Robert, Yasmin, and I going to watch the Brazil vs. Belgium game in the local futebol arena.
As I am ending my third week in Brazil, I am finally getting into a routine and starting to feel as close to a true Curitiban as possible. Despite the fact that I am still on the same level as a toddler when it comes to speaking Portuguese of course. I now pass the same people in the mornings on the way to the lab, have joined a gym, and the local bakery security guard now recognizes me and says, "Boa noite," every evening on my way home from work (which was an extremely large achievement for me). My time at the lab has finally become comfortable as well! I am splitting my time between two research projects, and am enjoying working on both of those; although it seems every project that I have heard about so far at the institute sounds interesting to me. Everyone at the Pelé Pequeno Principe Institute has made me feel at home, and it feels like I have been in Brazil for way longer than three weeks because of how comfortable I am now.
There are many characteristics that I love about Brazilians, but one of the main ones is how at home they are able to make others feel. So much so, that I have now started accidentally including myself whenever I talk about Brazil. For instance, when Brazil has played in the World Cup I have been known to say, "I hope WE win today," and was as devastated as any Brazilian when WE lost to Belgium.
Another thing that I love about the Brazilians I know is how far out of their way they will go to help others. A man I work with in the lab has brought a lot of typical Brazilian food to work just so that Robert and I could try it. Another woman from work took me to her Zumba class with her, and took me shopping for the black flare jeans that everyone here is wearing once she heard how much I liked them. My trainer at the gym even learned a few English phrases so that he could tell me that I am doing a great job in English. These are small gestures, but have really made my time in Brazil wonderful.
While I will continue to enjoy my new routine that I have created, I have also had such a wonderful time visiting other parts of Brazil and look forward to other trips that I have planned in the future. It is so fun to talk with the other people who work in the lab and hear where their places to visit are. They have been great about helping me find cool places to go, but it is also very clear how much they love Curitiba. I can't wait to see even more of Curitiba, make friends with even more Curitibans, and hopefully I will soon learn a few more phrases in Portuguese other than how to ask where the bathroom is.
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