João Paulino, a design student from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, concludes his first international internship, ready to face new challenges: “It’s hard to reduce five months to a goodbye blog. But when I look at pictures from my arrival in Europe, something strikes me: I no longer recognize myself! I have grown so much that even seeing my own image no longer feels the same.”
During his 5 month internship in Maribor, João grew professionally by immersing himself daily in cross-border projects. With opportunities to develop his professional and design skills on multiple platforms, he learned to adapt to diverse situations using varied tools and knowledge — expanding his repertoire beyond graphics into administrative and communication fields.
Working in another language proved revealing. João always believed his English was advanced, but his eagerness to communicate showed him there’s always more to learn. Everyday exchanges sharpened his second language and deepened personal connections with colleagues. Though rarely in classrooms, fervent conversations with Sara Božanić about modern design’s essence taught him to stay perpetually curious.
»In my first blog, I described river-gazing as a ritual. Thinking about time, fluidity, my belonging… I haven’t observed the river as much, but I’m still feeling its presence throughout the city with its humidity clinging to my skin. Even though it’s a very delicate and simple feeling, it always reminds me of how our actions and moves may ‘echo’ to places that we may not even see.«
João couldn’t be more grateful for this experience being a scholarship holder from an underprivileged Rio community. On his first European journey, he could really experience life on the other side of the planet: living abroad by himself, absorbing different cultures, flavors, landscapes and textures. His mental reference archive expanded beyond imagination.
João returns to Brazil certain the cultural exchange envisioned from day one succeeded. He carries home Slovenian culture’s weight: Kurenti blessing winter’s end, voracious pork-and-beef cuisine, reverence for mountain-ringed landscapes, formality and commitment for all tasks to be performed… And leaves in Slovenia fragments of Brazil: audacity to defy visual norms, resourceful problem-solving, illogical creativity, tropical warmth — and crucially, beijinho and brigadeiro recipes.
»Finitude makes cycles precious. Though this experience was always finite, goodbye aches as if no end loomed. Yet this closure births a matured me. If curiosity drew me to opportunities in Maribor, now I’m ignited by challenges lying ahead worldwide.«
Erasmus+ partnerships
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Academia
Design and development:
The investment voucher for digital marketing-web design is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund.
