The MBA Student Voice

Study Abroad - Travels throughout Brazil

After classes were finished and finals were done it was time to travel around Brazil before returning to the US.  My boyfriend, Seth, and I decided to travel around Brazil and see as much as our time, and budget, would allow.  We spent some time researching locations and planned our trip for destinations primarily in the South of Brazil including Rio de Janiero, Iguassu Falls, the Pantanal, and finally Bonito.  If you are anything like me before I visited Brazil, you probably haven't heard of many of these places except for Rio, but as I pleasantly discovered, Brazil has an abundance of natural and cultural destinations to explore.

 

Rio de Janeiro - We started our trip with a bus ride from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro.  We were fortunate to have an amazing location in Copacabana where we could easily go out to the beach, grab a Caipirinha, and relax by the beach, or take a subway to other parts of the city.  While in Rio, we went to a botanical gardens, rode bikes around a lake in a hail storm, visited the Christ the Redeemer statue, and explored the downtown and historic parts of the city. 

 

Foz do Iguacu - Our next destination was to Foz do Iguacu, or Iguassu Falls, one of the new 7 natural wonders of the world.  Iguassu Falls is a sight that can barely be captured in pictures, and the best way that I can describe it is like the Grand Canyon of water falls.  In one particular location, the Devil's Throat (check YouTube video below), millions of gallons of water converge and then fall hundreds of feet and the power of the crashing water can be felt from the platforms above.  It was truly impressive to see the water crashing down the falls. 

 

 

Cascavel - An unexpected stop 

On our final day at Iguassu Falls I started to feel a bit quesy.  I disregarded it at first, but by the time we got strarted on our 17hour bus ride to Campo Grande I started to feel really bad.  Since I previously had abdominal surgery we decided to stop at the nearest town and head for a hospital.  Not feeling well, I tried my hardest to communicate my ailment in portuguese to the doctor who spoke no english and was treated for dehydration and given an iv.  We ended up staying in Cascavel for a day and a half at the advice of the doctor, and while it was probably best, it did cut some of our other planned activities short.

Campo Grande - Pantanal

After our time in Cascavel we travelled to the Pantanal via Campo Grande, which felt like the Serengeti of Africa.  While we were there we swam in piranha infested waters, fished for piranha, ate piranha, and went on treks through parts of the wilderness to see the wildlife and outdoors.  It was extraordinarily hot and dry, but a fun place, nonetheless.

 

 

Bonito - Rio da Prata

Our final visit before returning to Sao Paulo was to Bonito, which, as the name suggests, was gorgeous, and my favorite location that we visited.  Unfortunately, because of my illness our time here was cut short, but we did have an amazing time in the Rio da Prata, swimming in the fresh water with schools of fish.

(I didn't shoot this picture, but this is what it looked like)

New Years - We rang in the new years in typical Brazil fashion wearing white and ventured out to Paulista Avenue.  It was a very wet new year and we had to haggle for some ponchos as the police wouldn't let us bring umbrellas onto Paulista.  While it wasn't Rio, which I hear is amazing, there were still hundreds of people on Paulista avenue, and we followed up New Years with some drinks and dancing until the morning.  It was a great start to a new year and I want to wish everyone out there a great 2012 as well.

 

Tchau São Paulo - Final thoughts - Part 1 - Comida (Food)

I decided that I wanted to study abroad because I wanted to gain exposure to a new culture, try to learn a new language, gain exposure to one of the fastest growing developing nations in the world, Brazil, and live in a Metropolitan city for the first time in my life.  Check, check, check, check, and check.  Living in São Paulo and travelling to other parts of South America has been an amazing experience and I only wish I had more time (and money) to appreciate more of it.  But you may be wondering what I learned, what I liked, and what I didn't like.  So, while I do make an effort to give my blog posts a positive tone, I will be completely honest with many of my opinions of living and studying in São Paulo.

