This is the biggest soccer stadium of Curitiba, where Coritiba Foot Ball Club plays. Coritiba is the Curitiba's soccer club with the biggest amount of fans, is 33 times Parana Champion and was Brazilian Champion once (1985).

Quick stop in Curitiba . . .

Our way of keeping track of the distances traveled during our journey . . .

From there another 6 hours south ish to curitiba, very cute wee place, we just wandered around town and spent an afternoon lying on a random peice of grass we found, very nice :)

The first thing we noticed about Curitiba as we pulled up in the bus early in the morning is that everyone outside was wearing jackets. Out of the bus awaited us the coolest breath of fresh air we´ve had since Peru. It was quite nice to be out of the hot humid sticky tropics. We had a definite agenda once we got off the bus. Buy train tickets for the next day, buy bus tickets out of here, and find cheap lodging. Done, done, and done. We chose to stay at a cheap place right next to the train/bus station as we would be leaving quite early in the morning the next day, We took a fat nap and headed out to explore the city. We were hungry for some lunch and came upon a mall. Only this wasn´t any ordinary mall, it was actally really nice and fun to be in. It was in an old train station and was really open for light, airy, and had awesome food options. So we ate some lunch and got some much needed cash - all we needed to do right in this lovely mall. After the mall, we went to look at some movie houses to see if they weren´t playing the same old Hollywood garbage. They weren´t but it was all in Portuguese so we didn´t catch one anyway. We walked pretty much the entire city and it was very different form all the other places we´ve been to in Brazil. There were a ton of parks and pedestrian streets, only a few homeless people, and no beggars. We read that Brazilians who live in Curitiba have a very high quality of life compared to the rest of the country and we could really sense that, but it also looked more like northern Europe and less like Brazil. After walking around for hours and hours, we did some food shopping for our upcoming camping trip and ate at the awesome mall, again. Off to bed early to catch some sleep before the early train ride. We arrived to the train station early (8am sharp) to catch the 815 train because it seemed that the trains run on time. Ha, it may appear like a Scandanavian city, but we´re still in Brazil so the train was running late. We boarded the train and were happy to be travelling on a real train this time (not a school bus with wheels, which was the last one). We were very content to stare out the window in our sleepy haze but were abruptly interrupted by a man standing in the front of the car on a microphone. Apprently he thought that he was a guide as well as a stand up commedian so he made terrible jokes and called out everything we were about to see right before we saw it. "There is a house coming up on your left, there is going to be a humungous gorge on your right, and in 2 minutes we will go into a tunnel". Bah! Besides the ruined surprised at every turn, the ride was beautiful and once we were out of Curitiba, we were barrelling down through lush mountains. We aimed to get off at the national park called Murumbi and we were there in no time. We hopped off the train and no one else got off, but instead looked at us like we were a bit crazy. "Is that a bad thing?" Danilo asked. "No" replied Emily, "that is a good thing." This national park is the best park we have been to in terms of facilities, maps, and caretaking. There was a really nice camp site next to the train tracks with bathrooms and showers. We signed in (we probably signed a waiver that said "if you die on this mountain, it is not our fault", only to realize later though) set up tent, and started our hike. At least we thought it was a hike, but we quickly realized it was a climb. We ascended around 700 meters on a 2.5 hour trail that more resembled an army obstacle course. Ropes, ladders, chains, giant staples (aka. hand and foot grips), the whole nine yards. As we got closer to the top, the trail became more and more like monkey bars hanging over the side of the mountain. I mean, we were really hanguing off the side, with the rock angled at least 70 degrees, and holding onto a chain, giant staples, or ropes for dear life. We would not reccommend this hike for anyone who has a slight fear of heights. As usual, it was so worth it when we reached the top and checked out the views. This mountain was part of a coastal range and from this peak we could see a lot of the range and the ocean in the distance. Gorgeous. After eating some lunch at the top, we started our descent, trying to get down before the sun. The hike down was harder than the way up as we were already exhausted from all the physical exertion of the obstacle course. It felt like doing the 2.5 hour obstacle course twice. Only on the way down, you put  all your weight in your legs everytime. We made it down as fast as possible, beating the sun. We were sore puppies after it was all said and done so Em showered (too cold for D), cooked dinner, and passed out.

