Today was as sweet as a passion fruit gelato with a dash of coconutsprinkles.

Some snacks and the Brazilian soda. Spaghetti. The fruit. Breakfast. Pineapple mint drik. 

Adicionar legenda

Adicionar legenda

Today started with a brisk walk through a nearby park. At seven in the morning, the park was full of health-minded Brazilians. The park had paved trails, dirt paths and a bike lane. I even saw a few people on rollerblades. There was a gigantic colonial-style playhouse for the kids and lots of exercise equipment that looked more like playground equipment.

  After our walk and a shower, we ate a yummy fruit-filled breakfast. The only item I didn't like was the mini club sand which had mayonnaise and ketchup (which wasn't even mixed together! Brazilians have not discovered Utah fry sauce). 

   After breakfast we had a meeting with our local guide, Gina, who is American but has moved to Rio. During her presentation I learned lots of facts about Brasil. Brazil was founded by the Portuguese in the 1500s. The colonies eventually pushed all the native to the north. Brazil became a republic in 1888. Brazil had three major booms: the sugar boom, the gold boom and the coffee boom. Slaves from Africa were used for the sugar fields. Brazil was the last country to abolish slavery. Five million slaves were brought to Brazil during the 16th to 19th centuries. Sugar cane is grown in the Northeast which is where Teresina is located. 

  The current president of Brasil is Dilma Rousseff. She is the first female president. There are 27 political parties in Brasil (just a few more than us). It is a law that all Brazilians must vote. There is no electoral college so it is based on popular vote. 

  The currency in Brazil is called Real or Reais if there is more than one. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. Family is very important. Guarana is a Brazilian soft drink from native fruit. 

  The school year goes from Feb  to June with winter break in July and then to November. There are three sessions of school in a day. The first is from seven am to noon. The second is from one to five and the last is from five to ten at night. Students only attend one session but teachers can teach all three and usually at different schools. Sports are not associated with schools but are local teams. 

  The Northeast, where my partner Erica and I are going, is in the poorest state and has a low literacy rate (30%). It used to be a bigger percentage but the government has worked hard to close the gap. A lot of students in the poorer rural areas drop out of school to work and lots of students work during the day and go to the night session of school. Education is one of the government's top priorities. 

  After our meetings, we went to the main tower and looked out over Brasilia. It's designed just like Washington DC (the mall). Then we went to a shopping center where I ate Brazilian spaghetti and had a yummy gelato. My favorite thing about Brazil is the fruit and my least favorite is not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet. There is a little bucket next to very toilet :).