Without ceremony, but with plenty of excitement, I began my personal rite of passage on June 24.

Although at 19 I was already an adult, this was a great moment of transition. That day I left my childhood in Los Angeles behind and landed in the intimidating Copacabana section of Rio de Janeiro. I was there to participate in a beginning-level Portuguese program with the University of Florida, in Brazil.

I met my host parents the morning I arrived. Our initial meeting was much as I expected it would be – awkward. I struggled to begin a new relationship using a language I hardly knew. Up to that point, my command of Portuguese had consisted entirely of "useful" phrases I had picked up from one of those $12.99, Learn Portuguese in 5 Hours! books that anyone can grab at a local bookstore. I was a long way from any shred of fluency in Portuguese, and my hearing aids were not helping me to decipher the gibberish flowing through my ears.

Now, three years later, I’ve also completed a year-long program offered by the Council for International Educational Exchange (Council) in São Paulo, based at the Universidade de São Paulo. While I still wouldn't call myself fluent in Portuguese, I made great strides in that direction. I began my second study program in Brazil in June 1996 and finished in July 1997. Let me explain how I got from my comparatively ho-hum life in LA to such an exciting life in Brazil.

I consider myself to be an everyday guy with an ordinary, suburban background. The only difference is that I have a hearing loss. I would like to stress that I did not spend my teenage years blowing out my ears listening to heavy metal music. I have a somewhat severe congenital hearing loss and I depend on hearing aids in order to hear. With a little bit of luck, technology, and the tenacity of those few hairs remaining in my inner ear, I can hear and understand people pretty well. I must admit, however, that "What?" is one of my most commonly used expressions.

My hearing loss has never slowed me down, especially when it comes to traveling to other parts of the world. Being the son of an aircraft mechanic, I had the opportunity as a child to travel throughout the world. These experiences fascinated me and filled me with a deep interest in the international scene. When I grew up and went to college, I decided to major in international relations.

Having studied Spanish throughout junior high and high school, and being conscious of the fact that Latin America is one of the fastest-growing economic areas in the world, I decided to focus on learning more about Mercosur. Mercosur is a free-trade zone made up of some of the most dynamic economies in Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Because of this focus, one of my professors suggested that I study Portuguese in Brazil so that I’d have a basic knowledge of the language. I soon discovered the program at the University of Florida, and thus I arrive once again at the beginning of my story.

Rio completely seduced me. I remember the joy of living in a place called the "Marvelous City" by its residents. I have vivid memories of jogging on the Copacabana beach, with its magnificent view of Sugar Loaf Mountain looming in the distance, as well as nearly getting run over by cars shooting out of invisible parking lots on the same beach. I got used to the insanity of Brazilian drivers pretty quickly! Staying with a family with kids who were close to my age, I made a zillion friends in three days. Cariocas, as residents of Rio are called, are incredibly gregarious. Even if I may be exaggerating a little, I'm still friends with a lot of people I met during my short stay in Rio.

As I said, I returned to Brazil in 1996, this time choosing a program in São Paulo. São Paulo was completely different from Rio. Yet I found that many of the conditions that existed for me in Rio were much the same in São Paulo, minus the stunning shoreline view (instead there is a not-so-stunning view of the polluted Pinheiros River). São Paulo was a great place to live for people-lovers like me. It was literally impossible to go anywhere in São Paulo and not see people. I especially noticed this one day while sitting on a packed bus. Our bus stopped as the light turned red, and immediately, about 200 people began scurrying across the street. Los Angeles is a big city, but I've never seen anything like that here.

I faced challenges living in Brazil. Due to my hearing loss, my ability to understand Portuguese developed more slowly than my ability to speak the language. Often during my first few months in Brazil, people would assume that because I spoke well, I was just as good at understanding what they were saying. Wrong. I always became confused when the other person responded. "¿Como?" ("What?") became an essential word in my vocabulary at the time. But I never gave in to frustration; instead I persevered. By the end of my year I understood 90% of what I heard. Because my level of understanding decreases if I’m not watching the other person's lips the whole time, I had to educate people about what I needed to have a successful conversation.

My experience with Council staff in Brazil and in the United States was gratifying. Not only did they patiently guide me and fellow Council students through the complex Brazilian educational system, they also helped me set up an internship. I worked as an assistant to study abroad advisors placing Brazilian students in US universities. I met many fascinating, friendly people and I enjoyed sharing with them my own experience of being a foreign student. One of the main reasons that I chose to study with Council was that it has an internship program for full-year students. Between my classes, my internship placement and my day-to-day life in São Paulo, I felt my experience was well-rounded and invaluable for my future goals.

Brazilians are, without a doubt, some of the most generous, fun people on the planet. As a matter of fact, I’ve felt depressed and a bit lost since my return to the United States. But now that I’ve graduated – the sky’s the limit! While I’m not sure exactly how I want to apply my education and experience, my dream is to find a job doing business in Brazil. So, though I’ve recently left my new home, I know someday, not too far in the future, I will once again spend more time in that far-away land I grew to love.