I realized after writing this first part that I have too much to include in one blog post, so I've decided to spread my final thoughts over multiple blog entries, starting with Comida (Food)

If there is one thing I learned about food in Sao Paulo, is that people here like cheese, meat, bread, and more cheese.  No question, the first food item I saw in Brazil is Pao de Quejo, or in english, Cheese Bread.  In these small bread balls it is almost impossible to tell where the cheese ends and where the bread begins.   You can pretty much buy it at any lunchonette or small cafe which are dispersed throughout São Paulo.  A popular local chain is called Case do Pao de Quejo, where you can get all kinds of cheese breads and cappuchinos.  Another popular items are empañadas, which are basically fried dough with meats and cheeses in the middle.  No question, Brazilians love their fried breads and carne, but other common dishes are rice and beans, which in many ways reminds me of living in Louisiana.  

 

One thing that is very common here is to go to buffets for lunch.  Unlike all you can eat buffets, at these buffets you weigh your food at the end and you pay for what you load on your plate, a considerably healthier approach to buffets in my opinion.  The food usually starts with some light salad fixings, followed by pastas, rice, beans, and side dishes, and then there are usually a few different kinds of meats such as salmon, beef, and chicken, or frango as I've become familiar with it.  Most lunchonettes serve very similar menu items, but I've noticed that the quality can range quite a bit.

 

Now, two things that I definitely have in common with Brazilians is an appreciation for coffee and chocolate.  Like europeans, Brazilians tend to drink strong espresso shots, and they have something here called a Brigadeiro; it's like a very sweet chocolate truffle.  I like a more bitter dark chocolate, but I won't say no if someone offers me a brigadeiro.  

Unfortunately, as someone that doesn't eat red meat and doesn't like friend foods, I found food in the south of Brazil greasy, heavy, and kind of bland; in fact, in many ways it reminded me of living in the south.  In addition, many of the lunchonettes, cafes, and even street vendors offer the exact same, or virtually identical, undifferentiated products.  I consider myself someone that appreciates food and is willing to try new things, but aside from going to the Jardins and dropping bank for a really expensive meal, I found a lot of the food here kind of bland, with not much diversity in flavors or spices.  Now, I have some theories on why this might be, which I'll get to in a post later.

On the other hand, I have heard that food is much more diverse in the northern areas of Brazil such as Salvador, but I haven't had to opportunity to try it and am mostly drawing my opinions from experiences in Sao Pualo.  However, if you're someone that loves fried food, meats and especially cheeses, then you might love Sao Paulo and southern Brazil cuisine!

Holidays in São Paulo - Feliz Natal!

While everyone is busy preparing for the Holidays in the US, I thought I'd give you a preview of what the holidays look like South of the equator in São Paulo, Brazil.  While São Paulo is often compared to New York, there is one important difference regarding how they celebrate the holidays.  Instead of the big retail stores on Fifth and Madison Avenues putting on big displays, here the banks put on the best displays on Avenida Paulista.  

One thing that may seem strange for many people that live in the Northern Hemisphere is that the Holidays are celebrated in Summer here.  While that in itself can be an adjustment, hearing songs like Winter Wonderland and Frosty the Snowman are especially odd because they most likely haven't had snow during the holidays.

So, I'm happy to share some of the pictures I took while walking around Paulista and hope it helps you get a little more into the Holiday Spirit!

Banco do Brasil- By Day - OVER Avenida Paulisa

Bradesco

Banco do Brazil - At Night

Banco do Brazil - At Night - Opposite

Bradesco - At Night

 

Itau at Night

Itau display closer up...Sadly my head is blocking Santa..

Corn vendors are surprisingly popular on Paulista, along with the popcorn, kettle korn popcorn, hot potato chip, and Tapioca vendors.

Finals are over, and next week I'm going to be travelling to Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, Campo Grande, and Bonito.  I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in South America so far an in my next post will be giving some honest impressions of my time abroad and in Sao Paulo.  

If you're a prospective or a first year student that would like me to address specific aspects of the foreign exchange program, please don't hesitate to ask!

Tchau,
Matheus 

Adventures in South America - Montevideo and Buenos Aires

This past Tuesday there was a 'Bank' holiday in Brazil, which meant no classes on Monday and 6 days off for me.  Like several of my classmates, I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and make a 'big' trip to other cities outside of Brazil, including Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  I'm so glad I took this trip because it really have me a different perspective of Latin America from what I'd seen in Brazil.

