While Long-Co, a Strauss Scholar, did not win a Fulbright grant for Vietnam, she perservered and organized a fundraising banquet. This banquet netted about $20,800 – which means that she will have enough funds to carry out her project: determining the seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and the risk factor of Hepatitis B infection, using a population-bsed epidemiological study in rural, South Vietnam.

We applaud Long-Co’s tenacity and perserverance and wish her the best of luck in Vietnam.

After almost 11 months in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil I must say it is an experience I will never forget.  This past year has been a life-changing adventure.  Immersion into another culture and language has evolved me into a more versatile global citizen.  Living in a Latin American country and taking part of their daily reality has given me the confidence to say that I comprehend that much better their people, culture, and institutions.  I also believe my experience in Brazil has helped me gain a greater understanding of the conflicts and problems they and other countries in the region face.  I believe this study abroad experience has enriched my college experience especially as an International Studies and Political Science double major. Studying abroad in Brazil has allowed me to go beyond the lectures and readings about the region and see it with my own two eyes.  And while ten months ago I felt like an alien from outer space that had landed on another planet, today I walk the streets of Rio de Janeiro feeling like I have become part of their society as well.  Now I enjoy their traditional foods, fruits and juices and Sundays at Ipanema beach.  I look forward to their cultural events, and to the everyday lessons living abroad provides.  Whether its learning a new vocabulary word, a new saying, or a new custom, it is evident that my classroom is my world!  As I conclude the study abroad program I can confidently say that I am fluent in Portuguese.  But as my Brazilians friends most proudly claim, “Cristian you speak with a Carioca accent! You speak with our accent!”  Those are the days that I know I have immersed into the Rio de Janeiro life style.