The two weeks that this program lasted did not feel nearly enough. There were so many other things that I wish we could have done, but I am still very happy with the things that we did.
Our time in São Leopoldo helped me to see what university life is like for Brazilian students. Being able to interact with them and their professors was a great experience. I am also grateful for the tours that we did in Porto Alegre, where we learned about the history of the city and its culture. The company visits I participated in also helped to show me a professional side of Brazil that I was not familiar with. I learned about the technology that they are working on and also a lot about the Brazilian power grid.
In Foz do Iguaçu, we had a focus mostly on water and hydroelectric power. We went to two dams, the Itaipu Binacional dam, and then to the Baixo Iguaçu. It was important to see the contrast between the two because even though the Itaipu dam was much bigger, it was still interesting to see how the Baixo Iguaçu dam functioned in comparison. The Itaipu dam, however, was especially impressive as I had never seen a dam that big. I have worked on many locks and dams in the United States; however, nothing could have prepared me for the scale of the Itaupu dam. In Foz do Iguaçu, we also visited one of the natural wonders of the world, the Cataratas do Iguaçu. This was easily my favorite part of the trip, as I had never seen something as striking as those falls were.
This program helped me to open my eyes to how life is in other countries. It provided me with learning experiences that I am not sure I would have found in any other program. I loved spending time with everyone on the program, including the Pitt faculty that mentored us and our awesome tour guide Lorena, who took extremely good care of us.
Swanson School of Engineering 