Final Week in Curitiba

The past week and weekend in Curitiba was great. It's a night and day comparison from staying in Rio. From the people to the cities structure Curitiba seems like the more favorable city to live, while Rio is more of a vacation lovers paradise.

Starting last Monday, I decided to explore Curitiba through the bus system going to the city center where there are plenty of malls and restaurants. Walking around something I noticed much more in Curitiba was the presence of recyclable trash cans separated by what material the trash is. In Rio there are simply dumpsters and they are few and far between, Curitiba's city streets are much cleaner than Rio's and a lot of this has to do with the cities past mayor's and council members. Upon first arriving in Curitiba it reminded me of a Europe city in its design and layout, there is also a strong European heritage in Curitiba, it has the 2nd largest Polish heritage behind Poland and there is a large German and Japanese influence as well. Since a lot of the citizens are from Europe and other parts of the developed world I think their cultures have been carried on to Curitiba with the efficient trash pick up and transportation system. One thing I noticed the past week was the large amount of civilian trash collectors. In the 1970's the Curitiba mayor by the name of Jamie Lerner decided to set up an incentive system to civilians who pick up trash. Depending on the amount collected it can be exchanged for food stamps or bus passes. Such a smart idea to keep the streets clean and give all social classes access to food and transportation. Walking around the city there are multiple people with large carts collecting trash, cardboard and any other garbage around the city and at the end of the day they will exchange it. From a local Curitibano, that I've talked with they have praised how effective this system has been for the city, especially when comparing the city to other Brazilian cities that are often dirty with overfull garbage cans.

On Tuesday I went to an after school program called Futebol da Rua. There I along with other volunteers worked with elementary school kids on some English and also played some soccer with them. It was a great place as the kids were really engaged and the teacher's were really supportive and glad we were there with the children. Also, on Tuesday was a volunteers birthday and we went to a Pastel buffet restaurant. A pastel is like a  calzone only it is a little smaller and different things are filled inside it. At the restaurant I feasted on cheese, Mexican, pizza, beef, chicken, white chocolate, dark chocolate, and shrimp pastels. They are rather small which is nice so that you can try different types and the waiter's continuously bring pastels around until everyone is finished. So far I think this has been one of my favorite dishes within Brazil.

Wednesday was another great day, we went to a Favela about a half an hour from Curitiba and ran two soccer practices in the morning and then in the afternoon. I'd say this Favela reminded me the most of my time in Rio, there are plenty of stray dogs roaming around in the streets and the roads are not in the best shape. However, this was probably my favorite experience so far in Rio as the kids were engaged and worked hard throughout the entire time the were on the pitch. There were a full kids with hot tempers that needed to be calmed down, but that happens everywhere and something else that I found humbling was that a lot of the kids were playing on the hot turf with no shoes, just simply playing with their feet. I tried it once and I thought my feet were going to catch on fire. However, one thing I have appreciated with soccer is that literally anyone call play it. Rich or poor all you really need is a ball, some space and markers for goals which makes the sport great. Playing with the neighborhood children around the Favela was a great time and it was surprising at how much this Favela on the outskirts of the developed Curitiba resembles the Rio favela's so much. Overall, Wednesday was probably my favorite day in Curitiba so far, aside from having a great time in the Favela I also got to try another Brazilian dish called Feijoada, it was another amazing dish that consisted of beef, pork, beans, and rice.

Thursday and Friday were great day's as well I played some more soccer and also went to a fruit market where I bought the biggest and best apples I've ever had in my life. Another great thing about the bus system here is that it's set up a like a subway in that each stop tells you all the stops on each line and where to transfer at. I'm not too sure the buses in the U.S. do this and I know for a fact Rio didn't do it either making travel by bus difficult at times. Also, on Thursday I practiced some Portuguese with some Brazilian friends of the volunteer coordinator. It's a tough language in terms of remembering all the different verbs and how to conjugate them, but I'm learning new words everyday making me feel comfortable when speaking to Brazilians.. whether they understand me or not! Friday I went to the cities most popular attraction the Botanical Gardens. Built in 1970's the Gardens were built, like much of the parks in Curitiba in a swampy area that had irrigation systems installed to prevent flooding in the city. The Gardens were huge and it was a nice place to walk around and hang out on a hammock. Friday night was a good time as well I along with a couple other volunteers went to a friend of the organization I work for's house for dinner. An economics major in college I hit it off with the husband of the family. He really knew a lot about the economy of Brazil and also it's comparisons to the United States. When mentioning my project on economic inequality and sustainability  he thought I chose two of the best cities in Brazil to stay in, due to the large presence of inequality in Rio and Curitiba's notable sustainability methods. His name was Eduardo and he currently works for the government as some sort of economic planner involving land, it sounded sort of complicated, but it was great hearing his opinion on the current status of Brazil's government.

Brazil is currently in a crisis right now as their president Dilma Rouseff has an extremely low approval rating of below 20% and there has been talks of impeachment. Thursday night she gave a speech on the TV similar to a State of the Union Address and people in Curitiba were banging pots and pans on the streets in disapproval of the president. The president has lost support as the economy has contracted the last few quarters and the country is entering a recession with a weakening currency. A major contributor to this is the largest company in Brazil, Petrobras is in a large bribery scandal with billions of $ believed to be corrupt. To put this in comparison it would be like Wal Mart or Apple getting caught up in a scandal, but the thing about Petrobras is that it is partially owned (64%) by the Brazilian Government and the current Brazilian president Dilma use to be a board member for the company before becoming president in 2010. Therefore a lot of government officials are getting involved in the scandal. Too put it simply it is going to be an absolute mess and lots of people should and probably will get put in jail as the scandal unfolds.

On Saturday I helped out with some more English classes and played more soccer. Then later on in the day we went to the Circus on a field trip with some students we help teach and play soccer with. The place was small, but the performers we great doing magic tricks and trapeze. Sunday we went to a small city called Morretes, situated in the middle of the Atlantic Rainforest the city has great seafood and was nice to walk around and try a couple new Brazilian food and drinks. I tried a pulled pork dish called barreado that also included some sort of flour as well as rice. The waiter showed us how to make it and it tasted like some sort of Chili that was delicious. Then there was a fruit from the amazon I tried call Acai. It's everywhere in Brazil and typically it is blended with banana's and granola to make a smoothie. The drink I had was called Caldo de Cana and its pretty much grounded up sugarcane. It tasted like a sweater version of lemonade. After exploring the city of Morretes we trained back to Curitiba through the Rainforest. The views were amazing seeing waterfall's, bridges, and large landscapes of the Rainforest it was breathtaking.

That about concludes my week in Curitiba. Thursday I am heading to Manaus in the Amazon Rainforest where I will be going on a Jungle tour for 2 days. The weather will be hot and humid with an average high of 98 degrees before humidity kicks in. It's hard to believe I have just a little over a week in Brazil.

Tchau!