Pedro during his exchange in Barcelona

By: Pedro Braña (Former student level C1)

Pedro Ângelo Teles (16) is a student and water polo athlete from Rio de Janeiro. With no prospects for the sport in his home country, he took the opportunity to do an exchange program in Barcelona, ​​Spain, a world power in polo.

“In Brazil we have little to none water polo culture. Out there in Europe, if you become a professional you can make a living from it. Here, it’s impossible. Even if you become a pro, you have to have another job outside”, says Pedro.

This journey started when Pedro got in touch with a program from BIWPA – Barcelona International Water Polo Academy – through colleagues at the club where he plays, named Fluminense.

As much as he has always played sports in his life, such as football, judo and swimming, polo emerged as Pedro’s new passion in 2017, largely due to the influence of his father, Adonai.

Adonai accompanied his son on the trip, extending their vacation to spend some time together. Altogether, there were more than 3 weeks of travel, including a visit to London in order to get to know the English capital, followed by 12 days in Barcelona for the exchange.

“Before December came, I didn’t realize how close the trip was. Then, a couple of weeks before the departure, I was very nervous, but soon after the first day I calmed down. There were four Brazilians there too. It made things easier.”

Pedro’s routine included two training sessions a day, morning and night, and almost no time to enjoy the city. “The first training session lasted from 7:40 am to 10:30 am, then I had to go back to the hotel as I couldn’t stay in the dorm, so I rested during the afternoons and at night there was another two-hour training session until close to 9 pm”, says Pedro.

The language was not a challenging factor, “Everyone there spoke English. I was in an international class, so most of the people there were Americans. And the coaches also spoke English”, explains Pedro. However, it served as an incentive for him to learn Spanish. “When I came back I thought about how I wanted to go back one day, about the need to learn a third language, so I started studying Spanish”, concluded.

For his future, Pedro looks for his possibilities both in Brazil and abroad, also trying to involve the sport. “The best possibility would be with a scholarship to study abroad. I know that the United States also has colleges where I can play and study. But I liked the exchange model in Spain, maybe I’d do a semester there”, completed Pedro.

This is one of many opportunities that will appear in Pedro’s life, one he relished as much as possible, expanding his horizons and serving as an inspiration for the young man to take ever greater steps moving forward.

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