Julia Neves has never traveled outside of Brazil before, let alone lived in a country 4,000 miles away from her home.

Neves is an exchange student with the Hershey Rotary attending Hershey High School for the 2022-2023 school year. She is a senior in high school from São Luís, Brazil, a country and hometown very different from Hershey, Pennsylvania. São Luís is an island in the Atlantic Ocean and the capital of the Brazilian state of Maranhão. 

“The weather is one of the biggest differences between Hershey and my city,” said Neves. This is a very understandable difference because the average temperature of São Luís is 90 degrees. 

Her time in the United States has had a memorable start; however, leaving her home country came with some hardships like missing her family, friends, and hometown. She described her hometown as being split between the historic section and the more modern section of São Luís. 

“I think the old part of my city is my favorite part, it’s like going back to the past,” said Neves. 

Although it is a big change, she has enjoyed everything she has experienced thus far. She didn’t know exactly what to expect, but “it’s even better than I imagined,” said Neves. 

The calm and beautiful nature of Hershey is her favorite part of the city. She also is excited to experience the high school traditions that only happen in the U.S, like prom. 

“I’m very excited about the prom because we don’t have them in Brazil,” said Neves. 

She doesn’t have a favorite place yet, being that she has only been in Hershey for a couple of months. She has a few spots in Hershey on her bucket list, specifically Hersheypark. 

“I want to go since everyone tells me about this place,” said Neves. 

She plans to attend college, most likely in Brazil, but colleges in the United States aren’t completely off her radar. 

“It would just require more planning,” said Neves.