Unlike most folks, Abigail Smith did not go directly to college or the work force after graduating from high school.

Instead, Smith, 19, of Slippery Rock spent more than 10 months in Brazil as a Rotary youth exchange student.

Smith was in Brazil from August 2012 until June. She said her year abroad taught her to be independent and rely on herself.

“It's a great way of growing up,” said Smith, a 2012 Slippery Rock High School graduate.

Her cousin went to France as an exchange student for a year, and she enjoyed it. This got Smith interested in doing something similar.

She initially wanted to go to Belgium, since she took French classes in high school. However, she was told that Brazil was her only choice.

“I like to say it chose me,” Smith said.

She lived in Ponta Grossa, a city with a population of 315,000 located in the southern state of Parana.

During her time in Brazil, she lived with four host families. She said that one of the families was extremely wealthy, and employed maids to do housework.

“That's something that was very different for me,” Smith said.

As part of the exchange program, she attended classes at a private Catholic high school.

She said that Brazilian high school was more like college, with a lecture format. She said classes usually lasted from 7 a.m. to noon, with some afternoon or evening classes. Lunches were not served at school. Instead, students went home and spent time with family. She said this happens in the workplace, too, with everyone going home from noon to 2 p.m.

“Family time is very important,” Smith said.

While living there, she also got to compare the lives of poor people in the U.S. to the more drastic situation of the poor in Brazil.

“You might meet someone who has a cart full of metal or plastic that they're trying to sell,” Smith said.

She said there were many differences between Brazil and the U.S.

Because Brazil is south of the equator, seasons are reversed. Summer lasts from December to February. This means that Christmas is celebrated in warm weather, which Smith was not used to. Additionally, she said that the family she stayed with put their decorations up the night before the holiday, another thing she was not familiar with.

She said that air conditioning was not common because the heat would require it to run constantly, which would be too expensive.

The currency is called real. Two reals is equal to a dollar, making conversion simple.

Brazilian food emphasized beef, other meats and rice. She said that weekly barbecues were popular.

She also said that fresh fruits are more common in Brazil than in the U.S.

However, there was one food she missed.

“I missed the peanut butter sometimes,” Smith said, noting that there was a type of peanut butter there, but it was not the same as in the U.S.

She said that the southern part of the country had a strong European influence. In fact, the city she stayed in had its own Oktoberfest celebration.

The most popular television programs belonged to a genre that is somewhat maligned in the U.S.

“They love soap operas,” Smith said.

She also said that Brazilians recycled more than Americans and were more ecologically conscious.

Brazilians speak Portuguese.

Smith found the language to be difficult to learn. Before traveling to Brazil, she bought a Rosetta Stone program for Portuguese. She said it was hard to really know the language until getting to Brazil and actually using it.

“I speak Portuguese now, thank goodness,” Smith said.

She spent the entire period in Brazil, with no trips back home. She used Skype to talk to family and friends.

“Skype was a great help,” Smith said.

She made plenty of friends at her school, including other exchange students, who she had plenty in common with.

“Everyone sort of felt a little homesick,” Smith said.

In the fall, Smith will go on to attend Hope College in Holland, Mich.

Since coming back to the U.S., she has kept up with friends in Brazil using Skype. She said she would like to return some day.

“I really want to go back for the World Cup (which will be held in 2014),” Smith said.