A gorgeous day in Buenos Aires

The main Beach of Montevideo, Brazil

 

The first thing I discovered when visiting both Montevideo and Buenos Aires, was how much more 'developed' each of these cities felt.  Granted, they didn't feel quite as polished as some parts of the US and Europe, there was a general feel that things were more organized and structured.  In comparison to Brazil, which has its own feel when it comes to shopping, restaurants, architecture and more, both Buenos Aires and Montevideo felt considerably more 'European' both in style and in population.  

Montevideo by Day and Night

For a little bit I wondered why this was.  Perhaps its because they were both once Spanish colonies, maybe it had to do with how they developed either socially, culturally, or economically.  But, as opposed to the almost industrial feel of many parts of Brazil, there seemed to be much more history in the architecture and the city layout.  For example, in Sao Paulo, it really does feel like a concrete jungle with only small pockets of parks and trees.  However, in both Montevideo and Buenos Aires there was an abundance of trees, parks, and open spaces.  One thing that was interesting, was that as nice as Buenos Aires is, several people were quick to remind me that it has come quite far from the economic challenges it faced a decade ago.  It is still a place where there is a large income gap, and around sunset you'll find lots of people sifting through trash for recyclables and other discarded items of value.

 

One of most striking differences between Brazil and both Montevideo and Buenos Aires that I also discovered was the lack of diversity in the population Montevideo and Buenos Aires compared to Brazil.  While Brazil is comprised of predominately 3 ehtnic groups, both Montevideo and Buenos Aires seemed to be made up of direct descendants of the Spanish colonizers.  This was neither a positive or negative observation, but it made me appreciate the diversity of Brazil a little bit more.  

One of the common traits among all of Latin America that I have experienced so far is how outgoing and welcoming everyone is.  It's something that I've already commented on but I constantly find it striking how willing people are to strike up a conversation with someone on the street.  On more than one occasion as I strolled through Montevideo or Buenos Aires I had people approach me asking me if I needed directions, wondering where I was from, and what I thought of their city.  There was a general sense that they were very proud of their respective countries and excited to let me know of highlights.  

I leave you with one of the highlights of my trip to Argentina, which is know for its grass-fed cattle.  Easily the best steak I've ever had.  AMAZING.

São Paulo, The Living City

It's been a little while since my last post where I blogged about my trip to Florianopolis, Brazil.  Since then I've become much more accustomed to living in Brazil and have started to form some initial opinions of both São Paulo and Brazil in general.

The best way I can describe São Paulo is a 24 hour living city.  While I've had a chance to spend a little time in major US cities like Los Angeles and New York, and even spent some time in Europe, I have never experienced the feel of a 24 hour city like São Paulo, or most of the places I've been in Brazil for that matter.  São Paulo is kind of unique in Brazil, in that it is the financial and economic center of Brazil, and in many ways like the NY of Brazil.

 It's where people go to work hard and create a career for themselves.  At the same time, São Paulo is like many other Latin American cities in that at 11pm, when most people in the US would be going to bed, the city seems like it is just waking up.  On almost any day of the week you can find lots of people out walking around, having conversations at bars and restraunts, or at clubs until the sun comes up.  I've never personally been much of a night owl, but I find that in Brazil, its hard not to be.

One of the things I find amazing about Brazil is how organic it feels in many ways.  While Brazil doesn't always appear as structured as I feel things are in the US, it definitely has its own unique feel and culture that I've become accustomed to.   

One of the things that I can't leave out of this post is how amazing the people of Brazil have been.  In almost every case they've been warm, patient, and happy people.  While I'm not fluent in Portuguese by any means, I have made an honest attempt to speak Portugues, and that seems to go very far when I'm looking for directions, buying something at the grocery store, or trying to order something off a menu.  Brazilians seem happy to have an American gringo in their country and eager to share their culture and language.

My next trip will be to Montevideo, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina.  I'm very excited about both trips and can hardly wait to share my experiences.

