What I found most interesting about tonight’s Rose Cafe with Andre Rozemberg Peixoto Simões, an animal science and economics professor at the Mato Grosso do Sul State University, was hearing about a few of the cultural differences between Brazil and the US.

Professor Simões discussed how public universities in Brazil attract mostly wealthy students, even though students can attend for free. In Brazil, the best universities are the public ones and the people who have the most money go to the public universities because they have the test scores to get in. This is because students from wealthier families can afford to go to private high schools, which are far superior to the public high schools. This puts them at a huge advantage in the application process. All taxpayers pay for these universities, yet primarily the rich benefit from them.

Since arriving at Cornell, Prof. Simões has noticed cultural differences, especially surrounding food. In Brazil, the main meal is in the middle of the day. Full time employees usually have a 2 hour break from 12 to 2 pm for their mid day meal, which often includes rice, beans, meat, and vegetables. The evening meal is much smaller. Dr. Simões and his wife will usually have bread and milk. 

I enjoyed hearing a little about Brazilian culture and would love to visit some day to experience it for myself.