Diana Guadalupe Gómez studies Gastronomy at Uni and thanks to the international scholarship program Uni has the opportunity to study a semester in Brazil, from there she tells us about her experience.
When you entered Uni did you know there were international programs?
Yes, it was even one of the reasons why I chose Uni.
Did you think you would go live and study abroad in your first semester?
It is something that I wanted to do from the beginning but I saw it as something far away until the opportunity presented itself.
Have you ever lived or studied outside of Mexico before?
No, this is my first time out of the country.
What prompted or motivated you to study in another country?
Learning different things, enriching my career with another culture, another way of thinking, another way of doing things.
Why did you decide to study in that country?
I chose Brazil because of the academic level that PUCRS has and because it has a Gastronomy career.
How did you feel when you arrived in the new country?
It was a totally different experience, very exciting because I faced the fact of being in a new country, speaking a language I did not master and for the first time alone, without my parents.
How have you been received at the university where you arrived?
The students at the beginning are a little distant, in the city where I am they are not very open with foreigners at least at the beginning, but now we have a good coexistence and friends from Brazil, Korea, Portugal. The teachers and administrators have always been very kind and supportive.
What will you miss most about Mexico?
Of course my parents, my family, because after some time it becomes difficult to be away. Also the food is very different from Mexico, no spicy food, no tortillas, it is very different but good at the end of the day.
What about the Uni?
To my classmates and professors, as well as the facilities of my faculty.
What is the most exciting thing you have experienced so far in this experience? Living with people from different cultures, speaking different languages and with different ways of thinking.
And the hardest part?
I take care of everything by myself, my payments, my food, my cleaning.
What do you expect as a person and as a professional from this program?
I hope to learn a lot, grow personally and academically, enrich my resume.
Do you recommend these opportunities provided by Uni to your colleagues?
Yes, I think they are opportunities that we must always take advantage of, they are experiences that, in addition to everything learned, are remembered for life.