Ghyslaine Abroad

Hello all! My name is Ghyslaine, and this my new blog dedicated to education abroad. The truth is, a lot of college-aged students do at some point consider studying abroad at some point during their career, but many of them never get around to it. This blog will go through everything, from choosing a country, to finding funding, to the actual time abroad and even what to do when you're back in the comfort of your home. Enjoy, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask! NOTE: My mind is borderline frazzled, so some things (especially now, that I'm still in the preparation stage) will be out of order. But I will still try to hit major point!

[ghyslaineabroad]

Things I didn't do but I definitely should have done

So, since my last post was about stupid things I did, I'd like to take some time to talk about things I really should have done:

Make more friends. When I lived in Rio Preto, I knew a lot of people from my classes...but that was about it. I knew very few people from outside the Letras course day classes, let alone from outside the university. This, unfortunately, stayed true when I moved to Sao Paulo. I knew and spent time with a few people, but I never really tried to make friends outside of that. If I could turn back now, I would definitely try to lose that timidness I had before and meet new people outside my already-established group.

Travel more. During my first six months in Brazil, I traveled a lot. However, I was still left with a list of places I wanted to go to when I left at the end of the year because I stopped traveling once I moved to Sao Paulo. That was my fault, of course; my supervisor was extremely flexible and always encouraged me to travel a little bit more. She and the rest of the people in my office even helped me plan potential trips. I just never really took advantage of that flexibility.

Live closer to school. While living in the city center during my first semester kept me in a better location and gave me a taste of what Rio Preto was like outside the university (something most of my friends never experienced because they weren't from there either), it did make everything a lot more difficult. Not only did my long commute keep me farther the school, it also made it harder for me to meet with others and go to events. On top of that, it was about twice as expensive as living near the school would have been.

Spend more time with my friends. While before I said that I needed to make more friends, I also feel like I should have spent more time with the ones I already had. Part of this was, of course, due to the fact that it took me about a half hour to get to where everyone else lived. But even on days that I would have been able to do things with my friends, I often chose to stay in instead. Because of that, I missed out on a lot of group dinners, inside jokes, new friends, and tons of apparently hilarious stories that I never fully understood afterwards.

Take more pictures. I took tons of pictures on my vacation trips, but you know how it is--you can always take more. But this point is especially true for the places I lived. For whatever reason, I never whipped out my camera in Rio Preto or Sao Paulo, causing me to have to Google the city in order to show anyone pictures of the places I considered home throughout the 10 months I was there.

These are just some of the very major things I regret not doing while I was in Brazil. Had I done them all, I'd have even more great memories than I already do.

[ghyslaineabroad]

Things I shouldn't have done that I definitely did

So it's been a bit since I got home from Brazil, as I'm sure you all know. With the time to reflect, I have compiled a list of stupid things I did and why it was stupid of me to do them. Of course, I spent a year there, so there's definitely more stupid stuff, but these are, to me, the most important, and probably the most common.

So here you have it: What NOT to do.

Travel alone-This is definitely one of my biggest regrets. I chose to travel alone because I preferred spending less time in more places (and taking buses, but more on that later). Though I met some great people along the way, traveling with at least one other person would have been a lot more fun. In fact, the most fun I had during one of my travels was when I went to Florianopolis, where I met up with some friends. Traveling with another person would have also been much more helpful and WAY safer, especially when moving from place to place.

Live far from the school-I love my first roommate a lot, and she gave me a fantastic place to stay. However, getting to school required taking anywhere from 25 minutes to an hour for the bus, unless I wanted to get a taxi. The same applied to visiting my friends, who all lived by the school. Because of that, I missed out on a lot of the last-minute hangouts that my friends had, which really kinda sucked.

Make parties one of my only ways of socializing-Where I lived, students organized giant parties as a way to socialize with students from other majors/courses. I used to use living far away as an excuse for only really socializing during these parties, but the truth is, I didn't really try to meet up with people outside of that and after class. I sometimes even made excuses to not attend get togethers that I already knew about. I think that, if I had made more of an effort outside of these huge organized things that everyone was going to, I would have made even more lasting friendships than I already have.