If there's something specific you'd like me to blog about, please let me know.  I'd be happy to share and will try to post more regularly.

Photo Journal - Brazilian Paradise - Florianopolis

If Sãu Paulo is the New York of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro the Miami of Brazil, then Florianopolis must be the Hawaii of Brazil.  Since moving to LA from Oahu, HI, I haven't felt any place that feels so much like Hawaii.  Florianapolois sits on the Southeast coast of Brazil and is a relatively small island with a large surfer community, gorgeous beaches, and a bustling downtown.  If I hadn't known better, I would've thought I was back on Oahu.  

 In this blog post I will be providing a photo journal of my time in Florianopolis.

We started our journey by travelling 12 hours by bus from Sãu Paulo to Florianopolis.  While the trip was long, the busses here are surprisingly comfortable, and we took the trip over night so we could sleep most of the way.  

My travel companions (two fellow MBAs from Pepperdine) and I headed to Joaquina Beach.  There we found a huge, gorgeous beach with surfers and plenty of beach goers.

On the North side of the beach we found waves crashing against very impressive rocks. 

As the day went on the beach filled with beachgoers that came in the busses.

The following day we decided to go on a hike to a waterfall that we'd heard about.  We went with our roommate in the hostel, Tomas, from Argentina, who was staying in the same room as us at the hostel we were staying at.  Florianopolis has a large lake in the middle of it and we had to take boat to get there.

One things that was very cool was that there were houses built along the lake that you could only get to by boat.

We finally landed at our dock and headed for the waterfall.

After a brief hike, we found the waterfall we'd heard about, and while it was pretty, we were honestly expecting a longer journey.

There was not question we were in the jungle and we even saw some frienly creatures on our hike.

This big guy was crossing a road and sadly was run over by a car shortly after taking this picture.  It was easily the size of my hand. 

This is the lake in the middle of the island, Lagoa de Conceicão

The next day I headed to Mole Beach, a local surf spot, adjacent to a 'clothing optional' beach.

You know it's a surfing town when there's a statue of a surfer in the middle of the town

That afternoon I headed to Iglesas beach on the North side of the island with a few friends I made at the hostel.

The next day we travelled to downtown Florianopolis.

From here you can see Favelas in the hills behind the city.

Even the city center has evidence that we're still in a tropical region of the world.

Follow the yellow brick road?

We found a large market where it looked like you could find almost any kind fresh food, fish, souveneirs, fruits and vegetables, and more?

Lost in Translation - An MBA Studying Abroad

"Why did you decide to study abroad?" and "Why did you choose Sau Paulo?"  These are the two questions that I was asked the most before I left to study abroad and since I've arrived in Sãu Paulo.  As such, I thought it would be an appropriate place for me to begin my posts on studying abroad.

"Why did you decide to study abroad?"

Not to be cryptic, but that question is actually answered with another question that I asked MBA Alums when looking at different MBA programs.  My question was, "If you could change one thing that you did while getting your MBA, what would it be?"  That question almost invariably got two responses; "I would have studied abroad" and "I would have taken more finance classes."  I took both of those responsese seriously and when the opportunity presented itself to apply for the study abroad program at UCLA Anderson, I decided that it wasn't an opportunity that I could pass up.  The one thing that weighed most heavily on my mind was, How many opportunities would I have to spend 3 months in a foreign country, where I'm not otherwise preoccupied with a hectic work schedule?  Before committing to the study abroad program, I did, however, consider the risks and sacrifices that I would have to make to study abroad.  

At UCLA Anderson we only have 6 quarters of classes and the first year consists of primarily core classes.  If
I chose to study abroad, that would mean that I would be giving up one of my three remaining quarters of electives at Anderson to study abroad.  In addition, I wouldn't be able to be part of the professional associations at Anderson, help 1st years with interview preparation, or go to all the tailgating and other social events.  Another consideration was my ability to recruit effectively during the Fall Quarter of my second year.  If my internship over the summer didn't go as I'd hoped, I had to consider how studying abroad would effect my ability to effectively recruit for highly competitive jobs.  Finally, I did have to take into account the additional costs of flying abroad, getting a VISA, and several additional costs.  While I did have an internship in Germany between my junior and senior of undergrad, I decided that the opportunity to spend 3 months in a foreign country outweighed the sacrifices that I would have to make at home.