So due to some serrendipitous accidents, I found myself in Curitiba, a tiny but really interesting city in southern brazil. One of my mom's oldest friends, Siomara, lives here. In fact, when i was first organizing moving down to brazil, she offered me a place to live! So i spent the morning tracking down her phone number; luckily she was listed and we hooked up later at her office.

After leaving her a message, I hit the town. I had learned alot about Curitiba from the German girls, people on the bus, and guidebook research I'd done on the bus. For a small city there was a lot to do. After getting breakfast at the Mercado Municipal (right by the bus terminal, totally worth checking out), I hoofed it down to the botanical gardens, where I wanderd around taking picures of flowers and getting attacked by local birds. Don't fuck with the "quero-quero's."

Afterwards, I took a bus to the downtown area where the german girls told me I cuold entertain myself walking around. It was a monday, so all the museums were closed, but there was ´plenty enough to see on my feet. Took way too many pictures.

Curitiba is way different from other brazilian cities I've seen. It's clean. There aren't poor people everywhere. everything is really modern and well organized. It's like brazil's seattle.

After meeting up with Siomara, she insisted that I crash at her house (which i was kinda hoping for). Her family took me out to dinner at this Italian Rodizio in the Italian quarter (santa felicidade). Little did I know, the restaurant is actually in the guiness book of records for most food served in an hour or something like that. Good food, too.

I was hoping to hang out with the grermans that night, but we were all too tired so after getting back from dinner, I crawled into bed and passed out.

Well, the train to Paranagua didn’t work out. I didn’t want to miss another world cup game so we elected to not go on Tuesday, and the train had already left for today (Monday) so we were out a train ride. This was actually the only reason we came to Curitiba was the ride the scenic train down to the coastal town on Paranagua. Instead we spent the day walking through the shopping center of town. There I found an internet café and was able to do a little MySpacing. Dad was not doing good as he was suffering from the runs. “Don’t drink the water,” they say, but it’s not that easy. Back in Rio and on the TAM flights thus far, we had ice in our drinks and this really hit dad bad. After using all his prescription pills he had obtained before leaving the States he was hurting for relief. We found a little drug store directly adjacent from the Tibagi. There dad was able to buy an entire bottle of the same prescription pills the he had gotten in the States for next to nothing. On our return to the hotel was asked the girl at the front desk, who was very mousey and had a squeaky voice and spoke no English whatsoever, where Rudy was. She didn’t know a Rudy. We had seen her just the day before with him and she was talking to him. Dumbfounded, we rode the elevator to the 11^th floor wondering what happened to Rudy. We were in bad need of doing some laundry and had found a little laundromat just down the street from the hotel. Our laundry total came out to 34R$, which was a bargain compared to our pervious laundry bill in Rio. While at the laundromat I notice a little bar right across the street. I made a mental not of this and this was where I wanted to watch Brazil play Ghana. Rudy was at the front desk when we returned and we asked him why the girl didn’t know his name. He told us that in Portuguese it was pronounced “ew-G.” Looking again at the restaurant advertisements I picked up a card for a churrascaria, a Brazilian barbeque. Rudy said it was one of the best in all of Curitiba and he called us a Radiotáxi and we took the three mile drive to the Churrascaria PAIOL. The food was amazing. Most of all I loved the barbequed chicken hearts! After eating our fill we were invited by the man in charge to see how it was all made. In the back was an amazing setup and we got to see the giant barbeque where all the meat was cooked. We rode another Radiotaxi back to the Tibagi and passed out for the night—stuffed.

The airplanes in this country not on reliable schedules whatsoever, as they are always late. We checked in for our flight today from Brasilia to Curitiba early, thinking that we wouldn’t have to wait too long. The boarding time was 10:12am and the departure time was supposed to be 10:52. Well, we were told by a Brazilian girl in her twenties that all planes are like this. They all run late. It was good to hear this from someone else, because we had waited so long I was worrying if we were at the correct terminal or not. Finally the plane arrived and we left. On the ride from CWB (Curitiba’s airport) to our hotel I saw something very disgusting and disheartening—a Wal-Mart. I was so disappointed that they had Wal-Mart’s in Brazil. I was sure they did, but to see something like Wal-Mart, that is the epitome of the American capitalist vermin I began to feel sick. Part of me wanted to go to the Wal-Mart and see if it was any different then its American counterparts. I hope I never see another Wal-Mart on this trip. Our hotel was one I had found on the internet. The Hotel Tibagi was nice and cheep and had an amazing lactation. It said it was only one black from the shopping garces and it was right. The man at the front desk was named Rudy. His English was great and we later found out that he had been a vendor at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena a few years back. Our room was great! It was located on the 11^th floor and we had a decent view of the street below. In the lobby of the Tibagi was numerous cards advertising restaurants and eateries. We had some amazing pizza while in Rio and both dad and I were interested in more Brazilian style pizza. Rudy helped us order a pizza for a local pizzeria. As we sat in our room, enjoying the pizza we knew we’d have a good time in Curitiba. Tomorrow we are going to look in to riding the train to Paranagua. 