Take moto-taxis and buses--for everything-Something that I learned very quickly while living in the interior was that moto-taxis and buses were cheap. Like, ridiculously cheap. And they both became my favorite forms of transportation. However, they are both pretty dangerous. While riding a motorcycle would take over a half hour less and a dollar more than the bus to get me to class/my friend's house/practically anywhere, the chances of me getting hurt or robbed were pretty high, and it was a miracle that I always came out unscathed. Buses provided a similar situation: while they were way slower than planes, I could get on them for at least half the cost, which obviously made them the go-to option for long distance travel. And while 6 hour bus rides are one thing, 12 and even 20 hours on a bus alone is unsafe and really just terrible for your body if you do it more than once or twice.

Not travel enough-During my second semester in Brazil, there were quite a few three-day weekends that I didn't take advantage of. Instead, I just stayed home. I must admit, I did take more time to hang out with friends this time around, but I was only 3 or 4 hours away from an array of gorgeous beaches, and I never went to any of them.

Wander around at night-Um...seriously? I look back, and I really don't understand what on earth I was thinking. Imagine walking around central Manhattan at 11PM, and that's pretty much what I was doing. Stupid. Don't do it.

Lose touch-While I have kept in touch with a few of my friends from Brazil, the truth is, I rarely speak to most of them. It's easy to pretend that we haven't, due to things like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, but knowing that the longest conversation that I've had with a lot of my good friends has been only 5 minutes of "hey how have you been" is a bit sad.

[insightsabroad]

Social Media & Traveling - How Much is Too Much?

[ghyslaineabroad]

Social media is no big secret. In fact, your grandma probably has a Facebook. When it comes to traveling (or living abroad), social media is one of the easiest tools to use to stay connected with friends and family. But how much social media sharing is too much? I have traveled with people who constantly needed to be connected.

[ghyslaineabroad]

Going to the doctor abroad

One of the most daunting tasks that I had to take on was going to the doctor in Brazil. It was August, and I was living in the center of Sao Paulo. I didn't know where to go or how to explain my condition in Portuguese, and as nice as my roommate was, she wasn't much of a help with even tips on how to find a GP, let alone anything else I needed.

Luckily, I had the internet. A week after I started searching I walked into the ritziest doctor's office I've ever been to (which was completely unintentional) and was treated by a doctor who was not only good, but understood the circumstances I was in and was seriously willing to work with me.

So, I have a few tips for going to a doctor while abroad:

Know how your insurance works abroad. Your health insurance should work when you go to another country, though not always in the same ways that it would work in the US (or your home country). On top of that, a lot of programs offer optional travel insurance to help with any costs. Though insurance pamphlets can be read them cover to cover. Knowing exactly how your insurance works will help you answer any questions they ask when you go to the doctor, as well as giving you an idea of how much you'll have to pay yourself.

Know how the medical system works in the country you're in. Have someone familiar with the health system in your country explain to you early on how everything works, so that if you ever find yourself in a position where you need to deal with it, you can make an educated decision. When I went to Brazil, I knew there were public and private doctors, but I didn't really know what that meant. I went to a private doctor and paid a couple hundred dollars. My friend went to a public doctor, got medications, and paid very little, if anything at all. Of course, I had multiple reasons for going to a private doctor instead of a public one, but had I fully understood the pros and cons of each, I may have ended up going the other way.

Use your resources-especially the internet. Though I'd already been in the country for 6 months, I was extremely concerned about whether I'd be able to explain what was wrong to my doctor. Because of that, I took a special interest in any doctors that I found on the internet that said they spoke English. Ex-pat forums are great for finding them. 

[tanyaraj-deactivated20170901]

Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.

Pico Iyer (via tanyaraj)

[ghyslaineabroad]

My Internship

While I was abroad, one of my requirements was to complete a semester-long internship, which I did at a university's International Relations Office. It was a bit strange at first, because the office usually didn't take exchange students as interns, and the intern they did have had been there longer than I'd been living in Brazil. Add to that that I am already pretty shy at first, and it's pretty easy to see how all of us had to adapt to the situation.

Of course, everyone has to adapt to new situations, so I was sure everything would be okay. And it was. I was worried at first that they wouldn't like me because of the circumstances that led me to working for them (it was a pretty last-minute ordeal) but they welcomed me with open arms. My boss, an incredible woman, gave me both her work and cell numbers the day we met and made it clear that I could contact her if I ever needed anything. The rest of the people in the office were just as friendly and willing to help as she was.

