I recently returned from a five-week intensive language and culture course offered by the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil (USP, pronounced “Ooose Pee”).I only took the five-week introductory course, but most of the other students (25 in all) are staying for at least six months to a year and will enroll in regular courses at USP. This program isn’t for everyone; be prepared for some periods of loneliness and stress. I was placed with a local family who spoke no English and I had to get up at 6 a.m. each day to catch two buses to reach my classes by 8 a.m. Sao Paulo is a BIG CITY; it has 17 million people. Traffic was a major problem (I am nominating the bus drivers of Sao Paulo for the Nobel Prize) but the air was clean because of high winds each evening. Crime was also a major problem because Sao Paulo has a drug problem and over 1 million unemployed. But I found that if you wear old jeans or Bermudas you blend into the crowds and your chances of being mugged are slight.Why go to Brazil? Well, for one thing, Brazilians are a warm and friendly people. Despite the crowds and the hustle of big-city life, people seated on a bus will tap your arm and offer to hold your packages for you. If you like music with African rhythms and melodies, you’ll love popular Brazilian songs and singers. Brazil has a culture that can expand your sense of being human and increase your enthusiasm about life. You are also likely to make friendships that will last a lifetime. An added bonus is that there are warm summer days in January and February.The program was really well run by our USP hosts. We had a week off from classes to celebrate Carnival and most of the students took a 30-hour bus drive to Bahia to take part in Carnival there. But you can also go to the beach at Santos, which is a few hours from Sao Paulo, rent a hotel room and swim every day, if you want.Another reason I would recommend Brazil to American students is because in some way, Brazil is more advanced than we are in race relations. It’s not that Brazilians aren’t race conscious‹ they are. They have the same prejudices we have. But unlike the United States, the races tend to blend and mix in Brazil so that an average Brazilian might have some black or Indian ancestry even though they might also boast of an Italian or German grandparent. As a result, the sort of racism that divides whites and blacks in the United States is largely absent. Someone may consider themselves white, and yet feel more African in culture and heritage than the average white person in the United States.In Brazil I stayed with Claudio, my old college roommate, for an extended weekend in Rio where I met his wife and grown children; I hadn’t seen him in 30 years. Rio is still the most beautiful city in the world. In Sao Paulo, which is one of the great cities of this world, I saw another friend named Eduardo and met his family. I would recommend Brazil to you (even if you never use your Portuguese skills professionally.) You can stay there for six months, a year or just five weeks, as I did. It will enrich your life.In any event, think about living in another country for six months or a year while you’re young. And if you can’t spare the time or money to travel abroad, make friends with someone from another country. For the few hours you’re with them, you will be in their country too.

Robert D. Honigman is an attorney in Birmingham , Michigan who is the author of “University Secrets,” which will be published this August.