Life Outside the "Bubble"

Many people here in Brazil have told me that FGV is the top-ranked business school in the country. This gave me the impression that I would be surrounded by only the most intelligent, talented individuals Brazil has to offer. True to my expectations, I have already met many high-caliber students here, but I also failed to remember two things: first, most of these students do not follow the same religious moral standards to which I adhere, and second, many are still young-adults. What does this mean? It means their idea of fun frequently involves clubs, bars, and alcohol.

In my 23 years of life, I had never been to a club or a bar. This past week, I received several invitations to both. I admit I had little interest in going, but I was interested in meeting new people so I decided to accept the invitations. I made a few interesting observations. First, after repeatedly telling people I didn't want any alcohol, I realized I was very out-of-place without a drink--I solved the problem by getting a soda. Second, my limited knowledge of stateside clubs is enough that I know most of them close by 2 or 3 a.m. Here in Brazil, dancing doesn't even begin until around 1 a.m. and many people get home when the sun is beginning to rise. Third, it seems like the common way to celebrate a birthday is by creating a VIP list and inviting friends to hang at a club. Both times I went was because someone was having a birthday. Parties at someone's home do not seem to be as commonplace. Fourth, while I enjoyed meeting new people, my suspicions were confirmed...I do not like clubs or bars. The only anticipation I have of ever returning is if I am on a VIP list that allows me free entrance.

It has certainly been interesting though to get a glimpse of social life outside of what I am used to at BYU. I think certain aspects are unique to Brazilian culture and others are just normal to life outside Mormonism, neither of which I am familiar with. I also met a lot of people at the institute here and we went out together to a pizzeria. It was a nice change of pace, I felt more at home.

Classes started last Wednesday. I will be taking Negotiation, Brazilian Economy, International Strategy, and Finance in New Endeavors & Private Equity. All are MBA-level and are taught in English except for the Private Equity class. I also have 5 hours of Portuguese courses during the week to improve my language skills. This week was also the "Trote" activity at FGV, which is their equivalent to freshman initiation. It was insane, but unfortuantely I didn't get any pictures. They threw eggs at the freshman, shaved their heads, poured beer all over them and then had a crazy party. Glad I am not counted as a freshman ;-)

I finally got a cell phone. It is so convenient, if not necessary, to have one as a student. Plans here are very different from the states, more complicated in my opinion and somewhat expensive so I just got a simple pre-paid plan. If anyone ever feels like calling me, I would love to talk: 55 11 6515-4221.