It was great to get that sense of security mere moments after moving to one of the biggest cities in Latin America (Sao Paulo). When I met the group I'd be working with, I was still set up in a room in a hostel, looking for rooms in condos that I could rent out (half my possessions were still in Rio Preto with my old roommate), so knowing that I at least had someone to ask about the areas I was looking into was a huge relief. Their helpfulness with these kinds of things went far beyond that time too; they were the first people I went to to ask about travel destinations around the country and places to go in the city.

It wasn't long after I started working at the office that I started noticing the major cultural differences that there are between an office in the US and an office in Brazil. While I'm sure there were plenty more, there are 3 majors differences that stuck in my mind:

Dress code: Here, business-casual is dress pants, heels and a nice shirt or blouse for girls. Where I worked, that wasn't really the case. Jeans (a definite no-no for the standard US office) were an office staple. I'm pretty sure the only people I ever saw in typical US-style business clothing were the higher-up administrators that doubled as professors. But for the rest of us, coming in in American business-casual would have been just as strange as coming in in shorts.

Building rapport: At my job in Brazil, phone calls and emails that started a conversation had about a paragraph's worth of small talk before actually getting to the point of the e-mail. I've spoken to people about jobs here where they've said "After hours/at the end of the day, you'd email the person you're working with about more personal things to build rapport". But in my experience, those conversations about family, friends, etc. were had before those business conversations. My boss there told me once that you had to know your audience when sending even the briefest email. "If you send an American an email asking questions about their day and their life, they'll wonder when you'll get to the point; if you don't do it with a Brazilian, you will come off as rude".

Lunch: Like anywhere else, lunch is when you really get to connect with your coworkers in Brazil. Only, lunch starts at 12 and ends at 2ish. And they take it seriously. At 11:30 every day, my coworkers would start talking about where they wanted to go that day. By 11:50, everything was getting wrapped up, because noon was the latest they would walk out of there to go to lunch. If there was time left over at the end, they'd go to a bakery and get dessert and some coffee. But rarely did they ever cut lunch short, and for good reason: it was their time to bond, relax and have fun. It was their time to go from coworkers to friends.

I also learned a good bit at my job about the job itself. Working in an international office, I interviewed exchange program candidates, helped write program grants, researched current programs and went to a British Council convention, to name a few things. I also completed a capstone project over the importance of foreign language in the university system.

Overall, it was a great experience. I not only learned a lot of things specific to my job, but also how to work in an office environment and in a foreign environment. Though I was an intern from another country and didn't have much of a background in international relations, I never felt that way. I was treated as if I was on the same level as everyone else and I always felt that my opinion was valued, which helped boost my confidence a lot and make my time at my internship an incredible experience.

[ghyslaineabroad]

"But I CAN'T Study Abroad"--Program choices for those tricky majors

I know I mentioned this before, but I can't stress it enough: anyone can find a way to go abroad, regardless of their major.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that, here in the good ol' USA (go team!) we have a variety of core classes that we have to take before we can really get into our majors. Language classes are often included in core. The other reason is that most majors require a significant amount of elective classes to be taken.

What does this mean, exactly? It means that anyone who says "I can't study abroad because I'm a bio major" isn't aware of all their choices.

So, say you're a freshman majoring in molecular biology. There are plenty of language immersion programs available to get rid of those pesky language requirements that take up a lot of time. Also, depending on what program you do and where, you'll be able to find social science, literature or world culture classes that are specific to the region you're in (for example, classical literature classes in Italy).

Say you're no longer a freshman, have already completed all your core, and are deep into your really complicated biology classes. You'd love to study abroad, but you know that you wouldn't feel comfortable taking even the most basic science courses in another language, even if you're quite good at the other language. (This is totally normal and understandable. A friend of mine was living in Brazil for a full semester before I got there, and even though biology courses were available at the university we went to and she fully understood Portuguese, she didn't feel ready to taken on a higher-level biology class in anything other than English). You are in luck. There are many places you can study abroad where science courses (or any others, if you still have to fulfill those elective requirements) are offered in English, and that's not necessarily limited to English-speaking countries like the UK and Canada.

