Hello! We have arrived in Brazil and have enjoyed starting to explore the city and it’s surrounding areas. Goiânia is a big, busy city. We are still trying to figure out how to cross the road safely as pedestrians. It is not a very touristy area, and not many locals speak English. We are getting by with the very little Portuguese that we know/have learned, and of course some google translate.We are teaching middle school-highschool aged students at 3 different schools. So far, all the schools have been very welcoming and the students are very excited to have us here, providing us with small gifts and asking for signatures and hugs. We have learned a number of things about the education system here. One interesting fact is that the public schools can be funded by either the state, or federally. We noticed that that the federally funded schools seemed to have a bit more advanced programs and the teachers working there generally also have a masters degree. We have also attended one university english class for students who want to go into teaching. It was great to converse with these students who have similar goals to us.Our coordinator at the University of Goiás set us up with one of his PhD students, Geraldo, to attend a music festival in another town called Pirinapólis. It was a great experience of culture and music, and the town of “Piri” is very cute! It is known for it’s Portuguese colonial buildings, and many waterfalls in the area.Here we are in one of the 4 waterfalls we visited. There are more than 20 in the area! Despite the warm weather in the area (usually ~35 degrees everyday), the water is COLD. However, we thoroughly enjoyed swimming and jumping into all of the waterfalls, some with depths of up to 10 metres! This is on our hike around the waterfalls. Geraldo has taught us some Portuguese sayings, and we help him with his English as he hopes to go study in Chicago next year. We have loved trying new foods here in Brazil. This is a breakfast at an old farm from the early 1800’s near Pirinapólis. There were various meats, breads and cakes accompanied by different toppings to try, all made at the farm. After our breakfast we received a tour of the farm and learned a bit of it’s history. I really enjoy the food in Brazil, and like to try new things whenever I can. My only complaint is the lack of iced/frozen coffee… It’s so hot here, I want my caffeine cold!!