"Why did you choose Sãu Paulo?"

Truth be told, we were actually allowed to choose three locations.  My choices in order of preference were:

1) Sãu Paulo (Fundacao Getulio Vargas, Escola de Administracao de Empresas de Sao Paulo)
2) Barcelona (IESE Business School, University of Navarra)
3) Hong Kong (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) 

We were given a list of schools across the globe that we could choose from, and while there was a specific reason as to why I chose each of these schools, there were a few significant criteria that I took into consideration when picking schools.

1) Location - Where are the places that I've never been, that I have a genuine passion to learn more about, and that I think I will enjoy my time the most?
2) Network - Will I be able to develop a personal and/or professional network for the future?
3) Opportunities - Will the combination of the environment, the network, and other intangible aspects provide opportunities that I might not realize otherwise?

Apparently Starbucks has invaded Latin America as well...

I chose Brazil first because of everything that I've been hearing about it in the news, such as how it's middle class is growing, how it's hosting the 2016 Olympics, and how it is rapidly becoming a more modern country.  I finally decided on Sãu Paulo over  Rio de Janeiro because I'd heard about the quality of the university in Sãu Paulo and because people described it as the New York of Brazil.  Since I haven't lived in a large metropolitan city aside from LA, I thought Sau Paulo would be a good place for me to step out of my comfort zone.   

But the best coffee is found in smaller shops

If you're interested in studying abroad while getting your MBA, I hope this gave you some useful items to think about.  I've been in Sau Paulo for 5 days now and have some first impressions that I'll share in my next blog post.  I'm actually taking a short trip to Florianopolis before classes get started, so it will probably will be a week before my next post, and I look forward to sharing some fun pictures.

UCLA Anderson - International Exchange
http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x7181.xml

Matt

Project ECHO @ UCLA

This past month, The UCLA Anderson School of Management hosted the 7th annual Project ECHO Business Plan competition.  If you're not familiar, Project ECHO is a program that engages high school students to teach them relevant business and entrepreneurial skills as well as creates additional career opportunities for them.  Project ECHO partners MBA students from UCLA Anderson with high schools in the LA area to mentor and guide them through the creation of a business plan.  This all culminates in a business plan competition, where student have the opportunity to present their plans to local businessmen and women as well as entrepreneurs.  

I was fortunate enough to be a mentor for the South Pasadena Coast team, whose Coast team took home 3rd place for their Zephyr powered bikes.  I use the word mentor lightly though, because I was incredibly impressed by what these aspiring entrepreneurs had accomplished the first time I met them.  They had already put together an incredibly thorough and innovative business plan and I felt lucky just to have a chance to work with them.

Project ECHO is just one of the many ways that current student can get involved with the community as well as earn hours for the annual Challenge for Charity (C4C) competition.  I highly encourage anyone thinking of coming to UCLA Anderson to get involved with Project ECHO.  It's an extremely rewarding experience you won't soon forget!

Existing On Campus
1^st – Snack Shack, Animo Locke Tech
2^nd – Vikes Enterprises, Santa Monia High School
3^rd – Seflora, Santa Monica High School

New On Campus
1^st – Gift Givers, Ivy Academia Middle School
2^nd – Rams Café, South Gate Senior HS
3^rd – E Lounge, Ivy Academia HS

Off Campus
1^st – Stacked, Santa Monica High School
2^nd – Simply Sweet, Charter Oaks
3^rd – Coast, South Pasadena HS

Overall: 
Fashion with Passion, Santa Barbara HS (Check out a picture of the overall winners below!)

Craton Green Award: 
Paper SOS, Hamilton HS

Emily Chan Most Inspirational Team: 
Compassion Fashion, Boys & Girls Club Port Hueneme

Project ECHO 2011 Overall Winners - Fashion with Passion, Santa Barbara HS