Okay, you say, but I can't/don't want to spend a full semester abroad, I have no electives left over and I really really want to go somewhere that speaks a different language. That's okay, too. Many major programs offer short summer or maymester programs in other countries (our Costa Rica program has one for aviary medicine, for example). There are also service learning courses you can do abroad during the summer, which combine community service with course content for college credit. If you go to a smaller school, you may find fewer selections of these, but many programs in bigger universities also allow outside students to apply, so make sure to look into those, too.

All in all, when there's a will, there's a way. Sometimes it is nearly impossible to make room for time abroad. But if you start searching early on and look beyond the more well-known options, you should be able to find other opportunities that are available to you.

[ghyslaineabroad]

Hostel

Anyone who has seen the 2005 film by the same name (I haven't, but I've heard plenty about it) is probably a bit skeptical of them, especially if they've never been to one before. And while they can be a bit daunting at first, hostels are really a wonderful way to have a good experience traveling, even when you're by yourself.

Here are my hostel tips:

Read reviews: Seriously, the majority of the time that I've heard people say they didn't like a hostel, it's because they just chose one at random. There's no reason for that! There are plenty of sites to find reviews (tons of them, at that) for hostels, such as hostelworld and hostelbookings. I'll be honest and tell you I've never used hostelbookings, but it's because I'm used to hostelworld and the way it breaks everything down (however, I have plenty of friends that also swear by hostelbookings and say it works similarly) and it has never let me down. These sites are good too because along with reviews, they make it easy to make reservations and many times even give you directions to where you're going to stay.

Take your own locks and towels: After a while of traveling (or being used to hotels), these things might seem like a given. However, they are definitely not standard. Unless your hostel specifies, take these things with you. It may suck to have a little less space in your bag for other things, but it'll definitely be worth it. (Note: always take a lock with you. I learned that the hard way--not all hostels that have lockers have locks, and that can be a problem).

With that being said, keep your valuables locked away at all times. Unless you're using your iPad, you have no reason to have it out where people can get to it. Don't be dumb; if you wouldn't leave it on the dashboard of your car with the door unlocked, don't leave it out of a locker.

Make sure your hostel is in a good area. It's really simple. Just make sure it's not in a bad neighborhood. Reviews generally help out with that.

Last, but not least, put yourself out there and make friends. Part of traveling is the people you meet. So talk to the people in your room and sit in the common area when you're not exploring the town. The best part of hostels is your proximity to people from different backgrounds, and it's the best way to meet some really interesting people. When in Argentina, I had someone to hang out with every day because we roomed together. And my first friend here in São Paulo was an Australian girl that I met at a hostel before I found a place to live. So don't hole up in your room all night, because if you do (and there's no one in there with you) you are simply just missing the point.

[ghyslaineabroad]

I'm back!

Hey everybody!

I took a really long break from this blog , which I'm totally sorry about, but I'm back now. I'll give you a few updates on my life before putting up a travel post with a subject on it.

Class ended in June, marking the official end of my time as an UNESP student. To celebrate, I went on a 2 1/2 week trip, hitting Florianopolis, Foz do Iguaçu, Buenos Aires (Argentina) and finishing off in São Paulo. I traveled only by bus to all the destinations, which was a pain at times, but definitely worth it.

I am now living in the city of São Paulo, which is one of the busiest and most populous (not to forget most expensive) cities in the world.

I am currently an International Relations intern at one of the big public universities in the state of São Paulo!

My time here will be 7 months officially on the 14th. I haven't even left yet and I'm already ready to come back.

So yeah. That`s a brief catching up on how my life is going. More on the individual travel destinations from July later!

[ghyslaineabroad]

The Brazil Protests

Another something major that has been going on this past week that's becoming increasingly important during my time abroad is what some people are calling "a revolta dos 20 centavos" (the 20-cent revolt). This is the series of protests that's going on across the country, and it's quickly making history.

[[Note: I am in no way an expert on what's going on. This is just an incredibly important issue that deserves some attention here. The majority of the information I have is based on news articles and things  my friends have explained to me over the past few months.]]

A lot of people think that the problems started out because the bus fare was going to be raised 20 cents (approx. 10 American cents). Brazilians everywhere are doing their best to make it clear that that's not the case; that it was actually the straw that broke the camel's back. The truth is, the country is dealing with major issues like government corruption, high taxes, and sub-par education, health and transit systems. Add in the World Cup that's around the corner, and anyone can see why there's an issue.

