DASNR
International
Student of the Week
Visited Country:
Brazil
Iguaçu Falls, on the Brazil-Argentina border
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 4,655 mi. Numerous archipelagos are also part of the Brazilian territory.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from 1500 until its independence in 1822. Its current constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, and the 5,564 municipalities.
A predominantly Roman Catholic, Portuguese-speaking, and multiethnic society, Brazil is also home to a diversity of wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.
Brazil shares a border with every country in South America, except for Ecuador and Chile. Much of Brazil lies between 660 ft and 2,600 ft in elevation. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 9,890 ft, and the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean.
Brazil has one of the world's most extensive systems of rivers, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic Ocean. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water, and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguaçu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.
The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale and varied topography, but the largest part of the country is tropical. South of Bahia, near São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes; here, some appreciable rainfall occurs in all months. The south has temperate conditions, with average temperatures below 18 °C (64 °F) and cool winters; frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfalls in the higher areas.
Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry, logging and fishing accounted for 5.1% of the gross domestic product in 2007.
Brazil has the largest population of Italians outside Italy, with over 25 million Italian Brazilians, the largest population of Japanese outside Japan, with 1.6 million Japanese Brazilians, as well as the second largest population of Germans outside of Germany (after only the United States), with 12 million German Brazilians.
Information from Wikipedia.com
Stephanie Bowen
October 8, 2009
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This week, the Office of International Ag Programs would like to feature Stephanie Bowen, from the Department of Agricultural Education, Communications and Leadership. Stephanie and Saulo Guerra, UNESP coordinator for the study abroad program. Stephanie is a junior from Newcastle, Oklahoma, and is majoring in Agricultural Communications and minoring in Agricultural Economics. She recently returned from a summer-long visit to Brazil, where she studied at Sao Paulo State University (UNESP) and Londrina State University (UEL), studied local agriculture, and picked up a little Portuguese. Stephanie enjoys many activities here at OSU. She stays busy as an Ag Ambassador and with Alpha Zeta, Ag Communicators of Tomorrow, and Mortar Board. When she isn’t studying for her Honors College coursework, she spends her free time reading, hanging out with friends, catching up on sleep, and riding horses. Showing horses is a special way Stephanie spends time with her mom, Victoria, who is a business manager for a neuro-psychiatric clinic in Oklahoma City. Her dad, Bob, also works in Oklahoma City, for Tinker Air Force Base, and does photography in his spare time. In the future, Stephanie plans to complete a master’s degree in Ag Communications and find a career in the horse industry with an advertising agency.
Stephanie on a tour of farming around Londrina. Of her summer in Brazil, Stephanie’s favorite memory is visiting the nearby city of Brotus with several other students. They completed a ropes course, rappelled down a waterfall, hiked around the area to visit more waterfalls, and rafted down a river through this breathtaking scenery. She says the adrenaline-filled weekend was unforgettable. When asked why she picked Brazil, Stephanie shared her interest in exploring other cultures and sharing her culture with other students. Stephanie at the waterfall near Brotus. Stephanie has some advice for students considering studying abroad: “Studying abroad is a great opportunity. Not only do you learn a lot about another country and yourself, you learn how to handle different cultural and diversity issues. This can be a great resume builder as well! When you study abroad, always be optimistic. You will come across challenges, and things don’t always happen as planned. You will gain so much out of the experience by learning from these things and just being grateful for the awesome opportunity!” Interview by Paula Smithheisler |
