• Where should I live? In general, the Intercambistas (exchange students) are divided into two areas: one near the university and one in Lagoa. Of course, being close to the university has a big practical advantage and if you want to live with Brazilians, this is the best place to live! There are many bars and often happy hours at UFSC. In Lagoa, on the other hand, it is better to go out in the evening and is closer to the beach. However, the bus connection to the university is not the best, so sooner or later they usually fall back on hitchhiking ("Carona"). Both have their advantages and disadvantages and have to be decided individually.
• Security. Be attentive, but not afraid! I have never felt insecure in Floripa and I have never had any negative experiences. One should not be careless, although Brazilians are always more anxious than we Europeans. You can also wear jewelry, but with a passport in your pocket I would not walk around with it...

• Even Brazilian winter is cold! So don't forget your jacket and sweaters. Also otherwise it is never wrong to have something long-sleeved or an umbrella with you. The weather can be very changeable and the wind cold. Otherwise the Brazilians have no problem to cool down the university rooms or shopping mall to a temperature of 10°C in summer.

• Sun milk! The sun is slightly underestimated here - especially when it is cloudy. Of course you can get sun protection here, but you can easily get it for 10€. This is generally true for beauty & care products like deodorant, soap, shaving foam, handkerchiefs etc., which are very expensive here.

• Get to know the island! The city center itself is neither very big nor very beautiful. The island - also called the "magic island" - unfolds its beauty and possibilities outside the center. With 42 beaches it has enough bathing possibilities to offer. The most beautiful ones can be reached by hiking ("Trilha"). You can do many of them, easy and difficult ones. So be sure to bring gym shoes or trekking shoes! Otherwise you can surf or kitesurf, climb, mountain bike, snorkel or paraglide. Or just enjoy the sunset at the sea or with a view of the city on the viewpoint "Morro da Cruz".

• Take a lot of party mood with you, but leave the high heels at home! There are always university or intercambista, house and club parties. Enjoy your time! Even though some Brazilian women get incredibly dressed up, you might as well come with jeans and a T-shirt.

• Bring patience. A lot of patience! The worst is at the supermarket checkout. Two customers in front of you can mean half an hour of waiting time. And talking to each other is an important part of any employment relationship. It's not worth getting upset. Even the busses arrive on time or not. Nevertheless, it is worth downloading the two bus apps "BusMaps Florianópolis" and "FloripaRide". Worth its weight in gold!

• Forget the diet! The food here is usually either fried or incredibly sweet. This is on the one hand a matter of taste, but on the other hand it is also a matter of getting used to. There are a lot of things to try, which you should definitely do! Some of them are abstruse for us, like fries with cheese topped, fried dumplings ("pastel") filled with bacon and chocolate or sweet pizza with chocolate, fruits, coconut and cheese. You can also eat sushi here. Fruit and vegetables are available fresh and especially cheap at the street markets. Nevertheless, the cheapest place to eat is the cafeteria, where the food is not very varied but unbeatable for the equivalent of 50 cents.

• Talk to your professors! They are usually very friendly and helpful to us Intercambistas. In general the relationship between students and professors is much more friendly. You can sometimes negotiate an alternative to a job or a deal on a grade. There is also not one big exam at the end of the semester but several smaller tests during the semester. As long as the language problem (especially with technical terms) does not get in the way, German exchange students generally do well. Especially for presentations, the German demands are higher than the requirements here. Classes are taught in groups of about 30 students, the lectures are comparable to those of a university of applied sciences in Germany.

• And last but not least: enjoy your time to the full! Take what you can. Not only from Floripa, but also from the whole country or even from the South American continent. Since there are no trains here, you will travel either by plane or overland bus (often overnight).

Anna Gerstner, Master student of THI for Marketing/Sales/Media. She took part in the exchange program of AWARE and was in Florianópolis for half a year.