The way my cab driver said it today made sense: "It's not just about the 20 cents. The education system is bad. The health system, people have to wait weeks to go to the doctor and get tests done. But they raise the prices and use our money for what, to build bigger stadiums? They should be building more hospitals instead."

And that's the issue so many are having. With the country going over-budget while doing construction for next year's soccer extravaganza, they have to find the extra money somewhere. But the people aren't okay with the bus prices going up for something they believe will yield very little reward, and they want their voices heard. A common phrase I hear around is "Our taxes are so high, but if we had good education or smooth roads, it wouldn't be as big of a deal. And if that's what the 20 cents was for, then it'd be different too."

These problems are some of the many reasons for the protests. Tens of thousands of Brazilians are protesting each day, most of them peacefully, though some have resorted to violence and vandalism, especially in bigger cities. This of course causes the police to react (I'm sure by now most people have seen pictures of tear gas and rubber bullets), and it's gotten to a point where no one knows whether it's the people or the police attacking first. And though the increase in price for bus fare has since been revoked, people aren't stopping the protests. Because if they do now, only one small aspect in the grand scheme of necessary changes will have been made. And right now, that's not enough.

[ghyslaineabroad]

Festa Junina

So last Thursday was the Festa Junina at my host university here in the interior of São Paulo. Always held in June, Festas Juninas are done to celebrate multiple saints, including São Antonio, São João and São Pedro. These parties are also usually associated with the Northeastern region of Brazil.

The Festa Junina was incredibly interesting to me because along with celebrating the saints (or in the case of my university, more than celebrating the saints), it also celebrates the caipira way of life  [explained a bit more in this post].

At these parties, corn is a big hit, and can be eaten not only on the cob, but also in desserts such as curau and pamonha. Standard dress for girls at the festa here included plaid shirts tied at the waist, shorts, pigtails and sometimes even painted-on freckles, with guys wearing similar clothing. Some people also used frilly and colorful dresses, painted on a gap-tooth or two, and wore hats and boots. (Here's an idea of what some of the clothing you might find at one of these might look like.)

Dancing is also a huge part of a Festa Junina. Sertanejo and Forro, two genres of music that I can most easily relate to folk and country music. People also dance the quadrilha (similar to square dancing), and at the end there's a "wedding", which is the major highlight of the party. At the one I went to, it was between a guy and someone dressed up as a cow with a bouquet and a veil on.

I must admit, I wasn't fully expecting to enjoy the Festa Junina, but I ended up loving it. As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I adore sertanejo, so I spent a good amount of time singing along to the music. I also dressed the part as much as I could, complete with the pigtails, and even managed to learn some basic dance steps. It was definitely an aspect of Brazilian culture that I never understood before (no matter how many times it was explained to me before going), and because of that, I almost didn't go. But it was something that I just had to be a part of to understand. And it was pretty wonderful.

[insightsabroad]

The 23 strangest habits you’ll pick up after living in 23 different countries

What strange habits did you pick up after living abroad?

[ghyslaineabroad]

Travel Picks: Top 10 City Beaches Around the World

Summer is finally in full swing in the Northern Hemisphere, and many people find themselves facing the tough decision of a city break or a beach escape as they start planning a holiday. But for visitors looking for the best of both worlds online travel advisor Cheapflights.com has created its list of the Top 10 city beaches. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

[insightsabroad]

When preparing to study abroad, here are 9 things YOU need to know about pre-departure, what to bring, and doing your research:

Pre-departure Necessities

#1. Apply for a passport & visa

You must have a valid passport to travel and study abroad. If you already have one, be sure to double...

[ghyslaineabroad]

:) Hi! I'm signed up for an "educational tour" of Asia. Unfortunately because it's not technically 'study abroad' I can't apply for most study abroad scholarships. Can you suggest a scholarship/grant to go for, or even a helpful website? Thank you<3

Hi! To be completely honest with you, I don't know much about educational tours (I don't remember anyone doing those while I worked at the OIE), but I do know some scholarship/grant sites

General sites for scholarships/grants (that have stuff for anything academics related):

cappex.com

fastweb.com (recommended by a study abroad advisor)

zinch.com

Here's one I know for sure, but the deadline is today, so it's only really good if you work well under pressure:

https://www.brokerfish.com/study-abroad-scholarships/#submit

Let's do this: if you let me know when your deadline is, I can do a little more searching (this is just what I know off the top of my head) and send you some more links and stuff, okay?

