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  1. Scenes from a Brazilian May

    Wednesday, June 23, 2010

    I love how blogger always loads my photos in reverse order. Anyway, below are just a few of the shots I took during my time in Brazil. There are many more on the blog my Team Leader, Doug, coordinated. The link for that is included in the sidebar to the right. I encourage you to look through and read through that blog for many more details!

    The iconic tree of Curitiba.

    Iguazu Falls. See the video below of the 275 falls that go on forever at the confluence of 2 rivers in 3 countries: Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.




    Downtown Morrettes, a sleepy town on the coast of southern Brazil in the state of Parana.

    Traditional Portuguese architecture in Morrettes.

    The pier in Morrettes.

    View of Tangui Park from the top of the waterfall in Curitiba.


    The Wire Opera house, which was constructed on the site of a former quarry. Redevelopment of public spaces at its best.


    Riding the city's tourist line with my teammates and team leader.

    The remains of yet another full course meal at a huge Italian restaurant in the Santa Felicidades area of Curitiba.

    Brazilian BBQ friends.

    The regional elections tribunal. In Brazil, each citizen of voting age is REQUIRED by law to vote or face a fine. Brazil was the first country to have a reliable electronic voting system...even before the infamous "hanging chad".


    My generous guides and translators in the City of Pinnhais.

    The magnificently manicured grounds of the Botanical Gardens in Curitiba.

    The green house at the Botanical Gardens.

    View of the City of Curitiba from the panoramic viewing deck of the Oi Cellular tower.

  2. Back to Life

    Friday, June 11, 2010

    I'm just home from Brazil, and my how things simultaneously change and stay the same. I'll let you read about and see photos from my team's adventures with Rotary International in our blog here. I think we (especially team leader extraordinaire, Doug) did a pretty good job of capturing the highlights. I'll post some more of my own photos once my new MacBook Pro arrives!!

    People keep asking us all if we had fun on the trip, and so soon after landing, it is hard to characterize our time in Brazil. During our trip I felt amazed, frustrated, happy, sad, enlightened, stupefied, and everything else on the spectrum of emotion. I learned that the world is getting smaller everyday and globalization is happening now. Brazil is a bigger and better melting pot than the U.S. No one in the South looks like a "traditional" Brazilian. The European influence is very apparent -- Germans, Dutch, and Italians -- and peppers the food, the architecture, and the language. I learned that I can pick up Portuguese faster than I thought, but not fast enough to form sentences. I learned there is a lot of good in the world, and many are working to protect it. I learned so much more, and I am likely to continue to reap the benefits of this trip. Additionally, this experience is unique and likely never to be repeated -- no other program is likely to give me the opportunity to meet the incredible individuals I met or see all the things I was able to see in ONE month. It was an incredible experience and I am so happy to be home.

    The major reason I am so happy to be home: I am engaged! So, with this big trip over and done, I am about to embark on one of life's biggest trips -- marriage. This puts the home buying plans on hold for now. At least I know that when the time comes to buy, I am ready for it! For now, though, I am enjoying time with my fiance (!!), friends, planning for the future, and all the other perks of being home in the States: toilets that flush, drinking tap water, using my cell phone whenever I like, and choosing my own schedule.

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    TRIP STATS:
    Number of host families: 7
    Number of hotel stays: 3
    Number of buffets eaten: 100s
    Number of Portuguese words I understood: max. 10
    Number of Portuguese words I learned: max. 2
    Modes of transportation utilized: planes, trains, automobiles, buses, walking/hiking (sadly, no boats)
    Worst moment: realizing I wouldn't be able to call home on a regular basis
    Best moment: Contributing a tile mosaic to a Goodwill Tree and listening to an amazing pianist (see our team's blog entry #23: An amazing family, to know more)