Brazil foreign exchange student enjoys time in Montezuma and Iowa

MONTEZUMA — Caio Araujo, 15, a foreign exchange student from Maceio, Brazil is spending the school year in Montezuma.

Araugjo, arrived in Montezuma Aug. 24 and will return home at the close of the school year in May.

Araugjo is in 10th grade at Montezuma. He’s living with Brian and Liesl Roorda and family of rural Deep River.

“They are a very good family,” said Araugjo.

In the fall, Araugjo participated in football and cross-country, and he is currently playing junior varsity basketball with plans to run the 400 and 800 meter races in track in the spring.

Araugjo is participating on the radio broadcast team now in speech. He is taking AP computer science classes and integrated technology from Mrs. Pargeon.

“Those are two classes I don’t have in Brazil,” he said.

“I have been learning English as a second language for seven years,” said Araugjo.

In addition to his school activities, Araugjo helped Brian with harvesting operations in the fall. He also played golf at the Montezuma Country Club for the first time and also went bowling at Star Lanes. One of his goals is to improve his golf scores.

“I attended a church youth group in Des Moines just before Thanksgiving where we studied God’s word,” he said. “I got to stay in a motel and played a lot of games with the other youth.”

And recently, he flew to Florida where he spent a few days with his uncle and aunt who live there.

Maceio, Brazil has just under a million residents. Araugjo said his school has 1,000 students with 300 students in his graduating class.

When asked about the cold Iowa weather, Araugjo said it is always warm or hot all year in Brazil.

“It is very challenging for me,” he said of the cold.

When asked what led him to participate in a foreign exchange program, Araugjo said his family encouraged him to sign up for the experience.

He said his sister participated in a six-month foreign exchange program in 2024 in Canada.

His dad is a software engineer and his mom is a dentist.

He’s enjoying eating Iowa food and said Liesl is a good cook.

“Caio has been the perfect match for our family,” said Liesl. “We have really enjoyed having him here.

“He is eager to be a part of everything he can and experience it all. We have learned so much from him about his home country and we have had great conversations about the U.S. and Brazil and many of the happenings in the world,” said Liesl.

“His time here has been very special for us and he has become a part of our family.”

Araugjo said the best part of the experience is learning about Iowa culture and meeting new people.

Araugjo plans to return to Iowa or the United States and earn his bachelor’s degree in computer science after he graduates from high school.