[ghyslaineabroad]

Spotlight on: Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship

Today I want to talk about the Gilman Scholarship for a quick minute. It's one of the scholarships I received, and it was a HUGE help with paying for this trip.

Funded by the US Department of State, the Gilman Scholarship is provided for people who have limited finances (people who receive Pell Grant). You can be awarded up to $5000, and can apply for Spring, Summer and Fall semesters, as long as the program is 4 weeks long.

How it works:

Talk to your study abroad advisor. The full application is online, but you have to have an advisor (or program admin) listed so that they can do the final submission once you do your part. So you know, it'd be nice for you to talk to the person in charge of that before you get it started, so that he/she knows the application is coming. If you're not sure who it's supposed to go to, the application has a drop down list of the people from your school registered to accept the applications (you still want to see one of them to make sure of it, though).

Application Process: It's fairly simple and straight to the point. There are a lot of components, but as far as knowing how filling it out is going/going back and forth on it, it's a really good system. You also have to submit transcripts.

Essays. If I'm not mistaken, you have two essays. The first one is your general statement of purpose (this is the one I can't fully remember is necessary or not). A scholarship statement of purpose is easy. The other essay is a Follow-Up Project Proposal. Once you get back, you have 6 months to complete a project you designed yourself to further promote study abroad in your community/school.

If you receive the award: You have to give them your bank information for direct deposit and also fill out some other parts for the application online. One of the things you need to prove is that you have health insurance for the time you're spending abroad. You also have to sign up for the STEP Program within a few weeks of getting to your host country so that the government can inform you of any issues in your area that can impact you.

So that's pretty much it! If you're eligible for the scholarship, I say go for it (though keep in mind that the deadlines are fairly early in the semester). You can find more information here. And if you need help with any component, just shoot me a message and I'll try to help you out :)

[ghyslaineabroad]

The nation's capital...

This time two weeks ago, I was in Brasília, which is located in the Distrito Federal. I spent just three days there, and though it was an 11-12 hour overnight bus ride either way, it was so incredibly worth it.

I was lucky enough to meet a friend of a friend there in Brasília, making it much easier for me to get around the city. However, the transit system there was pretty wonderful, so even though I got off at the wrong bus stop when I was trying to arrive, I still managed to get to where I needed to be fairly quickly.

Not everyone knows this, but Brasília is actually a fairly new city. Constructed just to be the new capital of the country (the capital used to be Rio de Janeiro), Brasília turned just 53 this year, with a lot of its architecture being designed by the world-famous Oscar Niemeyer, who died last December, just before his 105th birthday. Those who went to help construct the city were called Candangos, and the people who live in the city sometimes refer to themselves as Candangos as well.

While there, I met plenty of interesting people, took pictures of most of the different monuments and buildings, went into the famous Cathedral, and even took a free tour of the National Congress. The city also cemented my absolute love for Brazil as a whole.

And now, for something I sometimes struggle to admit: I have what my friends call a "questionable taste in music". And I'm sorry for it. But it actually worked out to my advantage that weekend.

You see, for the past few years (I'm not really sure how long), there has been this sertanejo festival called Villa Mix, and this year, it was in Brasília at the same time I was this year. My friend told me about it, and since it happened to fall on the right weekend, I said "why not?".

(For those of you who don't know what sertanejo is, the closest comparison I can think of is folk/country music in the US. Only right now, what's popular is sertanejo universitario, which has leaked its way into other parts of the world--think "Balada (Tche tchere tche)" by Gusttavo Lima or the ridiculously infectious "Ai Se Eu Te Pego" by Michel Teló.)

Villa Mix, when I went, consisted of 5 major acts: Israel Novaes, Naldo, Gusttavo Lima, Humberto e Ronaldo, and Jorge e Mateus (who are my favorites, and apparently are one of the most important s.u. duos out there). The festival started at 4PM, but even getting there at 8PM, I caught a good chunk of Gusttavo Lima's set and everyone that came after him. And it was amazing.

Also, I want to add that a LOT of people here (especially the town that I'm living in) love sertanejo, so really, my taste in music isn't as questionable here as it is virtually anywhere else. On the other hand, I also love funk, which most people here look down on, but everyone in my group also loves (funk is fairly new still, and its reception is comparable to rap or reggaeton when they started becoming really popular).