Thanks mom, no one in south America will ever be able to pronounce my name.

A few things I’ve noticed since settling in.

There are pretty people on our trip. It kind of hit us the first night when we all had showered and shaved a couple times. Our clothes were clean and we all just kind of looked at each other and went in Borat accents “very nice”

No one in South America can pronounce Meredith. It’s something with the “th” at the end and the second “e” that’s silent, mixed with the “di” that apparently doesn’t mix well with the “th” already mentioned. Encountering similar problems with people who speak Spanish and Italian.
How the conversation usually goes:
-Hi, what’s your name?
--Meredith, nice to meet you.
-blank face. Long awkward pause.
-mary gee tee?
--mer a deth
-smirk in a way that we both understand means that those sounds will never make their way out of that person’s mouth
-maaarrr a geee te?
-one more time please?
--Anne. Thanks parents.

Everyone here is nice. Maybe it’s the fabulous coffee or the weather or the parks or something in the water.

Speaking of the weather. It’s schizophrenic here. Saturday was mid 60s. Sunday was about 40. rained all afternoon. Monday was freezing—I almost bought a pea coat because I was so cold and thought I would get some use out of it. Glad I saved my money because...today it’s in the 70s. I’m sick and I know why. My body is angry with the weather.


Day by Day

We’ve been in Curitiba for just under a week now, and I really do love it here. I’m not sure how to describe the place we are staying. There’s two floors of rooms, usually with 3 people in each with one bathroom per room. Also a large kitchen, laundry, and computer lab. I’m rooming with another Meredith from UNC, who arrived in Curitiba 2 weeks before us. She is sort of doing our program but focusing specifically on sustainable low-income housing in the city. She is also very much like her older sister (who I know from the coral reef trip over spring break) which is a very good thing.

Our first day was Thursday. We had an orientation at the PUC-PR (pronounced Pooki) campus, which was a little overwhelming. We’re only on a small part of the university though and the students here are on their winter break so it feels smaller now than it did a few days ago. Afterwards we went to one of the municipal buildings that in charge of planning growth and development for the city.

In Curitiba, it's cool to recycle! Plastics, metal, paper, food, etc.

A map of one of the bus stops. It stops in front of one of 9 municipal buildings throughout the city. You can get a marriage license, go to the bank, see a lawyer, get important documents, check out a meeting room, eat, and watch sports all in one place, accessible by several buses in your section of town.

Friday night was my first experience at a Brazilian nightclub…once is definitely enough. Brazilian guys really like American girls, and they are very open about expressing their adoration…too open for my taste. The bar was called Woods and is like a country western dance club (apparently all the rage right now in Brazil). They dress in plaid and cowboy hats and have a Brazilian version of US country music.

our first night out....clean!
Sarah, Me, Maria, Natalia, Alex

Saturday was our first full (and much needed) free day in the city. Megan, Lily and I took the bus downtown and walked around for a few hours on the pedestrian only streets—there’s so many! It’s crazy how much of the center city is devoted to people and public transit and not for cars and parking. It feels so alive downtown, lots of small stores and the stone streets filled with people and tables for outdoor restaurant seating. We stopped by the Cathedral, which was beautiful and ran into Nick and Meredith. We walked a couple more blocks and ended up in one of the several public parks Curitiba is known for. Found a restaurant in the middle of the park and had hamburgers, french fries, and beer…in honor of Independence Day.
Word better pronounced in Portuguese: Ketchup…ca-shoo-pe.

Our tourist picture in the park downtown. Meghan, Meredith, Lily, Nick

That night was fun too. We ate at a restaurant and bar that had a small band play Brazilian music later on. People stay out late here. The last of our group left the bar around 3:00 and the bar was still packed.

Sunday we went to a flea market which went on for at least a mile downtown. Got presents for the family. Ate a two hour lunch at a restaurant known for its local and organically grown food (Yay!)

all done for now. i'll add more in a few days.