About Brazil

Very few destinations are able to offer such varied options as Brazil. The fifth largest country in the world offers an array of beaches, countless environmental reserves, rainforests, festivals, historical cities, amazing architecture and an unparalleled cultural diversity.

By doing an internship in Brazil, you will develop your professional skills in an environment where you can enjoy Brazilian world famous carnivals, coffee, music and dances, football, religion, cuisine in arguably one of the most beautiful spots on the planet!

Sao Paulo

Rio de Janeiro
Belo Horizonte
Florianopolis
Curitiba
Brasilia
Salvador

Please note, on arrival you will able be provided with some further information about Brazil, its customs and useful hints and tips for living in the country.

People

Brazil – a country which greets visitors with a huge smile!
The mixture of races has made Brazil a culturally rich and at the same time unique country. This miscegenation began with the Indian, the African and the Portuguese, but soon after, immigrants from around the world began to arrive: Europeans, Asians, Jews and Arabs. The result is a happy people, open to everything new, a people one can only find in Brazil.

Because of this massive diversity, Brazil is one of the last places on Earth where no one is a foreigner, where one can change one’s destiny without losing one’s identity and where each and every Brazilian has a little of the entire world in his or her blood. This may be the reason why Brazilian’s welcome people from another land so openly.

Language

The official language is Portuguese; the accent and the intonation, however, are very different from what one hears in Portugal and other former Portuguese colonies. Some people say that Brazilians speak “Brazilian”, just like Americans can say they speak “American”, and not English. And there are also many Brazilians who are descendants of immigrants and who speak German and Italian, especially in towns in southern Brazil.

Climate and Temperature

Brazil’s climatic typology is very diverse. Its vast territorial expanse, allied with factors such as temperature, altitude, barometric pressure and proximity to the ocean, provide the country with climatic conditions to please everyone. It is one of the richest and most complex ecosystems in the world, with extremely diversified vegetation and sceneries.

Brazil is divided into climatic strips: 92% of the country is located between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn. We can, therefore, say that the Brazilian climate is predominantly tropical, with equatorial and subtropical strips (temperate zones) distributed over the remaining 8% of the nation’s territory. The predominance of lower altitudes throughout the country provides more elevated temperatures, with averages exceeding 20°C.

The seasons are the exact opposite of those in Europe and the United States, except in the Northern region of the country. The average annual temperature is approximately 28ºC in the Northern region and 20ºC, in the South. Extreme temperatures are rare, but they may occur: in winter, some cities in the south of the country experience negative temperatures, with frost and snow. And in Rio de Janeiro, in the peak of summer, the temperature may reach the 40ºC mark.

Currency

The currency used in Brazil is called the Real (R$) Foreign currency may be exchanged at banks, travel agencies and authorized hotels. Travellers’ cheques as well as currencies are easily exchanged at these locations. International credit cards are accepted at most hotels, restaurants and shops. Many ATMs accept international cards for cash withdrawals.

Cost of Living

You can find in the chart below some examples about prices in Brazil. It will help you understand our daily expenses and prepare your budget.

Subway ticket : R$ 1.90
Coffee : R$ 0.90
Bus ticket : R$ 1.70
Soda : R$ 1.50
Juice : R$ 1.50
Snacks : R$ 1.50
Car Rental (one day with insurance) : R$ 100.00
Movie Ticket : R$ 12.00

Ice Cream : R$ 1.50
Fast Food : R$ 8.00
Pizza ( individual) : R$ 7.00
Beer : R$ 2.00
Water : R$ 1.00
Film : R$ 12.00
Car Rental ( one week with insurance) : R$ 650.00

Vaccinations

Yellow Fever Vaccine :

For visitors who have been in transit any time over the past three months, or who are coming from countries such as - Angola, Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Colombia, Ecuador, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, French Guiana, Liberia, Nigeria, Peru, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leon, Sudan, Venezuela and Zaire - an International Certificate of Vaccination against yellow fever is required.

The yellow fever vaccine is also recommended for all national and international visitors who intend to visit the following Brazilian states: Acre, Amazonas, Amapa, Brasilia, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso do Sul, Para, Rondonia, Roraima and Tocantins.

Do not forget: it is necessary to take the vaccination at least ten days prior to leaving on your trip.

Map of Brazil

Key Cities

Sao Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the chosen base for nearly 75% of all fairs and congresses held in the country. It is known throughout the country as the “business capital”. Although this is a well-deserved title, it does not reveal everything else this great metropolis has to offer. Here, it is fundamental to underscore its restaurants, its intense nightlife and the busy artistic calendar. These are responsible for prolonging the stays of those visitors who arrive in the city only to work or to participate in events and who end up surrendering to these wonders.

Rio de Janiero

Known as the “Wonderful City”, Rio de Janeiro offers attractions that have rendered the city international fame. Who has never heard about Carnival in Rio, the most amazing popular party in the world? Or who has never heard about the Sugar Loaf Mountain and the statue of Christ Redeemer? Or about the beautiful beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana, that have inspired musicians from all over the world? Or, also, who has never heard of the Tijuca National Park – the largest urban natural preservation area in the Country? Rio is all that. And much more.

Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte, the capital from Minas Gerais, has 2.5 million residents. It has wide avenues, squares and forested areas, delighting everyone who visits. Fondly nicknamed Belô or Beagá, the city offers interesting leisure areas, theatres boasting an intense artistic-cultural production, good and varied cuisine, exquisite handcrafts available on the markets and specialised shops, and maintains a traditional characteristic: the mineira hospitality.

Florianopolis

It’s 42 beaches are a joy to surfers, sun worshipers and fun lovers. The city is located on an island just off the mainland of Brazil. The city has around 300,000 inhabitants, which is tripled during the summer months! The city is cosmopolitan, but also mixed with the southern area of the island which has preserved its countryside village identity, and the heritage left by their ancestors (who came from the Portuguese archipelago of Açores during the 18th century).

Curitiba

Curitiba is a world example of town planning, education and environment. There are over 30 parks and woods with complete infrastructure for recreation and sports practice. A city of eclectic culture and strongly influenced by Italian, German, Polish and Ukrainian immigrants, from which the majority of the population is descendent. This fact is soon noticed when one arrives and observes the architecture, the gastronomy and the local habits.

Brasilia

Brasilia is located in the Federal District, in the central area of Brazil – the true heart of the Country -, in the State of Goiás. The Brazilian capital is the only city in the world, built in the 20th century, to be awarded by UNESCO, an UN agency, since 1987, the status of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity. And there are plenty of reasons for such renown.

Salvador

Due to its unique features, Salvador has become one of the main international tourist destinations. The capital of Bahia, famous for its history, the legacy left by people from other continents, its cultural miscegenation, its religious syncretism and its hospitable people, has been the setting and object of study of professionals from diverse areas for many years.

About Brazil

Further details:

People

Language

Climate and Temperature

Currency

Cost of Living

Vaccinations

Yellow Fever Vaccine :

Map of Brazil

Key Cities

Sao Paulo

Related links

Rio de Janiero

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Belo Horizonte

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Florianopolis

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Curitiba

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Brasilia

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Salvador

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