Watch you don't stuff your self silly here the food is sooooo cheap!

today, we all handed in our final papers.  nearly an entire semester's worth full of work.  it felt..GOOD.  i definitely had mixed feelings though.  on the one hand, i was happy to be completed my field work and looked forward to travelling and enjoying Brazil without school.  and yet, on the other hand, i was saddened to think that i would no longer see the people i have grown so familiar with throughout the past semester.  goodbyes were said, and a few tears were shed by some of the gals, but all in all, i think im ready to head for the Northeast.

this fieldschool experience has been significant for me not only because of the places we visited and the things we did, but more importantly was the people that i met (both Brazilian and Canadian).  the friendships that i developed on this trip will, im sure, extend beyond the short time frame of this field school. 

my friend Sarah and i are ready to head for Salvador, Bahia in the Northeast of Brazil.  we are so excited and anticipate the different culture up there.  the food, the people, the music and all will be so different,  it will be great! 

as i close this short chapter of my life, i look back at it as yet another eye-opening, challenging experience where i learned an incredible amount about myself, and the world around me.  to those who were a part of this growth, i thank you, as always...

northeast, here i come!

dL

hey all,

a few of us took the opportunity to hop on the "tourist line" bus route that takes you to all the hotspots thru out Curitiba.  unfortunately, we were rained on HARD about 5 times thru out the day, interspersed with crazy amounts of heat.  for the most part, Curitiba is usually like Vancouver in Spring, but recently, has been raining a bit more. 

working hard on finishing paper....  field school is ending soon :( 

pictures attached to show our visits, but i have no time for explanations.  just know that all these sites are from Curitiba, the city i've been living in for the past two months.

much love,
dL

here's a post that has nothing to do with Brazil..

i miss my guitar...i've held off fairly ok for the past 7 weeks, but during stressful times, such as writing a massive paper, i love to chill with my Norman guitar. 

it's not a stellar guitar, and i am by no means close to being a talented musician... but i love the pause in my life when it's just Norman and me. 

perhaps i'll have to find a music store here and "test" a couple of guitars.

dL

hey all

alright, so...  we have about one week left in the Field School, and as you might be able to guess...we are BUSY!  many of us are scrambling to complete our final interviews with informants, write up our paper, and prepare for a presentation of our field work for this coming Monday and Tuesday.  needless to say, we are stressed to the max, and not to mention wanting this to end as soon as possible, and yet not, cos then we will all go our separate ways, and life in the Field School with each other everyday will be over (wow, long sentence!) 

but amidst this intense period, we managed to take our last class trip to Ilha do Mel (Honey Island) and i must say, it was well needed and thoroughly enjoyed!  Ilha do Mel is off the coast of Parana.  takes about 2 hours to get to the coast by van.  we then took a ferry boat, but it was more like a motorized putt putt boat.  imagine an island empty of cars, where the main form of transportation is by foot or bicycle...this was Ilha do Mel.  we got off the "ferry" and hiked for about 20 minutes before arriving at our "pousada" - a sort of B&B that are plentiful here in Brasil.  we got to stay at what seemed like THE best pousada on the island as it was RIGHT on the waterfront, and empty of tourists.  folks, im not joking when i say that we shared the entire beach of Praia Grande (Big Beach) with no more than 10 other people... all at different times.  at one point, i brought out a chair to have some down time on the beach by myself...and had the entire beach to myself!  it was surreal to have the Atlantic stretching forever infront of me all by myself.  this was by far, the best trip for me.  Foz and Rio were gargantuous trips in terms of hitting some must-see places in Brazil, Ilha do Mel filled my "i have arrived in Brasil" gap in my heart.  the weather was warm, the people were warm, the food was warm, it was all, just perfect.  unfortunately, we had to return to Curitiba to finish our work...which we currently are scrambling to do! 

hopefully all will go well!

brief things i'd like to elaborate on more but don't have time...sorry if there are repeats, can't remember if i already talked about some of them -- events in November:

• went to a Black Eyed Peas concert, and had the time of my life...who knew i'd enjoy their music!
  
