negative aspects of the parade. As great and entertaining as the parade was, it can become really overwhelming especially if you are not a fan of enormously large human crowds. I attended the parade with a group of my friends, around 6 of us and it was a continuous struggle to make sure we didn’t lose each other in the crowds. At times we just had to wait for the crowd to continue moving while we were stuck in a standstill, it was very stressful, and the overtly loud music did not help either. Also, many individuals were intoxicated, as there were many vendors always selling various alcoholic drinks. The worst part is that one of my friends got her phone stolen during the parade. We were warned about this before coming to the parade, therefore we only brought the bare minimum in a fanny pack, attached to our bodies. However, in the midst of the chaos that it is traversing the crowds, my friend was pickpocketed and had her phone stolen. It was a horrible experience, and I can only imagine the anxiety that it must have brought her afterwards. Nonetheless, it was truly impossible to even notice it happening, as I reflect on the incident, I realized that there was nothing we could have done at that moment, because our focus was on not getting crushed or getting lost in the crowd. So, if you ever attend any sort of event like this, or this parade itself, be careful of pickpockets and be extra careful and pay extra attention to your surroundings, because it can turn a great experience into a horrible disaster! Regardless, I invite everyone that has the opportunity to attend the São Paulo pride parade to do it! Muito bom, agora nós vamos finalizar com algumas frases em português que eu aprendi recentemente. Parada do Orgulho: Pride Parade batedor de carteira: pickpocket Legal isso é tudo por hoje! Tchau! -fátimaJuly 2025
Blog #4
Oi a todes! Bem-vindo de volta! Hi everyone, it's Fátima and welcome back to my blog abroad. As part of the Summer in Brazil program by Tulane University, we have our Portuguese class and our Contemporary Social Issues class, however the program also schedules us to various activities throughout the program duration. Several of these activities have taken us to explore the various museums that São Paulo has to offer. We visited the Museu da Língua Portuguesa, Memorial da Resistência, Museu Afro Brasil and the Museu do Futebol. I will briefly talk about each of the museums in this blog post. Starting off with Museu da Língua Portuguesa. This museum is focused on the Portuguese language and its various exhibits showcase the origins and history of the language, its influences, where the language is spoken, and a showcase of various Brazilian accents. It is a linguistics major’s dream! I personally enjoyed a short film they presented which demonstrated the power of language, it had a beautiful message, and the editing was also super fun to watch. Continuing with the Memorial da Resistência, this is a museum dedicated to showcasing the fight for democracy by the people of Brazil during Brazil’s military dictatorship. Its exhibits present the history of the military dictatorship and how the people of Brazil suffered many abuses to their human rights throughout that era. It is a memorial to all those victims of dictatorships across history. It was enlightening and at times difficult to continue reading the many stories of pain and suffering that these people suffered in the fight for democracy and human rights. Moving on to Museu Afro Brasil, this museum is located inside the iconic Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo’s most visited park annually. Museu Afro Brasil is a museum dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of Afro-Brazilian culture. Its various art exhibits showcase paintings, sculptures, historical documents, historical objects, and historical pieces of clothing which encompass themes of religion, work, African diaspora and slavery. It was incredibly insightful to learn the importance of African diaspora and slavery in the creation of Brazil and Brazilian culture. Finally, recently we visited the Football Museum located in the Pacaembu stadium. As you all know Brazil is a country that is home to an immense soccer culture and history and the Museu do Futebol is an homage to that. We went during a time where the entrance to the museum was free and during winter break for many children, therefore the museum was really busy and bustling with families and children all excited to learn more about their favorite sport. They specifically had an area at the end of the museum that was solely dedicated for children to interact in various football related activities, and it was quite chaotic, unfortunately all these activities were restricted to children, so we couldn’t enjoy it. Although I am not the biggest fan of football, I did find the museum interesting, and the various exhibits were different and presented different topics in various fun ways. Also, I was happily surprised that the museum was super accessible to people heard of seeing and hearing, they had accommodations all throughout the museum, ensuring that everyone can enjoy learning about their favorite sport. My favorite part was just being inside the iconic stadium, as you can see the stadium from the inside and feel like you are fully immersed in football history. The stadium is also open to the public to come in and explore the stadium and get close to the field, and I took this opportunity to take some pictures. Muito bom, agora nós vamos finalizar com algumas frases em português que eu aprendi recentemente. Golaço= Amazing goal (beautiful goal) Chutar= kick Tomou um chocolate! = “They took a chocolate!” (slang for being badly beaten in a game) Legal isso é tudo por hoje! Tchau! -fátimaJuly 2025
Blog #5
Oi a todes! Bem-vindo de volta! Hi everyone, it's Fátima and welcome back to my blog abroad. This is my last blog abroad post for this summer, and as the program comes to an end I have many thoughts and feelings regarding the past 6 weeks, but mostly I am grateful for the opportunity of participating in this program and visiting the beautiful nation of Brazil. The first days were stressful because it is difficult to adjust to living in a new country where I had just started learning the language and knew nobody, and most of all I was homesick. However, I also knew that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and all it took for me to get out of that negative mentality was to just venture out, to start slow, explore the neighborhood I was residing, slowly start to interact with other people from the program, and just like that, my mind was occupied in all these activities and classes that I adjusted and did not feel as homesick. Reflecting on my language learning experience, I definitely see and feel an improvement in my Portuguese, in oral and written production/comprehension and in reading comprehension compared to my beginning skills. The Portuguese class I took was definitely an important factor in my learning, as I learned the grammatical and technical aspect of the language, however it did create lots of stress and pressure. Unfortunately, we are part of a culture that values letter grades and grade percentages and equates them to proficiency and knowledge of a language. As much as I disagree with this system, it is an unfortunate reality, and when you receive harsh criticism and low grades in assignments, it is quite discouraging and leaves you feeling stumped, because you are trying your hardest and yet the grades you are receiving do not reflect that effort. I had moments like that, and it was stressful, because no matter how hard I tried, the grade said I wasn’t trying hard enough. Regardless I continued practicing and trying my hardest in class, and then one day whilst visiting the neighborhood market, I started chatting with one of the vendors and they complimented me on my Portuguese and said that I was doing a great job in learning because we held a conversation where both parties understood each other and communicated with ease. In that moment, I felt so relieved, and accomplished, to receive that type of praise from a Brazilian was really empowering and completely overrode the negativity I was feeling from the low grades in my Portuguese class. Therefore, my advice to you that are going through a language learning journey is, forget the grades and classroom for a second, go outside and chat with a local as that is where you will truly see your progress and will practice the language in a manner that is not taught in the classroom. As I continue reflecting on this journey, I can say that my favorite part was meeting new people, both from the program and outside the program. I have made incredible friends in this journey that I hope to meet back again in the future, because the impact they have made in my life was truly life-changing. Also meeting many locals that come from different aspects of Brazilian culture was a beautiful experience. My best memories are those that come from when our program visited indigenous communities and we all held deep and beautiful conversations, or when we shared meals together, all as a big family. I want to conclude this blog by inviting all Lobos interested in applying for a study abroad to do it! It is a beautiful experience, where you get to learn lots, not just about another language or culture, but also about yourself. And remember, language learning is a lifelong journey, but it is a journey best done in the company of others, so go out there and explore the world! I promise, it is not that bad! Brigada Brasil, por me ter em sua linda nação, há sido uma experencia demais bela e sempre vou te levar em meu coração. Até logo, - Fátima H. July 2025
