It is currently my ninth day in São Paulo, Brasil, and I
must say that it has been a great experience so far. So, let me tell you a
little about what has been going on.
First, the ride from the airport to the Pousada was very interesting.
Of course, I was a little exhausted from the flight, but our driver kept me
going. He couldn’t speak much English and I couldn’t speak much Portuguese, so
we spent a lot of time trying to figure out what the other was saying. It was a
good thing that I had a pocket dictionary/translator handy. I found myself chuckling a lot
during the ride because the driver was playing a radio station with R&B
music in English. I had never heard any of the songs and the lyrics were quite
hilarious.
The Pousada where JD, Aikeem and I live is very interesting.
I had the hardest time carrying my luggage up the stairs when we first arrived…I
literally struggled. The rooms are small and remind me of dorm rooms, but I
like them. I will not comment on the bathroom haha! The kitchen is like the
hangout spot for everyone in the Pousada.
All of the people that I meet there are extremely nice and I often find
myself starting random conversations with them. It really helps me to learn/practice
my Portuguese skills and it’s just fun in general to get to know new people.
I work in Dr. Britto’s lab and it has been muito bem! It can
get quite busy sometimes because a lot of students come in and use the
equipment in the lab. I work with really nice people who are very patient in
teaching me different things. Sometimes we have difficulty with the
Portuguese/English barrier but it all adds to the experience. We all burst into
laughter when I jumble Spanish, Portuguese and English into one sentence. So
far I have learned how to slice mice brains on a microtome and I have also
helped out with a Bradford assay and Western Blotting. I have also learned some
immunohistochemistry techniques.
Well, that’s enough for now! Até logo!
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