• during various interviews, Brasilians were very warm with us..and kept on saying everyone we passed in the hallways (of the school) "meet my Canadian friend!  she is studying Communications!"
• visited a posh, private university, and then UFPR, a public university..drastic differences in terms of quality of education, respect for professors, and facilities.  let's just say that even tho UFPR has nasty bathrooms, i'd opt to study there, instead of a private university.
• i love Canada.  when people here that i am Canadian, the conversation about multiculturalism comes up.  our group has had many opportunities to talk about how Canada celebrates different cultures as evidenced through education, programming, cultural communities within large cities, etc.  of the 12 of us, only 4 were born in Canada and "look" Canadian (as Brasilians would say).  the rest of us were born in other countries but fully identifiy ourselves as Canadian.  we made a "Canada Day" presentation in Portuguese for a group of Koreans learning Portuguese (let me tell you, that is WEIRD! talking to Koreans in Portuguese....!) and made french toast, and managed to find maple syrup!  everyone loved it!  and we shared more about our beautiful country. 
  
• my travelmate and i booked our trip for the Northeast, and can't wait!  travelling minus the studying... oh, we'll need the break after the paper is handed in!
  
• i love sugar cane juice...and lime.

hey all,

to those who are still wondering if i ever made it back safely from Rio... i did!  nothing crazy happened there, and no muggings or kidnappings occured.  we did however, have a splendid time there.  at the end of the trip, many of us were saying "ah man, why do we have to go back to Curitiba?!"  but alas, we are back in "school mode" working on our field work and our massive paper due at the end of the semester.

Thursday - we boarded our flight for Rio at around 8am and arrived about 2 hours later.  bus grabbed us and brought us to our nearly-beachfront hotel.  if you walk out the doors, turn right, and walk 20 steps, you're on the sandy beaches of Copacabana.  the day was pretty chill, as we all suited up in our bathing suits, grabbed some inexpensive beautiful embroidered sarongs, and napped on the beach for a couple of hours.  it was my first time in the Atlantic Ocean, and my, is it ever salty!  the waves were fun too.  i was pretty happy to just be there and just soak up the views.  many of you will know that im not much of a beach bum... but there's something about Brazilian beaches i think that has captured me.  the rain, however, eventually came which forced us to retreat to our hotel rooms....where my roomies and i napped while watching Gilmore Girls.  we than ate dinner, and slept some more.

Friday - the morning lead us to the site of Corcovado, where many of you may have seen the "Big Jesus" statue that oversees the city of Rio.  As the largest Catholic country in the world, i found it very appropriate that we paid a visit to this site.  unfortunately, it was SFU weather, and we were clouded over.  i could barely make out the outline of Jesus in my photos, and well, the sites below of the city of Rio were non-existant.  we essentially were in a giant cloud.  still, it was nice to have been there.  we made our way over to another view point called Pao de Acucar, or the Sugar Loaf.  clouded yet again, only a handful of us made our way up the cable car...i was not one of them.  instead, i stayed down below and ate churros from a vendor who filled them with doce de leite, or dulce de leche for you spanish speakers.  it was... delicious.  we also drank coconute juice on the shore of a smaller beach, more like a cove, that found.  for a moment, i thot i was back in BC because of the mountains!

