We recently received a new exchange student here in Curitiba! The Mexican born Edelmiro Alonso, currently lives in the US and studies Chemical Engineering  at Texas Tech University. The student has a lot of diverse hobbies such as hiking, biking, kayaking, yoga and cooking, hobby that has helped him to reach he’s financial independence, because has worked as a sushi chef for three years. He will be an intern at SENAI, a national service for industrial training.

Check out our interview with Alonso:

Be: Why did you choose to come to Brazil for an exchange program?

Montserrat Cadiz in Texas Tech recommended to come to this program doing an internship abroad seemed like a better idea than studying abroad

Be: What is the main reason you choose to go on exchange?

Because my scholarship, Terry Foundation Scholarship, encourages us to go abroad by applying for our program. Even more motivation then simply wanting to immerse myself in a different culture.

Be: What are your goals with this experience? If we met at the end of your stay, which achievements would you like to tell your friends you had.

Learn to speak Portuguese, travel as much as learn, and to excel in my internship.

Be: How do you feel today that you are starting this experience?

Mainly confused but also very excited.