Paper #1 – Introduction – Mariza

My name is Mariza Mota. I was born in Mar de Espanha, Minas Gerais state. I have lived in this city for 15 years. After that, my family moved to Juiz de Fora and in 1990 I graduated in medicine at Juiz de Fora University. In 1991, I moved to São Paulo to do my speciality, Hematology in São Paulo University, later I worked at many hospitals. Now, I am working  at Albert Einstein Hospital and my job is supervisor blood groups and serology laboratory and work with quality control system.  I love my work.

Paper # 1 – Introduction – Renato’s life

My name is Renato. I graduated in law at PUC University and Economics at USP. I chose to work as a tax lawyer and I have been very satisfied with my career so far.  I also teach tax law in BM&F. I sometimes get upset with my job and with some problems in the corporate world, such as selfishness, competition and hard working. However, I can say a like what I do.

My favorite hobby is to travel and visit different places in world. Last year I’ve been in London, Paris, Rome, Venice and Amsterdam. I had a great time there and I wonder I can do it again soon. London is my favorite place to go and I think I could stay there forever.

I have two sisters and a one-year-old nephew. I try to be with him in all my free time and I’ve had a lot of good moments since his birth. 

In 2006 I decided to live by myself and I left home. My parents got a little upset with such decision, but nowadays we have a normal relationship. Sometimes I miss the advantagesof living with parents, such as a full refrigerator, a well made dinner and specially someone to talk. On the other hand, the feeling of freedom is always grateful.

I’ve been dating my girlfriend for 3 year. Although she is 4 years younger, we like to do the same things and we have a similar tastes, such as travel and drink a lot. Howerver, I do not plan to get merried soon.

Paper # 2 – Being abroad

Once my father asked me if I would like to live abroad. At same moment I said yes. And after responding to him in this simple word, my life changed a lot. I was 16 years old at the time, and I did not know what life had in reserve for me.I applied for an exchange student program sponsored by the Rotary Club anxious for a quick response. It was May, 1996, when I received an unexpected call in which the person scheduled an interview and some tests with me. I was successful in those tests, which involved knowledge of the Basic English language, knowledge in general, and so far. My parents were glad that I would be sponsored to live abroad in a cultural exchange program, knowing that the only burden would be the airplane ticket to get to the chosen country.

I had a choice between Mexico, Argentina or Indonesia. I must confess that I wanted to go anywhere in Europe for that the cultural environment there attracts me a lot; however, it was too late to apply to any place in Europe. Facing those options I picked Indonesia beyond doubt, supporting in the idea that Indonesia was the only place outside America and it has a totally different culture than Brazil.

There I had really good experiences; I lived in a Muslim house, studied in a protestant school in country with a majority of Islam’s people; also, I traveled around the Java Island, explored the mystic and famous Island named Bali, dived in incredible and fantastic reefs. The truth is one year was not enough to know and discover all the Indonesian culture.

 

Despite theses expediencies, the most important thing in this trip was the personal growth that I had when being outside Brazil. Certainly, I got more responsibility, learning how to manage the budget that I had and knowing the limits; also, I understood how important is respect the differences, regardless of color, religion or culture.

 

It is not wrong to assert that this experience definitely shaped me as person, demonstrating to me and to my parents that we picked the right choice.