Saturday - i went to Ipanema Beach just a 10 minute walk away from Copacabana.   gorgeous!  i think the majority of us preferred Ipanema because it had a nicer view, and in my opinon was less crowded.  spent the majority of the day there, and baked in the son, drank coconut juice and tasted an "acai" smoothie, a berry from the Amazon.  high energy, but also high calories!  we returned to the hotel, where i took the quickest shower of my life (not to mention having to get the sand out of my hair!) and made my way, along with 4 other guys, to Maracana - the world largest soccer stadium!  the game was between Curitiba team Atletico, and Rio team Flamengos. Flamengos won...but we still cheered for our team with other Atletico fans.  the stadium wasn't at full capacity, but it was stiill impressive to see the size, and the fans cheering back and forth.  we returned to the hotel to have dinner, and i decided to take a nap because we were going to a samba school later that evening around 11pm.  partway thru my sleep, Hayley and Sarah knock on my door saying that there is a meeting in our prof's room just to run over the rules for the evening.  you must hear me now...i was just sleeping, tired face, hair a little messy...we get up there, and "SURPRISE! PARABENS!  FELIZ ANIVERSARIO!" it was a birthday party for me, complete with brazilian chocolate cake (bringadeiro), and presents (two cute acryllic paintings of capoeiristas, a Rebelde [my favourite mexican telenovela that i watched everyday when i was in Ecuador!] beach towel, and an interchangeable necklack and bracelet).  i felt loved i tell ya.  ---SIDENOTE: my host mom also invited extended family over and Hayley invited our closer friends on the trip, Michael, Patrick and Gonzalo for a surprise party at our house the nite of our departure!  more Brazilian chocolate cake, with other tasty treats, and gifts---  yah, i felt loved, and couldn't believe i was spending yet another birthday abroad.  well, the nite had begun!  we made our way to the samba school called Salgueira and danced he nite away.  it was recommended by our prof!  samba evolved as an art form from the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio.  the school we went to taught this tradition, and also put on shows.  we were there with hundreds of other locals.  loads of percussion, really fast beats, and a ton of butts that i never knew could move that fast combined with a bunch of canadians bobbing around, drinking caipirinha, and soaking in the music.... good times.  we left at 3am...and thanked our prof for a good recommendation. 

Sunday - last day.  more Ipanema.  this time the Atlantic decided to bid me farewell.  walking out of the ocean with my friend Kathy, the wave caught me JUST as i stepped on the shore and proceeded to pull me into the water again, a couple of meters.  no problem.  EXCEPT, as i try to get up a wave comes over my back and pushes me into the shore scraping my leg against the sand....and pulls me back in again, and throws me back on to the shore. this continues for about 7 times back and forth.  all along, im laughing, weak unable to get up with all this water over me, and Kathy is standing there, pointing at me and laughing!!  she eventually made her way over to grab me, where we returned to the others to tell them of how the ocean got me!  flight home went well, and we're now back in Curitiba.

good news!  i've extended my trip (surprise, surprise??) to return on Dec. 18th, instead of the 2nd!  im hoping to travel up to the North Eastern part of Brazil, where the Afro-Brazilian culture is more apparent, and where the old capital, Salvador, is. 

thanks to all who sent me love and wishes on my day...i felt loved...very loved.  hope i haven't missed anything.  heard that it's raining mad in Vancouver, and flooding in Chilliwack?  if it makes you feel any better...the weather in Curitiba is very unpredictable.  this morning, i walked out with a jacket, and had a warm tea at the break....by lunch, it was a tank top, and shorts at home! 

much love
dL

hey all,

just a quick update cos i have to head out and run some errands, BUT sorry for no updates.  we haven't had internet at home for about a week now, and the extra time that i have is usually spent in class, or doing readings...  SO, for all those who wrote my emails, i'll get back to them soon.....after....
 
our trip to Rio de Janeiro!  we leave tomorrow morning around 5:30am and return late Sunday evening.  we've all been looking forward to this so much because we just handed in a 12 page paper.  will post photos for you guys, of course

the federal and state elections took place this past weekend and i got the chance to check out the whole process.  i went in with my host mom to where she votes, and it's soo different than in canada!  they have a digital way of voting.  basically, you go into the booth and there's a voting device where you have to type in the number of the party you want to vote for.  then a picture comes up with the face of the candidate and their name as well.  you confirm, and then that's your vote!  i also went to the location of where the final results were going to be broadcasted and saw loads of people waiting in anticipation.  if i didn't know it, i would have thot i was at a soccer game becuase people were cheering as they saw the votes increase for one candidate over another.  it was interesting to see how excited Brazilians get about politics.  tons of media were there, and i was also able to conduct a couple of interviews...in my broken Portuguese.  my topic for my fieldwork?  i've since changed it to studying how the media influences Brazilian Politics.  should be fun!

this past week, the weather has been warm, and humid.  but today, it's raining...finally!  im managing well with the food, the weather, and my classmates.  i think a couple of us have definitely bonded...and heck, a couple are even going out with each other.  interesting dynamics, to say the least.

for now, im off to "downtown" to grab some stuff, then back home to unwind, and pack for our trip to Rio.

hope you all had a happy halloween :)

much love
dL